AKKA Karate USA : El Paso, TX : Instructors & Staff

Instructors & Staff

2009 Instructors' Picture. From left to right starting with the back row.

Armando Rios, Doc. Jeremy Johnson, Israel Renovato, Daniel Morales, Ruben Gutierrez, Angel Flores, Ed Bame, Martha Tovar, Gabiel Garcia, Miguel Acosta, Jordi Trevizo, Jennifer Betancourt, Kyle Burnett, Jacqueline Betancourt, and Matthew Spivey.

I began training in the kenpo system in 1991, after being bullied by older kids I was introduced to American Kenpo at six years old, so I may learn to defend myself. I was taught by Master Ed Bame, the principles techniques, and kata. After sixteen years of learning and progressing, I am now a fourth degree black belt studying for my fifth degree. I have also trained as a kickboxer for eight months under the instruction of Mr. Bame and Fernando (Cool) Calleros. Apart from teaching at the karate school I am also a Mechanical Engineering student at UTEP.

Armando Rios Jr. 5th Degree Black Belt


Fernie Palomares 4th Degree Black Belt

	Mr. Carcerano began studying kenpo in 1986. He met Mr. Bame in 1988, who has been his instructor to this day. He achieved the rank of 1st Black in 1991 and is currently ranked 3rd Black.
Nicholas Carcerano 3rd Degree Black Belt

Joe Knapka was born and raised in central Pennsylvania. He completed a bachelor's degree with a double major in mathematics and English literature at a small college in Kentucky (though like many people, he has never worked in either of the fields he studied). During his college years, he spent some time studying Tae Kwon Do and Aikido, but not very seriously. He also started losing his hair during that period, but Rogaine is too expensive for a student's budget, so eventually he just got used to not having much hair. Later he began working as a software engineer in Atlanta, where he met his wife, Ani, to whom he is still married. In 2000, they moved to El Paso so that Ani could earn her Certified Professional Midwife credential at Maternidad la Luz, a local birthing center. He met Mr Bame and began studying Kenpo Karate in November of 2000; he earned his first-degree black belt in June 2003, and his second-degree black belt in June 2004.

Physically, Mr. Knapka is 38 years old, 175cm tall, and weighs about 85kg. Politically, he is a left-of-center libertarian who favors a balanced Federal budget, but suspects that's too much to ask. Domestically, he is married with two stepchildren and one daughter. Spiritually, he thinks it's probably best to live and let live; he's a member of the local Unitarian Universalist church.

Joseph Knapka 3rd Degree Black Belt

Israel Renovato

Israel Renovato started his training in AKKA at the age of twelve, and had no prior experience in the martial arts. His parents signed him up because he was getting bullied to often and decided it was time to do something about it. Shortly after a couple lessons he found the courage to stand up for himself, and low and behold it worked. There was a feeling of satisfaction with the results and the impact martial arts had on his life so he decided to stay and further his education as a martial artist. He learned his self-defense and kumite (fighting) skills solely through AKKA Karate USA which has helped him win first place in three separate organizational tournaments. He has been with the organization for about seven and a half years now and has set a goal of working towards his mastery of fourth degree black belt. He, now, holds the rank of second degree black belt and a whole lot of other valuable benefits that you obtained through the martial arts. He teaches the kindergarten classes and helps out with the older classes as well. He stated that he has been doing this for right around three years now, and doesn't seem to get tired of it.

Israel Renovato 3rd Degree Black Belt


Pedro Borrego 2nd Degree Black Belt

An El Paso native, Ruben Gutierrez First Became fascinated with martial arts at age eleven and started training in Kung Fu. Disillusioned by many of the useful, but ultimately unrealistic elements he abandoned martial arts training until 1998 when he found Kenpo. This System raised him until his completion of his 1st degree in 2003 after which he took a hiatus and experimental to assure his training did him well. After a few months in submission wrestling training he was led back to his old school to continue his training and where he is to this day.

Ruben Gutierrez 2nd Degree Black Belt


Evelyn Rios 1st Degree Black Belt

Doc’s biography

I started my martial arts training in 1990 while I was in college. I studied traditional Korean Tae Kwon Do for 3 years and progressed to a green belt in that system. I took a short break while I went through medical school and my residency program. Once, I completed those tasks, I returned to the world of martial arts. This time, I started Kenpo Karate under the instruction of Master Ed Bame. Over the last 2 years, I have progressed to a 3rd degree brown belt. My son is also in the system and is one belt away from his junior black belt.

Jeremy Johnson 1st Degree Brown Belt

I was born in Dallas, Texas in 1954, but moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma as a small child. Growing up in Oklahoma, my experience in the martial arts was very limited until I went to college at Oklahoma State University. There I began my training in Japanese Judo (Kodokan Style) and in April 1975, attained the rank of "intermediate" (the equivalent of "green belt" in our system).

In 1976 I entered the U.S. Navy and served most of my four years of active duty with the U.S. Marines in Quantico, Virginia. My time with the Marines provided me some serious experience in physical conditioning (read: lots and lots of running...lots). In 1979 I ran and finished the Marine Corps Marathon with a time of 4 hours and 26 minutes (and I could not walk for three days thereafter either).

In 1980 I left the Navy and joined the Austin, Texas Police Department. In the police academy I was exposed to numerous self defense techniques, some of which are clearly based upon our Kenpo system of self defense. I left the police department in 1984 to attend law school at the University of Tulsa.

After law school I began working as a lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department, working in Houston for a couple of years, and then moving to El Paso in November 1988. Shortly thereafter I met and married my beautiful spouse, Mayte, a native El Pasoan and graduate of Bellaire High School and UTEP. In 1995 we moved to Arizona, and in 1996 our son, Jared, was born. During this time I did not practice any type of martial art form, but did continue to run extensively. In the year 2000, my son and I joined a Tae Kwon Do school in Chandler, Arizona, where I earned a "green Belt," but I was not truly satisfied that this style had any real self defense possibilities. In the summer of 2002 I moved back to El Paso, and in June of 2004, I enrolled my son Jared in the AKKA school run by Mr. Bame. I observed Jared in class for a couple of months, and then had an epiphany...I could do this too!! I have been a student of Mr. Bame since September of 2004, having recently earned my 3rd degree brown belt.

Lee Abbott 3rd Degree Brown Belt