Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2023 i Black Belt Magazine

In my six previous columns, pre-emptive striking featured prominently. One reason for this was to highlight its importance in self-defense when you have to use physical violence as a last resort because avoidance and/or verbal de-escalation failed or were not viable options. As I’ve said, the most practical way for a smaller, weaker, slower, less-skilled person to physically prevail against a bigger, stronger, faster, more-skilled adversary is to employ a pre-emptive attack to immediately neutralize him, optimally by knockout. There is no better tactic for most people. Everything else is secondary. With that said, there are instances when you can’t or won’t use this option — for example, when combating domestic violence with a spouse. In such cases, many people are doomed to defeat and possibly worse, depending on the…

The new Black Belt+ app for your digital device offers access to many things, including more than 1,000 hours of videos featuring the most famous martial artists in the world. Among that portion of the content are hundreds of martial arts movies — classics from Asia as well as mainstream films you know and love starring Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Cynthia Rothrock, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sammo Hung and other icons. On the nonfiction front, you can watch professional interviews with or receive step-by-step instruction from masters such as Dan Inosanto, Ernie Reyes Sr., Carlos Machado and Glover Teixeira. Absorb their advice while you enjoy their recollections of the history of the arts. Not to be overlooked with this new app is digital access to the Black Belt archives. This component…

I first noticed Scott Adkins in 2002. My good friend Don Warrener showed me a VHS tape Scott had sent to our company Rising Sun Productions. Don literally had to twist my arm in order for me to see the tape. Once I watched it, I immediately understood that Scott was star material. He had it all: the looks, the techniques, the acrobatic stunt ability, the acting skills and, most of all, the charisma! With producer Boaz Davidson, we wrote a role for him in the movie Special Forces. Scott delivered everything and much more. My next movie with him was Undisputed II. No one believed he could play Boyka, but I knew he could do it. The only support I received was from my producer Boaz Davison. The rest…

A knife fight is a dangerous and bloody matter. Nobody wants to get into a knife fight — ever. Unfortunately, the United States has seen a rise in violent crime, especially incidents involving cutting and stabbing instruments. The take-away is that every serious self-defense practitioner needs to possess effective blade defense. I’m not talking about something that might work; I’m talking about tactics that will increase the probability of your survival. That’s why hemispheric blade defense was created. Its main objective is to enable you to end the fight while avoiding a fatal stab or slash. It entails telling yourself that if you can’t get out of the fight, you will engage the attacker by crashing through the “kill zone.” You’ll gather all the momentum, pressure and violence you can…

Shortly after celebrating his 75th year in the martial arts, Fumio Demura passed away. It happened on April 24, 2023. He was 84 and a ninth dan. Demura’s career in the arts started long before he moved to America from Japan. Born on September 15, 1938, he grew up in the city of Yokohama. His first exposure to what would become a lifelong passion occurred when the boy spotted his neighbor practicing kendo. Demura took up training at age 9. Later, he was introduced to a famous karateka named Ryusho Sakagami of the Itosu-Kai organization. The master accepted the youth as a student, unknowingly setting him on a course for greatness. Demura received his shodan in 1956 and started competing soon afterward. In 1961 he won his first major tournament,…

To be successful in mixed martial arts nowadays, you need an all-around game. But 30 years ago, when the Ultimate Fighting Championship started, there weren’t many well-rounded fighters. The earliest competitors were grapplers or strikers but almost never both. Then came Guy Mezger. Having gone to college on a wrestling scholarship and competed in judo, Mezger certainly could grapple. But he was also a pro kickboxer who was ranked as high as No. 1 by some organizations when he stepped into the cage for the first time as an alternate back at UFC 4. It was the beginning of a life-changing experience for someone who said he never really liked to fight but was just good at it. Raised in Texas, Mezger came from a difficult background: He grew up…

Few fighters have a reputation as formidable and a record as impressive as Benny “The Jet” Urquidez. As you will see, his path from the traditional martial arts to full contact and then to kickboxing had more than its share of bumps. It makes a fascinating read — or a fascinating listen if you catch his interview on The Combat Show on Jungo TV’s Black Belt Magazine Channel. First, however, we present some of the other points of interest for the next few months. HIGHLIGHTS IN FICTION Shaolin Drunken Monk: This period piece was released in 1981. The most noteworthy thing about the film is its star Gordon Liu. Co-stars include Yeong-il Kim and Mi-hee Chang. Directed by Yang-ming Tsai. Kickboxer From Hell: This wild and wacky movie from 1990…

There was something different about him. His powerful baritone voice sounded familiar, but the accent wasn’t British anymore. The charming smile was the same, but his teeth were edged with gold, his once-chiseled jaw line now lost behind blubbery jowls. And then there was his ripped physique, which had all but disappeared under a morbidly obese body. That’s because Scott Adkins wasn’t Scott Adkins anymore. He was the rotund leader of the German branch of assassins out to kill Keanu Reeves. Well, at least he was in John Wick: Chapter 4. Adkins’ portrayal of the portly, poker-playing killer named Killa in the blockbuster was a highlight in a film jampacked with highlights. And perhaps the most impressive part of it all was that you’d have no clue it was Adkins…

On October 22, 2022, the International Combat Hapkido Federation celebrated its 30th anniversary. As you might expect, we’re proud of our organization’s longevity, stability and success. With hundreds of martial arts schools, military bases and law-enforcement departments teaching our system, in addition to our many magazine cover appearances and hall-of-fame inductions, we have good reason to celebrate. Many martial artists I’ve met have expressed interest in creating their own system, so I thought I’d review the history of the ICHF to let everyone know how the process unfolded for us. Many people hold the naive — and mistaken — assumption that the founders of martial arts systems receive a sudden inspiration akin to a mystical experience. Reality is not that glamorous. The creation of a system involves years of hard…

“Martial arts is not just a process for training fighters. Fighting is of least importance. What is important is the growth in the student’s physical structure, mental discipline and emotional control.”—Bong Soo Han Much has been written about Bong Soo Han (1933–2007), his career as a hapkido master and his connection to the Billy Jack films. What’s not so well-known about his storied life is that his early education and training occurred while Japan occupied his homeland of Korea. As such, lessons in Korean history were replaced with lessons in Japanese history, and many critical documents about the Hwarang, the young male nobility of Korea’s Silla dynasty renowned for its fighting prowess, were destroyed. Although the Japanese used the word “assimilation” to describe their policy during the occupation, it was…

Let us look at one historical instance that illuminates a lesson in task saturation, or what Miyamoto Musashi called “sword flowers.” Jujitsu just happens to be the vehicle of this lesson. The art is not being picked on at all. The focus is less on the art than it is on the mind of the combat athlete who “fixes” beyond good sense or good health. We will begin in France, spend time in a Black Hawk helicopter, allow a samurai to throw shade and wind up with pupils dilated for wiser choices with respect to tactics and strategy. Early 20th -Century France: Edmond Desbonnet was a physicalculture purveyor and entrepreneur. Like all good businessmen, he kept an eye out for ways to increase his client count. During a trip to London…

HOME BASE: California STYLES: judo, kenpo, kickboxing, ukidokan RECORD: 63-1-1 with two no contests FILMS: Force: Five, Wheels on Meals, Grosse Pointe Blank What is your origin story? I started in judo, then in 1963 I started kenpo karate. I started full-contact karate in ’73. Everybody was talking about full-contact karate. They said, “It’s to the knockout — [you] won’t get disqualified.” The hard part was to understand that it was to the knockout — you know, no more points. Back then, there were no rules, no weight divisions. In Hawaii, I fought seven times on a Saturday, and then on a Sunday, I fought four times. I ended up stopping Dana Goodson, and that was my first title. I kept it until ’75 going on ’76. They were calling…

If you’ve ever watched Scott Adkins play Yuri Boyka in the Undisputed franchise, you know that he not only can bulk up while maintaining muscular definition (aka “be swole and shredded”) but also can exhibit the flexibility needed to do 720-degree spin kicks to the head. Adkins admitted that it’s becoming more challenging to maintain that level of physicality, yet he still does it by relying on two strategies: discipline and a little bit of indulgence. “Running water never grows stale,” he said. “You’ve got to keep moving and keep disciplined. I’ll finish a film, and I’ll pig out a little bit. I’ll eat some food that’s probably not great for me. I’ll get that out of my system, and then I’m like, ‘Right, OK, there’s a film coming up…

BY BARRY A. BROUGHTON, PH.D. When it comes to incapacitating an opponent, experienced strikers know that a well-placed liver shot can be as effective as a knockout blow to the head. Most martial artists, however, are not aware of the cascade of events that create this devastating effect. The rib cage provides some protection for the liver, but the organ remains partially exposed and therefore vulnerable to attack. That’s why it is targeted so often. A direct blow to the liver from a knee strike, kick or punch can be extremely painful and temporarily debilitating. To the uninitiated, such strikes can appear somewhat innocuous. Those who have been on the receiving end, however, are fully aware of the effectiveness of the liver shot. This is why I decided to write…

When the editor of Black Belt requested a survey article dealing with the most meaningful questions martial arts instructors are asked — “meaningful” in the context of being valuable in the eyes of their peers and their students, especially those who are just starting their journey — I accepted the assignment and immediately drew up a list of nine experts in a variety of styles. Below is the advice they offered in their mini-interviews, which covered subjects that range from training for movies and running a school to dealing with the internet generation and balancing budo with business. Question: How Do I Know What to Focus on in My Training? Expert Consulted: Karen Sheperd Karen Sheperd forged a reputation as an unbeatable forms champion and a talented teacher before switching…