We would like to dedicate this song and page to our Dad, Grand Master, friend, and mentor Grand Master Lester A.Whinna 10th Dan. We think this song by “Point of Grace” explains it all.  Below are the lyrics of the song for you to read along with as it plays.  He is truly our “King Of The World” because he leads by his example, love, devotion and is our best friend too.  Dad we love you with all our heart and are so proud of you! You have achieved so much in life and deal with tremendous adversity in your daily life, and yet you always tell everyone your biggest achievements in life are your two daughters. We want you and the world to know how much we love you for always being there for us and for being you. 

This page was a surprise to our Dad and we hope he understands why it is being put on a martial arts site that was designed to honor the greatest martial artist; Soke John B. Burkhardt and his training under Henry Slomanski. In our hearts we want you to be mentioned with great men because you are our greatest man.The greatest martial artist in our Dad’s eyes and ours is Soke John B. Burkhardt.  Our Dad never had the honor or pleasure to meet Henry Slomanski or Melvin Sauer personally, but he was trained by one of Slomanski’s top Master Instructors, John B. Burkhardt. We hold Soke John Burkhardt in the highest esteem along with much love and respect because he is part of a lineage of great men in the martial arts who accomplished amazing things never seen in public. The training is behind closed doors. He is truly a great man and martial artist. Our Dad is part of this lineage as the new Grand Master – 10th Degree Judan. It was bestowed upon him the honorable Japanese title of Hanshi. So, it goes without mention that he too is a great man of many accomplishments, not counting being an airplane pilot and having a Coast Guard Captain’s license and a decorated retired city police officer. We believe when Soke Burkhardt promoted our Dad to the highest ranked black belt ever issued in 50 plus years, he thinks our Dad is pretty special too. We agree Soke! We felt this song was very representative of our feelings, love, and the respect and we hope you enjoy it Dad.   


Dad we love you, and are so proud to be your daughters!  You deal with so much in daily life, yet you are always there for us no matter what we need. Soke Burkhardt is looking down on you with all of his blessings and the memories will never fade!

                                                                                                                                                     Love Daneen & Alyssa