"Big Ed"
Dubbed the "King Kong of Karate", Ed Daniel stood 6'6" and weighted in at 275 pounds, one of the largest and oldest competitors on the tournament circuit during the 1960s and '70s. He began his road to success when he won the White Belt Division at the 1964 United States Karate Championships held in Dallas. Because of his size, "Big Ed", as he was known among the Blood and Guts Texas fighters, was placed in the Brown Belt Division almost from the start. A year after winning the white belt division and still ranked at white belt by his instructor, Big Ed went on to place as runner-up in the Brown Belt Division at the 1965 United States Karate Championships. As a Black Belt Mr. Daniel competed against such notables as Jim Harrison, Skipper Mullins, Larry Caster, Fred Wren, Roger Carpenter, Joe Lewis and many more. He won many titles as a Black Belt and competed throughout the United States. Mr. Daniel has been featured in many articles in magazines such as Black Belt, Karate Illustrated, and Ultimate Warrior. Born in Waco, Texas, Mr. Daniel moved to Dallas at a young age and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1951. He entered the US Army and served in the Military Police at Camp Gordon, Ga. Later he was assigned to a maximum security military prison in Arizona. Upon returning to civilian life Mr. Daniel worked as a Special Police Officer for the Dallas Police Department where he served for 16 years. During his late teens and early twenties Mr. Daniel trained as a professional wrestler, in the days when wrestling was still a rough and hard fought life. The strength he gained as a weight lifter at "Doug's Gym", the oldest continuing health club in Dallas, served him well. It was while training there that Big Ed met John Nash in 1964. While serving in the navy in Okinawa, Mr. Nash had earned his black belt and advanced degrees in Shorin Ryu Karate from Eizo Shimabuku, Sensei, who was himself designated as head of that system by its founder Chotoku Kyan. The school Mr. Nash opened was one of, if not the, first karate school in Dallas. Mr. Daniel eventually became head instructor and operated Dallas School of Karate at its original location until closing it in the late 1970s. Mr. Daniel has served as a bouncer, body guard to the rich and famous, and has trained many martial arts champions. Truly one of the people responsible for the evolution of karate in Texas, Mr. Daniel holds the rank of 10th Degree Black Belt under the American Karate Black Belt Association - Chin Sook Hage Kwan which is the current continuation of the original American Karate Black Belt Association founded by J. Pat Burleson and Allen Steen. Mr. Daniel was inducted into the Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame in May of 2000.