Innholdsfortegnelse for October/November 2022 i Black Belt Magazine

I’ve served as Black Belt’s editor-in-chief since 1997. I can’t count the number of times during those years when someone at some social event said, “You’ve worked for a karate magazine for 10” — or 15 or 20 — “years? How much needs to be said about kicking and punching, jeez?!” When the mood strikes, I attempt to explain that training in martial arts is about so much more than kicking and punching. I tell people that Black Belt is about history, philosophy, competition, movies and so on — in essence, a way of life. It might sink in, and it might not. When it doesn’t, it can get me thinking about the true value of the martial arts. And that occasionally gets me thinking about an incident from my…

When a request from Prasad Lanka, a martial arts instructor in Sri Lanka, came in via Facebook, it caught the attention of executives at Black Belt and Jungo TV. “I have been teaching martial arts in Sri Lanka for about 20 years,” Prasad wrote. “I’m also involved in a lot of social work. I’m currently contributing to Future Flowers Children’s Home, which is home to children of people who died during the 35-year war in Sri Lanka. “One day, I showed these children a Bruce Lee movie. They developed a great passion for martial arts. We must direct their future through martial arts to shed some light on their lives. “I now train these children four days a week. There are also lectures on the history of martial arts, as…

David Alexander Gomez Flores, a judoka representing the University of Guadalajara, died of cardiac arrest while competing at the Mexican National Universiade. A 24-year-old studying organizational administration, Gomez Flores was competing in the finals of the 100-plus kilogram category at the games in Ciudad Juarez when he complained of feeling dizzy and asked the referee for a stoppage. After sitting down, Gomez Flores attempted to continue the match but was unable to. CPR was administered, but reportedly the on-site ambulance was transporting another athlete and took 25 minutes to return so it could take Gomez Flores to the hospital, where he passed away.…

ON A RECENT BLACK BELT STORY Mike Bogdanski: I wanted to publicly applaud the promotion of Chris Bannon Rodrigues to 10th dan. I am not a believer that there should be so many 10th dans in the world but not in this case. I have known Chris and her husband Don for decades as we traveled the circuit. Her credentials are some of the very best in the history of sport karate, her record of wins is incredible, and her teaching is world class. Her performance in sparring, forms and weapons made her a triple threat in every event. I personally have hosted her several times to teach at our school and can see her talent there too. She and her husband have one of the finest schools in the…

Women’s Martial Arts Network When we created the Women’s Martial Arts Network in 2018, I knew that one of the things social media would allow us to do was mentor and support others in real time — as opposed to gather once a year and then dissipate. The organization also uses social media to engage the public in celebrating and learning about the accomplishments and contributions of both the ordinary and extraordinary girls and women of the martial arts. Their collective achievements at all levels no doubt will inspire others to train in the arts. Virtual Training Opportunities Technology created a bridge across the pandemic in the form of an explosion of virtual training and online events. For better or worse, it presented new possibilities and opportunities to increase the…

Returning once again to the scenario I described in the June/July 2022 issue: You’ve done everything possible to de-escalate the volatile confrontation, all to no avail. It’s crystal clear that the aggressor is about to attack at any moment. After doing everything you can to de-escalate the situation, you make the decision to get physical. As such, you ask your adversary an action-trigger question to momentarily distract him, then unleash a single pre-emptive shot — in this case, a dominant-hand palm hook to the side of the jaw. If you have an accurate and powerful pre-emptive shot, more often than not, you will render him completely unconscious. At a minimum, you will render him semiconscious. In either case, the threat is likely to be sufficiently neutralized for you (and your…

What role has bullying played in your life? In third grade, I moved into a new school, and I was different. I was chubby and had pimples all over my face. At school, I would oftentimes sit alone at the lunch table and get pelted in the back of the head with chocolate milk, spit wads, food — or fists, as some of the notorious bullies would do. And I didn’t know how to protect myself, how to stand up for myself. That made me timid and even more of a target. They knew they could keep doing it. In third grade, I got in my first fight. There were a couple of kids on the playground. One kid jumped on my back and started choking me and hitting me…

In the August/September 2022 issue of Black Belt, Floyd Burk began his examination of the value of student contracts for martial arts schools. Here, he concludes his interview with Marcia D. Watters, Esq., who operates Mr. Jimmy’s White Tiger Martial Arts in Hagerstown, Maryland, with her husband Jimmy Smith. You mentioned that retention can be affected by student contracts. Can you expound on that? “Many students get burned out here and there, but often if you can just get them over that burnout hurdle, you retain them for years and years. Most people who are allowed to take that one-month or two-month ‘break’ never come back! Once they get used to sitting on that couch, they just can’t seem to get back off it. “So don’t let them sit down…

In honor of its 60th birthday, the world’s leading magazine of martial arts erected a walkthrough display at the 2022 Martial Arts SuperShow in Las Vegas. Hundreds of visitors took advantage of the opportunity to review Black Belt’s history and ground-breaking coverage of the arts, with many taking selfies next to the life-size photos of Bruce Lee, Michael Jai White, Cynthia Rothrock, Chuck Norris and Bill Wallace.…

According to Tubular Labs’ video-view leaderboards for June 2022, Karate Combat, one of the world’s fastest-growing fight promotions, broke into the top 50 for “U.S. sports creators on Facebook.” It jumped 36 spots from its May ranking and landed at No. 46. Additionally, Karate Combat is now No. 66 in the leaderboard ranking for “U.S. sports creators cross-platform” and No. 94 for “global media and entertainment creators on Facebook.” In total, Tubular Labs credits Karate Combat with garnering more than 60 million cross-platform video views in June, up from 35.2 million in May. The increase stems from the promotion’s Season 4, which culminated in a live event streamed and broadcast from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, on June 25. More than 600 million fans around the globe watch modern combat…

The United States Fight League, led by Jon Frank, has been affiliated by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation as the official amateur-MMA federation for the United States, initially with “observation status.” The IMMAF recognizes the USFL as a nonprofit national MMA group that organizes regular amateur competitions and works for the development of the sport nationwide. The USFL has agreed to comply with IMMAF statutes and regulations and accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. As president of the USFL, Frank has long played a key role in fostering and supporting youth MMA competitions in the United States. “The USFL’s primary focus for the past 20 years has been to establish youth MMA as a safe, well-regulated and accepted sport to help build better kids in…

You know this. You also know that I and others have frequently explained it. We have explained that to anyone with even a passing familiarity with spoken Japanese, calling someone “sensei Smith” sounds as awkward as calling him “Smith the mister.” We have explained this and complained about it so often that you are probably tired of hearing it and you may have concluded that in the overall scheme of things, we’re making too big a deal out of it. If some karate teacher wants to be called “sensei So-and-So,” what’s the big deal? Yeah, grammatically it’s incorrect when speaking Japanese. But we’re not speaking Japanese, so we don’t have to follow those rules. Further, sensei Smith will insist, “Americans are more comfortable saying it that way.” These are not…

The son of Black Belt Hall of Famer Richard Plowden, 28-year-old Richard Avery Plowden has carved out a legacy of his own just as impressive as his father’s. Karate is more or less the family business of the Plowden clan with seven black belts in all, including Richard Avery’s mother, uncle and cousins. His older sister Morgan is one of the most successful female point fighters of all time. So the younger Plowden had a lot to live up to from an early age. “My father actually didn’t want me and my sister doing karate — he didn’t want that kind of pressure on us having to live up to his success,” Richard Avery said. “He wanted us to do track or tennis. But he owned a karate school our…

Legend of the 8 Samurai This Japanese flick was released in 1983. Hiroko Yakushimaru and Hiroyuki Sanada share the screen with the one and only Sonny Chiba. Rivals of the Silver Fox This Hong Kong–South Korea joint venture is from 1982. It also goes by the title Odaegwanmun and stars Ho Wang, Phillip Ko and In-Ha Yoon. Raiders of Buddhist Kung Fu Also from 1982, this film is another product of South Korea and Hong Kong. The cast includes Chia-Hui Liu (aka Gordon Liu), Ryong Wang and Ki-joo Kim. Nonfiction If you’re in the mood for some MMA history, tune in to The Matt Hughes Story. Wanna learn technique? Check out Lisa King, who’s been in Black Belt, teaching muay Thai or Ross Levine, who was our 2022 Competitor of…

Most martial artists, especially those who are into kobudo, are familiar with the sai. Few, however, know the sai’s combat cousin, the fighting implement known as the manji sai. Made of steel or iron, the sai has a pointed shaft that’s separated from a handle by two tines (yoku in Japanese). At the end of the handle is a pommel, which can have a variety of shapes. In contrast, the manji sai has a metal shaft that’s pointed at both ends. The handle constitutes about one-third of the length of the weapon and is marked by a tine and a hook (also called a yoku). The name “manji sai” comes from the shape suggested by the forward-facing tine and the back-facing hook. Manji is the name of the familiar Buddhist…

■ “I doubt if many people could look around a crowded barroom and pinpoint any of my men as the club bouncer — which is exactly the way the owners want it,” says Richie Barathy, who operates a 30-man team of bouncers in New York City. “The obvious presence of an enforcer gives the patron the uncomfortable feeling that something is going to happen sooner or later, and it will probably dissuade him from coming back.” ■ In his examination of tournament officiating, the editor poses some serious questions: Have you ever been judged by an official who didn’t know your style? By one who wasn’t familiar with the rules? By one who trained your opponent? By one who remembered you from “last time”? ■ Back issues of Black Belt…

A Bruce Lee exhibit titled “Be Water My Friend” recently opened at Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum. The museum, dedicated to honoring the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, is presenting an interactive exhibit focusing on Lee’s life and philosophy. Lee lived in Seattle for five years, studying philosophy at the University of Washington. Seattle also was where he began publicly teaching martial arts. Along with displays featuring Lee’s handwritten notes and a pair of his boxing gloves, viewers can move through the exhibit while activating images and videos that demonstrate how he incorporated his philosophy into his everyday life. In conjunction with the Bruce Lee Foundation and Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee, the museum will serve as the permanent home to the late film star’s personal library of 2,800 books,…

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…

In India, Thugs were men who led mostly nomadic lives and would fall in with other travelers and befriend them. Later, on isolated roads or in sparsely populated villages, the Thugs would rob them of their possessions and often kill them. Their preferred method for committing their crimes was strangulation — using a short length of rope, belt, sash or head scarf. To a lesser degree, knives and poisons were used. Strangulation was chosen by most Thugs because they held the erroneous belief that if arrested, they would not be executed because they hadn’t spilled any blood, which was an old legal concept. The British, however, reportedly disabused hundreds of Thugs of this notion by sending them to a rendezvous with the hangman. Indian literature mentions the existence of Thugs…

To the combat athlete, roadwork conjures images of pre-dawn runs, breath fogging the morning air and, to many, a drudgery that must be endured. Boxers, wrestlers and kickboxers the world over use roadwork as a wind builder, a leg conditioner and a grit tester. From the great Joe Frazier: “You can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you’re down to the reflexes you developed in training. That’s where roadwork shows — the training you did in the dark of the morning will show when you’re under the bright lights.” Roadwork has been used as a tool since human beings began pitting themselves against others of their species in organized combat. Which brings us…

Origin story: It’s up to you whether you wear this while you train in the dojo, while you stream The Karate Kid at home or while you attend your next Halloween get-together. All we know is that every true fan of the films needs one. Bad. The pants have an elastic waistband backed up by a drawstring — it would be unseemly for a Cobra Kai member to have his or her pants slip down in a fight. The top is, of course, sleeveless, which means you can flex those guns all you want to intimidate your enemies. The fabric is a poly/cotton blend for durability and ease of cleaning. It doesn’t come with a belt. You’ll need to add your own. No matter your real rank, we suggest a…

When The Karate Kid hit theaters in 1984, audiences ate it up. They loved watching Daniel-san, a bullied kid with as much natural athletic talent as a bulldog at a gymnastics meet, study with a traditional master and then surpass all competitors at the All Valley Karate Championship. Enter the smash hit Cobra Kai, which has soared to a level the Karate Kid movies never reached. It’s a mix of aging warriors and the next generation of high schoolers trying to find their own way in the world. It opened with Daniel-san as the owner of a car dealership, which was perfect because it showed that we really don’t have any clue where life will take us. No doubt the three actors profiled here had no idea where the Karate…

Suddenly, the stillness of the room was shattered by a deepthroated roar: “Ah-h-h!” All eyes were focused on a man uniformed in a white training suit. He wore a black belt. His movements were relaxed, and yet one sensed the unbelievable speed and force at the termination of each thrust, chop, kick or jab. The apparent destructive power was overshadowed by the beauty of continuous flowing movement. The man was master Hidetaka Nishiyama, a permanent director and head instructor at the Japan Karate Association in Tokyo. “When I practice during free sparring (kumite), I am oblivious to everything around me,” Nishiyama said. “I feel exhilarated when my movements are uninhibited and flow quickly and smoothly. All movements are done spontaneously. Each movement is performed with an objective or purpose.” Nishiyama…