Innholdsfortegnelse for December - January 2018 i Black Belt Magazine

After devoting the three and a half decades to the arts, to say I learned a lot would be the ultimate understatement. Of course I’m referring to the myriad fighting techniques and strategies I fine-tuned over the years, but every bit as important are the life lessons that have seeped into my psyche. Presented below are the top 10 lessons on my list, along with how they translate to life on the outside. No. 10: You get out of your art exactly what you put into it. It’s like many things in life, including school. You (or your kids) can go to the best high school and not learn anything. Or you (or they) can go to a mediocre school and learn tons. The difference is the effort that’s invested.…

D-Rome: Family is the tie that binds! Fighting over a girl does not have the same emotional feeling on-screen as fighting for family. Anthony Thomas: Because they consistently sell. No need for great writers, just competent martial artists and choreographers. On a Link to an Article on Our Website BLACK BELT: Go here to read “Tai Chi Training for Middle-Aged Martial Artists Who Refuse to Quit.” Jeff Crook : You don’t have to change martial arts. Just change your way of thinking. Look at clips of Choshin Chibana as an old man. Still doing karate. On a Photo of John Hackleman We Posted From The Pit Deverand Palmer: Sorry, but why are his toenails painted? D-Jay Baker: You get that after 5th degree. On a Link to a Third-Party Story…

Like most MMA practitioners, I’ve had some exposure to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Judo, however, remained a mystery to me — until I had the chance to practice the art in 2014 at Shanghai University of Sport in China. I very much enjoyed my study of the “gentle way,” and more important, I added judo founder Jigoro Kano to my list of personal heroes. Like many of the journeys people take through the martial arts, the path that led me to judo was indirect and unplanned. Eventually, however, it guided me to five countries, and along the way, I learned that judo is one of the best arts when it comes to inclusivity because it’s suitable for practice by children and seniors, as well as men and women. Furthermore, because it’s an…

Every once in a while, the stars align and we’re treated to something on television that’s different from the usual fight flicks yet still of interest to those of us who devote our lives to the martial arts. This time, the entertainment-industry entities doing the cooking are the History channel and the El Rey Network, and the dish they’re serving up is weapons. Although History’s show came first, we’ll start with El Rey’s because our contact there is a woman and, if nothing else, historical weapons make us feel … chivalrous. — Editor Crystal Santos MAN AT ARMS • El Rey Network How did you get started in the martial arts? I come from a fight family. My dad was a boxer, and this is the environment we were raised…

In the first half of this analysis of the kuk sool approach to using pressure points for smarter self-defense (see the October/November 2017 issue of Black Belt), Sung Jin Suh, the ninth-dan su suk kwan jang nim of the World Kuk Sool Association, discussed six leg techniques you need to know. Here, he delves into four essential hand techniques and one elbow strike that also target the body’s most vulnerable areas. Before we get into the moves themselves, it’s worth examining why the arms, which are obviously shorter and weaker than the legs, are so effective — and actually preferred — in many self-defense situations. — Editor BLACK BELT: In a fight, how do you decide whether to use your hands or feet? SUNG JIN SUH: In kuk sool, we…

Kettlebells in Your Collection of Back Issues! In the January 2011 and February 2011 issues of Black Belt, John Spezzano outlined a handful of exercises designed to correct imbalances while improving strength, cardiovascular conditioning and range of motion in martial artists. To derive maximum value from this article, which is written specifi- cally for strikers, review those stories if possible. When you need to punch or kick — whether in competition or self-defense — you want to generate maximum power with minimal effort. That requires proper body mechanics with respect to your hips. To create force, you certainly need a solid connection between your feet (or foot) and the ground, but the only way for power to flow from your fist or foot is through the efficient transference from your…

vol.17, No. 3,$1.50 The 183rd issue of Black Belt was dated March 1979. It was 76 pages long and featured tang soo do leader C.S. Kim on the cover. • “I teach my students exactly what I learned from my instructor and what my instructor learned from his instructor,” says tang soo do master C.S. Kim. “No one changes anything. We teach people a true form of martial art. We do not mix techniques because if everyone teaches what they think is best, no one will recognize an art in its original form.” • In his editorial, Richard Zimmerman postulates that the subject of greatest interest to Black Belt readers may be the development of chi (ki) power. • A medical doctor named Millard Seto weighs in on ki: “The…

Forty years ago, in a now largely forgotten piece of sports history, the Dallas Cowboys began one of the more unusual experiments seen in professional football up to that time. The team decided to bring in a small Asian-American gentleman who happened to be the leading protégé of Bruce Lee and the world’s foremost expert in jeet kune do with the hope that martial arts training might improve their game. The man was, of course, Dan Inosanto, and the tale of his time with the Cowboys is so unusual that some people think it needs to be told as a movie. “It’s a classic story of East meets West,” said Dan Inosanto’s daughter Diana Lee Inosanto, who has been working on the project for years and finally has it in…

DoubleStar Corp., manufacturers of American-made firearms and components, announced a collaboration with Filipino martial arts instructor Ray Dionaldo. Dionaldo will render his designs into affordable production knives for DoubleStar’s new Edged Weapons Division. Dionaldo is the founder of Filipino Combat Systems. “I’ve always been passionate about knives and the Filipino martial arts,” Dionaldo said. “Working with Double- Star and being able to share this passion with others through my knife designs is an amazing opportunity.” Dionaldo started making Filipinostyle training blades as a hobby in high school. While in college, he made bolo knives and training weapons to help cover his tuition. Altogether, he has more than 40 years of experience in the blade arts. In addition to teaching FMA seminars, he works as an international blade dealer, designer and…

The first thing to remember is that our 24/7 endless news cycle makes these events appear much more prevalent than they are. There’s a phenomenon created by cable news: The earth shrinks! Our earth is a total of 196.9 million square miles. That’s huge, but cable news makes an immediate around-the-world impact, giving viewers the impression that all these occurrences are happening in an artificially close geography. They’re not. Next, we need to accept the fact — and it is a fact — that there’s no way to prevent all these incidents from taking place. We are going to live with these situations. In many ways, September 11 opened a Pandora’s box. It uncorked the evil genie, and there’s no way to stuff his nasty ass back into the bottle.…

Opinions about him vary. Some admire him, while others view him as the type of evil mastermind one typically sees in a Bond film. But no one can deny that he’s exerted as big an influence on the contemporary martial arts scene as anyone alive. RORION WAS THE MAN who took a chance and came to America to spread the gospel of a then largely unknown fighting method called Gracie jiu-jitsu. Interestingly, some have claimed he came, in large part, just to escape the shadow of his older cousin Rolls Gracie. Considered the premier jiu-jitsu fighter of the 1970s, Rolls was raised in the same household as Rorion, training under Rorion’s father Helio Gracie. While his critics imply this led to a sense of rivalry and even jealousy, Rorion insisted…

On my way to California’s Central Coast to interview a 57-year-old male martial artist who paints his toenails, I got bogged down in construction traffic, which gave me no nutritional option but to eat the only thing I could scavenge from my glove box: an energy bar that boasted “protein from real crickets.” That she that of a kid watching his first Bruce Lee movie. Before I left, I’d reached what for me is a rare realization: If I lived closer to The Pit, I’d sign up for lessons. “Bite him like a dog — a dog that wants to stay alive!” Those simple words, spoken during the explanation of a self-defense technique, sum up the no-fangs-barred fighting philosophy of John Hackleman, former kajukenbo student and current master of Hawaiian…

He’s that guy you see on Forged in Fire, the show that has people making all kinds of weapons from things like leaf springs and old tools. He’s the one who doesn’t say much through the first half of each episode while the smiths are discussing the intricacies of turning scrap metal into sharp blades. But then you get to the second half of the show, and Doug Marcaida steps forward as the official tester, the guy who starts slicing and dicing objects with swords, knives, axes and whatever other razor-sharp implements the contestants have crafted. Marcaida expertly hacks a pig carcass in half here and stabs an armored dummy there. If the weapon passes muster, he graces the contestant with his trademark judgment on the creation: “It will cut.…

As Sung Jin Suh explained in this article, a kuk sool technique should be precise enough to make contact with the target, usually a pressure point, and powerful enough to get the job done. Using more force than is necessary means you’re not following the teachings of the martial arts. With respect to power generation, you need to start by concentrating on good form. Without it, you won’t have proper body mechanics (optimal alignment of joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles plus efficient movement of those components), and that will make it nearly impossible to execute the techniques efficiently and effectively. You also should pay attention to your breath. Breathing is the root of internal power in the martial arts, which is why it’s considered a fundamental aspect of kuk sool.…

TORRENT T1 AND T2 PRO The unique features of the Torrent free-standing bag include a two-part stem, improved base-locking mechanism and hook-and-loop closure system that latches the cover of the bag to the base. All this gives it greater flexibility when struck. The Torrent comes in two sizes, making it perfect for martial arts practice or cardio workouts. $350 AND $450 CENTURYMARTIALARTS.COM/TORRENT FOLDAWAY SPEED BAG PLATFORM Space in your home gym or dojo is valuable — no one wants to waste it. With the Foldaway Speed Bag Platform, you don’t have to. It holds a standardsize speed bag but can be folded back when not in use, positioning the unit almost flush against the wall. With six adjustable heights, it can fit a multitude of users. It includes the hardware…

Systema authority and Black Belt Hall of Famer Vladimir Vasiliev has responded to the demands of an increasingly threatened population by scheduling a personalprotection training event on January 20-21, 2018. It’s open to beginners as well as advanced martial artists. The first day will be devoted to protecting yourself, while the second day will cover protecting others. Together, they will address awareness, pre-emption, the stages of escalation, weapons disarms, controlling distance, escape and evasion, lines of attack, stealth strikes, psychology and the role of emotions. The training event will take place at Systema Headquarters Toronto School in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. Instructor evaluations, renewals and upgrades also will be available. For more information, visit russianmartialart.com. NEWS BITES • Black Belt Hall of Famer Kelly McCann, who writes the Combatives column, was…

Welsh did some fighting in his home country, then crossed the pond and landed in Philadelphia, where he competed for a while before returning to his homeland. He’d cross the Atlantic several times in his career, which saw him pick up the British lightweight championship belt and the world lightweight title. THOSE ZIGZAGS over the ocean allowed this perceptive fighter to glean valuable tips and tactics from both the British and the American schools of boxing. He eventually forged his own style of pugilism. Here’s one of his observations: “The English boxer is too orthodox; he sticks to his style, despite all else. The American fighter conforms to the situation. If he misses a left hook, he swings right back with the right. The English boxer swings back to his…

Punching is the most common technique people use to protect themselves. It’s natural and, when practiced, can be quite effective. There is a drawback, however: It’s fairly easy to break your hand when you hit something. If you blindly punch at an attacker’s head, you’ll probably hit his skull, which greatly increases your chance of fracturing a bone in your hand. That’s why kuk sool advocates aiming for two sensitive spots on the head. As Sung Jin Suh explained, the jaw has a pressure point called dae young. In the past, people used to explain a knockout that occurred after a strike to dae young as “He has a glass jaw.” Kuk sool practitioners know that even a moderate-power strike to this point can result in a knockout. The second…