Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2021 i Black Belt Magazine

Black Belt was founded in 1961. As you know, we just crossed over into 2021. Do the math — this means the world’s leading magazine of martial arts just turned 60. Sixty is a respectable age for any human being to reach. It’s even more respectable for a consumer magazine, especially in the internet era. Look around. You won’t see a whole lot of magazines that are more than 60 years old. Scientific American, Field & Stream, Time and Sports Illustrated are four that come to mind. Most of the other titles that were founded before we were are long gone — or have abandoned paper for a purely digital existence. A lesser known but no less significant aspect of Black Belt reaching 60 is the special meaning attached to…

Known during his MMA career as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was elected to the Huntington Beach City Council in Huntington Beach, California. Ortiz was the leader among the 15 potential candidates for three open seats on the council with 34,901 votes. Ortiz, 45, identifies as a Republican and a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump. He was selected for the UFC Hall of Fame in 2012 and last fought for the Combate Americas promotion in 2019.…

France prevailed at the 2020 European Judo Championships, recently held in the Czech Republic, where it claimed a tournament-best eight medals, including five golds, by dominating the women’s divisions. All but one of the nation’s medals came in the women’s events as the French captured five of the seven weight classes. The French were led by reigning world champion Clarisse Agbegnenou, who won her fifth European title by overwhelming the competition in the under-63-kilogram class, winning all her matches by full ippon, the judo equivalent of a knockout. Several countries, including Britain, had opted out of competing because of COVID-19 concerns.…

Chinese tai chi master Ma Baoguo, 69, who recently announced he was leaving the martial arts after suffering ridicule because of a quick knockout at the hands of 50-year-old amateur boxer Wang Qingmin and who released statements claiming he’d been tricked into the fight, is facing censure from China’s state media. Videos mocking Ma’s 30-second loss had gone viral in China, drawing millions of views, but now Chinese social media sites Bilibili and Weibo are pulling most of them down. Rather than trying to spare the controversial martial artist ridicule, though, it appears the move is part of an effort to limit Ma’s presence online as Chinese state media have accused him of “poisoning” China’s values through his grandstanding antics.…

Russia closed out the 2020 World Sambo Championships with 17 gold medals. The tournament, held in Novi Sad, Serbia, was dominated by Russia, where the sport was created, with no other nation claiming more than three golds. Cameroon’s Seidou Nji Mouluh was the lone athlete from outside Eastern Europe to capture gold, winning the 100-kilogram combat-sambo division with a strong striking display. The event included men’s divisions in combat sambo, which allows striking and grappling, and men’s and women’s divisions in sport sambo, in which only grappling is allowed.…

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1 Medical authorities tell us that masks are necessary to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean they can’t look cool. That’s why Century designed a line of masks that are perfect for use in the dojo as well as for trips to the grocery store. MAKE: CENTURY MODEL: GAME FACE MASK CAMO, TWO FACED MICRO LOGO MASK, WHITE STRIPED FOR LIFE MASK MSRP: $4.99 EACH URL: centurymartialarts.com 2 Black Belt Hall of Famer Burton Richardson wrote this book to give practitioners of sport BJJ a proven way to augment the street effectiveness of their art. In its 179 pages, the author addresses multiple attackers, firearms, knives, impact weapons, biting and much more. MAKE: BLACK BELT PUBLISHING MODEL: BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU FOR THE STREET MSRP: $24.95 URL: shop.blackbeltmag.com/collections/books-and-dvds…

What can be said about 2020 in retrospect that wasn’t lamented when the year was a work in progress? Likely not much. The one bright spot is that all the FUD — fear, uncertainty and doubt — didn’t stop martial artists from doing what they do best: representing the arts, serving as role models, helping those who are less fortunate, and meeting the needs of their students and followers despite lockdowns and social distancing. Since 1968, the magazine has paid tribute to these deserving martial artists through the Black Belt Hall of Fame, and this year is no different. Presented here are the facts and figures on the six men and women who from now on will be known as Black Belt Hall of Famers.…

BASE: NEW YORK, NEW YORK ARTS: JUDO, COMBATIVES, NINJUTSU, VEE-ARNIS-JITSU Around the world, untold numbers of women have turned to the martial arts after being threatened or victimized. That’s the raison dêtre for the arts, after all. A select few overcome such situations and go on to teach others how to do so, and when they speak to the downtrodden, their words carry much more weight than the words of men. One of them is Gerry Chisolm, aka “Lady Sensei.” Her path began when she found herself in an abusive relationship while living in North Carolina. She separated from the man, who promptly started stalking her. That continued for four years, eventually prompting Chisolm to relocate to New York. She immediately sought out self-defense instruction to complement the judo she’d…

BASE: KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE ARTS: KARATE, KRAV MAGA, KICKBOXING, JIU-JITSU As the founder and CEO of Premier Martial Arts, Barry Van Over is one of the most successful — and influential — martial artists in America. His path to the top started when he fell under the spell of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. Lessons commenced when he was 9, and the youth was fortunate to have an instructor who encouraged him to get into teaching. Van Over earned his chops as a black belt and then an instructor before becoming a martial arts consultant. In 2004 he decided to strike out on his own and open a school called Premier Martial Arts. The knowledge he accumulated while working as a consultant enabled him to open additional locations in Knoxville. His…

I’m fairly familiar with technology — I’ve used it since the late 1980s to enhance and expand my instructional programs — and it’s served me well. However, like most other martial artists, I’ve been challenged by COVID-19. And like most other instructors, I’ve found myself wondering, What do I do now? How do I keep my students? Can technology help? The most popular answer to that question has been to use Zoom or a comparable video-conferencing platform to deliver instruction to students who either elect or are required to stay at home. Because many of you have been doing this for nearly a year, I won’t delve into the subject. Instead, I’ll discuss a topic that’s closely related. Senior sensei around the world devote significant portions of their professional lives…

And so the debate continues in regard to what will work. Many techniques are taught, and for each technique learned, you’re sure to find practitioners, instructors, masters and grandmasters who say‚ “That won’t work on the street.” This begs the question‚ What makes one technique more or less valid than another for street application? The answer can lead to endless debate, but instead of arguing, let’s talk about the things most martial artists will agree on. • Simplicity. Can a given technique be learned easily? If it takes months or years for students to become proficient, is that technique street-applicable? What would students do if they were attacked tonight? It’s been said that a technique that’s 20 steps long allows for 19 mistakes and 19 opportunities for the opponent to…

One of the new initiatives at Black Belt HQ involves letting our readers know about products we’re fond of, products that might aid you in your never-ending quest for martial arts mastery — or just in your quest to get in shape. First up: Hit! Balm. These days, you can’t listen to a podcast or browse the web without running into testimonials about CBD, properly known as cannabidiol. To be honest, I was always a bit skeptical, in part because of the ubiquity of the stories. Well, that skepticism waned the day after I hyperextended two fingers on my right hand in a training mishap. It didn’t take long for the digits to turn purple and stiffen up, but I still could form them into a fist — roughly speaking…

In what is probably the world’s most elevated martial arts school, a judo dojo has been established in Nepal on the slopes of Mount Everest. Built by a Japanese nonprofit organization in Khumjung Village, the school was erected at an elevation of nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, almost halfway up the world’s tallest mountain. Fifty tatami mats were brought in by truck and helicopter and then carried by students the last stretch of the way to the new school. The nonprofit organization, led by Olympic gold-medal-winning judoka Kosei Inoue, plans to send Japanese coaches to teach at the dojo and bring in students from across Nepal.…

The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation recently staged its Pan American No-Gi Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, although with a field missing many elite grapplers because of the pandemic. The women’s black-belt competition could muster only enough participants to fill two of its scheduled seven divisions. The men’s black-belt competition saw multi-time IBJJF no-gi world champion Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa win the heavyweight class, while Abu Dhabi Combat Club world champion Kaynan Duarte took the superheavyweight title. The two teammates from the Atos squad then met in the finals of the absolute division, but they opted not to compete against each other.…

Thailand’s Wanheng Menayothin, who was boxing’s longest-reigning champion, recently lost a 12-round decision and his WBC strawweight title to Petchmanee CP Freshmart in Thailand. Menayothin, 35, came into the bout having made 12 straight defenses of his title over the course of six years. His 54-0 career mark entering the fight would have been the greatest unbeaten and untied record of any world champion in boxing history if he had retired with it. Instead, he falls to 54-1 while Petchmanee claims the championship and moves to 35-1.…

The Chinese Wushu Association, which oversees martial arts in China, issued a call for wushu practitioners to avoid unregulated free-fighting events and to not represent their arts in such competitions. The announcement came on the heels of a notice from China’s main sports governing body, the General Administration of Sport, calling for greater regulation to improve the safety of MMA and other professional combat sports. In recent years, such events have become a hot-button topic in China with the defeat of several traditional kung fu masters at the hands of kickboxers and mixed martial artists in various free-fighting competitions.…

GET EXPOSURE to thousands of potential students by being featured in Black Belt magazine. Limited memberships available, so ACT NOW! $289 VALUE ONLY $199! To register or get more info, go to BlackBeltMag.com/distributor. REGISTERED MARTIAL ARTIST MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS INCLUDE: • 8 copies of each issue of Black Belt magazine for retail in your school • Retail countertop display • Official “Registered Martial Artist” metal membership card • Name, lineage and bio on the new BlackBeltMag.com • Your school will be included in Black Belt’s Dojo Listings • Special product and tournament discounts…

Born: 1584 Died: 1645 First teacher: His father Most important teacher: Himself, via life experience First duel: At age 13, he killed a samurai named Arima Kihei. Famous bokken duels: At age 21, he defeated Genzaemon Yoshioka, his younger brother Denshichiro Yoshioka and his son Matashichiro Yoshioka. Lionization: He was not regarded as a hero until the 1920s, when Yoshikawa Eiji began writing about him in a Japanese newspaper. Retirement: He resided in a cave in Kyushu, where he wrote Go Rin No Sho. Musashi on strategy: “When you cannot be deceived by men, you have realized the wisdom of strategy.” Musashi on knowledge: “It’s difficult to know yourself without knowing the way of others.” Musashi on enemies: “The way of battle is the same man to man or [with]…

BASE: DENVER ART: ENSHIN KARATE Before the UFC started, the Sabaki Challenge was regarded as the toughest competition in which a person could test his martial skill. Full contact, punches and kicks without pads, grabs and sweeps — all the techniques favored by martial artists and feared by their opponents. The event enjoyed this lofty status from the moment it was founded, and in the eyes of many, it still holds that position. The Sabaki Challenge is the brainchild of Joko Ninomiya. Born in Japan in 1954, he started his journey in judo. After earning his black belt, he switched to karate under Hideyuki Ashihara, who trained in kyokushin before creating his own system of ashihara. While rising through the ranks in ashihara, Ninomiya continued his judo and kyokushin training.…

• “It doesn’t bother me to have seven, eight classes a day,” says Fumio Demura, always the consummate teacher. “That’s the way I want it. That’s the way I grew up. People say, ‘C’mon, Fumio, why don’t you take a vacation?’ I say, ‘I don’t need a vacation. To me, every day is a vacation. I’m doing exactly what I want to do, and that’s teach.’” • Four years before the first Karate Kid movie would be released, a letter writer from Illinois mentions “Cobra kai shao lin boxing.” Long live sensei Kreese! • The renowned Byong Yu takes a turn at penning the Instructors’ Forum column. “There are three main aspects of the mind that are necessary to be developed if one is going to be successful in the…

November 27 marked what would have been the 80th birthday of legendary martial artist Bruce Lee. Despite having died in 1973, Lee remains a pop-culture icon who still makes headlines nearly 50 years after his death. In October, his daughter Shannon Lee released her book Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee, which quickly became the No. 1 martial arts book on Amazon. Several weeks later, as the anniversary of his birth approached, Nike re-released its popular Kobe Bryant brand of Bruce Lee–inspired sneakers, while the Hong Kong postal service said it will release a special set of Bruce Lee commemorative stamps.…

After apparently responding to reports of a large gathering that violated COVID-19 restrictions, law-enforcement officials in New York discovered an underground fight club that was staging an event with 200 attendees, many of whom were unmasked and failing to follow social-distancing guidelines. New York City deputy sheriffs shut down the illegal club, billed as Rumble in the Bronx, and arrested 10 people believed to have organized the event. Rumble in the Bronx has developed a notable presence on social media and staged fights in other cities. Its next show was supposed to take place in Orlando, Florida.…

Takakeisho claimed the November Grand Sumo Tournament with a playoff victory over Terunofuji. The pair had already met in the final scheduled match of the 15-day event, with Terunofuji throwing Takakeisho to the ground to win the bout and force the playoff, which resulted from both men having finished with a 13-2 record. But Takakeisho, 24, came out hitting in the playoff, forcing Terunofuji out of the ring to capture the championship, his second Emperor’s Cup since achieving ozeki status, sumo’s second-highest rank. The tournament, which had to be moved from Fukuoka to Tokyo because of coronavirus concerns, was contested without grand-champions Hakuho and Kakuryu, who withdrew because of injuries.…

At the first significant lethwei, or Burmese bare-knuckle boxing, match contested in the United States, world champion Dave Leduc of Canada defeated rival Cyrus Washington by verbal surrender in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The two had previously fought to a draw in Myanmar under traditional lethwei rules, in which no decisions are rendered and bouts can be won only by knockout. The sport is contested bare-knuckle with only hand wraps used, and knees, elbows and head butts all are allowed. Leduc announced via Twitter he believes he broke his right hand during the fight.…

BASE: HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA ARTS: BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU, MMA In the October 2012 issue, the editors of Black Belt named the toughest female martial artists ever to walk through the doors of BB HQ. The roster was augmented by a sidebar that named the toughest women who hadn’t yet come in. Cris “Cyborg” Justino was at the top of that second list. “She’s definitely No. 1,” said Lito Angeles, author of Fight Night! The Thinking Fan’s Guide to Mixed Martial Arts. “Her skill set on the ground is reportedly excellent. She won the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship as a purple belt, and she won in Abu Dhabi.” Her skill set on the ground was excellent then, and it’s even better now. Justino has an MMA record of 23-2, with 18 of those…

BASE: MAKHACHKALA, DAGESTAN, RUSSIA ARTS: MMA, WRESTLING, SAMBO, JUDO The fact that Khabib Nurmagomedov is only 32 years old but already retired speaks volumes about his MMA skill set. So does this: He was the longest-reigning lightweight champ the UFC ever had. And he was a two-time world champion in combat sambo, the version of the art that allows striking and grappling, as well as a European champion in pankration. All this has made him the most-followed Russian on Instagram, according to his website. Nurmagomedov began his martial education at the hands of his father, a combat-sambo coach. After that came wrestling — he evidenced his skills in a viral video that shows him as a child wrestling a bear cub. His interest in MMA, his website says, was kindled…