Joe was a tremendous supporter of the martial arts community. He promoted his own event, the AKA Martial Arts Championship in San Diego, since 2010. I never went to that personally, but I'm told it was a top-notch production with great care given to the infrastructure of his crew. He was also a great supporter of the Tiger Claw Elite Championships from the beginning. His son Jacob was one of the earliest Tiger Claw Elite Grand Champions, and Joe spearheaded the Tiger Claw Elite Champion showcase demonstrations. Joe was a tremendous help when it came to the Tiger Claw Elite Championships. He was on the Organizing Committee for our 20th Anniversary.

His passing is shocking - a heart attack I'm told. Some of our Tiger Claw reps saw him a few weeks ago at a tournament. I was looking forward to working and hanging out with him at our 25th Anniversary Festival. Joe was always eager to support the martial arts, contributing so much of his time, money and resources to bettering American martial arts competitions. He was an incredibly giving man and will be sorely missed.

Note: Joe Ellis is not to be confused with Joe Ellis, the former Karate England president now chairman of the National Association of Karate and Martial Arts Schools (NAKMAS). That's a totally different person.