Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gerald (Pete) Mills. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gerald (Pete), before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I graduated from high school in 1963 and I had already been involved in boxing and wrestling and studying everything I could get my hands on pertaining to the martial arts. I meet master Harold Long and started training with him, never expecting to make black belt. The first tournament I fought in was in Nashville, Tennessee and the center referee was Master, Robert Trais. He was the President of the United States Karate Association.

Due to my boxing background I won my fights. We fought during the day and competed in the finals in the evening. It made for a long day, but I was hooked. Then the Vietnam war come along and I got drafted. When I was back at base camp I trained with a Korean Ranger unit and hit the weights hard. I was about 200 lbs and was bench pressing 480 pounds. I built my fighting system on a low stance and many hand drills for reflex.

Grandmaster Long wanted to form an ISSHINRYU (Okinawan system) Hall of Fame. He was the Chairman and he had a President and four Vice Presidents and I was one of them. They carried the rank of 7th degree black belt. That meant the end of tournament play. In those days they didn’t have a Masters divisional for senior ranks.

I have continue to train and learn and have now been inducted into 14 Hall of Fames. The ones I am most proud of are the United States Martial Arts, The International ISSHINRYU Hall of Fame and my very favorite is the Greater Knoxville Hall of Fame.

I have been privileged to head up the testing for all black belts being tested under the Grandmaster’s council for the United States Hall of Fame. I have made about 40 international trips training and sharing the Martial Arts, but my greatest blessing has been to share my faith in Jesus Christ. I believe he is God’s son and the one sent (Savior) of the world. I enjoy sharing with my people the good news of Jesus as Savior.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was fighting in Cincinnati, Ohio in July of 1966 and got hit with a jumping back kick breaking my nose and cracking two front teeth. I was given a brief few moments to recover. I then went on to be undefeated. It is a matter of courage and drive to go along with ability, strength and quickness to win in tournament play. It has been great to train with some of the world’s greatest martial artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: PeteMillsKarate.com
• Facebook: Grandmaster Pete Mills