Ultimate Black Belt Test Vet, Kelly Abella, Working Behind the Scenes

Kelly in Kenya

I met Kelly a couple of decades ago. He'd moved to Nevada from LA, where he'd fought in World Champion Benny "The Jet" Urquidez camp --which made me pay attention to him, as anyone who trained under and/or fought under The Jet was sure to be one tough and skilled martial artist.

The school Kelly joined in Nevada was run by one of my first students, George Fujii; it was a part of our Ernie Reyes West Coast Martial Arts Association, which was a very tight knit group of people who had, essentially, grown up together --and as a result, over the years --I felt that Kelly and I had a strong "connection" despite the fact we saw each other only occasionally.

In the photo to the left, you can see Kelly carrying a fairly sophisticated camera -and a heavy one at that, which he obviously carted all over Kenya --as this last month he accompanied UBBT'rs Brian Williams and Rori Geotze to Kenya to assist them in filming a documentary of their work with Soles for Souls and www.ThinkKindness.org.

This wasn't the first time Kelly has gone abroad to help others, as he makes regular trips to an orphanage/Muay Thai training camp in Thailand with his wife and other martial artists --to both train and offer financial assistance.

Kelly has also provided significant resources to the The Ultimate Black Belt Test including a computer and video camera, and he rallied a team of student/EMT's (Brandon Brady and Brian Beck - also UBBT participants) to walk with us on our eco-adventures in the High Sierras --bringing first-aid to the testers.

Kelly is an activist, an environmentalist, and a very accomplished martial artist. He works in the Ski/Resort Industry -and now runs his own martial arts school in Carson City, NV. What I like most about Kelly is his "I've got your back" attitude --and for sure, I know that whenever Kelly is around he, absolutely, has my back covered. For me, that's a big gift.

Kelly is also one of a small but growing number of martial arts teachers who truly "get" (and live) the big picture of social responsibility and activism that the UBBT advocates. and promotes While his work is almost always be "behind the scenes," the UBBT wouldn't be the same without his energy, advice, ands support.