Grand Master Jerry Otto of Shen Dragon Karate Dojo on St. Thomas was chosen to be featured in the “2020 Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors World History Book” and was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Honors. Otto also was chosen to grace the front cover of the book.
“Action Martial Arts Magazine” celebrated its 20th anniversary and its Hall of Honors awards banquet, which is considered a premier martial arts event. More than 10,000 martial arts enthusiasts attended the expo, with more than 200 vendors, 50 seminars, five martial arts tournaments and over 1,500 attending the awards banquet.
The “Action Martial Arts Magazine History Book” brings together martial artists around the world to share their stories of how the martial arts have impacted their lives. Otto was recognized for his contributions not only to the martial arts, but also to his community.
Otto founded the Shen Dragon Karate Dojo in 1981 in Phillipsburg, N.J. He relocated to St. Croix in 1991 and operated a dojo there during the 1990s and opened the present Shen Dragon on St. Thomas in the summer of 2017.
Otto is a former U.S. National Karate & Weapons Champion, winning six first-place national championship titles, with an undefeated season in Kata & Weapons in 1989, earning the distinction as the greatest senior competitor in Kata & Weapons in the history of the national circuit.
He has received numerous other accolades, including the most prestigious award granted to only 186 martial artists in the world over the past 50 years, the Joe Lewis Eternal Warrior Award at the Battle of Atlanta 50th year anniversary in 2018.
Otto’s vision is to provide venues to give children, teenagers, men and women in the Virgin Islands the opportunity to learn, train and experience martial arts.
The Shen Dragon Karate Dojo on St. Thomas earned the American Martial Arts Alliance’s distinction of “School of the Year” Award in 2019, for its curriculum and high standards in the martial arts.