Karate Tech students earn

by Tech. Sgt. Jackie Harris
Contributing writer

Jackie Harris Jr. and Ryan O’Donnell earned their highly coveted Black Belt in Karate Tech June 7, under the tutelage of Grand Master Jorge Ordonio, founder and owner of Karate Tech Mixed Martial Arts.

Achieving the black belt requires an incredible amount of physical and mental training – it distinguishes an expert in martial arts and Jackie and Ryan proved to be just that.   

Jackie, age 8, attends Karate Tech MMA at Ramstein. Jackie joined Karate Tech in August 2004 because he wanted to learn how to kick and punch like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.   

Ryan, age 16, started with Karate Tech MMA nine years ago, when the school was just starting in Landstuhl. He wanted to defend himself against bullies.

Ryan plans to enroll in Karate Tech Kickboxing in the near future and continue to teach and mentor Karate Tech students. He hopes to train and learn different types of martial arts. Jackie plans to continue to progress in Karate Tech in hopes of one day opening his own Karate Tech School under Grand Master Jorge. He also wants to continue to teach and mentor other Karate Tech students to help them attain their black belts.

May 13 and 14, Jackie participated in the 1st Annual European Military Karate World Championship Qualifier Tournament at Patch Barracks, in Stuttgart. More than 130 participants competed in the two-day event; some came from as far away as Vicenza, Italy. Jackie took first place in three different events – traditional forms, creative forms and point sparring and earned a shot to compete at the World Championships that will be held Aug. 16 and 17 in Castlebar, Ireland. 

The road to success wasn’t easy.  Jackie and Ryan contribute their success to hard work, perseverance and great instruction and encouragement from Grand Master Jorge and his team of Karate Tech instructors.