Allen R. Steen's Obituary
ALLEN R. STEEN was born in Dallas, Texas in March, 1940, to William
and Francis Steen. His dad was a Dallas Police Officer. Mr. Steen was
preceded in death by his beloved wife Toni Steen. He is survived by sister
Kathy Steen Acosta (spouse Johnny), brother Mike Steen (spouse Sandy),
son Bill (spouse Lori), daughters Pamela Steen Negri (spouse Chris), and
Linda Steen Mayes, grandchildren Kirsten Sutherland (spouse George),
Hannah Negri, Makayla Negri and Brogan Funderburg (spouse Samantha).
His great children are Robi, Remi, Lyla, and Radek Funderburg.
In 1958, young Allen went to UT Austin to study business and there his life
path was forever changed when he saw a demonstration of Taekwondo by
Jhoon Rhee—the man who introduced the Korean martial arts into the US.
Steen was impressed and immediately joined Rhee’s class.
Allen recalled that the class ran like a military boot camp. But he persevered and became Rhee’s first black belt in America and his training set the
stage for his no-nonsense approach to martial arts. Allen Steen became one
of the most noted champions of early American martial arts. He beat Joe
Lewis and Chuck Norris back-to-back to win Ed Parker’s 1966 Long Beach
International Karate Championships. That same year he was a member of
the victorious U.S. National Karate Team competing in Hawaii. Black Belt
Magazine rated him one of the top ten fighters in the country. Mr. Steen’s
favorite technique was a sliding sidekick and he would often, literally,
knock his opponents out of the ring with it.
After a brilliant tournament career Mr. Steen’s coaching and business
abilities established him as one of the pioneers of the business side of
American martial arts. He opened schools across Texas (including the
very first commercial school in the state in 1962) and partnered with
many of his students who began schools in other states and countries. His
“US Karate Championships” held in Dallas became one of the largest and
most prestigious events in the nation. He founded the American Karate
Black Belt Association, one of the very first martial arts organizations in
the nation. Steen’s business practices became the example for other school
owners, tournament promoters and teachers worldwide.
But business never got in the way of his high standards. Grandmaster Steen was known as the “Father of Texas Blood and Guts Karate” because he and his stable of black belt champions were ferocious competitors whenever they stepped into the ring. His students included world-class fighters like Skipper Mullins, Pat Burleson, Fred Wren, Demetrius Havanas, D. P. Hill, and Roy Kurban. His black belt protégée went on to become noted teachers, authors and grandmasters such as Larry Caster, Keith Yates, James Toney, Richard Jenkins, Marian Erickson, and Royce Young. Literally thousands of black belts worldwide trace their roots back to Mr. Steen.
After retiring from active teaching in commercial settings he was a successful oil executive, founding SESCO Petroleum with his college roommate Dr. Frank Elliot. An outstanding athlete, Allen excelled at golf and snow skiing and also became a national champion skeet shooter being voted to the All-American Team three times. The face of karate in America was formed by giants like Allen Steen and his legacy will certainly live on for generations to come.
For those who are unable to attend the services in person, a live stream will be available at the following link:
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