Darrin Free, Kumite Coach
Coach Free has an extensive competition resume dating back to 1989. He began his study of karate in January of that year and went on to win his first state championship in the Amateur Organization of Karate before the year was over. Since then he has won nine state championships in the Amateur Organization of Karate, and in the Traditional Karate League, before retiring from state level competition in 1998 when he was named to the board of directors of the Traditional Karate League. In 1994 Coach Free competed in his first AAU National Karate Championships and won a Bronze medal in the advanced men’s kumite division after only four years of training. In the ensuing years Coach Free would become a seven time medalist at the National Championships. In 1996 Coach Free was selected to be a member of the United States National Karate Team, and had the honor of representing his country at the WKO World Karate Championships where he won a silver medal in kumite. He was also named the WIKF USA team in 2002 to compete in the WIKF Pan American Championships, where the USA Team won the gold medal in team kumite and Coach Free won the Silver medal in individual kumite. He again represented the WIKF USA in 2004 at the WIKF World Championships, where the USA team won a Bronze medal in kumite. Coach Free has attended and continues to attend kumite training seminars with the best coaches and fighters in the world to increase the depth and quality of the information he can bring to the team. His extensive competition background and his singular insight into strategy and technique make him an outstanding asset to the team.