Ed Cox
Born in October 25, 1946 in Springfield, Ohio, Cox began his training in Martial Arts in 1975, studying Kempo, Kung Fu, Uechi Ru (earning his black belt,) and finally Shotokan Karate, which is his passion. His Shotokan training began in 1986 at the Shotokan Tiger School of Martial Arts, where he earned the honor of Most Dedicated Student (August of 1986) and Student of the Month (October 1986 and August 1989.) Here he received his Shodan (May 1989,) his Nidan (November 1990,) and his Sandan (August 1992.) From 1988 - 1991 he was a member of the Shotokan Tiger Fighting Team, during which time he also served as the head instructor of the school.

In 1992, Sensei Cox founded his own school, "Cox Shotokan Karate" in St. Paris, Ohio. His excellent instruction had won him a place in Who's Who in the Martial Arts that same year, and he continued the tradition in his own dojo. Nearly 300 students have trained with him since its beginning, many attaining the dan grade levels. He also continued in his own training. Through his involvement with several associations, he furthered his studies and was promoted to Yondan in August of 1994 and again in August of 1996 to his current ranking of Godan.

Sensei Cox has collected numerous tournament awards. In total to date, he has earned 386 trophies in kata, fighting, and weapons, nearly all of which are for first place.

Always anxious to share his knowledge of the martial arts with others, Sensei Cox has given numerous public demonstrations and conducted Female Self-Defense classes. No one who even visited his Dojo could leave without learning at least one self-defense technique. His efforts and accomplishments did not go unnoticed by his peers. In 1996, he was inducted into the Midwest Martial Arts Hall of Fame in Richmond, Indiana. That same year, he came to the attention of Sensei Malcom Phipps, Worldwide Chief Instructor for Seishinkai Shotokan Karate, International in Great Britian. He was offered and accepted the position of Chief Instructor for SSKI - USA. Cox immediately took steps to conform to the excellent standards of SSKI, refining his kata performance to preserve Shotokan as closely as possible to that given to us by Shotokan's founder Master Gichin Funakoshi, and amended his belt ranking system and advancement requirements to conform to the worldwide syllabus.

His most recent accomplishments include his induction into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame in Cleveland Heights in the summer of 1998, where he was further awarded the title of "Shihan" and named the "Senior Shotokan Karate Instructor of the Year."

Ed Cox is also the author of several articles appearing in major martial arts magazines, including Black Belt and Shotokan. He is currently considering joint authorship of a book on Shotokan Karate.