Rethinking Rank: What Does It Really Mean to Be a Black Belt?
Before Jigoro Kano and the Meiji Restoration, there was jujitsu. Back then, a person practiced in an ordinary kimono, usually a hakama and..
top of page
Herb Perez
Aug 10
Fixing Modern Taekwondo, Here’s What We Can Do to Start Fixing the Problem
As a martial art/combat sport, taekwondo has gone through several transformations. Each generation of practitioners is plagued by critics...
Dave Lowry
May 20
Karate’s Forgotten Pioneer: Yasuhiro Konishi
History has a flow; some characters are caught in the currents and carried along, while others fall into an eddy and are soon forgotten.
Dave Lowry
Dec 27, 2023
What Is a Kiai?
Two Japanese characters make up the word: Ki means “energy,” and ai means “to unify.” The concept appears often in the traditional...
Black Belt Team
Dec 26, 2023
Learn the Real Chuck Norris Facts
Like most netizens, we love Chuck Norris jokes. But Chuck Norris is more than just an action hero. As this classic interview with Sara...
Black Belt Team
Dec 25, 2023
Chuck Norris: How to Choose A Martial Arts School
In a recent letter, someone mentioned his interest in taking karate lessons. He wanted to know what questions he should ask a prospective...
Noel Plaugher
Dec 24, 2023
A New Look at Samurai Swordsman Miyamoto Musashi
When it comes to martial arts and strategy, only a few books are considered must-reads. One of them is The Book of Five...
Black Belt Team
Dec 19, 2023
Can Traditional Martial Arts like Aikido Still Grow in the Age of MMA? Part 2/2
by Antonio Terrone Last week we published part one. Part two offers final suggestions for keeping traditional martial arts alive. There...
Charles Earley
Dec 15, 2023
Which Martial Arts Styles Are Most Effective for Self Defense?
We live in a pretty dangerous world these days. Despite our best efforts, a physical confrontation can happen at any time during even the...
Black Belt Team
Dec 12, 2023
Can Traditional Martial Arts like Aikido Grow in the Age of MMA? PART 1 of 2
by Antonio Terrone There has been much clamor in the aikido world about a recent study suggesting that practice of the traditional...
Black Belt Team
Oct 4, 2023
Trailblazer: Gabrielle Rudolph
Gabrielle Rudolph is a trailblazing martial artist and is a featured instructor on the most comprehensive martial arts platform in...
Mark Jacobs
Nov 30, 2022
UNESCO Declares Cambodian Martial Art Bokator an "Intangible Cultural Heritage"
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added the Cambodian martial art of kun lbokator, more...
Gary Goltz
Nov 17, 2022
A Brief Anatomy of Strangling, Choke, and Triangle Techniques
This week’s blog is by my good friend and colleague by Steve Scott. Using strangles and chokes is serious business and is not for the...
Mark Jacobs
Nov 11, 2022
Father of Bermudan Karate Frederick "Skipper" Ingham Dies
Frederick "Skipper" Ingham, regarded as the father of karate in Bermuda and a quiet force in the development of professional sport...
Annika Kahn
Oct 21, 2022
Appreciating Modern Female Martial Artists
I invite you to stop a moment and ask yourself to remember your grandmother’s, great-grandmother’s, great-great-grandmother’s lineage....
Noel Plaugher
Aug 29, 2022
Repetition: The Key to Success
I’ve been a lot of things in my life (musician, writer, entrepreneur, martial artist, etc), but success at any of them was never easy....
Keith Vargo
Jul 19, 2022
Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do: The Anxiety of Influence
A great artist is measured not just by his fame or even his achievements; he’s measured by his influence on others. Fame alone is...
Conrad Bui
Mar 24, 2022
5 Things You Did Not Know About Combatives
When you hear the term “combatives,” maybe you immediately envision a tough, muscular, ex-military brute beating the crap out of you...
bottom of page