Conrad Jones

Karate began at an early age for Sensei Conrad Jones. With two brothers who were near to his age, he often speaks of the rough-housing and 'trouble' they would get into while growing up on their parent’s Greenbriar, TN farm. As the 70s began, so did a growing martial arts influence. The TV show Kung Fu was a catalyst to a friendship with the martial arts that has lasted over 20 years and continues to grow. Mr. Jones often speaks of seeing the movie Kill & Kill Again, and that being the point he decided to give up his light-hearted training which consisted of 'backyard budo' and various martial arts books and magazines, and begin the voyage that he is still traveling that will continue throughout the rest of his life.

In 1979, Mr. Jones officially enrolled in David Deaton Karate School in Hendersonville, TN and began to study Wado Ryu Karate. At that point, he wasn't familiar with Wado, and if you would have asked him what he thought about Suzuki, he would have probably answered that he liked Honda or Harley Davidson better. But soon he began to excel and train very hard. The same karate spirit that had inspired him soon also affected his brother Keith, who also began to train.

During this training he became active in the tournament circuit. As a kyu rank, he began to place and then win many of the tournaments he entered. He first competed in Kata (forms) and Kumite (sparring), but soon found that his passion was Kumite. As a still rather new karateka, he went to Georgia to the 'Battle of Atlanta', arguably the largest and most prestigious Karate tournament in the country, and was awarded 2nd place in the Blue Belt Adult Kumite Division. He also learned that nothing in life is guaranteed or automatic because while testing for his purple belt rank, he did not meet requirements for executing a proper cat stance, and for this error he did not pass to purple belt. A lot of reflection and thinking went on in the weeks prior to retaking that test. This event, while difficult at the time, seems to have been a very valuable lesson that taught him the importance of 'earning something' over being 'given something'.

During his early training at DDKS, Mr. Jones had the honor to work under some very admired senseis including Donnie Danner, Bill Day, Bobby Eates, Rick Hobson, Chip Jervis, and David Rowe. His reflections of these men are filled with respect and regard.

As Mr. Jones’s training became more strongly rooted, before he knew it the time had arrived that all students look forward to. In 1985, he was awarded Shodan – First Degree Black Belt. He saw his role in Karate as one that had begun to change from a student being instructed to an instructor of students. He became the head instructor of Deaton Sensei's Brentwood School. Soon thereafter, his brother Keith Jones, who had also begun to excel in his own right, became head instructor of the Hendersonville school. It was apparent that the early influences of David Carradine and Kung Fu were reaching new heights with the Jones brothers.

As a black belt, Mr. Jones's success in tournament competition was impressive, to say the least. During his tournament days, he had advanced to the rank of Nidan (2nd degree black belt) in 1987. Besides winning many local and mid-south karate tournaments, he asserted himself as one of the leading fighters in the country by being named the Fighting Champion - Light Heavyweight Division, at the U.S. Eastern Wado Karate Federation Championships (the largest Wado organization in the U.S.) in 1988. To make this feat even more impressive, he continued this same success in 1989 & 1990, with an unprecedented three-peat as Men's Light Heavyweight Champion. He was also named the Men's Fighting Champion at the prestigious Southern American Open Championships. His tournament tenure reached a new height when he, as Captain, and joined with his brother Keith, was a member of the USEWKF's 1st Place Fighting Team in the team competition in 1989.

As the 80s drew to a close Mr. Jones's karate direction began to change. He began to withdraw from the competition side of karate, and focus more on the instruction side. In 1988 he was named as one of 5 finalists out of over 600 schools for the National Instructor of the Year Award. He was promoted to the rank of Sandan (3rd degree black belt) in 1990, and his desire to instruct and teach began to assert itself in new directions.

During this time he decided that he really wanted to teach and to commit to that with new zeal and effort. The first step towards this began with the difficult task of resigning as instructor and leaving Deaton Sensei's school after over 10 years of study to begin a new career and start his own school. Initially it was difficult learning the art of business and teaching full time. Mr. Jones never forgets to credit the special support given him by Robert Dolan and Houston Little, when he first opened his school. His school trained in various churches, buildings, and for a period of time at the YMCA before finding its current home in Franklin. Mr. Jones is forever grateful to those students and parents who helped him and stuck by him during those early years as he looked for a permanent home for the school. As his school begin to solidify, he reached another personal milestone in 1994, attaining the rank of Yondan (4th degree black belt).

As he continued to become more focused on the training and instruction of karate, Mr. Jones had the opportunity to train with many of the elite martial artists of the world. Specific to Wado, besides training under Deaton Sensei (Sichidan), he has also had the opportunity to train under:

One of Mr. Jones's hopes is that the divisions between the various federations, associations, and organizations can work toward mending themselves and strive to unite under the same focus and oneness that was present before Otsuka Sensei's death.

Besides these Wado masters, Mr. Jones has had the pleasure to also train with some other highly respected martial artists, namely:

As his Franklin school grew throughout the 90's, he was privileged to see the addition of a new school in Brentwood in 1996 (first under the name 'Bonsai Karate School') as a joint venture with Nidan student Tim Clark, and later moved from Nipper's Corner location, to its present area, and a return to the 'Conrad Jones Karate' dojo name.. With special effort from his senior students Robert Dolan, Jody Warrick, Hoyt Hill, Dennis Shepherd, Dave Taylor, & Rick Stone, this school too has become a testament to Mr. Jones teaching and instruction.

When asked what he thought the two most important aspects are that he tries to instill in his students, Mr. Jones replied without hesitation: respect and self control. His goals for the future are simple: to train, study, and instruct and to see his 'family' of black belts continue to grow from its current number of over fifty. He has a special admiration for longevity in the arts. That and perseverance speak more for a person than a mouthful of words. Showing his personal longevity, he was promoted to Godan (5th degree black belt) to conclude the nineties in December 1999.

This is the same perseverance and longevity that he uses in his spare time to drive him to the elite levels of the amateur volleyball circuit. He and his brother are both very accomplished volleyball players who have played with world champions such as Sinjin Smith, Kent Steffes, Karch Kiraly, Mike Dodd, etc. He has been named Tennessee State Champion as well as champion of many tournaments throughout the South as well as California. His drive for excellence in the arts are easily seen in how he conducts himself on the volleyball court, and the respect and courtesy he shows others who frequently don't have the same values or respect.

In addition to respect, there are many other qualities that make Mr. Jones a gifted teacher and a special individual. As he reflects on his first 25 years of studying and teaching Karate, the honor of reaching the rank of Rokudan (6th degree black belt) in the Summer of 2005, becomes a distant secondary honor in consideration of all of the hundreds, more likely thousands, of students that have crossed his path, the words come slowly – but the memories are vast. It is such an honor to him, never to be worn lightly or abused. It is a very rare indivdual (less than 1 out of 100,000 Karate students attain the level of Rokudan), who can merit it so fittingly as he has. When asked about what feelings go through his mind to have reached such a respected level that very few attain, he responds with one word: humbled.

Mr. Jones hopes to still be training and teaching after the next 25 years. His students are his family. His black belts are his brothers and sisters. Karate to him is not a hobby or a current activity, but a life long journey. Even though he has had many successes and won many trophies and championships, this is not a valid measure by which to gauge Mr. Jones. His character is not seen in the trophies that he won because as a very humble man, removed from ego, he chooses not to display these awards in his office, or in the dojo window for the world to see. Instead he put them in boxes, taped them shut, and stored them in his father's barn along with the cattle, the goats, the chickens, and the hay.

He looks back on the years when he would travel back to the barn, opens up a box, and pulls out a few dusty trophies, then has them cleaned and shined, and gives them away to 4 or 5 students that are selected as the 'Student of the Year'. To see the excitement in their faces when being awarded one of 'his' trophies (that in most cases is taller than the student) means more to him now than any feeling of joy or accomplishment he felt when they were given to him.

This act of humanity, not the accolades and awards, is the most accurate reflection of Sensei Conrad Jones.

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History recorded from interview (circa 1998) and past personal rememberances by Dave Taylor and updated periodically as needed.