Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2021 i Black Belt Magazine

First, I would like to say thank you to the staff of Black Belt for believing in me and my family and for supporting us over the years. However, the story about my son Marco Johnson made some statements that I would like to correct. I never got locked up for a drug offense. I was locked up for fighting with the police. In my life, I never had a drug charge and never was locked up for any of the bad things I thought I should’ve been locked up for. I consider that a blessing from God. Kung fu hip hop, the system that Marco talked about, is an element of wushudo, the system that I created. Kung fu hip hop is what I passed along to my son…

An epic Glory kickboxing show saw Alex Pereira become the first martial artist to win the organization’s undisputed championship in two weight classes in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Pereira, the middleweight titleholder, captured the light-heavyweight belt when he earned a split decision over defending champ Artem Vakhitov. Glory 77 also featured heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven defeating Hesdy Gerges and then Tarik Khbabez to win a four-man heavyweight tournament. In the show’s wildest moment, welterweight challenger Murthel Groenhart attempted a flying knee against champion Cedric Doumbe but launched himself over the top rope and out of the ring when Doumbe sidestepped. Although Groenhart climbed back into the ring, he seemed as if he might have hurt his back. Moments later, he took a huge overhand right to the head that knocked him out.…

To commemorate Bruce Lee’s 80th birthday, CASETiFY created an exclusive collection of cellphone cases that capture the spirit of the action star’s signature moves, his nuggets of wisdom and even his iconic tracksuit. In a related story, ONE Championship joined forces with Bruce Lee LLC to launch a limited-edition line of apparel celebrating Lee’s life. The co-branded collection features T-shirts, sweatpants, bomber jackets and more.…

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization announced that tai chi chuan was one of 35 new entries on its list of assets that are classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. China initially nominated tai chi in 2008, but the martial art was rejected at the time because China was considered to have too many national traditions entered for consideration. Since then, the number of allowable entries from any country has been reduced to two and then just one. In 2020 it was finally tai chi’s turn for inclusion — along with other national traditions like Finnish sauna culture. The martial art joins a handful of other arts, including silat and capoeira, that already have been added to the list.…

ON A THROWBACK AND ITS UPDATE BLACK BELT: DID YOU OWN A PAIR OF @CENTURYMA KICKING JEANS BACK IN THE 1980s? (P.S. THERE’S A NEW-AND-IMPROVED VERSION YOU CAN BUY NOW!) Moo Duk Kwan: Oh hell,,, yes and cowboy boots Christopher Yurasko: I had a pair of Billy Jack jeans in the early 2000’s. They were great. ON A QUESTION WE ASKED BLACK BELT: ARE YOU OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WHEN KICKING WAS CONSIDERED “FIGHTING DIRTY”? giorgio: Yup I remember that from school … they would say only girls kick ON A MARTIAL ARTS DILEMMA BLACK BELT: WHICH ONE IS FOR YOU? CHOOSE WISELY! ALI FULLER: I’m confused. I can’t decide BLACK BELT: Better watch Way of the Dragon again… ON A POPULAR QUESTION OF THE DAY BLACK BELT: WHEN YOU…

UFC pioneer Paul Varelans passed away on January 16, 2021, at age 51 after battling COVID-19 for more than a month. He was diagnosed with the virus in December 2020, and as his condition worsened, he had to be placed on a ventilator in a medically induced coma. Known as “The Polar Bear,” the 6-foot-8-inch, 300-pound Varelans debuted in UFC 6 in 1995. During his career, he fought a host of notables, including Dan Severn, Mark Kerr and David “Tank” Abbott. Perhaps his most memorable performance came in UFC 7, when he made the finals of an eight-man tournament but ultimately lost to Marco Ruas in a bout that lasted more than 13 minutes. It was one of the longest tournament battles the promotion had ever seen. Fedor Emelianenko, 44,…

The first ever all-female pro grappling event recently took place in Miami. Staged by the Fight 2 Win promotion, the show featured only female referees, judges, commentators and grapplers competing in individual matches. The main event had Rafaela Guedes, a black belt for only six months, continue her hot streak by defeating three-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world-champion Ana Carolina Vieira by decision in a no-gi match. The show also saw a battle of former Abu Dhabi Combat Club world champions as Luanna Alzuguir won a split decision over 41-year-old BJJ legend Hannette Staack in another no-gi battle.…

The UFC, along with its drug-testing partner the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, announced that fighters who test positive for marijuana or other cannabinoid products no longer will be punished under the franchise’s rules. Although fighters still will be prevented from competing under the influence of marijuana, those who test positive for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, through blood or urine screenings will not be considered in violation of anti-doping policies unless it can be shown that the substance was taken for performance enhancement. However, the UFC was quick to point out that this applies only to its own regulations. State athletic commissions and local sanctioning bodies are not affected by the decision and will continue to enforce their drug policies and punishments for fighters who test positive while competing in…

Paul Heller, who served as executive producer on the Bruce Lee blockbuster Enter the Dragon, passed away on December 28, 2020, at age 93. Along with his partner Fred Weintraub, Heller created the original 17-page story treatment for the film that would turn Lee into a superstar. According to the biography Bruce Lee: A Life, Heller said the story was originally inspired by the Terry and Pirates comic strips he read in his youth. He hired screenwriter Michael Allin to turn the idea into a full-blown movie script. After the success of Enter the Dragon, Heller returned to the martial arts genre, producing the blaxploitation karate film Black Belt Jones with ETD co-star Jim Kelly. Among his other credits, Heller served as executive producer for the 1990 Academy Award–nominated My…

Arizona Sixkiller’s House of Kenpo Karate 1570 E Northern Ave., Suite B Kingman, AZ 86409 (928) 607-0021 sixkillerjr.jess@yahoo.com California Blain Cort’s Total Self-Defense 2955 McMurry Drive Anderson, CA 96007 blaincort@gmail.com Golden Tiger Karate 9501 Flushing Quail Bakersfeild, CA 93312 (661) 345-4371 goldentigerkarate@yahoo.com Kuk Sool Won - Rohnert Park Martial Arts 311 Professional Center Drive Rohert Park, CA 94928 (707) 494-1151 Kuksoolwonrp@yahoo.com Red Dragon Championship Martial Arts 1603 Garnet Ave. San Diego, CA 92109 (858) 263-4212 reddragonpb@live.com Connecticut New England Rendokan 1845 Silas Deane Highway Rocky Hill, CT 06067 (860) 628-1022 Info@ner1.net Florida All American Martial Arts & Krav Maga Academy 4255 US Highway 1 South, Suite 4 St. Augustine, FL 32086 (904) 797-2262 lessons@ staugustinetaekwondo.com Georgia Kombative Academy of Traditional Martial Arts Savannah Mall, 1st Floor 14045 Abercorn St., Suite…

Experts agree that real-world combat takes place most often at close range. In such encounters, the hands are the go-to weapons. No other offensive tool resolves conflict more quickly and with less effort and energy. Hand strikes are also versatile: They can be delivered from virtually any angle, can follow a straight or curved path, and can travel upward or downward. They can be employed while you’re standing and moving about freely or while you’re locked in a clinch. They also work well when you’re on the ground. For these reasons, most high-risk conflicts are best resolved with the hands, whether they’re used as closed fists or in an open position. By definition, the lead hand is closer to the target, which means it can land more quickly and more…

“FREE REPORT REVEALS HOW SELF - DEFENSE EXPERTS HAVE IT ALL WRONG …”… And How You Can EASILY Fix It! When it comes to dealing with a real-life knife attack, most people either DON’T train … or they train WRONG! As martial arts instructors with a combined 60-PLUS YEARS of experience, Dr. Conrad Bui and Patrick Vuong of Tiga Tactics have seen what goes on in the “knife defense” side of the industry. And they are n’t impressed. TRUTH REVEALED That’s why they decided to research and publish a FREE report that you can read and act on QUICKLY to protect yourself and your loved ones. It goes over: •The martial arts MYTHS that keep some “experts” in business.•The telltale signs of an incoming knife attack, giving you instant ESP…

ONE Championship has released the candidate list for the inaugural season of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition, which will begin airing later this year. On it, 16 candidates will compete for a $250,000 contract to work under ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for a year. They will have to compete in both business and athletic challenges. The global cast will feature four candidates from the United States: Eugene Chung, Monica Millington, Nazee Sajedi and Roman Wilson. Chung is the youngest cast member, Wilson is a former football star in the Ivy League, Sajedi is an aviation expert and Millington is a successful entrepreneur. The Apprentice will begin to air in Asia on March 18 via AXN in multiple markets and will debut in China on March 20 via ByteDance…

In a competition bereft of many of its top wrestlers, Daieisho was a surprise winner at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo. With the area under a state of emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic and a postwar record of 19 wrestlers having withdrawn from the event, Daieisho pulled off the upset victory — coming from the maegashira level, the lowest of five ranks in sumo’s top division, to win the title. It was the wrestler’s first championship as he finished the event with a 13-2 record. Displaying a powerful pushing and thrusting style, he also garnered the prize for outstanding performance during the tournament, as well as the prize for best technique.…

The International Judo Federation announced its world tour for 2021 with its world-championship tournament to take place June 6-13 in Budapest, Hungary. Because the Tokyo Olympiad was postponed to 2021, this marks the first time that the men’s world championships and only the third time that the women’s world championships are being held in the same year as the Olympic Games. The IJF world championships will serve as the final judo qualification event for entry into the summer Olympics, scheduled for July 24-31 in Tokyo. The world tour kicked off January 11 with the Doha World Masters event and will include stops in Israel, Uzbekistan, Georgia and France with additional events for later in the year still possible.…

Henan University in China has reached an agreement with the Shaolin Temple to jointly offer an academic major in kung fu. The focus will be on attracting foreign students, although classes will be held in Chinese. While academic degrees will be offered, the requirements for enrollment, what the curriculum will consist of and what requirements need to be met for graduation haven’t been made public. Reaction on social media to the announcement was mixed with some favoring the idea as a means of spreading the Chinese martial arts and others feeling it’s simply an economically motivated stunt.…

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Benefits pertaining to power, speed and balance are widely known to result from heavy-bag workouts. However, few martial artists know that upper-body strength also can be enhanced. Your options for exercises are limited only by your imagination. • Push-Up: Place your feet shoulder-width apart on a bag that’s lying on the ground with your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor. Perform a standard push-up. Repeat 10 to 20 times to develop your pectoralis major. • Dip: Begin with your feet shoulder-width apart on the floor, your knees bent at a 90-degree angle and your body facing away from the bag. Squat until you can touch the bag. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart on it with your fingers pointing toward your butt. Lower your body as far as possible by…

1 The Stack and Smack is so simple that it seems too good to be true. Set it up and knock it down. Relieve stress. Burn energy. Work on coordination. Make it more complex and introduce some puzzle-solving by taking it slower and working with the pieces in countless ways for a mind-boggling variety of tasks. Includes 30 high-density foam blocks and a drawstring mesh storage bag. MAKE: Century MODEL: Stack and Smack MSRP: $349.99 URL: centurymartialarts.com 2 Nothing develops precision quite like striking pads. Striking pads cover the gamut: kickboxing, karate — you name it. Precision and speed are just as important as power, if not more so. The ability to test your strikes free-form against a movable target is also essential. But there is one thing most striking…

One of the most popular systems of kung fu in the world today is wing chun. It was cast into the international spotlight by Bruce Lee, whose formal training started in the art, but its popularity has exploded since Donnie Yen brought founder Ip Man to life in four blockbuster movies. Despite all this exposure, many aspects of the southern Chinese system are not well-known outside of Hong Kong. One of them is its crime connection. That link is so prominent in the former British colony that wing chun is sometimes referred to as “gangster fist.” This moniker came about because of the relationship the system had with the Chinese Triads, the secret societies known as saam hap wui When Ip arrived in Hong Kong in the 1950s to spread…

Many of the things that people teach — and possibly some things that you learned — in self-defense class are wrong. This should not be overly surprising when two things are taken into consideration. The first is that self-defense classes are based on martial arts curricula, and the martial arts were passed down as secret transmissions to be guarded from outsiders. The arts were intentionally mistaught to everyone except trusted “closed door” disciples, and to become a closed-door disciple required training with the same teacher for 10 to 20 years. Walk into a dojo and instead of asking the teacher, “How long have you been in the martial arts?” ask “How long did you study martial arts before you began to teach?” Your next question should be, “How long did…

The 203rd issue of Black Belt was dated November 1980. It was 100 pages long and featured kenpo karate stylist Jack Farr on the cover. ■ “If you can’t make it work, it won’t be in kenpo. We work with ideas, not rules. The art has to fit the person.” So says Jack Farr, the kenpo master on this issue’s cover. ■ “Self-defense is more than karate,” Farr continues. “It’s brushing your teeth, eating the right foods and taking care of the whole self. That’s my idea of self-defense, and I think that’s why I have such a hell of a good time.” ■ The executive editor of Black Belt presents the results of the staff’s investigation into the claims of Frank Dux, who insists that in 1975 he won…