Nathan Chlumsky, a former resident of Larned, now Bartlesville, Okla., had a lot going on this past January/February. He explains by saying, “I went to the Tropicana Hotel and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Jan. 29 – Feb. 2 for the third time.
While there, I received my fourth martial arts hall-of-fame induction from Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall-of-Honors. In 2013, I was first inducted as an “Ambassador of Goodwill to the Martial Arts with ‘Excellence in Teaching.’” In 2014, I was honored with my second induction for “Lifetime Achievement of 20 years in Martial Arts,” which was followed by my third induction in 2017 under the category of “Literary Contribution to the Martial Arts” for all the books and articles I have written and published over the years. This year, my induction was a ‘Bronze Lifetime Achievement Award for 30 years in the Martial Arts.’”
Chlumsky then continued, “As always, it was great seeing many of my friends, including many of my famous friends, such as, but not limited to, actress and martial arts film star Grandmaster Cynthia Rothrock, actor and former 11x world kickboxing champion Grandmaster Don “The Dragon” Wilson, actress and 5x world kickboxing champion Kathy Long, and actor and 7x world karate champion Willy “BAM” Johnson. But this year was even more special as I was able to bring my mom with me to witness my accomplishments. Also, Willy Johnson asked me to collaborate with him by publishing one of his books. He is a former bestseller, so of course, I said yes, and we have since been texting back and forth on the subject. For the first time ever, the last day of the Hall-of-Fame event included The Battle of the Dragons, an open martial arts world championship. This was a true world championship as it had competitors from around the world, including Spain, China, Israel, and Czechoslovakia. I had the honor of being asked to be a judge and competitor, and I am happy and surprised to say that I am now a world champion in karate, having earned first place in the Black Belt 45-54 age group in kata and 3rd place in weapons.”
Chlumsky concluded by saying, “Coming from a small town in Kansas, I never in a million years thought I would be in any kind of hall-of-fame or be a world champion, and yet here I am. This only shows that anything is possible provided you don’t listen to any of your haters, truly believe in your capabilities, and strive to make things happen.”
Chlumsky is a professor at Miller-Motte Technical College in Tulsa, where he is ranked #2 in the Top 10 running for Reader’s Digest’s ‘America’s Favorite Teacher 2025’ award. He is also the owner and instructor of both Overcomer Karate of Bartlesville and the Martial Arts Historical Research and Publication Center of Bartlesville.
On March 23, 2025, Chlumsky was presented with a nomination for induction into the Masters Hall-of-Fame, which is slated for this coming May. If he accepts, it will be his fifth induction into two different Hall-of-Fame organizations.
