What do these three young men have in common?
Mr. Payne, Mr. Kraegel, & Mr. Becker
All 3 are 3rd Degree Black Belts.
All 3 are Chicago National Karate Instructors.
All 3 qualified for the Junior National Fighting Team representing the U.S.A.
All 3 are in Dublin, Ireland fighting in the WAKO World Championships!
Honor to Represent the USA
We are very proud of these young men who are not only representing National Karate but also the United States! It is a real honor to qualify for Team USA and it is not an easy feat to make the team. They had to fight against some of the best martial arts fighters in the country to qualify. It is also pretty remarkable to have three members from the team come from one organization (National Karate). And now they will be facing the best fighters in the world! What a great experience for these young Instructors to be able to fight internationally in Dublin, Ireland!
Learn more about these young men…
Alonzo Payne
Alonzo started his martial arts training at the age of 4 and has been working his way up the ranks ever since. When he was an advanced belt he enrolled in our Leadership program and worked his way up to the highest level of Leadership certification. He then entered the Assistant Instructor program and graduated with this full Instructor certification. He is now a 3rd Degree Black Belt and the co-Head Instructor at the Bloomingdale, IL National Karate School. He is a freshman at College of Dupage. Mr. Payne enjoys sharing what he has learned as a champion martial artist with his students.
Dominic Kraegel
Dominic has been a National Karate of Chicago student since January 2008 where he is currently a 3rd Degree Black belt and is an Instructor at the Bartlett, IL National Karate school. Dominic has been competing on the NASKA circuit for the past 5 years and is a member of Team AKA. In his first year for NASKA he was ranked 5th in the world for fighting and last year, he finished 2nd in the world. He went on to become the NASKA World Champion! Dominic has recently decided to also compete in traditional form under Team National Karate and he is currently ranked 7th and has won Grand Champion at one of the biggest tournaments in the country. Dom is a Senior at South Elgin High School.
Josh Becker
Josh is a 3rd Degree Black Belt and an Instructor at the Bartlett, IL National Karate School. He is a successful NASKA competitor and last year won first place at the Diamond Nationals. He took both the Silver and Bronze at the WAKO North American Cup. Josh is a sophomore at Wheaton North High School where he also plays the trumpet in the Marching Band and Jazz Band.
Instructors from Previous Years at the World Championships
In past years we have had these Chicago National Karate Instructors fighting in the World Championships…Ross Cook (Gold Medal), Alex Dingmann (Silver Medal) and Jenn Tohtz (Gold Medal & 2 Sliver Medals )
Good Luck Alonzo, Dom and Josh! And Go Team USA!
