BIG
BENDELL KARATE NEWS!!!!!!!!!
HUSBAND-WIFE FIRST COUPLE
EVER IN
HALL OF FAME!
5thdegree black belt Master
Shirley Bendell of Florence, Colorado, was shocked and
surprised at a banquet at the Pueblo Shrine Club Hall at
Pueblo West, Colorado,
when she was inducted into the International Karate and Kickboxing
Hall of
Fame, joining her husband Grandmaster
Don Bendell, a 1995 inductee, to become
the first husband and wife ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Former
World Champion and 1988 inductee Grandmaster Bob
Chaney flew in from Temecula,
California, to make the surprise
induction. Public about being a former victim of gang and acquaintance
rape,
Master Bendell was cited for her renowned Sexual Assault Prevention
clinics for
women and girls which have saved many females from rape and domestic
assault;
her innovative Mini-Ninja program for 3, 4, and 5 year olds which was
the first
of its kind in southern Colorado and is now copied by every major school
in the
state; and it was brought out that Master Shirley Bendell when competing
in
tournament competition not only won first place every time she fought,
she has
never had one single point scored against her by another woman in
sparring
competition.
With
tears flowing before the audience of several hundred, Master Bendell was
first
surprised with a “This is Your Life- Shirley Bendell” ceremony with
one of her 2 Green Beret sons on his way to Afghanistan walking out in
his
dress greens, as well as her oldest son and his family, her 2 best
friends from
high school in Youngstown, Ohio, in the late sixties, and other family
members
and friends who flew in from all over the country. Messages of
congratulations
were read from friends Bo
Derek , H.
Ross Perot, and other celebrities.
A
grandmother of 7, mother of 3, and step-mother of 3; Master Bendell owns
and
operates Bendell Karate in Pueblo
West with her husband and is a
5th degree black belt master instructor in
Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon
Do, Freestyle Karate, Shita Jujitsu, and Judo.
When taught and studied correctly,
the martial arts are a multi-dimensional,
multi-faceted path toward positive development of character. 
