Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2016 i Black Belt Magazine

I just caught a fascinating episode of Big Picture Science, a weekly podcast in which Seth Shostak and Molly Bentley break down various scientific topics for consumption by the public. In the episode, titled “Gene-y in a Bottle,” the hosts spoke with Lee Goldman, M.D., dean of the medical school at Columbia University. Their discussion revolved in part around the causes of death that afflicted Paleolithic human populations. Specifically, Goldman said that studies of human remains from this period, which extended from roughly 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 years ago, reveal that a common cause of death for our hunter-gatherer ancestors was blunt-force trauma, usually to the left side of the head. Some 15 percent of people met their end this way. Strangely, Goldman said, after those prehistoric humans…

Of course, the reality of this dream can be daunting. Owning your own school is fraught with risks and expenses, including rent, insurance and utilities. And starting a school from scratch, with no bodies to populate that first class, can be depressing — as well as discouraging to any prospective student who walks in and finds an empty gym. Fortunately, there’s a middle ground between having no school and owning your own place — namely, teaching through an outside facility. There are countless entities, from YMCAs and community centers to colleges and universities, where it might be possible to start a small martial arts class that allows you to make a little money while garnering teaching experience. “MOST PLACES want these things,” said Matthew Green, who runs a school of…

In large part, the popularity of shotokan karate in the United States stems from the efforts of one man. His name is Tsutomu Ohshima. Born in Nagasaki, Japan, on August 6, 1930, Ohshima started training — in sumo, kendo and judo but, interestingly, not in karate — when he was just 5 years old. His first teacher was his father. While a student at Waseda University in Tokyo (1948-1953), Ohshima began taking shotokan lessons from Gichin Funakoshi, eventually receiving his fifth-degree black belt from the man who founded the art. Along the way, Ohshima also trained under Hiroshi Noguchi, Shigeru Egami, Toshio Kamata-Watanabe, Tadao Okuyama and Matsui Shibuya. In 1955 Ohshima moved to America and brought shotokan with him. The former captain of the Waseda University Karate Club formed the…

In Thailand, the typical training schedule entails two workouts a day, six days a week. (You get Sunday off so you can watch the fights.) The morning session lasts for two-plus hours, and the evening session is the same. Basically, you wake up, train, eat, nap, train, eat and sleep again. As you might expect, that schedule can be tough for Westerners to adopt for a week or two. I always advise visiting martial artists to go slow. Skip the morning workout on Monday, hit the second workout and then rest. Do both workouts on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, making sure you get plenty of shuteye at night. On Sunday, sleep in and then check out around noon. If time permits, go to a stadium and watch some…

BRUCE LEE ACTION FIGURE Bandai and Tamashii Nations have released a Bruce Lee action figure that comes equipped with a staff, a nunchaku, a pair of kali sticks and detachable body parts: three extra heads and nine extra hands. It stands 5 inches tall and is fully posable. $50 bluefincorp.com/catalog/tamashii-nations.html SPYDERCO P’KAL KNIFE With its 2.95-inch blade and overall length of 7.35 inches, the P’Kal is perfect for everyday carry. It includes a removable Emerson Opening feature, a mechanism that deploys the blade when the knife is pulled from a pocket. The clip is reversible, and the blade, which locks open, is designed for use with reverse-grip techniques. $290 SPYDERCO.COM CENTURY BOB JACKET The original free-standing training dummy just got better thanks to this accessory. The one-piece BOB Jacket easily…

A person’s occupation certainly isn’t the most important thing in life, but when you have a job you’re passionate about and good at, life sure is a whole lot more fun. Mike Dillard, the martial artist who founded Century Martial Arts (centurymartialarts.com), is a man who’s having fun. “For 40 years,” he says, “I’ve had the best job in the world. Our world. I’ve dealt with larger-than-life personalities, incredible athletes and some of the greatest leaders you could ever imagine.” Note his use of the number “40.” It denotes a fact that most martial artists haven’t paid attention to but that our community continues to benefit from: Century has been making martial arts equipment available to the masses for four decades. To commemorate the anniversary, Black Belt presents this Q&A…

People just can’t get enough of martial arts senior statesman Bill Wallace. The living legend retired as an undefeated full-contact world champion with 23 victories, and since then, he’s remained active in the arts, teaching thousands how to win, get fit, boost their flexibility and defend themselves. Black Belt caught up with Wallace shortly after his birthday and peppered him with questions. Here’s what he had to say. You just turned 70, and we wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Thanks, but getting old isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. I’m not too happy about facing the fact that I’m 70. I just thank God for Advil because in my business, there’s always going to be lots of aches and pains. How have you kept your body in…

In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Edo harbor (now Tokyo) with four steam-powered warships. The United States was on a mission to open Japan to the outside world, and the arrival of this minifleet caused chaos to erupt. It continued until the following year when Perry returned and a reluctant compromise was reached between East and West. Perry’s steamships offered indisputable proof of how far the rest of the world had progressed while Japan hibernated for two and a half centuries of Tokugawa control. It became apparent that the island nation could no longer live in relative isolation as it had since the 1600s. The resulting Treaty of Kanagawa forced open the doors to Japan while closing the doors to the Tokugawa. The rejection of feudalism gained momentum in…

Vol. 16, No. 6, $1 The 174th issue of Black Belt was dated June 1978. It was 76 pages long and featured shotokan karate stylist Takayuki Mikami on the cover. • “The unconscious grunt we voice when pushing a car or [piece of] furniture is a kiai of sorts,” writes Millard S.L. Seto, M.D. “The major difference between the grunt and the kiai is that the kiai is used deliberately for a desired effect. The grunt is an unconscious result of the pushing effort.” • The four books that make up Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method are selling for $5.50 each. • A company called Pro-Fighting Equipment Ltd. begins an ad campaign featuring welterweight champ Earnest Hart Jr. • Modern-arnis founder Remy Presas has released a series of 150-foot super 8…