Competitor Profile on Bob Leiker

Competitor Profile on Bob Leiker
By Boice Lydell
From Sport Karate Magazine (Nov-Feb 1999-2000)

Date of birth: May 21, 1957
Age: 42
Place of birth: Hays, Kansas
Residence: Weatherby Lake, MO
Marital Status: Married
Ethnic Origin: German
Style: Jido-Kwan, Goju-Ryu
School: Bob Leiker's Karate
Instructor: Mike Stone
Year Started in Martial Arts: 1972
Year Received Black Belt: 1978
Team: Team Leiker
Favorite Technique: Spinning Back Fist
Sport Karate Titles:
1998 - Senior Men's Hard Traditional Forms World Champion
1997 - Senior Men's Hard Contemporary Forms World Champion
1996 - Senior men's Hard Traditional Forms World Champion
1995 - Men's Super Heavyweight Continuous Sparring World Champion

Toughest Forms/Weapons Opponent: Butch Togisala
Toughest Fighting Opponent: Mark Hicks
Other Martial Arts Accomplishments: Promoter of the Tornado Internationals Sport Karate
Career Highlight: Winning four world titles Martial Arts
Goal #1: To have Sport Karate on Television Martial Arts
Goal #2: To watch his sons achieve their goals
Favorite Tournament: Super Grands
Favorite Sport Karate Players: Present Forms: Jarrett Leiker, Past Forms: Jean Frenette, Present Fighting: Jason Tankson, Past Fighting: Mike Stone
Most Admired Martial Artist: Jill Leiker
Most Admired Person: His father, Rich Leiker
Favorite food: All
Favorite movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Favorite actor: Mel Gibson
Favorite magazine: Fortune
Favorite book: Lord of the Rings
Favorite music: Anything but country
Favorite musician: Supremes
Favorite hobby: Fishing
Favorite sport: Football
Address: 7610 NW Roberts Rd, Weatherby Lake, MO 64152
Phone: (816) 587-2295

A Tense Tie Breaker
With a winning streak of three world titles in a row since, 1995, everything was on the line for Bob Leiker to keep the sequence intact through 1998 as he took to the Super Grands stage one more time to face his opponent after a tied performance for the Super Grands IX senior hard traditional forms world title. After what seemed to be a sound defeat of 28.99 to 28.93 in the eliminations, Leiker found 1992-1993 world champion Scott Hogarth a bit more of a challenge when it came down to the "on stage" showdown in the Grand Finale. Hogarth's performance of Kusanku hammered out a score of 29.96 which was likewise emulated with Leiker's rendition of Seisan. Now a final tie breaker was required to decide a victor. Once again the tied senior players donned the stage for the coveted world championship ring and title. With the budo quality of hefty rough and tumble looks, the bald headed Hogarth and the stern looking Leiker once again crushed their imaginary opponents, but Leiker stole the win by 2/100's of a point this time.

Does He Ever Smile!
While Hogarth can easily look as jolly and harmless a fellow as well as one tough dude, Leiker shows little emotion and is certainly found rarely sporting a smile. A few tournament attendees have reported keeping their distance from Leiker due to his typical stern looks and rare laughs. Little might many know, not only does he laugh and smile amongst his friends, but he's a non-stop prankster to boot. He may pick any unsuspecting acquaintance. but his friend and fellow tournament promoter, Mike Duclos of Wisconsin is a frequent victim. Leiker's not without receiving a taste of his own medicine however, as this past April Fools Day he received a phone call telling him that "Pops" had been shot in California and was on his death bed in the hospital. Not only did Leiker swallow the fictional story hook, line and sinker, but was quick to spread the gloomy news to his family before the caller asked him if he knew what the date was that day.

Team Leiker International
Give him a challenge and he'll match or exceed it. Leiker likes to do things in a big way. Not only has his Tornado Internationals tournament excelled to become a prominent National event held every May in Kansas City, but he boasts a team of international players in which a portion attend and display above average talents at nearly all the national circuit tournaments. It was an undefined challenge between Neal Adams Firefighters Team and Team Leiker international that sported unprecedented Super teams during the 1997 competition season. Both teams sought out the best of players to represent them and go head to head in Super Grands VIII.

Now and Then
Presently, Leiker is putting his biggest concerted efforts into his Tornado Internationals Karate Tournament that has steadily grown since its inception as a national event in 1996 in Wichita, Kansas, but his own personal competition has remained perseverant throughout that same period as well. He first excelled to world championship status with a win in the super heavy weight continuous sparring division at Super Grand VI in San Antonio, Texas. From here he switched gears in Super Grands VII to demonstrated his forms prowess as he topped the senior hard traditional forms division, the world title he regained last year against Scott Hogarth. In the alternate year at Super Grand VIII he demonstrated his versatility as a player by winning the senior contemporary forms division.

The Future
These days Leiker takes as much pride in his son Jarrett's competition as his own. Future priorities include the elevation of sport karate as a whole with the eternal goal of the growth of his tournament and working towards the age of sport karate televised events. But he hasn't ruled out continued competition for himself either, in the future or at this years World Games. Only time will tell, but one thing for sure other than he'll always know when April 1 is and that's that he will always remain perseverant in his sport karate endeavors.