Kevin Brown Thompson (1962 – January 8, 2020) was an American world champion of karate. Thompson was referred to in his early years of fighting as Lil K.A. named after his teacher Karriem Abdallah. At the age of 14, Thompson had an article in

Black Belt Magazine ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Hollywood, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine was ...

. Kevin was inducted into the 1988

Hall of Fame as the Co-Competitor of the Year.

Martial arts competitive career

Since the early '70s, Thompson had amassed well over 1000 trophies from local and international martial arts competitions, possibly closer to 2000. He fought in the Professional Karate League in the mid 1990s and was known as a forms and sparring star. Under the Budweiser Karate Team, The Atlantic Team and Team Paul Mitchell, he would compete in and win in major tournaments such as the Players Cup, Diamond National, Battle of Atlanta, Binns Galaxy of Stars(prior to team affiliation), U.S. Open, B.I.G aka Bermuda Internationals, Atlantic Events, Bluegrass Nationals and Ocean State Grand Nationals. Thompson was the winner of the elusive triple crown, the winner of sparring, forms, and weapons. Thompson entered into mixed martial arts and had a 3-1 record in professional matches. He also had an amateur MMA record of 4-1.

Martial Arts teaching

Thompson taught out of a dojo in New Jersey. He had a team of performers he calls Shakil’s Warriors. He instructed students on the physical and psychological aspects of competitive fighting. He suffered from

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

but continued to teach karate until no longer able to do so.

Personal life

Thompson was married to Shena and had 6 children. He served as a spokesman pushing for a cure for ALS. Thompson died aged 58 on January 8, 2020, from

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

(ALS).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Kevin American male karateka American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate 1962 births 2020 deaths Place of birth missing 20th-century American sportsmen