Southaven names Jimmy Blann its next Tribute Hall honoree

Jimmy Blann, a former kickboxing world champion and longtime martial arts instructor, has been named the next Tribute Hall honoree in Southaven, where he has taught students for decades.

Blann moved to Southaven in 1971 after growing up in Coldwater, Mississippi. He opened a service station at Brookhaven Drive and Highway 51, later moving it to Millbranch and Stateline in the mid-1970s. During the 1970s and early 1980s, he worked with his father and at John Ellis Chevrolet in Memphis.

Blann opened his first karate school at Millbranch and Town & Country on July 1, 1980. He fought for the Karate International Council of Kickboxing World Championship in Southaven in May 1987, losing by distance decision, then won a rematch there in September to become the K.I.C.K. World Welterweight Champion. After an unsuccessful title defense in Kamloops, British Columbia, in 1988, he recaptured the title in a Southaven rematch on Dec. 9, 1989. He retired in March 1990.

After retiring from competition, Blann focused on raising his family and teaching self-defense to students of all ages. He and his wife, Vicki, have managed Blann’s Martial Arts, which grew from about 25 students in 1980 to around 150 in most years and now has about 80. The school, at its current location on Forrest Drive, has produced eight world champions, 200 national champions and 409 black belts. Blann also operated Jet Fast Auto Glass in Southaven from 1984 to 2004.

Blann served on coaching staffs for two national karate organizations from 1992 to 2004 and is an eighth-degree kyoshi. He emphasizes that students should use their fighting skills responsibly and only when no other options remain.

Source: City of Southaven – Municipal Government.