Irwin martial arts expert inducted into hall of honor

An acclaimed martial arts expert from Irwin has been inducted into a martial arts hall of honor — at the age of 25.

“It was quite an honor,” said John Morgart Jr., who was inducted into the Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honor last weekend in Atlantic City, N.J.

It was the largest martial arts recognition event in the world, attracting stars in the sport as well as film celebrities and master martial arts experts from 19 countries, Morgart said.

The honor goes to those who show “outstanding dedication to the martial arts,” said Morgart, who works in an information technology job.

The Atlantic City ceremonies are the “Academy Awards of the martial arts world,” said Jesse Bowen, director of the American Martial Arts Alliance Media of Durham, N.C.

In conjunction with being inducted into the magazine’s Hall of Honor, he also was included in the “Martial Arts Who’s Who Directory.”

To be included in the directory, Morgart submitted his biography outlining his accomplishments and how the martial arts impacted his life, Bowen said. The biography was reviewed by a panel of martial arts experts.

Morgart began in martial arts at age 11. He began training at C.S. Kim Karate in Irwin and is now a fourth-degree black belt in Tang Soo Do.

Being included in the directory gives recognition to Morgart as an instructor and provides guidance for those seeking to be taught by an expert martial arts instructor, Bowen said.

Morgart, who developed his own kind of martial arts, also was recognized in August as one of the five top martial artists in Pennsylvania. More than 800 nominations were received, but only 250 were included in the “AMAA Martial Arts Masters & Legends Autobiography Book, U.S. & World Edition.”

As a result of that recognition, Morgart will go to Las Vegas in July for the United Fighting Arts Federation World Championships.

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.