Pat Burleson began his martial arts training as a youngster in boxing. He eventually won the Texas State Golden Gloves Championships while he was still in high school.
In 1955, Pat joined the U.S. Navy and was chosen to represent his country while boxing at bases throughout the Pacific Rim. While he was stationed with the Pacific Fleet, Burleson came into contact with the martial arts practiced in the Orient.
Pat Burleson first began karate training in Iwakuni, Japan in 1957 in the Japanese Wado-ryu style. As his military service assignments moved him around he trained in sever styles of karate and Chinese style boxing.
After returning home to the United States in 1959, Pat Burleson settled in Fort Worth, Texas. Still wanting to continue Martial Arts training, but unable to find any teachers, Pat worked out with other area ex-servicemen who had received some martial arts training during their tenure of service.
During this period he heard about a karate class being taught at the Red Bird National Guard Armory in neighboring Arlington, Texas, and dropped in on the class in Tang Soo Do being taught by the Father of Tae Kwon Do in the U.S., Jhoon Rhee.
Pat Burleson introduced himself to Mr. Rhee, who turned Burleson to one of his senior Brown Belts, Allen Steen. Steen was later promoted to 1st Dan as Rhee's first U.S. Black Belt. Pat continued his martial arts training in the Tang Soo Do style under Rhee and Steen and was promoted to 1st degree Black Belt in the summer of 1963.
Jhoon Rhee left Texas for Washington, D.C., where he opened a new school and later founded the United States Taekwondo Association, where he remains teaching to this day. Pat Burleson and Allen Steen took over Rhee's fledgling school in Texas, and founded a Karate Empire that is legendary.
The American Karate scene had it's birth in two places, Chicago and Dallas / Ft. Worth, and quickly spread from there to places like Los Angeles and New York. In 1963, Pat Burleson, Allen Steen, Jim Harrison, and Al Gene Caraulia attended the first World Karate Championships in Chicago. This tournament was a "World Championship" in name only. It was the first attempt at any type of notable karate tournament in the U.S. The tournament was promoted by the late founder of the U.S.K.A., Robert Trias, and the late John Keehan (Who later styled himself as Count Dante). There were no belt divisions, no rules, no weight divisions. The title was won by Al Gene Caraulia who was still a brown belt.
This tournament was the turning point that would launch the unique American style of martial arts. Until now there was little mixture of styles in the martial arts. Japanese styles pretty much stayed with other Japanese styles; Chinese with Chinese, Okinawan with Okinawan, and Korean with Korean. But this was the first time that these arts were put into an open competition with each other. The marriage of the punching and kicking arts in the U.S. was consummated.
Japanese and Okinawan stylists were introduced to and saw the power and benefit of kicking from Korean stylists. Korean stylists learned to respect the power and winning use of the hands. Both styles learned a respect for American Boxing technique, as well as swift and close range fighting from Chinese styles.
Six months after this tournament saw Japanese and Okinawan stylist performing strong head high kicks and Korean stylists executing a large variety of powerful hand techniques. The 1963 Chicago "World Championships" began the melding of styles that would become, "American Karate."
In 1964, Pat Burleson won Jhoon Rhee's first National Karate Championships. Thus, he joined Al Gene Caraulia as the first nationally recognized champions of Karate in America.
Pat also promoted his own tournament, the rough and notorious "Texas State Championships". If there ever was a misnomer for a tournament, this was it. The tournament attracted top ranked fighters from all over the nation. Everyone wanted an opportunity to say they defeated one of Allen Steen's or Pat Burleson's top students, and every year they got the chance in Ft. Worth, Texas. Very few ever came away being able to claim to have done so.
Pat Burleson was one tough fighter. Few people honestly wanted to find themselves facing him in a tournament or on the street. He was hard to hurt and he could hurt hard. Despite his own notoriety, Pat Burleson touts Jim Harrison, Mike Stone, and his instructor, Allen Steen as the three top fighters of the period. There were no rules in those days, the rules were made as they went along. No pads, and few pulled kicks and punches. Truly the "Blood and Guts" era of karate competition in America.
Pat Burleson turned out an impressive stable of fighters from his Ft. Worth schools, such individuals as Jim Butin, Billy and Pam Watson, Chuck Loven, Pat and John Worley, Larry Carnahan, Billy Simms, Steve Stavroff, George Minshew, and Phyllis Evetts all graced the national ratings.
Pat
Burleson is still teaching and promoting tournaments in Ft.
Worth, Texas. Now a 10th Degree Black Belt,
he heads up his own style of American Karate.
A highly respected teacher and practitioner, he is still widely sought
after for seminars, tournament officiating, and as an authority of the
history of the martial arts in the U.S. He also heads up the National
Black Belt League, and the World Martial
Arts Ranking Association. He maintains a website at: http://www.karateusa.com/
copyright 1999 by Charles G. Bouton, all rights reserved.