The official page of the Mel Wise Memorial Bushido Award My sensei, Mr. The award was presented at Mr. Phillip Koeppel, Mr. Glenn Keeney, Mr. James McClain.
Ron Rollins, established the Melvin Wise Memorial Bushido Award in in 1979 to honor the karate elite and to preserve the memory of Dr. Melvin Wise. Rollins' Bushido Shiai tournament in Springfield, Illinois from 1979 through 1983 to such luminaries as Mr. Parker Shelton, and Mr. In 1996, Mr. Rollins sought and was granted permission from Master Koeppel to re-establish the award and present it at t
he annual USKK International Championships awards banquet. At this time, the award was re-purposed to recognize those in the karate world who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, devotion, and the warrior way in their daily lives. This is particularly fitting as Melvin Wise, himself a dedicated and well-respected karate practitioner, sensei, and competitor, worked relentlessly to rise from modest beginnings and become a doctor of chiropractic and later fought and ultimately lost a long and difficult bout with leukemia while yet in his forties. Coincidentally, Mr. Rollins too died of cancer November 15, 2008. He left the care and administration of the award to his student Mr. Frank Fink with strict orders to maintain the prestige and dignity of this time-honored tradition. The award itself follows closely Mr. Rollins’ original design. Each is handmade and is therefore unique. In addition, awardees receive a distinctive Mel Wise Memorial Bushido patch and a copy of the original signed proclamation by former Illinois governor James Thompson commemorating the establishment of the award. Recipients nominate candidates and vote to determine who will become the next honoree. Once nominated, an individual may remain on the ballot for two years, at which time he or she is removed and may not be re-nominated for two years.
Want your school to be the top-listed School/college in Pekin?
