The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Photos courtesy author collection

Mike Echanis was invited to teach a "Black Belts" only nightly class at Chuck Norris' karate school in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1977. Echanis' influence on the Norris System of Self-Defense would be honored in July 2023 when the Norris brothers posthumously ranked Mike as a 5th Degree Black Belt, a Master's ranking and the only posthumous honor the Norrises have extended.