Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2023 i Black Belt Magazine

During a recent phone conversation with Terry Wilson, a longtime Black Belt writer who suffered a stroke in the early morning hours of August 10, 2022 (read all about how he used martial arts for rehab in this issue’s Fightbook column), I started thinking about what it means to be part of the martial arts community. I chose those last six words — part of the martial arts community — intentionally because they convey a deeper, and more relevant, meaning than does simply saying “what it means to be a martial artist.” Being part of the martial arts community is so appealing because of the innate human desire to be part of a group. Chief Master Betsy Stevens of the American Taekwondo Association acknowledged this when I interviewed her for…

ON A QUOTE FROM A LEGEND BLACK BELT: “WHEN YOU TAKE A MARTIAL ART, TRY TO LEARN THE TRUE ART AND KEEP THE TRADITION.” —CYNTHIA ROTHROCK TreyShoota: Wise words from a woman who is a legend in martial arts!!! ON COMPETITION BLACK BELT: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY FROM A MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT? Vanessa Thomas: Watching my son slay at staff spinning. OUT.OF.DARKNEZZ: When I brought a smile to my masters face. ON YOUR FUTURE BLACK BELT: WHAT PIECE OF MARTIAL ARTS ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF? Steve Torres: To start right away and not be held back by being overweight. There is an athlete inside of you waiting to come out. Brad Jenkins: Determine why you what to train in martial arts…exercise, self-defense, a sense of belonging, to…

One of Howard University’s best-known graduates is Lynnette Love. A prominent member of the institution’s taekwondo club, she won a gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Gloria DuBisette is one of many women and men who worked to develop the history-making taekwondo club at Howard University. Even though I’ve studied the martial arts for decades, I had no idea about the astonishing history of taekwondo at Washington, D.C.’s Howard University, one of the top Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. I hadn’t heard about its champions and pioneers, and most martial artists outside the TKD community with whom I spoke hadn’t, either. I decided to rectify this by requesting an interview with Gloria DuBisette, who is known as…

Here’s an easy-to-overlook fact in the grappling era: There are some 100 million strikers in the world. “Strikers,” of course, is a martial arts category that includes punchers and kickers. Think of them as people who prefer to wage war while standing. “That’s 10,000 times 10,000,” says Joe Corley, CEO of the new PKA. “People hear 100 million and really have no idea how much that is.” If you’re one of those 100 million strikers, Corley has good news for you: The PKA — which started life as the Professional Karate Association in 1974, after which it morphed into the Professional Karate & Kickboxing Association — is back. Now called PKA Worldwide, it will provide a place for you to shine, a place to showcase your full-contact kickboxing skills. No…

After coining the term jeet kune do in 1967, Bruce Lee continued to evolve his style and his thinking, so much so that the jeet kune do of 1967 would not closely resemble the jeet kune do of the early 1970s. “Jeet kune do is the art not founded on techniques or doctrine,” Lee wrote. “[It] is not a matter of petty technique … [nor] a matter of seeking knowledge or accumulating stylized patterns but discovering the cause of ignorance.” Ted Wong noted that the original curriculum (which included chi sao, bai jong, the pak sao/lop sao patterns and so on) developed for the Chinatown and Oakland branch schools drew heavily on Lee’s early wing chun technique modifications. However, by 1970, he’d determined that the curriculum should no longer be…

Black Belt Hall of Famer and martial arts film star Donnie Yen (shown here in Ip Man 3) has signed with powerhouse talent agency APA. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the agency hopes to turn Yen, known for his portrayal of wing chun kung fu master Ip Man in the Ip Man movie series, into a major brand and a “production empire.” Yen, the son of Black Belt Hall of Fame kung fu instructor Bow Sim Mark, has already been cast in Hollywood blockbusters like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but he’s best-known internationally for his work in fight films. Having appeared in movies such as Drunken Tai Chi and Once Upon a Time in China II, Yen vaulted to the forefront of Asian action cinema when he took…

In the late 1960s, Donn F. Draeger represented shinto muso ryu at a prestigious public demonstration in Tokyo. Many of Japan’s oldest martial arts — its classical koryu — were demonstrated. It was one of the first times a non-Japanese had been invited. Draeger was demonstrating the art with Shimizu Takaji, his teacher. Draeger was using the jo, or stick, and Shimizu the wooden sword. During one kata, Shimizu’s strike caught Draeger’s weapon at just the right angle to take it out of his grip. It went spinning off merrily behind him. Moments like those, of course, say everything about one’s training. If it’s inadequate or poorly done, the practitioner is apt to lose composure and become flustered. At best, he’ll instinctively turn his head to see where his weapon…

Longtime MMA fans know Chael Sonnen. A former NCAA Division 1 wrestler and member of Team Quest, he garnered a pro record of 31-17-1 in the UFC, Bellator MMA, World Extreme Cagefighting and Bodog Fight. In 2010 Sonnen ran for the Oregon House of Representatives but later dropped out. Before we present highlight quotes from his appearance on The Combat Show on the Black Belt Magazine Channel, here’s a quick look at four instructional programs you can watch, all streaming on Jungo TV. Combat Street Survival: Gun and Knife Defense Alonzo Cheatham provides tips and techniques for self-defense whether you’re attacked with or without weapons. Mastering Lima Lama Learn intermediate moves from the Polynesian martial art as demonstrated by Ted Tabura. Isshin Ryu Kata II Instructor Angi Uezu teaches traditional…

The moment we’re confronted by a snarling, barking dog, a primal fear awakens in us. It is what prompts many people to claim that confronting a canine unarmed is a losing proposition. That may be true for some people but not necessarily for martial artists. Because martial artists train to address any threat, they — along with others who are interested in self-defense — no doubt will regard dog attacks as a possibility to prepare for. Like other threats, aggressive canines must be studied so the martial arts skills that have the highest likelihood of working can be applied if the worst comes to pass. Before we begin, it should be noted that most experts regard a firearm as the best remedy for aggressive dogs, but it is not always…

In the 1970s and early ’80s, I trained at a progressive karate school called Red Dragon. We heard all about full-contact karate and the PKA, and I dreamed of doing it, of getting a chance to follow in the footsteps of Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis and Benny Urquidez. In 1980 while I was working at a dojo in Lancaster, California, the head instructor and I went to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to watch some PKA full-contact fights. Sitting near us was none other than Chuck Norris. How cool, I thought. That was when I became determined to get into the fight sport. A couple of months later, the owner of a nearby dojo helped me sign up with the ISKA, a sanctioning organization that I figured could lead me…

Arizona Sixkiller’s House of Kenpo Karate1570 E Northern Ave., Suite BKingman, AZ 86409(928) 607-0021sixkillerjr.jess@yahoo.com California Blain Cort’s Total Self-Defense2955 McMurry DriveAnderson, CA 96007blaincort@gmail.com Golden Tiger Karate9501 Flushing QuailBakersfeild, CA 93312(661) 345-4371goldentigerkarate@yahoo.com Kuk Sool Won-Rohnert Park Martial Arts311 Professional Center DriveRohert Park, CA 94928(707) 494-1151Kuksoolwonrp@yahoo.com Red Dragon Championship Martial Arts1603 Garnet Ave.San Diego, CA 92109(858) 263-4212reddragonpb@live.com Budokai (Budokaikan Association)4616 Park Granada #72Calabasas, CA 91302(747) 444-7940senseialex@budokai.net Connecticut New England Rendokan1845 Silas Deane HighwayRocky Hill, CT 06067(860) 628-1022Info@ner1.net Florida All American Martial Arts & Krav Maga Academy4255 US Highway 1 South, Suite 4St. Augustine, FL 32086(904) 797-2262lessons@staugustinetaekwondo.com Georgia Kombative Academy of Traditional Martial ArtsSavannah Mall, 1st Floor14045 Abercorn St., Suite 1512Savannah, GA 31419(912) 459-8693katmadefense@gmail.com Georgia Lozo Karate6395 Spalding Drive, Suite CPeachtree Corners, GA 30092(404) 333-8808info@goranlozo.comlozokarate.com Louisiana Zanshin Dojo3925 Highway 59Mandeville, LA 70471(504) 220-7228info@ZanshinDojoMRJ.com…

“DILIGENCE PASSE SENS.” GREAT IS DRILL.—HENRY VIII A common question from martial arts rookies and intermediate practitioners — and, if we’re honest, even some long-timers — is “What’s next?” “What’s the next super-secret neato technique I have to master?” I get this attitude. I mean, who doesn’t want some new bit of information to chew on, some new skill to toy with and occupy the mind? For some, familiarity breeds contempt, and if most of us don’t feel contempt for what we know that we must do, we at least can admit that sometimes another day in the dojo working on variations of the same things we did last week can lead to a bit of staleness. Despite the occasional battle with What, this again? we must come to terms…

The staff of Black Belt reviewed all the regular and special issues in our archives and extracted the best articles on Bruce Lee and jeet kune do, then reprinted them in a single volume. Some are written by Lee. Some are about Lee. Some are written by Lee’s students. Combined, they provide a deep dive into the cultural phenomenon that is Bruce Lee. In the book’s 240 pages, you will find the 1967 article “Is The Green Hornet’s Version of Gung Fu Genuine?” and Lee’s landmark 1971 essay “Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate.” There are also heartfelt essays penned by Linda Lee Cadwell after her husband passed. Shannon Lee, who currently helms the Bruce Lee Foundation and Bruce Lee Enterprises, is also well-represented. In fact, she wrote the foreword. “I…

• “In the south [of China], people go barefoot all the time, and there is a lot of water on the ground,” Bucksam Kong says in his cover story on hung gar kung fu. “So the idea in the south is to get closer to the ground and have a strong grip on it, a good sturdy balance. Then you can hit your targets better and the opponent has a harder time hitting you.” • The director of the National Karate & Jiu Jitsu Union runs an ad and receives more than 550 responses from people hoping to have their rank certified. Sadly, many of them are suspect. “One man listed 20 arts in which he held at least a first-degree black belt,” the director writes. • George Kirby pens…