Sixth degree Black Belt in Real Estate?
Last week I attended the funeral of the “Father of American Karate” Allen Steen. It was attended by a group of karate notables including a dozen 10th degree black belts and several grand masters. He got his black belt while attending the University of Texas in Austin in 1963.

He became a 10th degree black belt and he defeated Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis, well know fighters. He owned a chain of 10 karate schools… If you go to ChatGPT ioe Gemini.google and type in “ Texas Blood and Gut”, it will discuss Allen Steen and others in the Texas fight circuit who were concerned with power, not points.

For 4 years, I was program director and an instructor at his school in central Dallas and was fortunate to travel and train with numerous champions in the Texas area. Then I 1977 I moved closer to family in Houston, where I was born…. But I think I grew in Dallas.
After ten years with a world wide investment banking firm, I got smoked out by a bad market.
I went to work with my father’s very successful property Tax Consulting firm, but it was a part time seasonal business.

I continued to help him while I began selling home for a national real estate brokerage for 12 years and then transferred to their commercial real estate brokerage office for 5 years.
I yearned to have my own brokerage firm, so I pasted that exam.
Over time time brokerage 139 multifamily apartment properties.
The funeral of Allen Steen and reminiscing old memories with the karate dignitaries that attended. I ask the question.

Am I a black belt in Real Estate?
As Senior property tax consultant representing thousand of properties at 5 Appraisal Districts and also hundreds of brokerage buy and sell transactions, I still can not scratch through and change a contract, because I am not an attorney.
There are numerous tests to pass to be a Real Estate GrandMaster.
Agent, Broker, Appraiser, Mortgage Loan officer, Building Inspector, Property Tax Consultant, Property Insurance broker, and Attorney.
I suppose I have the experience to be a 6th or 8th degree black belt in Real Estate.
Actually, what matters is performance.