Special to the Journal
Grandmaster Doreen DiRienzo, a 10th Degree Black Belt and founder of the Revere Karate Academy, has been named a recipient of the G.O.A.T. Martial Arts Award, one of the highest honors in the international martial arts community.
Although unable to attend the ceremony in person, Grandmaster DiRienzo was honored in absentia during the G.O.A.T. Awards Weekend, which took place August 14–16, 2025, at the Tanglewood Resort in Pottsboro, Texas.
The G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) Awards celebrate martial artists whose lifelong dedication has made a global impact through teaching, leadership, community service, and martial arts excellence. This year’s honorees hail from over 25 U.S. states and countries including Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Guyana, South Africa, Australia, and Israel.
“I opened the Revere Karate Academy in February of 1980. It has been my honor and privilege to teach nearly 40,000 students in the Revere and the surrounding communities,” said DiRienzo. “While I continue to teach daily at my studio, I’ve also had the opportunity to share martial arts in countries around the world—Canada, Mexico, Chile, Ireland, the UK, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy, and Greece. I am deeply honored to receive this prestigious award.”
Grandmaster DiRienzo received:
• The Official G.O.A.T. Award Plaque
• A Custom G.O.A.T. Ring and Polo Shirt
• A Recognition Letter from the Grand Masters Council
• A feature in World Martial Arts News and Martial Arts Extraordinaire Magazine
Founder and host Grandmaster Lawrence Arthur, 10th Degree Black Belt, shared:
“Even if some honorees cannot be with us physically, their legacy and contributions speak louder than presence. The G.O.A.T. Award honors a life of mastery and influence.”
Awardees were nominated by peers and selected by the Grand Masters Council based on merit, legacy, and embodiment of Kaizen—the relentless pursuit of growth and improvement in martial arts.
Professor Anthony Cogliandro, a world champion and Revere’s Ward 3 city councillor, offered his personal congratulations to his mother on her international award and attaining another milestone in her awe-inspiring career.
“My mother is the first woman in the world
to be named a Grandmaster in American Kenpo,” said Cogliandro. “While other people have reached that rank, she has done so many things that other 10th Degree Black Belts have not done. She was a professional fighter, she’s run the Olympic torch, and she runs a worldwide international American Kempo association called Kempo International with over 23 counties under her shield. And she’s had a karate school for more than 45 years. She’s done a lot more than most, that’s why she is one of the Greatest of All Time.”
DiRienzo has received congratulatory wishes from her peers across the globe and also from those who have cherished her masterful teachings first-hand as parents of students who attend Revere Karate Academy.
Julie Villada, whose son, Rafael Villada, is a second-year student at RKA, said Doreen DiRienzo is “an amazing mentor.”
“Doreen instills in her students self-respect, courage – it almost feels like you’re sending your kid to another home where somebody’s caring for him, but also teaching them the art of American Kempo. She’s not only an amazing Grandmaster in Karate herself, but she’s also taught self-defense classes that I joined. She taught us how to protect yourself. She’s very empowering and extremely humble for someone of her degree and stature.”
