Rob Colasanti, NAPMA President
e-mail: napmapresident@aol.com

A teenager’s passion for the martial arts has become a professional’s quest to raise the standards of the industry, help instructors integrate tradition with innovation and drive the industry into the 21st century. Rob Colasanti has emerged as the leader of the next generation of martial arts professionals and is poised to become one of the primary forces to propel the industry to an even greater position of public prominence and respect.

Born in Queens, New York, during April 1970, Mr. Colasanti’s passion for the martial arts began at the age of 14; his family was now living in St. Petersburg, Florida. He borrowed his grandfather’s lawn mower to earn the money for his tuition at John Graden’s USA Karate.

By the rank of Green Belt, Mr. Colasanti had already joined the school’s professional staff. During the next 12 years, he earned his Third-Degree Black Belt in American Taekwondo, and advanced as a professional, becoming the school’s highly successful program director, a chief instructor and a popular private-lessons teacher.

Young men grow to have other passions for learning and Mr. Colasanti’s personal goals included medical school. In fact, he graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.S. in Biology in preparation to become a physician. Eventually one passion supersedes all others and Mr. Colasanti discovered his future during 1995, when he accepted a one-night-a-week position as the program director (the first official employee) of the newly founded National Association of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA). It started as a grass-roots organization, without significant capitalization and operated from a spare bedroom in Mr. Graden’s home.

Mr. Colasanti’s professionalism and leadership skills developed, as NAPMA quickly became the world’s largest professional martial arts association.

For his significant contribution to NAPMA, Mr. Colasanti was named vice-president during 1998. His new leadership role and vast accomplishments earned him the respect of his peers and a promotion to president of the association and Martial Arts Professional magazine, the organization’s official monthly publication, during December 2001.

The young president’s task was formidable, but by 2005, NAPMA’s 10th anniversary, his leadership had not only preserved NAPMA’s original position as the world’s leading professional martial arts association, but also inspired the organization to surpass previous membership totals.

Today, Mr. Colasanti’s passion never wanes. He leads the NAPMA staff as it continues to improve and expand the educational and marketing materials that the organization provides its members and the entire industry. He is the author of the book, What I’ve Learned and its 2006, updated version, How To Build the Martial Arts School of Your Dreams. Both have been widely read by young instructors as well as many other industry leaders. He is an American Council on Martial Arts (ACMA) certified instructor. He continues to be the longest, continuous columnist for Martial Arts Professional and host of the NAPMA Innovations DVD, included in every member’s monthly professional package.

He has broadened his leadership role as the one professional responsible for introducing the leading minds of business, sales, marketing and personal development to the martial arts industry. His comprehensive interviews with Jackie Chan, Zig Ziglar, Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Jay Abraham, Tom Hopkins, Jean Claude Van Damme, Billy Blanks, Bill Amelio of Dell Computers and many others, including martial arts business and fighting legends, have motivated and inspired countless martial arts instructors and school owners. Now, every martial arts professional is able to strive for even greater professional and personal goals, which they might have previously thought unattainable.

Mr. Colasanti is also quickly becoming recognized as the goodwill ambassador of the martial arts. He is a much sought-after and popular speaker on school operations, industry trends and broad business concepts that apply directly to all martial arts professionals. He is able to share his insights as a teacher within the intimate setting of the seminar as well as a motivational speaker to large banquet audiences at major industry conventions and events.

Mr. Colasanti’s generation of martial arts professionals is writing the next chapter of the modern history of the industry, and the story of Mr. Colasanti’s leadership and influence are destined to fill many pages.

+ e-mail: napmapresident@aol.com