Former Wildcat in karate Masters Hall of Fame

Robert Potter had some unique bragging rights when he met with his Class 1963 friends during Heritage Days last week in Columbia Falls.

On June 22, Potter was given the Golden Achievement Award by the Masters Hall of Fame, a nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to promote martial arts events and develop leadership within the martial arts community.

Potter, who served in Desert Storm in 1991 and retired from the Army in 1993 at the rank of colonel, has been involved in karate since 1968. He was serving in Vietnam and working out with some friends when he saw a man practicing karate.

“I challenged him to a fight and he easily whupped me,” Potter recalled. “So I asked him to teach me what he knew.”

Tulchek, who hailed from Hawaii and was a fifth degree black belt, became Potter’s “sensei.” Later, when Potter was a captain and left for Germany, he had Tulchek transferred there so they could continue their training.

Potter had been an athlete at Columbia Falls High School. He played on the football, basketball and track teams and was on the Class B basketball team that came in second at state in 1963 — the first time the Wildcat basketball team had placed in a state basketball tournament.

After high school, he was at Montana State University in Bozeman when he got his draft notice. He was sent to Germany and then got into officer candidate school with the Army engineers. After that, he went to helicopter school and spent two tours in Vietnam.

“I first arrived in 1968, just after the Tet Offensive,” he said.

Potter continued his karate training in Germany. He attained black belt status in 1971 and won the European championship in 1973.

“I won a dozen major U.S. and international karate tournaments over the years,” he said.

He also broke his pinky finger on his right hand 16 times. Potter’s now a seventh degree master and will attain eighth degree status this December.

As an Army officer, Potter wasn’t allowed to compete in the Professional Karate Association, but he could compete in the U.S. Karate Association. In those early days, judges awarded points during a competition, but by 1994, most competitions had moved on to full contact.

A lot of other things changed over the years in martial arts, thanks to Hollywood and the influence of well-known actors like Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. Lee was more of an artist who promoted style, but he wasn’t much of a fighter, Potter said. Norris was the opposite.

Potter, who has helped train police officers and members of the special forces, personally knows Norris and other leaders of the martial arts community.

“Some police officers are cocky and difficult to teach,” he said. “Karate is all about discipline. The best students are ones who try to talk themselves out of a situation, not turning right away to a fight.”

Potter got an electrical engineering degree from the University of Evansville, in Indiana, and a master’s in business administration from the University of Tampa, in Florida. He now lives in Greenville, Texas, where he helps coach the high school’s spring and summer basketball leagues.

“Our high school basketball team had a good record, but it needs help with its offense,” he said, adding that he planned to ask Wildcat coach Cary Finberg for some tips.