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John Delia was the first of hundreds of students to be taught Shaolin Kenpo in Aberdeen Washington. In communicating with Mr. Delia, he was gracious enough to send me the following items:
R.W. is Rick Warwick, and D.W. is Delores (Maria) Warwick.
Please note that at the bottom of the back of the card is the statement that all ranks are recognized by the IKKA. (International Kenpo Karate Association). This was prior to the formation of the International Shaolin Kenpo Association which formed in 1981.
Bio - John Delia
A watermarked copy of John Delia's Black Belt certificate - October 1973
The general consensus among many of the older practioners of Shaolin Kenpo was that Mr. Delia was one of the more physically gifted students to pass through the doors of Aberdeen Kenpo Karate. John was also an avid tournament competitor. One of the largest tournaments in the Northwest area was the Seattle Open, facilitated by Steve Armstrong. It was not unusual for some very well-known names within Martial Arts to be present. Below are a couple copies of news clippings and an advertisement for the tournament finals. In addition, trophies were much more creative back then. The action picture to the right shows Mr. Delia throwing a beautiful side kick to the head of his opponent.
In the results page shown above, you will notice the name of John Delia as winning 1st place in White Belt Kumite, which would place this in 1969. Dwight Scott was the Grand Champion at this tournament and the center referee in the photo above was some guy by the name of Ed Parker, also known as the "Father of American Karate." Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro had also brought his family up from California to compete in this tournament.
John Delia, after receiving his Black Belt, went into law enforcement. He retired as the Captain of Investigations for the Aberdeen Police Department in 2000.
John Delia with Rob Ronald and
Sibok Clay Micheau 9/3/2023.
photo courtesy of Mike Skinner Jr's. personal collection
John Delia and Rob Ronald study the written version of Kenpo Karate requirements.
photo courtesy of Mike Skinner Jr's. personal collection
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