Scot Mertz

Sensei Scot Mertz, has been involved in the Martial Arts for the majority of his life. Sensei Mertz has had the distinguished honor of training in multiple systems and achieving great success in all of his endeavors.

While Karate is his passion, Sensei Mertz has also trained in Greco-Roman Wrestling, Judo, Japanese Jujitsu, Ninjitsu, Fencing, and Kendo. He also holds black belts in several different systems of Karate, in Judo, and in Ninjitsu. Sensei Mertz also holds a Menkyo Kaiden in Toudi.

Sensei Mertz was a very successful tournament competitor in the mid 90's, and competed on several national and international circuits. He was especially active in the AAU and in the AKC between 1993-1997. In 1997 Sensei Mertz opened his first martial arts dojo, and began teaching Kodokan Judo and Karate 5 nights a week, during this time he was also working with the AAU and was a huge supporter of both the AAU Judo and Karate circuits. In 1999 Sensei Mertz joined the Navy, and since then he has had the privilege to travel and train with some of the best instructors in the world. Sensei Mertz spent a significant amount of time in Okinawa, Japan, and Hawaii training with anyone who would train him. This open-mindedness has helped Sensei Mertz to learn different approaches to traditional karate application, and technique execution.

In 2007 Sensei Mertz created this website and the OTKF in hopes to find more like minded people who want to research the history of karate and share knowledge. Sensei Mertz has also been honored over the years by being nominated and inducted into several different International hall of fames. Some of these achievements and recognitions include: 2005 - USMA Karate ka of the year 2006 - USMA Instructor of the year 2007 - UMAA Master Instructor of the year Additionally Sensei Mertz has been awarded the Military Volunteer medal for his contributions to the Martial Arts while on active duty.

Email: mertz@universal-martial-arts.org