International Martial Arts College USA

Jordan Simon – 3rd degree black belt in Tang Soo Do.

Jordan Simon was born in Santa Monica, California on Nov. 26th, 1993. In 1997, at the ripe old age of 4, Jordan began his training under Sensei Joey Escobar and started competing two years later in 1999. Jordan has since moved on to also train under Coach Butch Togisala in Sport Martial Arts and has attained a third degree black belt in Tang Soo Do. Jordan teaches and trains with his brother Noah at Joey Escobar Karate in Malibu, Ca.

Jordan’s focus over the past couple years has been mainly in weapons, where he has always done traditional forms but has also begun to do creative forms. Being a baseball player year round, as well as a basketball player during the winter months, he has stopped fighting competitively several years ago to save his hands from injury, but still trains lightly in sparring. His weapon of choice is the bo (staff). Jordan trains six days a week while taking Saturdays off.

In forms, Jordan has attained a perfect score more than once in his short career and has also been named “Junior Competitor of the Year” and won “People’s Choice”. Here is a short story about his first perfect score in his own words:

“I have a lot of competition stories. One that comes to mind was the Kumite Classic in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago. It was the preliminaries on Friday evening and it had already been a long night when it was time for musical weapons. I tied with Alex Pye (who I did not know at the time) and we had a runoff. Alex went first and got two 10’s and a 9. That meant in order to win I needed at least 3 straight 10’s, which looked really remote considering how good he was with a sword. I was lucky enough to get them and it showed me that anything can happen when you compete hard and never give up. Alex and I then went on to the Super Grand’s that year to compete against one another as friends and supported each other the whole tournament even when we went head to head!”

In describing how he felt when he received the perfect score, Jordan claims “A perfect (50) score is a great honor…it gives me a sense of pride and makes all the hard work of training worthwhile…it also lets me know that all the judges saw/witnessed the same thing.”

In watching Jordan’s forms, he would like you to see “a dedicated material artist who loves to compete and perform. My competition style is intense and crowd friendly…” As a true athlete, Jordan never likes to lose, but would “take his losses with the same emotion as his wins.” In describing himself, Jordan “would like to be a role model for other martial artists, especially the younger kids.” He believes that a great martial artist must be dedicated, intense, focused, and respectful. His most admired martial artists are his original Sensei Joey Escobar and his wife along with Sport Martial Artist Coach Butch Togisala. They have not only taught him to love karate and how to compete, but also shown him how to be a good and caring person.

As for a training philosophy, Jordan states “my competitors do not out-train me and I will always be the best athlete in the competition because of that”. A favorite saying from his dad is “don’t let anyone work harder than you” while a baseball saying on his bedroom bulletin board says “you strike out 100% of the time you don’t go to the plate.” His final favorite saying (also hanging from his bulletin board) comes from Mohammed Ali, “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

2008 Kumite Classic	First N-040 Black Belt Hard & Soft Creative Weapons 12-14 M First N-043 Black Belt Hard & Soft Choreographed Musical Weapons 12-14 M/F First N-045 Black Belt Hard & Soft Open Musical Weapons 17 & Under M/F Grand Champion Black Belt Grand Champion Weapons Youth M/F Choreographed Musical
2008 Battle of the Champions	First N-003 Black Belt Hard Creative Forms 12-14 M First N-022 Black Belt Japanese/Okinawan Forms 12-14 M/F First N-040 Black Belt Hard & Soft Creative Weapons 12-14 M First N-043 Black Belt Hard & Soft Choreographed Musical Weapons 12-14 M/F First N-045 Black Belt Hard & Soft Open Musical Weapons 17 & Under M/F First N-054 Black Belt Hard Traditional Weapons 12-14 M/F Grand Champion Black Belt Grand Champion Weapons Youth M/F Choreographed Musical
2008 Pacific Jewel	First N-028 Black Belt Korean Forms 12-14 M/F First N-043 Black Belt Hard & Soft Choreographed Musical Weapons 12-14 M/F First N-045 Black Belt Hard & Soft Open Musical Weapons 17 & Under M/F First N-054 Black Belt Hard Traditional Weapons 12-14 M/F Grand Champion Black Belt Grand Champion Forms Youth M/F Korean Grand Champion Black Belt Grand Champion Weapons Youth M/F Choreographed Musical
2008 Golden Gate Internationals	First N-028 Black Belt Korean Forms 12-14 M/F First N-045 Black Belt Hard & Soft Open Musical Weapons 17 & Under M/F
2007 NBL Supergrands	First N-043 Black Belt Hard & Soft Choreographed Musical Weapons 12-14 M/F First N-045 Black Belt Hard & Soft Open Musical Weapons 17 & Under M/F
2007 Mexican Open	First N-022 Black Belt Japanese/Okinawan Forms 12-14 M/F First N-025 Black Belt Kenpo/Kajukenbo Forms 12-14 M/F First N-028 Black Belt Korean Forms 12-14 M/F First N-043 Black Belt Hard & Soft Choreographed Musical Weapons 12-14 M/F First N-045 Black Belt Hard & Soft Open Musical Weapons 17 & Under M/F First N-054 Black Belt Hard Traditional Weapons 12-14 M/F Grand Champion Black Belt Grand Champion Weapons Youth M/F Choreographed Musical
2007 Kumite Classic	First N-040 Black Belt Hard & Soft Creative Weapons 12-14 M First N-043 Black Belt Hard & Soft Choreographed Musical Weapons 12-14 M/F Grand Champion Black Belt Grand Champion Weapons Youth M/F Contemporary
2007 Pacific Jewel	First N-028 Black Belt Korean Forms 12-14 M/F First N-043 Black Belt Hard & Soft Choreographed Musical Weapons 12-14 M/F First N-045 Black Belt Hard & Soft Open Musical Weapons 17 & Under M/F
2007 Golden Gate Internationals	First N-040 Black Belt Hard & Soft Creative Weapons 12-14 M First N-054 Black Belt Hard Traditional Weapons 12-14 M/F
2007 Salt City Nationals	First N-040 Black Belt Hard & Soft Creative Weapons 12-14 M First N-043 Black Belt Hard & Soft Choreographed Musical Weapons 12-14 M/F First N-045 Black Belt Hard & Soft Open Musical Weapons 17 & Under M/F
2006 NBL Supergrands	First N-040 Black Belt Hard & Soft Creative Weapons 12-14 M First N-054 Black Belt Hard Traditional Weapons 12-14 M/F
2006 Kumite Classic	First N-054 Black Belt Hard Traditional Weapons 12-14 M/F
2006 Golden Gate Internationals	First N-040 Black Belt Hard & Soft Creative Weapons 12-14 M First N-054 Black Belt Hard Traditional Weapons 12-14 M/F
2003 NBL Supergrands	First Black Belt Point Sparring 9 & Under M/F
2003 Pacific Jewel	First N-023 Black Belt Korean Forms 11 & Under M/F