Jeff “Chainsaw” Kelly transferred from another martial arts studio upon its closing. He was eight years old at the time, somewhat insecure and even somewhat of a bully. Yet, he matured into one of the most strong, mature, gifted, and respected Black Belts of the Kiado-Ryu, a person whom Mr. King will always remember as a class act.
An example of Jeff Kelly’s character is obvious in the following story. On his green belt test, Chainsaw was thumping another young student, sending him to tears. He was warned three times to watch his control. Finally, after the last thumping, Mr. King put on his gloves and sparred with him. In that session, Chainsaw was never touched but his ego was given a reality check. His parents, watching from the sidelines, were upset at this disciplinary measure but to their credit they allowed their son to continue his KIA journey. Then, a few years later, during the coronation of his Black Belt at age thirteen, Jeff stood before the entire audience, as well as his parents, and, with neither hesitation nor solicitation, upheld and corroborated the discipline he received during his green belt test for being out of control. It was an act of courage and manhood that will never be forgotten.
As Jeff grew in age and martial art expertise, his fighting ability outstretched that of his peers. He was still a kid but no one in his junior class could touch him, so he transferred to the adult brown/black belt fighting class. He took his knocks. He never complained. He kept participating even though he was getting politely pummeled. Here was this twelve year old kid fighting with the adults and not so much as a whimper out of him; quite a contrast from his eight year old days. With great determination and skill, Chainsaw transformed himself into a great fighter and on one sparring night even defeated three of the KIA’s best brown/black belt adult fighters and he did this when he was only thirteen years old! Jeff “Chainsaw” Kelly remains one of the classiest Black Belts ever in the history of the Kiado-Ryu regardless of age!