Life-long Chattanoogan Ryan Rogers is the only person in the Chattanooga area on the U.S. Karate Team. He has been on the team since 2016.
Mr. Rogers earned his spot on the U.S. Karate (Para) Team and competed in the 23rd Karate World Championships held in Linz, Austria in November 2016. He was the first America with autism on the U.S. Karate Team. Mr. Rogers placed 6th out of 24 in the world. The following year he competed in Curacao and earned a silver in kata in his first International karate competition.
Mr. Rogers will have the opportunity once again to compete against 191 countries at the 24th Karate World Championships held in Madrid, Spain on Nov. 8.
He is a four-time U.S. Karate National Champion and has won medals in non-handicap divisions against abled competitors with no special needs in the kata and kumite (sparring) categories in 2012 and 2013. Mr. Rogers has also been a USA-N.K.F. judge since 2012 and he has made U.S. Karate history many times.