by Mike McGee

During the summer of 1993, a tall and fit young gentleman entered Joe Guidry’s dojo in Brandon, FL. I noticed his calm demeanor and his bright smile immediately.

Jonathan had recently relocated with his family from the Northeast and was looking to get back into Uechi Ryu, the karate style he embraced when he was younger.

He began his training in Uechi Ryu with Sensei Charles Earle while living in Massachusetts in the ’70s. He told me that he also trained with Master Frank sometime in this period.

Jonathan did join Sensei Guidry’s dojo and we had some fantastic training together. “Please call me JJ,” he said one day. That began a nearly 30-year friendship. While working out with him I gradually got to know Jonathan Jackson.

JJ was the son of a minister, The Rev. David Jackson. We would sometimes talk about our faith and how it helped us through our lives. God was a guiding light for him. JJ was kind, generous, helpful, and always had kind words. One of his favorite comments was “Life is Good!!” and he meant it.

As a Certified Financial Planner, he owned Freedom America Retirement Services which helped many folks, including my wife and me, to deal with the inevitability of retirement. To this day his guidance continues to help us.

JJ “made it up the ladder” in Uechi Ryu, earning a stripe on his obi for the highly respected rank of Rokudan, 6th-degree blackbelt. We worked together closely at OMAS (Okinawan Martial Arts and Sciences) in Brandon, trading methods and guidance to our students. For a number of years, we worked out in his garage on hot summer nights enjoying each other’s company and our karate. We tested together twice as I remember, and he was the best partner, always there, always working hard. I think we did pretty well. I miss him terribly sometimes as he left us unexpectedly on February 29th, 2020.

JJ lives on in his daughters, son, and grandkids. They remember him as I do: Kind, Generous, Loving, Helpful, always available, always “JJ”.

by Ryan Dean

Mark And I were good friends that trained together for over 30 years. I had the honor of presenting him his Rokudan (6th Degree Blackbelt) in 2018. He deeply loved Uechi Ryu and when Master Gorman moved to Connecticut Master Mark felt it was important to keep Traditional Okinawan Karate in Oldsmar alive for Master Gorman’s students. He was a member of Jiteki Jyuku and will be missed greatly by all that knew him.

Mark was 6’ 4” and a solid 240. His karate was bold and strong and the only thing that could match it was his huge heart of gold. Mark was a very accomplished software developer and was a computer guru since he was a young boy. Mark had a loving wife Beth Smith and they were inseparable. He had 2 giant Alaskan Malamute puppies that he was crazy about.

Hearing the tragic news of Mark’s passing and then teaching 5 classes was a real struggle for me. I constantly had memories of training with him. I asked our kids to perform their very best Sanchin so that he could watch it from heaven. Anyone that had ever done kata next to him knows of the great power he possessed. I will miss training with him. I will miss having him as a friend I could always count on. All of Jiteki Jyuku will miss him greatly.  

by Robert Kaiser

After the recent loss of Sensei Mark Malek, NAJJA Board president, Sensei Ryan Dean, recognized the importance of keeping Mark’s dojo open and went to work. Dean gave the Oldsmar dojo a full refurbishing and is now conducting training there as a second location along with his Largo, FL dojo.

The Oldsmar dojo has a long and memorable history as it was our Master Frank Gorman’s dojo for many years before he moved to New Haven, Connecticut.

by Robert Kaiser

In less than two years the Association lost 2 of its longtime members, John “JJ” Jackson, and Sensei Mark Malek. Both of these beloved and dedicated Uechi Ryu practitioners seemed to become ill one day and were gone the next. While we know little about their actual diagnoses, we do know they were excellent students of Uechi Ryu and were loved by all who knew them.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and our entire association, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of JJ and Sensei Mark. They will be sorely missed.