Grandmaster Johnnie Clark

first introduced to Johnnie as a means of rehabilitation while recovering from gunshot wounds in Japan, Martial Arts became a lifelong practice after the war.

From Rehabilitation to life-long Practice

Grandmaster Johnnie Clark credits the start of his martial arts career to his early military training on Paris Island. There he learned basic skills; enemy take-down, throws, etc. This training continued at Camp LeJeune and then onto jungle warfare school at Camp Pendleton.

However, the true beginning of his formal training in martial arts began after he was wounded in Vietnam and sent to Yakusaka Naval Hospital in Japan. From there he was sent to Okinawa for rehabilitation from gunshot wounds. There he had a young Lieutenant who believed that the stretching and strength work of martial arts could help a lot of the Marines rehabilitation, especially those with leg wounds. With that, Johnnie was ordered to go into Kim Village and start training with an Okinawan.

“Of course at the time I didn’t have a clue who the guy was and the Marines coming out combat were a pretty salty lot. We weren’t easily impressed -- but this old guy managed to impress us. His name was Shimabuku and as it turned out, he was a very famous 10th Dan Grandmaster of Shorinryu Karate” says Johnnie of his Grandmaster in Okinawa.

After Johnnie returned home from the war he continued his training in the United States, eventually working with world famous Grandmaster Dong Keun Park, whom he credits with a lot of his successes in his career. 

Johnnie eventually opened his own Do Jang in St. Petersburg, Florida where he trained students. In 2008, he was inducted in the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Most recently, Johnnie traveled to Korea to test for his 8th Dan in the Kukiwon and 9th Dan in the Jidokwan.

“Forty-six years of teaching and training has been a wonderful blessing in my life” says Johnnie.