Jacob Lopez

3rd Dan Black Belt

Jacob Lopez began karate at the age of 4. He earned his first black belt at the age of 7 from another dojo. He wanted to travel around the state of Texas and compete in tournaments, so he joined Dale & Kristi's American Karate Academy. At Dale & Kristi's AKA, he earned a Black Belt under Mrs. Kristi Shawky in 2004 at the age of 11.

Mr. Lopez began tournaments in 2001 here. He has brought back trophies from almost every tournament. He was a 1st place/2nd place champion all around the state of Texas. He was a finalist after every year in the AOK and won 5 out of 7 years in State finals.

During those years of training, he also began to teach karate classes. After a year, he earned his assistant instructor patch. At the age 14, he was offered a job at Dale & Kristi’s AKA. He has grown with the dojo and began his adventure once again in karate not just as a classmate, but as a teacher too. He also began training in MMA under Erik Wiedeman in 2009.

Now, at the age of 16, he is a 3rd Dan black belt and one of the main instructors at AKA. TKD is something that Mr. Lopez truly enjoys and practices everyday. He looks forward to teaching others the discipline, courage, integrity, and of course karate skills that were taught to him by his instructors at Dale & Kristi’s AKA.