What can you say about a man who stands almost seven feet tall and weighs in at a non-fat 300 pounds-plus? Well, what ever it is, you had better be nice!!! While this is true in most situations,
this case is very different. While having the appearance at first glance of a huge grizzly bear, Otto Johnson is the nicest fellow you can ever meet, as a matter of fact this big gentle giant is
more likely to be a 'Winnie the Pooh' type of guy. Otto Johnson, the man, is more than just a World Karate Champion, he is a Universal humanitarian. The kind of "boy next door" who you could trust
your daughter to date.
As the youngest child in his family, the burden of responsibility fell on his shoulders early in life. After his older siblings had grown and left home, young Otto, a proficient basketball player in school, gave it all up to be by his mothers side after doctors said she would never be able to walk or talk, after having a serious stroke. Totally loyal to his family, young Otto came straight home everyday to hold his mother up as he literally forced her rehabilitation into effect. He gave up his play time to help his mom learn how to walk, and actually manually formed words on his mother's lips so she could practice speaking again. This is the rare kind of love and dedication, found only in very special individuals. Otto Johnson is this type of gentleman.
Becoming a World Karate Champion is much more than defeating several other contenders. It is hours and hours of hard workouts in the dojo, countless performances of techniques, kata after kata, honing up kicks and punches, blocks, and slip punching moves and counters. All this takes a tremendous amount of patience, endurance and devotion. The sacrifices made earlier in his life made Otto Johnson capable of withstanding the temptations to quit when the going became tough. He was already in mental shape for the task. His personality of Biblical standings, including loving his neighbors as himself, being long-suffering, tenderhearted, disciplined, and other honorable deeds, made him a man's man.
You see, becoming a champion is a lot more than punching, kicking, and grappling. There is a quality about a real champion, that defies normal lifestyles. Just because a person is physically more adequate than another and wins a trophy and title of Champion, doesn't mean he/she is superior in every way than his/her opponent.
What really makes a Champion, is the dignity, and integrity of that individual. Otto Johnson is the epitome of that description. With a heart as big as his body, this man stands high above many of his contemporaries, not because of his height, but because of his personality.
Karate, Wado-Ryu, in particular, should be proud to have Otto Johnson as a practitioner. He certainly is the kind of role model parents will love their children to be like.
One example of why parents like the thought of their children becoming like Otto Johnson is that God has blessed him with parents who worked hard all their lives so their children could have it better than they did as children. Otto's mom and dad saved their money so Otto could go to Japan to learn from the Masters over there. Later, Otto was fortunate enough to attend College, then on to Graduate School, earning his Ph.D. in Social Work. Talk about a thankless, understaffed, and underpaid profession, you have it there. But then that is the kind of man Dr. Johnson is. Helping people is his desire. It would not surpass this writer if Black Belt Magazine elects Dr. Otto Johnson to their Black Belt Hall of Fame, as Man of the Year for 1998. He is the recently appointed style head of Wado-Ryu for the United States Karate Alliance.
When one thinks of all these attributes, Otto Johnson appears to be almost perfect. However he will be the first to tell anyone that he is nowhere close to perfection yet. He has come a long way, "but God hasn't finished with me yet", says the gentle giant. Otto Johnson, while being a warm, good natured, all around really nice guy, is not to be mistaken for an easy mark. He is nobody's fool, he is one of the strongest martial artists I have ever met. For a big guy, he has probably one of the fastest back fists around. One might mistake his size to make him slow. Wrong! Don't blink when you spar with him, if you do, you will feel the pain before you see the movement. Big and fast, what a combination. So, there you have it, a short say-so about a tall whats-it. This whats-it is what martial arts is supposed to be like. What it's not supposed to be like is what it really has become. A bunch of self-promoted 10th, 11th, and even one 13th Dan, ego-tripping, want-to-be's. Would someone please determine who the real 10th Dans are?
About the Author: Karl William Marx Sr. is 61 years of age and has been in the self-defense field since 1945. With 53 years experience, he has been acclaimed by many with a lot of honors. The latest being inducted into the prestigious black belt hall of fame in the United States Karate Alliance, and his Cajun made karate style being accepted by the State of Louisiana as an historical event, and put into the Louisiana State Archives in Baton Rouge, their State Capital. That is a first in martial arts history.