SPORT KARATE - TEAM LIGHTNING PRO TRAINING

 Posted Thursday, February 6, 2025 4:26 pm

By JAXON HANSARD, Staff Writer

Danny Williams Combat Martial Arts Program’s Team “Lightning” hit a successful stride with its 13-person roster representing the Texas Karate Organization in a world championship tournament.

Team Lightning went to the World Karate League World Grand Finals Jan 4 in Galveston at the San Luis Convention Center. The WKL invites teams and competitors to the World Grand Finals by a seeding system where contestants earn a higher seed based off their record in their division in a region. Players are not limited to a region and can attend outside their region to get a better seed at the World Grand Finals.

“To be on this team, they’re among the elite in Texas. So they’ve been winning all year but to get to the end and do as good as we did at the state finals and win the state championship, then go to the worlds and blow it away, we’re very proud.” Danny Williams said.

TKO has 21 tournaments all over the state where hundreds of competitors come to test themselves or perform in three categories: sparring, weapons and forms.

Williams’ Combat Martial Arts Program, located at 804 W. Pearl St. in Granbury, primarily offers regular martial arts classes, self-defense classes, taekwondo, “Bully Proof,” stranger awareness for all ages. Monday through Thursday with classes from 4:15 to 8:30 p.m. while Fridays are saved for private training sessions from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Williams is a seventh-degree black belt who has been involved with martial arts training since 1974. The former United States Marine’s Granbury location is the fourth school he has opened with the first three in Marlin, Odessa, and Georgetown. There was a stint from 1999-2008 when he left martial arts to pursue full time ministry as a pastor.

In July 2023 he was inducted into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

“We’re a world champion school — 31 in one year? That’s unheard of. I’ve been doing this for 50 years,” Danny Williams said.

The program has been in Granbury since 2021 and this is its first group of world champions.

“For them to put in the work that is necessary to be at such a high level of competition, we’re very proud” Glenda Williams, wife of Danny Williams and instructor of women’s self-defense class, said.

The oldest and youngest world champions on Team Lightning are actually a father/son duo of Jase, age 8, and Cody Reed, age 39. Cody Reed takes his family to Danny’s Dojo as a way for them to learn important lessons of self-defense, control and social interactions but the program provides an activity the whole household can participate in.

Instead of splitting the parents’ time between five different age ranges with football, soccer, baseball and school activities, they opted for a martial arts program that has trained them into world champions.

“I told them even if they wanted to, they can’t quit until they get black belts, so we’re not going to stop until we’re a black belt family.” Cody Reed said.

The belts have three stages with the beginner stage having white, yellow and orange. The intermediate stage includes green, purple and blue, and finally the advanced stage has brown, red and then famously the black belt to show mastery

Cody Reed started training in the dojo after a funny interaction with his oldest child Harper who was involved with the program.

“She said ‘Dad, its not that easy. Why don’t you try it?’ And I said ‘OK’ and I did it and then I realized I couldn’t do it” Cody Reed said.

Jase Reed has been in the Danny Williams Martial Arts Program since he was 5 and as his world title proclaims, he has improved and learned a lot from this dojo in a very competitive age range. The little fighter did not have many words to say but did say he likes fighting “because it’s fun” and when asked how the world champion tournament was he said “It was good”

The Dojo has been a great opportunity for kids and families in the Granbury area to have an after-school activity but also build children’s confidence. There have been children who attended the Danny Williams Martial Arts Program because of recent incidents and attitudes at school. From the teachings of the program, kids have changed their attitudes because of the confidence it instilled in them.

“You’ll figure out that if a kid’s got confidence then they’re not going to fight,” Cody Reed said.

State and World Title winners

Lexi Evans • WKL Title 2: Creative Weapons and Point Sparring • Total 2

Leighton Evans • WKL Title 1: Point Sparring • Total 1

Ty Evan’s • TKO State Title 2: BJJ GI and Sport MMA No GI • WKL Titles 2: BJJ GI and Sport MMA No GI • Total 4

Mayliah Miller • TKO 1: Creative Forms • New Mexico State 2 Creative Weapons and Creative Weapons • New Mexico Grands 1 Creative Forms • WKL Titles 2: Creative Weapons and Creative Forms • Total 6

Blaze Miller • New Mexico 3: Stick Combat, Creative Forms, Point Sparring, • WKL 2: Tag Sparring and Forms • Total 5

Jacqueline Miller • TKO 1: Stick Fighting

Sterling Bates • TKO 1: Tag Sparring • Total 1

Gabby Briceno • TKO 3: Creative Weapons, Creative, Forms, Point Sparring • WKL 3: Creative Weapons, Creative Forms, Point Sparring • Total 6

Serenity Clark • TKO 2: Creative Forms and Point Sparring • New Mexico 3: Creative Weapons, Creative Forms, Point Sparring • WKL 3: Creative Weapons, Creative Forms, Point Sparring • Total 8

Kanden Snell • TKO 1: Creative Forms • Total 1

Cody Reed • TKO 1: Point Sparring • WKL 1: Point Sparring • Total 2

Jase Reed • TKO 2: Tag Sparring and Point Sparring • WKL 1: Point Sparring • Total 3

Abram Reed • TKO 1: Tag Sparring • Total 1

Emmett Reed • TKO 1: Tag Sparring • Total 1

Curtis Harris • TKO 2: Creative Weapons and Creative Forms • WKL 3: Creative Weapons, Creative Forms, Point Sparring • Total 5

Gracie Peterson • TKO 1: Creative Forms • New Mexico 4: Creative Weapons, Creative Forms, Point Sparring, Continuous Sparring • WKL 4: Creative Weapons, Creative Forms, Tag Sparring, Continuous Sparring • Total 9

Brayden Blincoe • TKO 2: Creative Forms and Point Sparring • WKL 2 Creative Forms and Point Sparring • Total 4

Robin Pollard • TKO 1: Sport MMA • WKL 1: Sport MMA • Total 2

Kaj Green • TKO 1: BJJ GI • Total 1

https://hcnews.com/stories/danny-williams-dojo-brings-31-world-titles-home-to-granbury,62349?cb=1739397893