Fred Serricchio a renaissance man of martial arts also a friend and the conscience of the WTKO.   A humble, and charming  man with a warm sense of humor Fred Serricchio is most deserving to be instructor of the month.  After a lifetime of training in Karate and in his 6th decade he refuses to put on the slippers and sit and drool on himself in front of the television, Fred would be well within rights to sit back and claim honors for himself, teach few karate classes and tell of deeds done in the past; and there are many men half his age that do just that, Fred chooses not to look to the past but prefers to look toward the future.  He refuses to do nothing, he trains regularly and fiercely, attends all the WTKO camps and trains as hard as anyone on the floor.  He attends every squad training, where the training is pushed way beyond what one normally expects,  his presence on the floor cannot but be an inspiration to the rest of the group.  He never slacks, he is constant.   He spends as much time on the floor training in Aikido, and Iaido as he does karate, as many of us have experienced when fighting Fed at close quarters, he can suddenly spring a surprise on the unwary.  He holds everyone to a high standard and himself to the highest standard.  In the private instructor training at the WTKO Honbu Fred will bang with the rest of the senior instructors and demands of himself nothing but his best effort.   He is a man who doesn't mince his words and is quite willing to step up when the situation calls for it.  During his competition years Fred was just as direct in his approach to kumite as his opponents were sure to find out.  

WTKO Chairman and chief instructor of the Connecticut Karate Association, one of the founding members of the WTKO, sensei Serricchio started training in JKA karate 1958. Over the past 45 years sensei Serricchio has traveled extensively to train with some of the worlds finest karate masters, including Master Nishyama, Master Nakayama, Master Enoeda and Master Kanazawa.  For the past 35 years he has trained under Masataka Mori 8th dan Shotokan Karate-do America.  As an active competitor he participated in tournaments across the United States, winning and placing in a variety of events. For a period during the 1970's he was a dominant tournament fighter on the east coast as a member of the North Atlantic Karate Association (JKA).  Sensei Serricchio is a Certified Instructor in the JKA Shotokan Karate-do America, the governing body for JKA karate in the United States.   He currently trains a number of world champions in his dojo.

After a 43 year career in the JKA, Sensei Serricchio decided on a new direction; along with John Mullin, Richard Amos, Ed Vanveen and Albert McDonald he co-found the World Traditional Karate Organization, where he is a certified Instructor, Examiner and Judge.   In his role as chairman he travels extensively to meet with various WTKO members around the world and conduct international seminars. 

John J. Mullin 
Exec. Chairman WTKO