Lower Burrell’s Frank Caliguri has been honored many times for his contributions to martial arts at the local, regional and national levels.

He will be recognized again Saturday evening as the American Martial Arts Alliance Foundation will pay tribute to him during this weekend’s online convention.

The AMAAF legends awards ceremony, which is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, is in conjunction with Caliguri’s inclusion in the recently released third edition of the AMAA Who’s Who In The Martial Arts Masters & Pioneers biography book.

“The book features a number of contributors and their accomplishments to the history of martial arts, and I am honored to be a part of it,” said Caliguri, co-owner of the Academy of Martial Arts in Lower Burrell.

A former world and national competitor with six decades of experience in the martial arts, Caliguri, with his wife, Nancy and others, organizes the Pennsylvania Karate Championships each year.

The second-longest running event of its type in the United States celebrated its 47th year last November at Valley High School.

This summer, Caliguri, 70, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his promotion to ninth-degree black belt in Shorin-Ryu karate. It capped a journey through the black belt ranks which began in 1971.

Caliguri, an inductee into the United States Karate Association Hall of Fame in 1997 and Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, won a world title in Masters Kata at the 2001 United States Karate Alliance World Championships in New Orleans.

The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh opened an exhibit in 2011 on the roots of mixed martial arts that included memorabilia from Caliguri, fellow promoter Bill Viola and others in the sport.

Caliguri said he couldn’t have accomplished all that he has as a martial arts competitor, promoter and teacher without the support of friends, colleagues, mentors, academy students and family members, including Nancy and daughters Kelli and Chrissy and Chrissy’s husband, Wade.

This final edition of the masters and pioneers book also honors famed actor Chuck Norris for his longtime contributions to the martial arts.

The weekend convention initially was set for June 26-28 in Las Vegas, but because of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic and safety concerns associated with it, event organizers decided to hold the festivities in an online format.

The ceremony honoring Caliguri can be viewed at whoswhointhemartialarts.com/amaa-legends-online-event.

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