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Jake Greaves

"I wanted to see if I could fly"

If Jake Greaves’s mom hadn’t had her purse stolen, Jake might not have ever pursued the sport that has taken him on an incredible journey. In March 1999, while Jake’s mom was reporting her missing purse, Jake wandered next door to a local Karate America school. After peering through the windows, Jake asked his mom if they could go in a watch. “We never really left, after that first visit,” says Jake’s mom.

The purse was eventually recovered and Jake Greaves began a karate journey that has taken him to school classrooms, TV performances, and regional and national karate competitions. But even more than the physical journey, Jake’s karate experiences have taught him how to take a “disability” and turn it into an amazing ability.

When Jake started karate at age 6, he had been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) for a year. His parents recall having to pull him off the top of swingsets, closet shelves and other precarious heights. Jake just couldn’t sit still for most things, and when he DID, he would seem to be “lost in his thoughts.” His excess energy caused him trouble at school, especially when he lauched off a swing at about 10 feet off the ground. "I wanted to see if I could fly," Jake remembers!

It didn’t take long for Jake’s karate instructors, Deb Cascio and Danette Aaroen of Karate America to see that karate would help Jake channel his focus and energy. They encouraged him to practice/play at home using some of karate moves he had learned in class. That was all it took. 

Six months later as an orange belt, Jake had logged an average of 8 to 10 hours a week practicing and already had 2 regional competition wins on 1 national competition title under his belt. Now, six years and dozens of competitions later, Jake has become a veteran NASKA competitor: in 2003 he was in the top ten for his division for weapons, open hand forms, and musical forms. 

Jake received his black belt in October 2003. In 2004, Jake finished in the top ten for traditional forms at the black belt level. During the 2004/05 season, Jake has either won or placed in the top 10 in every regional/national competition he has participated in (…except for dropping his bo at Bluegrass! Ugh!) He competes in extreme open hand and extreme weapons (nunchaku, bo) divisions, as well as traditional open hand forms. He trains with Mr. Mike Welch for extreme weapons/open hand forms, and Sensei John Sharkey and his XMA instructors (Craig Henningsen, Chris Brewster) for extreme and traditional open hand forms. He is a member of Team Sharkey and Matt Mullins’s Sideswipe Kids. He has a lot of favorite tricks, some of them are gainer aerial over his bo; sideswipe; 720, corkscrew to the splits; round-off half twist, and butterfly twists with the bo and open hand. He is currently working on a Butterfly twist "in the other direction!" he says. 

But Jake’s most favorite karate-based moves are combining his bo skills with theatrics to create choreographed fights scenes. He sports his trademark Jedi braid, owns his own full Jedi uniform and loves nothing more than to “improve upon” the notorious fight scenes from Star Wars Episodes II and III. At Sharkey’s 2005 Boot Camp, Jake had a chance to put his skills to work as team members crafted fight scenes to show Matt Mullins.

Jake is a role model to kids back at his local dojo and he works hard at remaining "approachable." He knows that his talents can make him seem "all that", so Jake tries very hard to seek out younger students and encourage them whether he's at a local tournament or assisting in the dojo. He has performed demonstrations on local TV, for local high schools and elementary schools, and he speaks to kids older and younger about how he uses his “hyperfocus” (a characteristic of ADHD kids) to his benefit – it’s the key to his success both in practice and competition. Jake says, “When I am working really hard on my karate form, my focus increases. In fact, in actual competition, my level of focus increases greatly. I don’t become distracted or nervous by my competitors. Instead, some of my best routines are when I am up against the toughest competitors. I have taken something that is considered a ‘disability’ and turned into an ‘ability!’

Jake’s goal is to be a “stunt kid”; to meet that long-term goal, Jake has added drama classes and gymnastics to his training plan. When he’s not sweating in the gym, Jake builds with Legos, plays strategy video games, rides his bike, and spends lots of time outdoors on the trampoline with his brother, Josh. Jake is homeschooled which gives him the flexibility to train during the day. Jake is an avid reader, a strong writer, and an artist. Of course if you ask him, Jake will tell you his favorite subject is “recess.”