Christine Bannon-Rodrigues, the legendary karate world champion from Warwick, Rhode Island, has forged one of the most influential careers in modern martial arts. A 9th-degree black belt and student of Don Rodrigues, she earned nine World Championships, including an extraordinary streak of three consecutive W.A.K.O. World Titles. Her dominance in both forms and fighting helped redefine expectations for female competitors and opened doors for women in martial arts, stunt work,

Once avoided for fear it would lead to unwanted weight gain, dietary fat is now embraced by health-conscious martial artists. Scientific research confirms the benefits of eating this macronutrient: It helps your body break down fat-soluble vitamins, increases satiety, provides and stores energy, and even improves heart health. Not all fats are good for you, however, and even the beneficial ones can have their drawbacks.

Q:  You talked about lifting conventional weights for enhanced martial arts performance. What about other forms of weightlifting? A:  There is another type of weight training that deserves discussion. It entails attaching extra weight to your body — specifically, your ankles, wrists, or torso — and then engaging in functional martial arts training. Before I begin, let me say this about “functional training.” All too often, people use the term to refer to a hodgepodge of movem

"In judo, off balancing an opponent is accomplished by moving him in any number of directions. It is essential whether you plan to just move him or to throw him.” So writes Black Belt Hall of Famer George Kirby in his book Jujitsu: Advanced Techniques for Redirecting an Opponent’s Energy.

It will be fascinating for you, if you have the opportunity, to visit one of the museums in the West that have suits of Japanese armor. That’s because feudal Japan took a different approach to body armor than we find in Europe. To some degree, the samurai traded protection for mobility. Rather than using rigid, curved metal sections like the European knights did, the Japanese constructed their armor from an elaborately woven series of leather panels. Roughly half the size of

The knife hand strike, once the crown jewel of karate demonstrations, has had quite a fall from grace. Once upon a time, every martial arts student dreamed of chopping through boards like a lumberjack with an anger management problem. Instructors would proudly line up pine planks, and students would step forward with the confidence of someone who definitely wasn’t about to bruise their hand. These days, though, the karate chop feels like it’s been filed away with other retro

“The only thing scarier than the monster… is the Black Belt who fights back.” As Black Belts, nothing scares us. Not sparring. Not spinning back kicks. Not even a flying side kick gone rogue. But there’s one thing that’ll make even the toughest martial artist flinch… Evil monsters, maniacal villains, and blood-sucking vampires! Halloween has crept into the dojo, and we’re celebrating the only way we know how — with a roundhouse-ready movie marathon that’ll have you screaming

Q:  When it comes to lifting weights, they say slower is better for building muscle, but some people insist that you need fast moves to build the explosive striking power that’s required for martial arts. Which approach is right? A:  There’s no short answer to this question because what’s right for one person isn’t always right for another. However, there are some nearly universal truths for building power with iron that can translate to explosiveness in the dojo. Before I ge

I'm amused — and, in some ways, delighted — by the comments that still get posted on YouTube regarding the 1987 matchup of Rickson Gracie and me. Judo enthusiasts say they're proud I was able to upend Gracie a couple of times. Any advantage I received, however, disappeared as soon as we hit the ground and I was caught in an armbar. So judoka say judo won, while Brazilian jiu-jitsu stylists insist their art won. It's a true win-win situation for the martial arts.

Nominations Form 2025-2026 Black Belt Hall of Fame The deadline for nominations is December 1, 2025. Submit your nomination for the martial artist you believe is most deserving of recognition among the legendary figures of the Black Belt Hall of Fame Click the button to make your nomination Since its founding in 1968, the Black Belt Hall of Fame has represented the highest honor in martial arts achievement. Recognized as the most prestigious distinction in the discipline’s hi

As the theme song to the 1978 Burt Reynolds movie Hooper noted, “There ain’t nothing like the life of a Hollywood stuntman.” A lot of martial artists take those words to heart. There’s a seeming army of skilled — and not-so-skilled — practitioners of karate, taekwondo, kung fu, and other arts trying to break into the motion-picture industry by making use of their ability to kick and punch, but how realistic is this? What do martial artists interested in stunt work need to kno

On January 29, 2015, the British Journal of Sports Medicine  posted the results of a research study that examined 131 MMA fighters and 93 boxers. It concluded that “greater exposure to repetitive head trauma is associated with lower brain volumes and lower processing speed in active professional fighters.” Although not surprising to many, this inevitably will lead to questions from martial artists who wish to continue to make head contact during training but want to maximize

When asked about the aesthetics of a certain martial arts bout, Helio Gracie  once replied gruffly, “A fight is a fight.” It wasn’t that he didn’t see beauty in the art of jiu-jitsu. He merely thought it was imperative to emphasize that fighting is a serious affair with potentially dire consequences for the loser — and sometimes for his or her family. Judging whether a martial art is good is very different from judging whether a dance or a painting is good. Dancing and painti

From Bruce Lee’s one-inch punch to stadium-filling choreographed spectacles, the martial arts demo has evolved into a cornerstone of martial culture bridging tradition, creativity, and entertainment, and laying the foundation for how the world experiences martial arts today. That said the martial arts demonstration has been one of the most under-appreciated contributions to modern martial arts.

Who Were These Two Gentlemen and What Was Their Place in Karate History? Read on to find more... The All-Japan Karate Championships, founded in 1957, has long stood as the ultimate proving ground for Japan’s top karateka. Organized annually by the Japan Karate Association (JKA), the event brings together the best of the best to test their skill in Kata  and Kumite . When the very first championship was held, it was strictly a domestic affair - only Japanese competitors were p

Ask most martial artists how to get better at sparring, and you’ll hear the same advice on repeat: “Keep your guard up,” “Don’t drop your hands,” “Relax.” All solid points—but let’s be honest, you already know that. So, let’s go a little deeper. Here are the underrated  tips for sparring success—the ones most people overlook until they learn them the hard way. 1. Learn to Lose… Well Getting tagged isn’t failure—it’s feedback. The best fighters aren’t the ones who never get hi

Back in the 1970s, an action movie hero once delivered a classic line: “I'm gonna take this right foot, and I'm gonna whop you on that...

Before the movies and before the legend, there was just a 1st dan Tang Soo Do Black Belt named Carlos. This dashing first-degree Black...

It’s an argument as old as the dojo itself: Would you rather face someone who’s stronger  than you — or better trained? Every generation...

In the 1970s, Black Belt Magazines owner Mitoshi Uyehara created a book publishing company known as Ohara Publications . The book...

The Smashing Machine  officially lands in theaters today, bringing the legendary story of Mark Kerr to the big screen. The 2025 American...

“Sensei, is what you’re talking about similar to what Miyamoto Musashi said in Go Rin No Sho  when he was explaining the effects of go no sen ?” This is the sort of question one occasionally hears in the dojo. Of course, we can say that there are no stupid questions, but we need to understand that at times there are inappropriate questions. One of the most inappropriate questions you can ask in the dojo is one that’s intended not to better your understanding of a topic but to

When most people think of Chuck Norris, they picture Walker, Texas Ranger , his karate championships, or that legendary fight with Bruce...

In today’s world of deepfakes and AI-generated content, it’s getting harder and harder to tell what’s real and what’s fabricated. With...