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Mr. Loven was one of
Grandmaster Pat Burleson's first black belts. He was a well known and
respected tournament fighter back in the
beginning
of American karate in what is
refereed
to the as the "blood & guts" days. Mr. Loven was
nationally rated competitor by Black Belt Magazine in 1970 and 1971.
Mr. Loven ran one of Mr. Burleson's
many karate schools in the Fort. Worth area in the sixties and trained many
well know martial artist that include Grandmasters John and Pat Worley, Mr.
Gary Hestilow, Mr. Larry Carnahan, Mr. Jim Butin and Mr. Ritchie. If you or
your sensei trained under any of the masters listed then Mr. Loven is part
martial arts lineage.
Mr. Loven moved from Fort. Worth to Las Vegas to
open his own karate school and later moved to California to start a private
business. Funeral services will be held in Fort Worth.
From Mr. Ritchie's autobiography
About the time
I made blue belt, the classes were taken over by Mr. Chuck Loven. Mr. Loven
was (and probably still is !) one tough black belt. His classes were brutal.
He and Mr. Burleson had many things in common, but one thing stood out above
all the others. They were extremely tough men, and they thought everyone was
like that. Some of us were not!! But, never-the-less, we were pulled along
as if we were as tough as they. I don’t think Mr. Burleson or any of his
black belts were intentionally cruel to us. I do think that they were
clueless as to what a bunch of near-sissies they were trying to turn into
Texas Black Belts. I think any review of U.S. Karate history will show that
they did a pretty damn good job.
I remember
well, one evening when Mr. Loven gave me a particularly bad thumping. As Mr.
Gary Hestilow was helping me off the floor, Mr. Loven shouted down to me, "I
may never make you into my best brown belt, but by God I’ll make you the
meanest s.o.b. (he didn’t abbreviate) in town!" I have heard it said that he
kept his word. I know he sure tried.
Mr.
Ritchie's autobiography
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
"REMEMBERING CHUCK LOVEN"
by Grand Master Richard Jenkins
It was around the middle 1960s, that
I first met a young, aggressive, and enthusiastic Chuck Loven at Pat
Burleson's Korean Ways school in Ft.Worth, Texas. I used to stand ringside
and watch in awe and amazement as Chuck fought and brutally thumped his
opponents in the U.S. Open in Dallas and the Texas Championships in Ft.Worth.
Anytime you were facing Chuck Loven across a fighting ring, you knew you had
better have your A-Game working just to survive the good-licking you were
sure to get. He has always stood out in my mind as the atypical top-notch
Texas karateka and fighter, and was one of the most recognized figures
around. He carried himself with upright stature, full dedication, and the
highest confidence in capability. As it is said in Texan, "There was zero
'wimp' in Chuck Loven!"
Chuck's hardcore and serious methods of teaching and fighting epitomized the
spirit of Texas martial arts and are legendary in Texas karate lore to this
day.
To my mind, he was one of the premier and most notably outstanding
black-belts of the many that J.Pat Burleson turned-out. However, due to his
personal brand of humility, he avoided the spotlight and seldom received the
recognition and notoriety he truly deserved, as many did that were more
outward about their accomplishments.
Regardless, it was always a thrill, an influence, and a true inspiration to
watch him kick some butt with real authority in those days. Everyone
respected Chuck Loven as a man, a teacher, and as a fellow competitor.
Fortunately for my body (although, no doubt it would have been a memorable
lesson), I never was paired-up against him in competition.
Chuck, and those double-tuff Texans he trained with, taught, and inspired
... such feared and respected names as: John and Pat Worley, Larry Ritchie,
Gary Hestilow, Ron Moffit, Phyllis Evetts, Steve Stavroff, Bill Watson, Jim
Butin, etc, just to name a few ... stood-out in the ranks of the most feared
and respected fighters in America in those early days.
Chuck will always be listed in Texas Karate Annals as one of our genuine
"Tex Kwon-do" pioneers and lasting influences.
Chuck Loven is truly one of the unique Texas-Greats. For his longtime
contributions to martial arts and the positive influence on his many
students' lives, we are forever grateful. His loss will be long felt by
those that knew and respected him -- The Outstanding Man! The Outstanding
Martial Artist! |
