Doug Krause has been one of the brightest lights at the KIA since the early 1990s. Always entertaining others with a great sense of humor (his nickname is Pinky after all), he has given audiences all over the country many wonderful memories.
Why country? Because in 1993 Doug traveled the NASKA circuit, competing in thirteen cities around the United States. His laurels: he was the Senior National Colored Belt Kata Champion (he did this as a green belt) and he missed being the Senior National Colored Belt Fighting Champion by one point! In the last tournament of the year, he ended up fighting for the championship with a competitor he’d been going toe-to-toe with all season. Either of them could have one but Pinky lost by a single punch.
Pinky’s fighting style is based more on brain than brawn. Not the quickest fox in the forest, he is surly the most sly! He has sucked more fighters into a spinning back kick ambush than any fighter in the galaxy. And this is not to say his opponents don’t know it’s coming. It’s just that Doug Krause sets them up so well they continue to fall into his trap. Another one of Pinky’s successful weapons is his Ambush Ridge. Again, he uses his stealth to draw and opponent in and then counter with a ridge-hand.
One of the great KIA stories involving Pinky was when he was testing for his purple belt. During the fighting portion, he somehow stumbled and broke his collarbone. There he lay, dead center in the middle of the ring, flat on his back. His wife was called and when she arrived, he was presented with his purple belt while still on his back. Using his newly acquired purple belt as a sling, he was sent off to the emergency room to receive medical care.
We at the KIA are all grateful to have Doug Krause and his spirit still active in Kiado-Ryu functions. Pinky makes the Black Belt tests and continues to fight with the testing candidates. He is a crowd favorite and, to the individual, we all love him.