Wade Kirkpatrick

5th degree Black Belt
Master Instructor
Club Founder

Sensei Wade Kirkpatrick

Sensei Wade Kirkpatrick is a 5th degree Black Belt and Master Instructor. Sensei Kirkpatrick has been training in Karate since the age of 9 years. Over two decades of that time has been spent teaching martial arts. He is a direct student of Sensei Robert Gifford, 8th Degree Black Belt and Director of the Zen Do Kai Karate System in the southwestern United States. Master Kirkpatrick went on to become the youngest person to achieve a Black Belt in the history of Zen Do Kai Karate. Sensei Kirkpatrick has been employed by the KickStart Foundation for 12 years and has taught Karate in the Galveston, Houston, and Fort Bend Independent school districts.

Master Kirkpatrick served as KickStart’s Houston City-Wide Black Belt Demo Team Coach for two seasons and was responsible for choreographing demonstrations for former President George Bush, President George W. Bush, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, Chuck Norris, former Mayor Lee Brown, and a host of other individuals. In 1999, Sensei Kirkpatrick’s City Wide Team was asked to perform on an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. Kirkpatrick has been named Zen Do Kai’s Instructor of the Year twice, Black Belt of the Year, and won the Bushido Award for bringing recognition to the Zen Do Kai system through tournament competition.

In 1995 he was named Sugar Land’s Outstanding Citizen by Sugar Land Mayor Lee Duggan and Police Chief Ernest Taylor. Sensei Kirkpatrick has been an avid competitor since 1984, having competed in Karate tournaments, boxing, and Muay Tai full contact kickboxing events.

Sensei Kirkpatrick is an eight-time Texas State Champion having won the title in A.O.K, T.N.T, and N.B.L all in the same year to unify the title. State titles were won in weapons, traditional Japanese kata, musical kata, and light heavyweight point sparring. He later went on to win 37 consecutive 1st place victories, a state record, over a year and a half span, culminating with being named Men’s Golden Greek Award winner for the best all-around black belt player in 1997.

Sensei Kirkpatrick was named to Texas’ Golden Greek Award Hall of Fame that same year and was on two magazine covers, and many feature articles related to the events. After competing at the state level for many years, he went on to represent Texas as the number one seed in the National Black Belt Leagues’ World Championships in Washington D.C., placing 6th in the World. His fight was shown on ESPN’s “prime sports.”

Master Kirkpatrick then got his boxing license in the USA Gulf Coast Association Boxing and fought under Carlos Patina of Galveston, Texas. Muay Thai full contact matches came next under the tutelage of Kru Pong of Thailand.

Sensei enjoys using these experiences to bring out the best in each of his students whatever their ambitions in the “Art” may be as well as operating a well-rounded dojo.