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Talk of the bay

Magazine cover story features Seminole fitness guru

By JEFF HARRINGTON
Published February 21, 2005

Former world kickboxing champion Jim Graden brought a dose of national attention to his hometown of Seminole when cardio karate came into vogue in the 1990s.

Now, he's kicking it up a notch.

The namesake owner of Jim Graden's Cardio Karate Center in Seminole is featured on the March cover of Martial Arts Professional, a national trade journal distributed to more than 20,000 martial arts schools throughout North America and the United Kingdom.

The centerpiece article, headlined "Fitness Kickboxing: The Second Revolution!" talks about a program called the Ultimate Bodyshaping Course, which Graden launched in 2000. The program "not only takes fitness kickboxing to a new level of excellence, but also provides instructors with a method to bring large amounts of capital into their schools," the article crows.

More than 200 martial arts schools around the country are licensed to use Graden's course so far.

Since the Martial Arts Professional issue came out, 50 more have called Graden's office. "I've been flooded with requests," he said last week.

It's the second time on the cover for the 41-year-old kickboxing guru, who began with martial arts at the age of 12 and by 19 was running his own studio. The first magazine cover was in 1998, when his blend of fitness training and kickboxing to improve cardio health was being adopted by schools around the country.

Graden already is working on the next phase: an Ultimate Bodyshaping Course for kids. About 25 instructors are licensed locally to teach it. Graden is still personally involved in teaching a group of young students at his Seminole base, always looking for the next innovation.

"This is my lab," he said. "I get all the kinks out here."

[Last modified February 19, 2005, 17:39:02]