James Benjamin Stewart
| Ben Stewart | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | James Benjamin Stewart Ottawa, Ontario | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Canadian | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Karen Stewart | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | Sidney, Saryna, and Sterling | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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James Benjamin "Ben" Stewart (born March 19, 1978) is a Canadian 16-time World Karate and Kick Boxing Champion, author, entrepreneur and motivational speaker. He has won nine W.K.A. super heavyweight titles, three W.A.K.O. titles, and four World Kickboxing Union titles. He founded Canadian Property Stars in 1996 and in 2008 wrote Millionaire in 90 Days: Working out at the Gym.
Biography
[edit]Early life
[edit]Stewart was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, and attended Katimavik Elementary School. By the age of 11 he held a number of jobs while attending school full-time, foreshadowing his business success. He graduated from Earl of March Secondary School in 1997 and from the Entrepreneurship program at Algonquin College in 1999.
Athletic at an early age, Stewart began training in martial arts at the age of 9. From 1987 to 1991 he trained in Jiu-Jitsu under Sensei Randy Cooligan. He then moved on to study American Sport Karate under Steve "Nasty" Anderson in 1995 and quickly earned his black belt. Stewart also played competitive soccer between the ages of 10 and 13, before taking on competitive baseball until the age of 17.
Martial arts career
[edit]In 1998 Stewart ranked third in the world in Karate and became a member of the WKA Canadian National Team. At various times a Member (1998, 2001-2003, 2005, 2008-2012); a Captain (2003, 2009-2012); and a Coach (2002-2013); he was also President of the National Team from 2009 to 2012.[1]
Stewart was a Member of the WAKO National Team for four years (2003, 2005, 2007, 2013), and served as President in 2013 of both the WKU and WTKA/WKA Canadian National Teams.[1][2] As well as competing, Stewart has also had significant success as a coach, having personally trained and coached over 20 youth and adult students to world titles in the WKA/WKU between 2002 and 2019.[1]
In the fall of 2015, Stewart's competitive career was abruptly cut short when he underwent a surgical replacement of his left hip. Doctors told him that he would never enter the ring again.
Undeterred, he conditioned and rehabilitated himself through hot yoga, and came back from retirement to fight in the world championship at the age of 40. In Athens, Greece, in 2018 he reclaimed his super-heavyweight World Title, and successfully defended that title the following year in Bregenz, Austria.
As of the latest informational update of this page, James was training to compete in the 2021 world competition in Québec City, Canada.
Corporate career
[edit]At the age of 18 Stewart created a landscaping business, which has grown into Canadian Property Stars, a full-service property maintenance company with offices across Canada and the United States. Stewart’s success with Canadian Property Stars is attributed to the fact that this is a highly motivating door to door sales model.
In 2000, upon graduating from college, Stewart took ownership of Steve Anderson Karate and Kick Boxing, a facility in the Ottawa area, which he owned until 2007. He was named Business Person of the Year in 2005 by the Kanata Chamber of Commerce — the same year he won the City of Ottawa's Athlete of the Year award in the martial arts category.
Author and Motivational Speaker
[edit]In 2008 Stewart published his first book, titled Millionaire in 90 Days: Working out at the Gym, to teach young adults strategies to increase their health and lifestyle, allowing them to become successful in all areas of their life.nah [3]
Controversies
[edit]In 2014 James Benjamin Stewart and Canadian Property Stars were accused of operating an unethical and misleading charity toy drive and was operating in Alberta without a fundraiser's license.[4]
Personal life
[edit]Stewart married Karen Hilberdink on November 22, 2009. They have three children together: Sidney, Saryna, and Sterling.
Championships and awards
[edit]| Title | Result | Category | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 WKA Worlds | Bronze | Point Fighting | Under 86 kg |
| 2000 WKA Worlds | Bronze | Point Fighting | Under 90 kg |
| 2001 WKA Worlds | Gold | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2001 WKA Worlds | Silver | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 90 kg |
| 2002 WKA Worlds | Gold | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2002 WKA Worlds | Gold | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 90 kg |
| 2003 WKA Worlds | Gold | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 90 kg |
| 2003 WKA Worlds | Silver | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2003 WAKO Worlds | Gold | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2005 WKA Worlds | Gold | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 90 kg |
| 2005 WAKO Worlds[5] | Gold | Point Fighting | Plus 94 kg |
| 2005 WAKO Worlds | Gold | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 94 kg |
| 2007 WAKO Worlds | Loss | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 94 kg |
| 2008 WKA Worlds[6] | Gold | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2008 WKA Worlds[6] | Bronze | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 90 kg |
| 2010 WKA Worlds[7] | Silver | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2011 WKA Worlds[8] | Silver | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2011 WKA Worlds[8] | Gold | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 90 kg |
| 2012 WKA Worlds[9] | Gold | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 90 kg |
| 2013 WKU Worlds[10] | Gold | Continuous Kick Boxing | Plus 90 kg |
| 2013 WKU Worlds | Silver | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2013 WTKA/WKA Worlds | Gold | Point Fighting | Plus 90 kg |
| 2018 WKU Worlds | Gold | Point Fighting, Men's 18-34 | Plus 90 kg |
| 2018 WKU Worlds | Gold | Point Fighting, Men's 35-44 | Plus 90 kg |
| 2019 WKU Worlds | Gold | Point Fighting, Men's 35-44 | Plus 90 kg |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Team Canada Karate
- ^ "Members - WKU - Martial Arts - WKU World Championships - K1". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
- ^ Millionaire in 90 Days ‘Working Out at the Gym
- ^ [1]
- ^ "WAKO Worlds 2005". Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
- ^ a b "WKA World Championships 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
- ^ "WKA World Championships 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
- ^ a b "WKA World Championships 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
- ^ "WKA World Championships 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
- ^ "WKA World Championships 2013". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
External links
[edit]- Ben Stewart Official site
- Ben Stewart Interview on Hi Impact Media