Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2022 i Black Belt Magazine

Hello, martial artists, school owners, and instructors! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Blake Wientge, and I am the National Sales Manager for Century Mat Solutions. Never heard of it? That’s because it’s new – and I get to be the one to share the exciting news! Century Martial Arts has always looked for ways to serve members of our martial arts community and provide them with a unique, better-than-anywhere-else experience. We’ve led the industry in terms of innovation for nearly five decades. Even when it comes to something as basic and integral to a school as mats, we’re still bringing that Century touch. I am proud to introduce our newest division, Century Mat Solutions. CMS doesn’t just sell mats – we assist you in facility design, mat…

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 Budokai (Budokaikan Association) 4616 Park Granada #72 Calabasas, CA 91302 (747) 444-7940 senseialex@budokai.net 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…

But Peacock has an enduring love for nature and a strong connection with it. After the war, he realized that he needed to get closer to nature to heal. He started going on life-changing solo adventures in the most remote areas of the United States. He believed that the wilderness possesses an intrinsic trait that could restore his belief in himself and, possibly, in humanity. It became his remedy for his broken soul. It enabled him to find a way to hit his reset button in an effort to center himself and deal with the complexities of life. In the spring of 2021, I desperately needed to find my martial arts reset button. Like most people, I knew that COVID-19 was having a detrimental effect on my life. My mental…

Good strikers know that having good power means having optimal posture and structural alignment in the middle of striking and that feinting or baiting poor alignment in your opponent can steal his or her power. The wise combatant trains assiduously for structural perfection whether in motion or stock-still. Nothing I’ve said so far should foster disagreement. Veteran martial artists, please stay with me a wee bit longer as I outline a thought experiment that easily can be taken to the real world. The preceding may be obvious, but even obvious hypotheses should be put to the test to ensure that what’s obvious is also true, as more often than we realize, obvious is sometimes just legend, dogma or simply familiar “truths.” OVERHEAD “LOCKOUT” TEST: For this hypothesis test, you’ll require…

Backstory: During the past five decades, probably millions of martial artists have jonesed for a pair of these gloves, ever since Bruce Lee wore something similar in Enter the Dragon in the scene in which he armbarred a young Sammo Hung. I’m not ashamed to say I was one of those martial artists. Unboxing: Minutes after the package arrived at my door, I tore into it. At first glance, I thought, Wow! These gloves are bigger than I thought. Not bigger because the size is L; bigger because there’s plenty of padding over the knuckles and the back of the hand. And that’s a good thing when you’re concerned with the integrity of the bones in your hands and in your opponent’s face. Where the gloves aren’t padded is on…

You should not have a favorite weapon. To become overly familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well.—Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings It’s a fair generalization to say that martial artists favor the long sword and neglect the short sword. It’s easy to see why. The katana is long enough to impress, powerful enough to deliver success in test-cutting and familiar enough to foster an imagined link to all those sword-wielding wonders we watch on the silver screen. “Most people don’t learn the short sword because they would rather drive a Corvette than a Toyota,” says Dana Abbott, Black Belt’s 2004 Weapons Instructor of the Year. “They want the big dog.” That’s not to say a big dog is right for…

Many people think the sole job of a magazine editor is fixing typos — essentially, serving as a human spell-checker. What they don’t know is that we spend much of our time curating. In other words, we wade through submissions, weeding out historical pieces that present illogical conclusions, technical articles that teach impractical moves and self-defense stories that offer bad advice. On the internet, however — and especially in forums — there’s little or no curation. And in the right place, that’s fine. Unfiltered comments from average Joe’s and Jane’s have their place. Problems crop up, though, when people see such comments as authoritative. And this happens a lot — which is why everyone loves to say, “I saw it on the internet; it has to be true.” Recently, I…

ON YOUR DREAM INSTRUCTOR BLACK BELT: IF YOU COULD TRAIN WITH ANY MARTIAL ARTIST (PAST OR PRESENT), WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? eno_erif: Da Mo because there’s no school like ye olde school. Thomasine: Only Bruce of course. He focused on not just body but spiritually as well The Truth: Rickson Gracie hands down. As a student of #JiuJitsu and #mindfullness I believe he would offer the best formula for all around personal growth. FattyKarate: Sammo Hung. He’s why I got into martial arts. SpencerLovesTacos: Obviously gonna be Ip Man. Miyagi Chojun a very close second. Or Higaonna Kanryo. Avery Jenkins, author: Morihei Ueshiba Belduque: Benny Urquidez el mejor karateka de la historia. Benny The Jet Urquidez “El Fanatico”: Gracias, yo prefiero Bruce Lee, Y Joe Lewis. Steve Rowe:…

My big brother came home from the Marines. I told him that I wanted him to teach me how to do judo. He said that women didn’t do judo but the closest thing that I could do was wrestling. When I found out that we had a wrestling school in Columbus, Ohio, I went!—Kathleen Wimbley (shown) Chris and I talked about the incredible athleticism and training that you all had. Your publicity shot shows you flexing your guns! Wimbley: (laughs) Babs [Wingo] was the very first, then her sister Ethel [Johnson] came in. Ethel was so agile and probably one of the only girls who could do a drop kick. She became very popular because she was smaller and moved much faster and was quite attractive. Their sister Marva [Scott]…

Until now, this column has focused on the prerequisite elements and first two realms of my Core-4 Self-Defense Battle Plan, namely threat recognition and situational control. Now I will delve into the third realm, which is physical engagement. First, I want to emphasize that what I covered in those previous columns represents the foundation of practical self-defense. Without a solid grounding in those elements, the information I will convey moving forward will be a moot point. To establish context, a physical self-defense engagement is the polar opposite of a combat-sport match in that the former is characterized by uncertainty, deception, surprise and the fact that it’s asymmetrical, while the latter is a prearranged and consensual mutual-combat contest that’s characterized by symmetrical, give-and-take action. In my column in the April/May 2022…

The trial and conviction of Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd brought closure to the most recent and infamous case of police violence in America — but not a solution to the problem it’s come to epitomize. The issue of excessive force in law-enforcement interactions with the public has smoldered for a long time. A through line can be drawn from the beating of Rodney King in 1991 to the death of Floyd in 2020, pointing to seemingly escalating incidents of excessive force used by police. Frustration and anger are rekindled with every viral video that surfaces with evidence of yet another assault or death. An exhausted populace and an isolated police force seem to be eyeing each other with growing suspicion as they’re driven further into…

If you ask 100 different martial artists what kind of training is most important, you’ll get 100 different answers. You’ll get 200 if you come back a year later and ask them again. Moni Aizik has trained in multiple martial arts genres — in the classical arts, sporting arts and military arts — and the worldview he developed led him to a set of answers he regards as universal truths. He went on to found Commando Krav Maga, Combat Survival and Elite Combat Fitness, and he’s taught those systems to countless clients in the military and in law enforcement, as well as in the civilian sphere, for more than 40 years. I had an opportunity to talk with Aizik about what Commando Krav Maga is, what it does and how…

▸ Leo Fong — martial arts film star, author and pioneer of Chinese martial arts in America — passed away February 18, 2022, at age 93. Born in China, Fong relocated to America as a child, settling in Arkansas. Initially an amateur boxer, he took up judo and jujitsu after moving to California to work as a Methodist minister. Fong went on to train in choy lay fut and sil lum kung fu in San Francisco, as well as taekwondo and arnis. It was during this period in the early 1960s when Fong became friends and training partners with a young Bruce Lee. In an interview with the Martial Arts History Museum, Fong said that after Lee encountered difficulty in his infamous fight with kung fu master Wong Jack Man,…

There probably has never been a civilization that has as much homogeneity as that of Japan. In contrast, there probably has never been a society as heterogeneous as that of the United States. Think about it: No Japanese person ever says to another, “What country did your ancestors come from?” All Japanese came from the same place. In a nation where everyone shares the same history, cultural norms and standards, there’s a lot that doesn’t need to be explained. A lot can be taken for granted in personal interactions. It’s an exaggeration, but if a Japanese person feels uncomfortable, the majority of the other Japanese people in the room will — or can — know it. There’s a typical body language that’s expressed. It’s easy to read. In the Japanese…

The first question is, What on earth are you doing in Japan? Jessica Gerrity: If you mean what am I doing for a living, let me go down the list. I’m a tourism and PR ambassador for Saitama, the prefecture I live in. My job is to find interesting local places, traditions and craftspeople. I then conduct interviews and help promote the people on social media in order to raise awareness and interest. For example, I recently had the pleasure of visiting a master of traditional sword making, Kawasaki Akihira. I spent a day interviewing him and filming his process of forging swords in the traditional manner. It was fascinating to watch — like time travel to a period when this craft flourished out of necessity. At BudoJapan.com, I work…

On the Black Belt Magazine Channel on JungoTV.com, you can watch two cult classics: Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninja. Although he usually doesn’t receive top billing, the real star of both films is Sho Kosugi. To deepen your understanding of this martial artist and the shadow warriors he’s played, we present the following.—Editor The year was 2006, and it was my first visit to Hollywood. Whom did I choose to meet first on that day? The foremost name in ninja movies: Sho Kosugi. There I was, standing in Kosugi’s office in the heart of Tinseltown, having just wrapped an hourlong interview on the master movie ninja’s life, career and plans for the future, and the camera crew was making its way around the room, getting pickup shots.…

Artem Priymenko had a bright future ahead of him in the martial arts. Having been described as one of the most promising young martial artists in Ukraine, Priymenko captured the country’s 16-and-under championship in sambo in 2021, then went on to qualify for the national team and the upcoming world cup competitions. With Ukraine being one of world’s foremost producers of sambo talent and with the sport recently gaining recognition from the International Olympic Committee, not to mention being a breeding ground for MMA champions, Priymenko’s future seemed limitless. But that’s all gone now. The 16-year-old’s life was cut short by a Russian air attack. Priymenko — along with his parents, grandmother and two younger brothers — were reported killed in the city of Sumy when Russian bombs leveled their…

This summer like every summer, the masses will gear up and head into the great outdoors with virtually no thought given to the subject of personal safety even though there likely will be nothing between them and the world except a thin layer of nylon or canvas. That’s not a criticism; it’s a statement of fact. And it’s unlikely to change. However, you’re a martial artist, and that means you do everything with an eye on personal safety, not to mention the safety of any loved ones who are accompanying you, people for whom you feel responsible. It’s for this group of martial artists that I decided to merge the knowledge I’ve gained from a lifetime of camping with the experience I’ve acquired from my 40-plus years in the martial…

SIGNAGE: Like the song says, “Signs, signs, everywhere are signs.” While having signs everywhere isn’t practical, your goal should be to have them where potential students are. If you already have enough signs, they probably could stand to be freshened up. It’s something no school owner should neglect because signs are (almost) free advertising. Dojo owners with a high referral rate often have people walk in and say, “I saw your sign.” That happens because those school owners have signs that are effective. There are four types that most commercial schools use. • Illuminated-can signs — These are the plastic facings that hang in front of business suites. If yours is faded or outdated, it’s time for a change. Unless you’re a sign person, hire someone to make it for…

• In his editorial, John Stewart writes, “No magazine can be perfect from the very start, and looking back, there are a few things we wish we had been able to do differently. There were pressure groups we might have resisted more effectively and coverage we could have provided more fully.” • Century Martial Arts starts selling its Chuck Norris line of uniforms and equipment. One item is the Chuck Norris Karate Jeans, which sell for $29.95. • Future Black Belt Hall of Famer Leo T. Gaje conducts a two-day clinic at the Philippine Arnis Seminar in Dayton, Ohio. • In a tribute to Kenji Tomiki, it’s noted that the martial artist trained under Jigoro Kano, from whom he earned an eighth-degree black belt, and Morihei Ueshiba, from whom he…