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Having started in the martial arts when they were 5 and 4 years old, Bendell Karate was founded in 1991, by black belt brothers Brent and Joshua Bendell when they were 16 and 15 years old respectively, so they could have some money for CU and CSU Football Camps and "to buy some cool-looking clothes." They never looked back.
From Living Room to Two Locations
They started with four students, moving the furniture out of their living room two days a week, with their black belt mother Shirley handling their book-keeping and being legally responsible for their business dealings. Within weeks, they had to rent a small building on Main Street in Canon City, and ended up buying out the sixth month of their lease, so they could move into an even bigger facility. With the volunteer assistance of their father, Don, a Grandmaster instructor, Brent and Joshua kept growing, opening a branch of Bendell Karate in fast-growing Pueblo West, thirty some miles to the east in 1996.
State Champs and Young Entrepreneurs
In less than a year, they were featured on ESPN's SCHOLASTIC SPORTS AMERICA, as football stars, who also owned and operated a successful karate school, won 9 Colorado State Championships between them in both karate and jujitsu, were scholars, and were the youngest members ever of the Canon City's Chamber of Commerce.
In 1996, they also incorporated and sold a little stock under the umbrella of Samurai Martial Arts Corporation, and officially brought their dad and mom in as partners and stockholders.
Record Breaking Brothers
Both Joshua and Brent ended up breaking or tying 16 school football records at Florence High School, which still stand, and both were on the DENVER POST ALL-STATE FOOTBALL TEAM their senior years of high school, with Brent playing in Australia as the running back for Colorado in the DOWN-UNDER BOWL in the summer after high school graduation in 1994, and both were awarded football scholarships to college. Wanting to simply achieve a childhood goal to become a professional football player, Brent was a running back for a short period during training camp of a professional arena league football team making the team as the first string running back. Having satisfied his goal, he quit to pursue his career in Muay Thai kickboxing.
Trained under World Karate Champion Bob Chaney
Brent went to Thailand and trained in Muay Thai kickboxing, then Joshua started training, and both brothers fought in Las Vegas, being trained and managed by their father's longtime instructor Grandmaster Bob Chaney, a former World Karate Champion. Joshua later moved to California to train under Grandmaster Chaney, and he turned professional in December of 2001, having also trained in Bangkok, and moving to Thailand shortly after.
Seven Knockouts in Under 40 Seconds
Under the tutelage of Coach Bob Chaney, Joshua "The Avenger" Bendell became the undefeated California State Lightweight Muay Thai Kickboxing champion before his pro debut, which he won by a unanimous decision in the Junior Welterweight class. In Joshua's next fight, he knocked his opponent out in 39 seconds. The Avenger's combined amateur/pro record was soon eleven and zero with seven knockouts in less than forty seconds. He made quite a name for himself in kickboxing and boxing circles with a professional record of 16-3, and lived and trained in Muay Thai training camps for two years in both Kosimui Island in southern Thailand and in Bangkok, fighting in all the major stadiums there. He also fought on World Championship Kickboxing on Pay-Per-View twice and in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Los Angeles as well.
Below: Muhammad Ali and Master Joshua
Bendell in Las Vegas
Turning
Management Over to Dad
Master Brent Bendell returned to kickboxing and moved to Bangkok,
Thailand in December of 2003, where he fought professionally, but he
returned to the US and enlisted in the military in pursuit of a
career Brent also got married to wife Joelle. His brother,
Joshua, left Thailand retiring due to injuries in November of 2004 and
returned to Canon City. Joshua then also enlisted in the
military. Both are deployed somewhere. Brent is a 6th degree Black Belt
Master Instructor and Joshua is a 5th Degree Black Belt Master
Instructor and also a National Karate Champion in sparring. Between the
2 of them, the Bendell brothers also won a total of 11 Colorado State
Championships. In fact in 2000, Brent was not only the Colorado
Karate Association's State Middleweight Black Belt Champion in
sparring, he won the title with over 600 points and the 2nd place black
belt had only 100+ points.
Grandmaster (Don) Bendell took over Bendell Karate in October, 2002, and is Grandmaster Instructor of both schools and teaches some classes at each, as well as overseeing the curriculum and policy. Master Shirley Bendell manages both schools, oversees the book-keeping, and teaches classes herself. There are also a dozen fine 1st through 4th Degree Black Belt Instructors and a number of Black Belt Assistant Instructors. Each worked hard to earn their Black Belts, Assistant Instructor patches, and finally, Instructor patches. Consequently, those Instructors, like the Bendells zealously protect such honors and the legacy of the schools and insure all who follow "earn their way too without ever lowering the bar."
Over 41 Years Experience in the Martial Arts
Don & friend Muhammad Ali with rare mustache in 1979
Don Bendell started studying
first judo in 1966, then jujitsu and karate in 1967, and later studied
tae kwon do, judo, and jujitsu. He also competed in tournaments and
wrote for several martial arts magazines. In the mid-seventies, Don, a
former Green Beret himself, returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina and
opened a school nearby, while also teaching classes at the Fort Bragg
Boxing Club to Green Berets and members of the 82nd Airborne. He and a
few civilian volunteers also helped then-Commanding General Hank
Emmerson set up a Tae Kwon Do program for the 18th Airborne Corps, Fort
Bragg, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky and the "US Army Fit to Fight"
program. In the early-seventies, long before the UFC was even a thought,
Bendell was combining tae kwon do, jujitsu, and kickboxing into an
effective combat fighting style in his classes at the Fort Bragg Boxing
Club. His real specialty became unarmed defense against weapons, and
creating expedient weapons out of anything handy.
Writer, Director, Producer, Actor
In 1984, THE INSTRUCTOR, an action-adventure martial
arts feature film, was released worldwide by Hollywood's Shapiro
Entertainment Corporation and Vestron. The film featured actual black
belts portraying black belts, including Bendell's instructor, Bob
Chaney, who starred in it. THE INSTRUCTOR was written,
produced, and directed by Don Bendell who also co-starred in it and was
stunt coordinator. It was edited and sound-edited by Don and wife
Shirley, who also had a featured role in it. The movie was sold and
shown in 164 countries around the world and had good reviews in such
publications as weekly VARIETY newspaper.
Grandmaster Chaney presents Hall of Fame plaque
to Grandmaster Bendell
Karate Hall of Fame Inductee
In 1995, Don Bendell, a seventh degree black belt in Freestyle Karate
and Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do, with sixth degree black belts in Kodokan
Judo, and USJA Jujitsu, was inducted into the non-profit International
Karate and Kickboxing Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted
into the Martial Arts Museum of America in San Diego,
California, and has since been inducted into other martial arts halls
of fame, and has been the subject of feature photo stories in acclaimed
BLACK BELT and other national magazines. He has been working
for years creating his own style of Jujitsu.
National Tournament a Big Hit!
In 1998, 1999, and 2000, Don and Shirley produced "Don
Bendell's Halloween Classic," a successful large national
NASKA and ISKA karate tournament which attracted competitors from
Minnesota to Los Angeles to Washington, DC to Florida and everywhere
in-between. There were 185 divisions with 185 6-foot tall 1st Place
trophies. Although many have requested continuing the tournament, the
big project is not in line with their other goals, and the Bendells
have retired from the tournament world after training and producing
many world, national, and state champions, including a 10-time world
champion. Grandmaster Don Bendell has been "King of Court" in large Tae
Kwon Do tournaments and a primary black belt referee in the Battle of
Atlanta, Diamond Nationals, Bluegrass Nationals, Compete Nationals,
Sidekick World Championships, ISKA World Championships, and many
more. When competing, years ago, Master Shirley Bendell not only
won every time she competed, she never had a single point scored
against her in sparring competition.