Mike Welch

Owner/Operator

Mr. Mike Welch  was born  in Madison, WI in 1981.  He began karate at age 9 under the instruction of Mr. Randy Beck when his parents got him lessons as a Christmas present.

“I remember opening the uniform from under the tree, and I thought OOOH….new pajamas. Then my dad told me he had  gotten  me signed up for karate and I was so excited. It’s something that I just always wanted to do and my parents saw the benefits it offered to a young boy with lots of energy and not a lot of focus.”

Mr. Welch won his first karate tournament as a white belt in the forms division. This was only the start of a long successful martial arts  career.

During the next few years,  Mr. Welch and his father (Paul Welch) were heavily involved in competition. Competing in the Wisconsin Professional Karate Association (WPKA),  Mr. Welch was ranked in the top three for forms and sparring from white belt through black belt. In 1995, he was ranked number one in both divisions.  Not yet a weapons stylist, Mr. Welch won his first North American Sport Karate Association ( NASKA)  Diamond Nationals, placing 1st in his forms divisions. He was a brown stripe belt.

As happens with under belt students at times,  Mr. Welch remembers burning out a little as a red belt.

“I was getting bored, I think. It happens to a lot of kids,” he recalls. “At that point I was too close to Black Belt to turn back, so my parents and I talked about why I was in karate.  We talked about the commitment I had  made to myself,  my instructors, and to them. We also talked about why I wanted to be a black belt, why I was enrolled in karate,  and how my life had benefited from it.  Together we set some goals to help me get the spark back. That was all it took, and I never had any doubts [after that] as to  what I was going to do with my life.”

Mr. Welch earned his Black Belt on March 30, 1996 at age 14.  At this time he was still competing at the state/regional level.  His father, a more traditional martial artist, helped him compare and contrast their two styles to broaden his knowledge.  Mr. Welch also began studying Modern Arnis, a Philippine art that focuses on stick fighting and joint locks.  He was awarded his instructor’s certification and brown belt by the late Grandmaster Remi Presas.

In 1998, Mr. Welch was a co-founder of Wisconsin’s first national competition team known as “Team X-treme”.   Team X-treme was known nationwide for its extreme martial arts (XMA) team forms fused with high-flying  action and tight precision. The team was a regular on the Diamond Nationals grand champion stage, winning the team form division several years in a row.

“I love competing, and I know I still have it, but my passion is teaching.  So now I create the champions, whether they be world competitors or I can help them become better people, black belts, leaders…. anything they thought they could never become. It’s more rewarding than a trophy or a championship to me.  Perhaps someday  I’ll hit the circuit again. We’ll see.”

After co-owning and running Karate America Wisconsin Rapids with his father from 1998 to 2004, and being the  chief instructor  at  a karate studio in Fitchburg, WI for three years,  Mr. Welch felt  that it was time to realize his dream and open his own studio.  In  April  2007 ,  Infinity Martial Arts was founded.