PKC PRESIDENT & CONSULTANT

Mr. Glenn R. Keeney began Karate in February of 1957. As a young high school student he hitchhiked from his hometown of Anderson, Indiana on weekends to Cincinnati, Ohio. This was a distance of 115 miles, but was the only Karate school in the area. His instructor was L. Kim, a Korean Stylist.

In 1961 a Shorin-Ryu school opened in Indianapolis, Indiana under the direction of James Wax. His instructors were Robert Yarnall and Greg Helm. The school closed after only 10 months and Mr. Keeney moved with a few other students to another school in Indianapolis. It was started by a student of the same Shorin-Ryu school that closed - Ed Erler, only a brown belt at the time.

In 1964, Mr. Keeney met Mr. Larry Pickel and began his study of Okinawan Goju Ryu. Mr. Pickel had garnered a black belt under the teaching of world renowned Miyazato Ei’ichi. He studied under Mr. Pickel until 1967, when Mr. Pickel left Karate for personal reasons.

The dojo which was opened by Mr. Pickel in 1966, was purchased by his 3 top students, Jerry Brown, Larry Davenport and Mr. Keeney. By 1969, Mr. Keeney had bought out his partners, and although they helped keep the doors open for many years, Komakai Academy was now his soul responsibility.

In the meantime, Bill Wallace had returned to Indiana to attend Ball State University. He became a member of Mr. Keeney’s club, although he never chose to study the Goju Ryu system, he became Mr. Keeney’s constant sparring companion. For the next 5 years, Keeney & Wallace sparred 10-12 hours per week and attended over 200 tournaments together.

In 1972 & 1973, Mr. Keeney was rated #1 fighter in the USKA, 1972 & 1973 top ten fighter by Official Karate magazine, 1973 top ten fighter by Professional Karate magazine, 1974 #4 fighter in the U.S. by Black Belt magazine and inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame in 1977. Mr. Keeney once commented, “after looking at Bill Wallace’s techniques all week, tournaments became a lot easier.” He gives Bill a lot of credit for his success as a tournament fighter.

As an administrator, Mr. Keeney helped write the rule book for tournaments in the US Karate Association and was the Rules Chairman for 10 years. He was also a Trias International award holder. As a member of the USKA World Champion Team in 1971 and 1972, he traveled extensively in the US and abroad. The team went undefeated for both Good Will Tours.

In the PKA, he served as a judge in the 1974 1st World Championships in Los Angeles, and was the head of their ratings committee for several years.

In the field of promotion, he held his first major tournament in 1968...the Greater Indiana Karate Championships. In 1970 & 1971, he hosted the USKA Grand Nationals with Master Robert Trias. In 1975, he hosted the Top Ten Nationals with Mike Anderson. In 1980, hosted the Bill Wallace retirement fight with PKA and CBS television. In 1981 & 1982, he hosted the PKA Nationals with PKA & ESPN. These tournaments were among the largest and most successful events ever held in the United States.

In 1986, Mr. Keeney established the Professional Karate Commission(PKC) as a sanctioning body dedicated to the preservation of the ethics, principles & integrity of Karate-Do.

He has chosen, what he considers some of today's finest leaders to carry out the task of building a world wide organization. With their help, the PKC intends to assure that Karate will indeed have a bright and successful future.
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