09/28/2025
In Memory of Grandmaster Gary Alexander (The Colonel)
A True Martial Arts Pioneer of American Karate (1938-2025)
Grandmaster Gary Alexander passed away at the age of 87.
There’s tons of his MA history on the web should you choose to learn more about this Martial Arts Icon.
However, I am writing this short tribute to celebrate a life that fundamentally shaped the landscape of martial arts in America.
In losing Shihan Gary Alexander we have lost one of karate’s most authentic pioneers—a man who didn’t just witness the birth of American karate, but helped deliver it into existence with his bare knuckles and unwavering spirit.
The Pioneer’s Path
Shihan Gary Alexander’s journey began in an era when karate was still a mysterious art, practiced by a handful of dedicated souls in dimly lit dojos across America.
As one of Sensei Don Nagle’s first students, Gary Alexander stepped into the martial arts world during the raw, unforgiving days of the late 1950s—a time when there were no weight classes, no protective gear, and certainly no participation trophies.
This was bare-knuckle karate in its purest form, where respect was earned through blood, sweat, and an indomitable will to persevere.
Though formal ranking systems had yet to take hold in American dojos, Sensei Alexander’s peers recognized something extraordinary in this young practitioner. Word traveled quickly through the tight-knit martial arts community: Gary Alexander was, quite simply, one of the best fighters in the country. It was a reputation built not on politics or promotional hype, but on the undeniable evidence witnessed by anyone brave enough to face him on the dojo floor.
Champion and Legend
In 1962, Alexander made his unofficial reputation official by capturing both the North American Karate Championships and the Canadian Karate Championships. These victories weren’t just personal triumphs—they were validation of American karate’s growing strength and legitimacy on the international stage.
Shihan Alexander carried not just his own dreams into those competitions, but the hopes of an entire generation of American martial artists who were still proving they belonged among the world’s best.
But Alexander’s greatness extended far beyond his ability to defeat opponents. He possessed that rarest of combinations: the heart of a warrior paired with the soul of a teacher.
Even as his competitive fire burned brightest, he understood that his true legacy would be measured not by his own victories, but by the champions he would create and the lives he would shape.
The Teacher’s Legacy
For decades after his competition days ended, Shihan Alexander continued to be an incredibly powerful force in karate—perhaps even more influential than during his fighting prime.
His dojo(s) became legendary, not as a place for the faint of heart, but as a crucible where ordinary students were forged into extraordinary martial artists.
Shihan Alexander was known as one of the toughest teachers in the business, a reputation he wore like a badge of honor.
His approach was demanding because he understood a fundamental truth: excellence cannot be achieved through comfort.
Every champion who emerged from his dojo, every quality instructor he developed, carried forward not just techniques and forms, but Shihan Alexander’s strict uncompromising standards and warrior spirit.
His students didn’t just learn karate and self-defense — they learned what it meant to push beyond their perceived limitations and discover reservoirs of strength they never knew they possessed.
The Complete Martial Artist
Shihan Gary Alexander’s mastery was truly many-faceted. He was simultaneously a great fighter, innovator, promoter, leader teacher. . . roles that might seem contradictory but which he balanced with remarkable skill.
As a chief referee on the tournament circuit, he brought the same intensity and fairness that characterized his teaching. Competitors knew that under Shihan Alexander’s watchful eye, matches would be conducted with integrity and respect for the art.
His innovations in training methods and tournament organization helped modernize American karate while preserving its essential warrior spirit.
As a promoter, he understood that martial arts needed to grow beyond the dojo walls to survive and thrive, yet he never allowed commercial considerations to compromise the art’s fundamental values.
A Life’s Work Complete
Few individuals in any field can claim to have done more for the advancement and betterment of their chosen discipline than Shihan Gary Alexander did for Isshin-Ryu karate and other styles.
He bridged the gap between karate’s ancient traditions and its American evolution, ensuring that growth never came at the expense of authenticity. He was a guardian of the old ways.
Alexander’s influence ripples through every dojo, every tournament, and every martial artist who has benefited from the foundation he helped build.
The champions he created have gone on to create champions of their own. The instructors he developed continue to pass on not just his techniques, but his philosophy that martial arts training is ultimately about building character, not just fighting skill.
The Eternal Bow
As we bid farewell to Grandmaster Gary Alexander, we remember that true warriors never really die—they live on in every technique perfected by their students, every moment of courage inspired by their example, and every life transformed by their teaching. Shihan’s legacy is not carved in stone monuments but embedded in the DNA of American karate itself.
He taught us that being a martial artist means more than mastering kicks and punches.
It means standing for something greater than yourself, maintaining standards when others would compromise, and understanding that strength without wisdom is merely violence, while wisdom without strength is merely philosophy.
Today, hopefully many dojos across the nation will observe a moment of silence, not in sorrow, but in recognition of a life fully lived in service to the warrior’s path.
Shihan Gary Alexander was an exceptional teacher, champion, Icon and pioneer. He showed us what was possible when dedication meets opportunity, when talent serves a higher purpose.
Though his earthly journey has ended at 87 years, Gary Alexander’s influence will continue for generations to come.
In every perfectly executed technique, in every student who finds courage they didn’t know they possessed, in every instructor who refuses to lower their standards, Shihan’s spirit endures.
Rei-(deep bow of respect) to my dear old friend and Isshin-Ryu teacher since 1962) Grandmaster Gary R. Alexander
(The Colonel) . . . Your watch is ended, but your legacy is eternal. R.I.P.—Andrew S. Linick, Hanshi, Ju-dan (Circa 1958)
