Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 22 | Special Edition

AWARDS
America has always welcomed, embraced, and celebrated innovation, disruption and
disrupters — the rebels, the troublemakers, the ones who see things differently. They
invent. They explore. They create. They inspire. They change things. They push the human
race forward.
This year, Martial Arts World News Magazine recognizes these 10 innovators for their
outstanding contribution to humanity, society, industry, and the Martial Arts.
Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris blazed several all-new paths for the Martial Arts and Martial Artists. From his competitive martial
arts career to building profitable, effective martial arts schools in the early days, he took his martial arts to an unprecedented
level of success. He became the most popular movie stars of all time, a 2 time New York Times best-selling
author with published books on a variety of subjects which was an incredible feat. Chuck also created a television
career, product endorsements and partnerships, and public speaking, he took even more innovative steps.
Joe Biden
As the leader of the nation, the Biden administration faces critical challenges that make a tremendous impact
on not only the 330 million Americans, but on people and nations all over the world. As the congress swayed to
the left after the previous conservative administration, nearly everything the current administration does could be
considered ‘disruptive’. Biden’s leadership has seen the passing of the American Rescue Plan, created a strong
vaccine program, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Getting legislation
of the scale and magnitude passed is no slight feat, and the impacts will be felt for generations to come.
Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, transformed the company into a hotbed of innovation, a talent magnet where
people want to come and grow, a world-class technology player and a valued digital technology partner. But ask
him how it’s going, and he will say they are making great progress, but they still have so much more to do. Never
raising his voice or showing overt anger at employees or executives, Nadella constantly worked to create a more
comfortable, creative environment where innovation and ‘good ideas’ are carefully nurtured, and team members
can express their creativity in a supportive environment. This culture helped Microsoft lead the way in newly
emerging technology domains.
Tim Cook
Tim Cook took the CEO job at Apple in August 2011, many wondered if he could fill the shoes left by his friend,
colleague, and mentor, the brilliant visionary Steve Jobs. However, Cook has not only continued the tradition of excellence
and innovation that Jobs had established, but also led the disruption of well-established product categories
and services that affect billions of people all over the world. In addition to facilitating the launch of AirPods, the Apple
Watch, and Apple Music, he led Apple to becoming one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market cap
hovering around $3 trillion. As Apple surpassed a $2 trillion market cap in 2020, Cook reached billionaire status.
Soo Min Kim
Grandmaster Kim has been an innovator from a very early age. From establishing a highly successful chain of
Martial Arts schools in both the United States and Korea, to building a massively successful company outside the
Martial Arts, he’s created tremendous opportunity ‘from scratch’. His innovative approach to designing products,
unconventional concepts for managing the supply chain, and ‘massive action’ philosophy are some of his keys to
‘getting things done’ where others think it’s impossible. His new vision for the Kukkiwon, and its role in not only
Taekwondo but in society in general are an inspiration for the Martial Arts industry and schools all over the world.
MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 22 | SPECIAL EDITION 45