Earthquake, or Quake for short, began his Kiado-Ryu journey when he was seven years old. He was called Earthquake because he was small and his call sign was a play on his size … the size of his heart.
Greg Benedict leads by example. He studied karate for years and finally his father, Mike “Shooter” Benedict (Black Belt #62), following in his son’s footsteps, began his journey in 1998 and attained his Black Belt in August of 2006. When Quake went to college, he organized a video production team which developed a TV magazine feature on the Karate Institute of America.
Quake loved weapons, especially nunchucks. It was a common thing at his home to have his family watching him practice in the backyard or wherever he was at the time. On his Black Belt test, Greg gave a stellar performance of Chuck Set, never dropping the weapon once, thereby joining a select group of students who got through the entire set from start to finish without a glitch.
After Greg received his Black Belt, he took a leave of absence. Occasionally, he would come to class to participate with and encourage his father. Amazingly, although he was active on a regular basis, whenever he returned, his fighting was better than it was the time before. As he grew in size, his fighting kept improving, but all the time Quake was not practicing. This illustrates a fundamental learning principle of synthesis. The mind grasps things but it takes time for the body and mind to integrate.
Quake returned to the KIA in 2006 to join his father in the Black Belt class and pursue his 2nd Dan rating. One day, he and his father will become the first father/son 2nd Dan Black Belts at the KIA! Way to go Greg!