Taking on the NFL: The National Martial Arts League

Dexter V. Kennedy is the founder and president of National Martial Arts League, LLC. He developed his concept for a franchise martial arts league after retiring from the U.S. Army as a warrant officer. Kennedy had an interest in sports from an early age, playing football, baseball, and basketball while growing up on military bases in Germany and the U.S., but a high school football injury ended his hopes for an NFL career. His passion for martial arts began when he was only sixteen and saw his first Bruce Lee movie. After initially studying tae-kwon-do, he switched to Isshin-Ryu karate, an Okinawan art form, and American Freestyle Karate. He became a star of forms competition for Genova Karate Studio. During his U.S. Army career (1977-1994), which included service in Desert Storm, he represented his unit in boxing bouts. After he left the military, he returned to karate as a way to get in shape, with a focus on Kumite sparring rather than forms competition. He won top ratings during seven years of travel on the National Blackbelt League circuit, but he eventually realized that he wasn’t alone in his desire for a career path for martial artists. He credits a God-given vision for his concept for the National Martial Arts League, but he has spent the last decade refining that vision into his plan for a professional franchise-based professional martial arts league. He describes that plan in Taking on the NFL: The National Martial Arts League.