Nathan Thorn
Grand Master Nathan Thorn (Born February 20th, 1979) is a 4x World Champion (2x World Kickboxing Championships W.K.C. 2014, 2016 / 2x North American Sport Karate Association N.A.S.K.A. 2011, 2012). He is the founder of The Edge Martial Arts based out of Stillwater, MN.
Early Life[edit]
Nathan started martial arts at the age of 8. He started in the National Karate organization in under the Grand Master Larry Carnahan, Master Jack Hunt, Mr. Terry Wise, and Ms. Judy Pittman in their Maplewood location. Later that year Nathan moved to the Stillwater location following Jack Hunt and continued his training until Black Belt. At Black Belt Nathan started training with Grand Master John Longstreet, Grand Master John Worley, and Grand Master Larry Carnahan.
Competition[edit]
Nathan started competing in 1988 at the level of Purple Belt and continued competing until 2017. Nathan's instructors Larry Carnahan and John Worley promote one of the largest and most prestigious Martial Arts competition in the nation (Diamond Nationals.[1]). Growing up attending this event he was able to watch some of the best competitors in the world come to his state to compete in this event. Thorn decided at a young age that he would one day win the coveted Diamond Nationals - Diamond Ring. After a few months short of 30 years of competition Thorn has racked up wins all over the United States as well as oversees in Dublin, Ireland competing on Team USA. His last two competitions were winning a Diamond Ring[2] at The Diamond Nationals and two weeks later winning a Gold Medal[3] at the WKC World Championships in 2017. After finally accomplishing his longtime goal Thorn retired from competition[4]
Teaching[edit]
Nathan started helping in the classroom as child leading beginners through forms and other skills. He attended his first instructor training in January of 1992 lead by the Grand Masters Worley, Carnahan, and Longstreet. From that point on he has been teaching in the classroom and developing Martial Artist in the thousands. It's estimated he has taught over 30,000 classes in his lifetime sometimes teaching upward 40 classes a week.
Students[edit]
Nathan has multiple students who have reached higher rank levels under his tutelage.
| Notable Students | |||
| 5th Degree Black Belts | |||
| Master Michael Schafer | Master Stephen Welsh | Master Jay Throne | Master Tom Forster |
| 4th Degree Black Belts | |||
| Mr. Joe Abboud | Mr. Robert Clark | Mr. Zack Koppa |
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[edit]
In 2005 Nathan was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by his instructor J. Pat Burleson[5] (10th Degree Black Belt - Karate Pioneer) who had been training with "These Brazilian Guys." as he put it. Thorn immediately saw the benefit of adding the ground game to their curriculum started seeking instruction. In 2010 Nathan called the MN Martial Arts Academy and talked to owner Greg Nelson asking if he had any BJJ Black Belts that would want to come to The Edge and teach classes. Greg sent Thomas Schmitz who was a native of the Stillwater Area and had recently been promoted to Black Belt. Schmitz taught classes for about 2 years and then opened his own school named Spartan Martial Arts where he has trained many successful fighters. With Nathan's background in Martial Arts and Master Level of teaching at the time he was constantly looking at the BJJ curriculum structure and trying to figure out how to make a more precise road map of it. In 2019 Thorn joined Carlos Machado[6] as an Affiliate school bringing his BJJ training full circle as Master Machado was J. Pat Burleson's Instructor he was referring to way back in 2005.
Lineage/Promotions[edit]
TaeKownDo/Karate - Won Kuk Lee (Founder of Chung Do Kwan) → Nam Tae Hi (One of the founders of Taekwando) → Jhoon Goo Rhee (Father of American TaeKwonDo) → J. Pat Burleson (Father of all Karate Champions) → Nathan Thorn
| Rank | Date | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Black Belt | 12/1991 | Jack Hunt |
| 2nd Degree | 03/1995 | Jack Hunt, John Longstreet |
| 3rd Degree | 06/1997 | Jack Hunt, Larry Carnahan |
| 4th Degree | 02/2003 | Jack Hunt, John Longstreet |
| 5th Degree | 09/2005 | J. Pat Burleson |
| 6th Degree | 03/2008 | J. Pat Burleson |
| 7th Degree | 09/2012 | J. Pat Burleson |
| 8th Degree | 10/2019 | J. Pat Burleson |
BJJ - Kanō Jigorō → Tomita Tsunejirō → Mitsuyo Maeda "Count Koma" → Carlos Gracie Sr. and Hélio Gracie → Carlos Machado (fighter) → Nathan Thorn
| Rank | Date | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Started | 09/2005 | J. Pat Burleson |
| Blue Belt | 02/2015 | Dave Niska under Gracie University |
| Blue Belt | 09/2015 | Thomas Schmitz under Pedro Sauer |
| Purple Belt | 03/2020 | Carlos Machado |
Wins[edit]
| Tournament | Grand Champion Wins |
|---|---|
| Fall Central States (ncka) | 2 |
| Northern Stars Championships (ncka) | 2 |
| Minnesota State Championships (ncka) | 1 |
| Eau Claire Open (ncka) | 6 |
| LaCrosse Open (ncka) | 2 |
| NCKA Finals (ncka) | 3 |
| Karate Fest | 1 |
| Carnival of Champions (wbbl) | 1 |
| Heat Wave (wbbl) | 1 |
| Frozen Thunder | 1 |
| Blizzard Blaze | 1 |
| Southern Wisconsin Open | 7 |
| Best of the Best Invitational | 2 |
| Hutchinson Open | 1 |
| Owatonna Open | 1 |
| All American Karate Cup | 4 |
| Tournament | Grand Champion Wins |
|---|---|
| AKA Grand Nationals (naska) | 2 |
| Compete Nationals (naska) | 1 |
| U.S. Open (naska) | 2 |
| Diamond Nationals (naska) | 5 |
| PanAm Internationals (naska) | 1 |
| WKC (for Team USA) | 2x Gold Medalist |
| Ocean State Grand Nationals (naska) | 1 |
| Gator Nationals (nask) | 1 |
| Infinity Nationals (NBL) | 1 |
References[edit]
- ↑ http://www.diamondnationals.com
- ↑ http://diamondnationals.com/ring_winners
- ↑ http://www.wkcworld.com/wp-content/uploads/WKC-WORLD-2017-RESULTS-FINAL_v11.pdf
- ↑ https://www.hometownsource.com/stillwater_gazette/sports/thorn-achieves-primary-goal-with-win-at-diamond-nationals/article_bb0805c8-287f-11e8-aa8b-bf64205d6355.html
- ↑ https://www.legendsmartialarts.com/grandmaster-j-pat-burleson/
- ↑ https://carlosmachadojiujitsu.com/
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