Grand Master Lucky Luciano - An Unsung Hero

Grand Master Lucky Luciano is a ninth degree black belt in Kajukenbo, under Sijo Emperado. As illustrious as his Martial Arts career has been, with all of the accolades he has received, to the people that love him, he's just "Uncle Lucky". Although I must say, make sure you are one of those very few that have earned the right to call him that - or else! I've known Grand Master Lucky since I met Chief in the summer of 1984, when Sijo came to visit San Diego from Hawaii. It was obvious then, and still is to this day that this man deserves even more respect that has been given to him. His accomplishments have been many, his rewards few, his dedication to the Martial Arts inspiring, and his devotion to Kajukenbo has been with unmatched loyalty to the art and to Sijo Emperado (no matter what). He has truly carried the flag for his system, representing the founders of Kajukenbo throughout his long career. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to witness the genesis of what we now know as the flag and hand officiating techniques used in Martial Arts tournaments throughout the world. I can tell you that it was the work of two visionaries of our time, Grand Master Lucky and the late Shihan Edwin Hamile. They brought order into the way officials ran tournaments, and made AAU Karate a reality. This system was adopted by another great visionary Grand Master Ed Parker and incorporated into the Long Beach Internationals. This took an enormous amount of work and dedication. I remember several official's seminars he conducted in our school (Brigoli Brothers Kaikido, Wilmington). Through this process he became the senior advisor to the Brigoli Brothers school of Goju-ryu (later became Kaikido). I can honestly say that with his influence, we all became well known in the Martial Arts community - he opened doors for us that were very difficult to penetrate, he introduced us to a great number of Masters and helped us get the rank we deserved - I "NEVER" forget that his signature is on my certificate. In these last 22 years that I have known him, we have shared food together at Chief's table, laughed, worked really hard at tournaments, and shed tears at the passing of many of our friends (i.e., Chief, Shihan Hamile, Shihan Damian, Grand Master Parker, Guru Lukailukai, etc.). Today, I consider him as a senior advisor to my Gosikido system, and have called on him for advice several times. I honor him by maintaining the Martial Arts traditions of etiquette and protocol alive - my undying respect and loyalty go out to him . . .an unsung hero!