Train Right to Prepare Yourself to Survive By Jason Brick If you ask 100 different martial artists what kind of training is most important, you’ll get 100 different answers. You’ll get 200 if you come back a year later and ask them again. Moni Aizik has trained in multiple martial arts genres — in the classical arts, sporting arts and military arts — and the worldview he developed led him to a set of answers he regards as universal truths. He went on to found Commando Krav Maga, Combat Survival and Elite Combat Fitness, and he’s taught those systems to countless clients in the military and in law enforcement, as well as in the civilian sphere, for more than 40 years. I had an opportunity to talk with Aizik about what Commando Krav Maga is, what it does and how martial artists like you can apply it to their reality-based training on and off the mat. CHECKING YOUR REALITY Although renowned for his contributions to the Israeli art of Krav Maga, Aizik is also a longtime fan and practitioner of the traditional arts. Black Belt readers don’t require much reminding of the benefits they get from the martial arts that are taught in the dojo. An incomplete list would include stress relief, cardiovascular exercise and falling skills. What’s more, those benefits are likely to protect us from the most common killers of modern humans, dangers like heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer, which are far more common than assailants lurking in alleys. However, those ancillary protections don’t include surviving sudden violence. That requires training with intention, and it’s what Aizik specializes in. “When you train in traditional martial arts, you tend to believe that’s the way it is,” he says. “You don’t open your mind to the different things that really happen on the street. If you deal only with grappling, as an example, you forget that somebody might have a knife or a gun. If you do striking only, you forget you can fall.” While creating Commando Krav Maga, Aizik reviewed more than 20,000 videos of violence collected from CCTV cameras, dashcams, bodycams and similar sources. He used this research to develop a system of self-defense that addresses the realities of street violence in the 21st century. Although every criminal incident is unique, Aizik’s research identified patterns. One of the most important patterns is how people respond when attacked. “Most of the time, when adrenaline kicks in, people will do what they are trained to do,” Aizik says. “A wrestler normally likes to engage by grabbing somebody. If somebody attacks them with a knife, they might find themselves trying a double-leg takedown, which is the worst thing to do against a knife. A karate practitioner might try to kick the knife, which is not advisable because against a knife, you need extremely good stability.” On a similar note, consider how most training sessions that involve sparring or self-defense focus on light blows delivered while on a level floor, one that’s often covered with mats, while participants are wearing comfortable clothes and have warmed up their bodies. This bears almost no resemblance to fighting for one’s life in a litter-filled alley at night while wearing jeans and a pair of work boots, Aizik says. While recognizing the value of traditional and sport training, he insists that people need methods that more closely mimic reality as it manifests in the modern world, and he applies that insight to things you can do before, during and after an attack. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO Training to survive — and prevail in — a violent attack is a matter of building reflexes that work under the conditions that occur during the commission of a crime. A friend throwing a pulled punch in a controlled environment does not equal what you’ll encounter in the real world, Aizik says. On the other hand, you can’t train under conditions that are identical to a real attack because that kind of force would carry the risk of serious injury every time you stepped on the mat. This is why Aizik suggests his students alter how they train sometimes so the circumstances more closely match a realistic assault. “When training in a traditional martial art, you need to remember there are specific concepts for handling reality,” he says. “But reality is cruel and unpredictable!” As an example, Aizik talks about lighting conditions. If your only training is under fluorescent lights in a strip-mall dojo or under sodium lights in a warehouse space, your situational awareness will suffer when you’re in a parking lot at night. To combat this, Commando Krav Maga conducts workouts in dim lighting, near-total darkness and even under strobe lights. Sometimes instructors add audio elements like the sound of an angry crowd or a police siren. This changes the context of training so practitioners don’t unconsciously rely on having a certain set of conditions when they execute their self-defense techniques. Altering the environment when you train is key to preparing for the realities of street self-defense, Aizik says. “We train in street clothes,” he adds. “We initiate training that involves things to make it more like [a fight] on the street. For instance, we know that in real fights, you’re going to sweat a lot. Everything will be slippery. So we put oil on a gun or knife and then you have to do the disarm.” WHEN IT’S GO TIME When you’re attacked, even if you’ve trained to the context, you have to account for the impact of adrenaline and other fear factors, Aizik says. This isn’t news for any serious student of self-defense, but he takes it a step further. He built Commando Krav Maga to factor in how our physiological responses degrade our fine-motor skills. “It’s based on simplicity,” he says. “The only things that really work on the street are simple. Anything that takes more than two gross-motor skills will not work for you under stress and pressure. All moves are straightforward and simple, and [they] don’t require strength.” Take, for example, a defense against an aggressive right hand. It could be a punch or a push or a grab. Relying on simple sequences of grossmotor skills, Commando Krav Maga teaches a response called “the rhino.” It unfolds like this: • Raise your left hand and place it behind your head as if you’re combing your hair. Point your left elbow forward, toward the attacker. • Step forward with your left foot, catching the attack on your arm. If possible, strike the aggressor in the face with the point of your elbow. • Follow up with a right palm strike to the face. After that initial response, you have a fraction of a second to decide what to do next, Aizik says. Depending on the situation, that might mean retreating, stepping forward to reposition yourself behind the bad guy or continuing with additional strikes to neutralize him. It’s important to reiterate that the rhino doesn’t differentiate between types of unarmed high-line attacks. Taking the time to identify what’s coming and then choosing a specialized response can make you freeze even under ideal circumstances. Instead, Aizik’s system encourages you to practice a near-universal response until it’s reflexive. As you can see, the rhino uses only large-muscle, gross-motor skills — the ones we can rely on when our bodies are flooded with adrenaline. ALL ABOUT CONTROL Against a knife attack, Commando Krav Maga teaches you to create distance and disengage, but if that’s impossible, you should seek to control. “The delivery system for the knife is not just the edge of the blade,” Aizik says. “It is the entire arm and the shoulder and the legs. All of that has to be controlled.” Only after achieving control can you safely attempt a disarm, as in the technique he’s dubbed “the wiz.” It’s perfect for use against a lunging knife attack: • Step clockwise offline and swing your left arm forward to redirect the knife. Be certain to face the back of your hand and forearm forward to protect your radial artery. • Raise your hands into a prayer position, using both to control the opponent’s knife hand while your left elbow pinches and traps his arm. • Strip the weapon with your right hand, then counterattack or disengage. As with the rhino, the wiz applies the strength of your entire body against a single vital point of your attacker while relying on grossmotor skills that remain after an adrenal dump. These concepts apply across a broad spectrum of attacks, Aizik says. Students of Commando Krav Maga learn them from the beginning, but traditional students can incorporate them into their own training and take their self-defense off the mat and onto the street. But Aizik’s system goes ever further. It teaches other techniques and training methods that are designed for reality-based attacks. “We teach gun disarms from standing, from kneeling and from lying on the back — from so many angles,” he says, illustrating the fact that martial artists might be called on to defend themselves in positions other than on their feet in a stance they’ve practiced. The same goes for ground fighting — which Commando Krav Maga doesn’t teach, he says. Instead, the system schools its students in ground survival, which Aizik describes as “how to escape and get to your feet from any situation.” This verbiage and the subset of skills it refers to implicitly convey the message that rolling on the ground is dangerous because it leaves you exposed. It also stems from the fact that stand-up systems like krav maga do better while the practitioner is standing. THE FIGHT AFTER THE FIGHT Many knowledgeable martial artists lament that students receive very little training in the skills they need before violence begins, and they’re right. Most instructors pay lip service to the importance of de-escalation, situational awareness and other soft skills but then spend very little mat time practicing them. That situation pales in comparison to how little attention most workouts allot to what happens after a fight. At worst, self-defense instructors dig out the old saying, “I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by six” — as if those are the only two options available when confronted with potential violence. Reality is far more complex. “The fight is not always over when you get out of the situation,” Aizik says. “If you hurt the guy too much, you might find yourself in jail. You need to know what happens post-attack.” There are legal, moral, ethical and financial issues associated with self-defense that any system billing itself as realistic and responsible must prepare its students for. One way Commando Krav Maga accomplishes this is through teaching students to attack an aggressor’s mindset as well as his body. An attacker feels big and powerful, at least compared to the person he’s attacking, Aizik says. Otherwise, the person wouldn’t attack. To inflict pain and fear — what he calls “becoming the bully” in that moment— it’s possible to destroy the assailant’s will to fight. If you make the other guy run away, it’s better for everybody. How so? You haven’t had to seriously injure another human being. The bad guy isn’t maimed or killed. Bystanders — by which I mean witnesses — see that the person is in good enough shape to retreat. All this combines to help you mentally and emotionally survive the altercation, as well as help protect you in any legal battles that might follow. A second consideration is how to deal with fear. As a violent event approaches, your body’s physiological response limits your higher order mental skills just as much as it erodes your fine-motor control. By training in situations that induce or mimic the body’s stress response, you don’t just train yourself to apply your physical skills; you help yourself stay calm before violence erupts, which can help you avoid a fight in the first place. Aizik also advises students to learn the self-defense laws of their area. In particular, you should endeavor to understand when self-defense becomes assault, what rules surround firearms and other weapons, and whether you live in a stand-your-ground jurisdiction or one with a duty to retreat. The better you know the legal context of self-defense, the more prepared you are for the after-fight battles. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER The key, Aizik says, is to “insert a piece of reality into what you do to be able to face a street fight properly.” For some, this might entail direct training in a reality-based system, but it doesn’t have to mean giving up your art. According to Aizik, many students of Commando Krav Maga are also traditional martial artists who add the street-oriented lessons to what they learn in their conventional classes. Others, however, are all in. They absorb the reality-based concepts like the role of environment, the need for simplicity and the importance of stress training, then inject that into the martial portion of their brains. They’re confident that making such realistic considerations part of their lifestyle will better prepare them for anything they might face off the mat. Jason Brick is an Oregon-based freelance writer and martial artist who’s trained in a variety of styles for more than 35 years. His website is brickcommajason.com.

BRAVE CF Lightweight champion will look to become the first man to successfully defend his title when he takes on former titleholder Lucas Mineiro at BRAVE CF 77, on December 5 One of the most devastating fighters to ever grace the BRAVE CF arena, Abdisalam Kubanychbek has finally earned the world title he worked hard for: he`s the undisputed BRAVE CF Lightweight champion of the world. But ahead of his first defense against Lucas ‘’Mineiro’’ Martins at BRAVE CF 77, on December 5, a curse rears its ugly head once again. In total, BRAVE CF has had seven titleholders, and none of them have been able to defend their belt. The Lightweight world title has traveled the world, being contested in Bahrain (3 times), Brazil (2 times), Jordan, Poland, Uzbekistan, and Serbia. Each time, the champion failed to defend, losing the fight – and the belt- immediately after winning it. The belt has been in possession of Ottman Azaitar (Morocco), Lucas Martins (Brazil), Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady (Jordan), Luan Santiago (Brazil), Cleiton Silva (Brazil), Amin Ayoub (France), Ahmed Amir (Egypt), and is now with Kubanychbek, widely regarded as the number one fighter from Kyrgyzstan. On December 5, he will have a golden opportunity to break one of the biggest curses in MMA today. In front of him, lies a former victim of the curse, who’s now eager to keep it alive – Lucas ‘’Mineiro’’ is more determined than ever to regain the belt, and make history as the first-ever BRAVE CF two-time Lightweight champion of the world, and only one of two men to hold the same belt twice, after Jarrah Al-Silawi at Super Welterweight. For Abdisalam Kubanychbek, this is a chance to stake his claim as the most feared man on the roster and keep his undefeated BRAVE CF record alive. A chance Omok is eager to take and has prepared his whole life to achieve – from the boogeyman of the Lightweight division to its king and destroyer of curses. On December 5, it’s all to play – and fight – for.

BRAVE CF former two-time champion Jarrah Al-Silawi is set to make his historic return to the promotion at BRAVE CF 80 this month. From December 5, BRAVE CF will be hosting three blockbuster events in the Kingdom of Bahrain over a span of ten days, as part of the BRAVE International Combat Week. The third and final show will be BRAVE CF 80 on December 15. The expectation has always been that we’d see some incredible bouts from top to bottom and the promotion has delivered on the promise, bringing a world-class fight card to finish the year. For Arab fans, two occasions will be unmissable and historic at BRAVE CF 80: the duel between Arab Legends and UK & Ireland, and the return of Jarrah Al-Silawi. A two-time BRAVE CF Super Welterweight world champion, and widely regarded as the best Arab fighter of all time, ''The Jordanian Lion'' will return to his second home, and even though he won't be a part of the Arab Legends team, he still felt compelled to return to action in the Middle East at such an occasion. One of the biggest examples of BRAVE CF's commitment to the development of Arab fighters, Al-Silawi became known worldwide through his battles with BRAVE CF, putting together a formidable 9-1 record with the promotion, and his only loss coming via split decision, and avenged in an immediate rematch with a TKO victory for Jarrah. It is this legendary run that he hopes to recreate for one night only, at the Khalifa Sports City Arena, which is the home of many of his biggest accomplishments, such as his wins over Erik Carlsson and Carl Booth. As an Arab legend, missing the opportunity to fight at such an impactful card for the region's fighters was simply not an option.

ONE Friday Fights 43 delivered non-stop excitement from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday, December 1. The 12 incredible contests only seemed to get better and better as the action drew on throughout the card. Atop the marquee were two flyweight Muay Thai showdowns. In the co-main event, Kongthoranee Sor Sommai finished the job against Iran’s Parsa Aminpour. After two rounds of solid work, Kongthoranee got the knockout at 67 seconds of the final round. A beautiful left elbow from inside the clinch put his opponent down for good. The main event followed with Pettonglor Sitluangpeenumfon and Kongsuk Fairtex firing away for three complete rounds. After nine minutes of a back-and-forth battle, Pettonglor got his arm raised by split decision. Kongsuk showed himself well, but two of the judges sided with his opponent. Six of the 12 bouts were finished by KO/TKO, continuing to showcase the dynamic striking action that ONE Friday Fights provides each and every week. Mustafa Al Tekreeti, Aslamjon Ortikov, Petnamkhong Mongkolpet, and Kongthoranee Sor Sommai all picked up performance bonuses for their finishes inside the ring. There was plenty of action to be had for fans around the world. Mixed martial arts action was not left out. Three bouts helped start the night inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Nachyn Sat got his ONE career started with a bang. In an exciting bout, he defeated Carlos Alvarez by TKO in the final minute of the second round. Ryosuke Honda and Faine Mesquita also picked up wins in their MMA bouts to get the evening started. ONE Friday Fights 43 Full Results Pettonglor Sitluangpeenumfon def. Kongsuk Fairtex by split decision Kongthoranee Sor Sommai def. Parsa Aminpour by KO at 1:07 of the third round Sibsan Nokkhao KorMor11 def. Award Kazimba by unanimous decision Chokdee Maxjandee def. Yousif Qadir by KO at 0:48 of the second round Jomjai Naksugym def. Kaoklai Chor Hapayak by unanimous decision Petnamkhong Mongkolpet def. BM Fairtex by KO at 1:45 of the third round Aslamjon Ortikov def. Chatanan Sor Jor Joyprajin by KO at 2:33 of the first round Mustafa Al Tekreeti def. Chanajon PK Saenchai by KO at 1:43 of the second round Rambong Sor Therapat def. Jiduo Yibu by unanimous decision Nachyn Sat def. Carlos Alvarez by TKO at 4:27 of the second round Ryosuke Honda def. Dave Bangguigui by unanimous decision Faine Mesquita def. Baktygul Kurmanbekova by unanimous decision

Clay Donahue Fontenot is one of Hollywood's most sought after and successful stuntmen and coordinators. He has doubled some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. His work includes such huge hits as Blade, Iron Man , Logan , Django Unchained and most notably the Equalizer franchise. Business Insider named Fontenot one of the most famous Celebrity Stuntman doubles in Hollywood. Check out his interview with Tony Parrish as they discuss his specialties, his favorite stunts, andadvice for entering Hollywood.

Agreement includes live event distribution of PFL MMA Global Regular Season, Playoffs and World Championship on ESPN Platforms . ESPN+ PPV will also distribute the new PFL PPV Super Fight Division. The Professional Fighters League (PFL) and ESPN have announced a new U.S. multi-year media rights renewal agreement which includes live event distribution of the PFL Regular Season, Playoffs and World Championship on ESPN linear networks and ESPN+. ESPN+ PPV will also distribute the new PFL PPV Super Fight Division in the U.S. when it launches in 2024. The PFL features some of the sport’s top fighters who will also be highlighted across ESPN platforms in pre- and post-fight coverage, as well as shoulder programming on linear and digital channels. “We’ve had five successful seasons on ESPN and we’re excited for the next phase of growth for MMA and the Professional Fighters League with this agreement,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “Our innovative sport-season format, elite roster of athletes, and the launch of the PFL PPV Super Fight Division, which will feature some of the world’s greatest combat sports stars such as Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul, are ushering in the new era of MMA as a mainstream global sports entertainment platform.” The PFL PPV Super Fight Division will be a global platform for some of the best MMA fighters and combat sports stars. Francis Ngannou, arguably one of the greatest heavyweight fighters in the world today, is under an exclusive MMA contract to fight in the division and is joined by one of the most influential figures in combat sports, Jake Paul, and women’s star fighters Claressa Shields, Amanda Serrano and Savannah Marshall. The first PFL PPV Super Fight will be in early 2024 with headlining fighters and location to be announced at a later date. PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight-class. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience. PFL is on ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S. and is broadcast and streamed in 150 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.

The five-round main event superfight will take place at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. On Thursday morning at a press conference in Tokyo, ONE Championship unveiled the massive main event for its return to Japan. ONE 165 will finally see the flyweight kickboxing dream match between Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Takeru Segawa happen. The flyweight strikers have each been public in their want for a match with the other. The match seemed inevitable when Takeru signed with ONE back in April of 2023. Now, it finally has a date. Rodtang has become a global superstar with his non-stop aggression inside the ring. It has carried him to the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship and the #1 ranking in the kickboxing division. Takeru stands atop the kickboxing world in Japan. The national hero is impeccable when the spotlight shines upon him with a 42-3 career mark. ONE also announced that the lightweight MMA battle between Sage Northcutt and Shinya Aoki will also happen on the card. The two stars have called each other out on social media in the last year, with Aoki’s colorful language setting the stage for the rivalry. Northcutt returned in May following a four-year absence due to injury. In his return, he stunned fans with a 39-second submission win at ONE Fight Night 10. He is looking for another victory to put himself in the title hunt against the former divisional king. The two marquee bouts were made official and help set the stage for an incredible 2024 for the promotion. ONE 165 airs live from Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, January 28. More bout announcements will follow in the weeks to come.

This tale starts with two people whose story could have been a twilight zone episode. It’s about a timeless force that bound a man and a woman from different worlds and directed them to become one with the past so they could move into the future. By Terry L. Wilson Photo Credit – Rick Hustead The woman is Rumiko Urata. She was raised in a fishing village on the coast of Kyushu, Japan. Like most kids her age, she grew up with cartoons and comic books. Although she had plenty of heroes to look up to, she only had eyes for an iconic Japanese crusader. “When I was little, ninja were very popular on television, in movies and in comic books,” Urata said. “To me, the ninja was a superhero, and I wanted to be one, too. I used to play with swords and pretend that I was a ninja even though I knew they weren’t real anymore.” Thousands of miles away, the ninja bug also bit — this time, it got Stephen K. Hayes, a tang soo do student from Dayton, Ohio. “I saw an article about ninja in Black Belt,” he said. “That changed my life forever. I vowed to someday move to Japan, find a ninja master and train under him to become a real ninja.” Neither Urata nor Hayes could have known it at the time, but their lives eventually would intertwine and their ninja fantasies would become reality. After graduating from college, Hayes moved to Japan. It was around the same time Urata graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo. “I met Rumiko in 1979,” Hayes said. “I was in Tokyo doing English advertising for Canon Camera to support myself while training at the ninja dojo. They had just hired Rumiko. Luckily for me, they put her in the advertising department at a desk directly across from me. That’s how we met.” For the American, it was love at first sight. He carefully pondered his next move, figuring that their first chat could be their last if he brought up the real reason he was in Japan. Hayes played out several first date conversations in his head, unaware that his secret identity had already been compromised. Unknown to him, gossiping around the office water cooler was as much a tradition in Japan as it was in the States. The subject du jour at Canon was the American who wanted to be a ninja. “I knew all about Stephen’s ninja training long before he told me about it,” Urata said. “When you work in a large company, there will always be a group of ladies who know everything about what’s going on. There are no secrets.” “Once, I made the mistake of telling someone that I was in Japan learning how to be a ninja,” Hayes said. “They sat silently and gave me the look.” That look, he said, entailed the person going silent, his eyes rolling back and shaking his head in disbelief. The Japanese are a polite people, so no one would ever ridicule a stranger. Afterward, however, whenever a local asked him why he was in Japan, Hayes was more careful. “When I first met Stephen, he said he was in Japan to study martial arts,” Urata said. “He skirted around what he was really doing because if you tell someone in Japan that you’re a ninja, it could raise a few eyebrows, especially if you’re an American from Ohio.” Later, however, Hayes found the perfect moment to pull off the ninja mask and reveal the truth. “That conversation couldn’t have gone better,” he said. “Rumiko was not only OK with the ninja thing; she was completely on board from day one and began translating some arcane books given to me by Masaaki Hatsumi, who was the headmaster of the dojo.” Urata said: “As a kid, I thought ninja could crawl up walls, shoot fire from their eyes and disappear at will. It wasn’t until Stephen asked me to translate his teacher’s books into English that I began to learn the depth of training involved in this specific art.” She explored the texts, and with each page turned, another secret of the shadow warriors was unveiled. “As I studied the writings, I not only had to read what was written but also what was not written,” she said. “I had to decipher the philosophy that was hidden behind the words by reading between the lines. “By translating the grandmaster’s books,I was given the opportunity to rediscover facets of my own culture that had been lost to time. With each translation, my passion grew. I felt a connection, a bond even, with the ninja mindset, and I wanted to become part of their legacy.” Hayes wasn’t surprised when Urata asked him to teach her. Fearing that it could become a double-edged sword, he suggested she ask permission to train with Hatsumi himself. After she followed the proper protocols, he accepted her as a student. All the lessons and ranks she would receive came directly from him. “The training was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through,” Urata said. “My body was filled with aches and pains combined with physical and mental stress. Everything we did was designed for us to overcome any challenges we may encounter in real life. In the end, what I gained as a person was how to look at life from a higher perspective. By that, I mean how to really value yourself, your relationships and others — it’s what I call the ninja mind.” Hayes and Urata fell in love with the spiritual facet of the art, but the combat applications also promised rewards. “I am a small person,” Urata said. “So for me, the best part of close quarters training was learning that by using precise timing and proper body positioning, the self-defense techniques put me at an advantage against a much larger adversary.” Hayes said: “I began ninja training with a tang soo do background, so everything I’d been doing prior to going to Japan was linear and overpowering. We never grappled; we just ran over our opponents. We never did weapons, we never did chokes and we never did takedowns. But when I began ninjutsu, all of that and more opened up to me.” “We got married in Japan in a traditional Shinto wedding ceremony,” Hayes said. “In 1980 we came back to America just as the ninja boom was beginning.” Soon after they had children, Urata and Hayes made sure they learned the art, too— from other instructors. “We had our staff teach them,” Hayes said. “Our daughters accepted criticisms and corrections, and it was no big deal coming from a staff member. From Mom and Dad, they only got positive feedback. “I talked to a lot of martial artists who taught martial arts to their kids, but after a while they’d quit. The secret is you can’t be your own kids’ teacher. Kids think if the parent corrects them, they are disappointing Mom and Dad, so we dodged the whole thing.” The daughters are now in their 30s, living lives of their own — which begs the question, Did their ninja training stick? During a recent visit from their parents, they demonstrated their ninja skills while wearing Oculus virtual-reality headsets. “Reina had some goggles on and was fighting cyber ninjas,” Urata said. “She was down in a low crouch stance sword fighting — we were amazed! At 39, she still has it.” The daughters grew up with the sword —and with hard workouts, Hayes explained. “We built a seminar center at our home in Ohio, and Reina and Marissa would train there. They never had other kids to train with, so they trained with adults for 20 some years. They still have the moves!” And the art of ninjutsu still has the ability to captivate a new generation.

FEATURED ON: The Combat Show BORN: Rio de Janeiro AGE: 56 STYLE: Brazilian jiu-jitsu CELEBRITY STUDENTS: Keanu Reeves, Ashton Kutcher, Vin Diesel Tony Parrish interviews Rigan Machado You’ve probably been in 30 movies. … Rigan Machado: And TV shows, but now I started getting bigger jobs. The biggest job I ever got was with Nicolas Cage and Tony Jaa [in Jiu Jitsu]. I play a warrior — it was pretty cool. I also did a comedy with Russell Peters and Michael Jai White: [The Outlaw Johnny Black], a Western. Now I got an offer to do a movie in Bollywood. I play a zombie. They kill me and my wife, and I come back [for] revenge and I know martial arts. How am I going to say no to being a zombie? (laughs) Wasn’t your first movie Brazilian Brawlers? Machado: In the beginning, it was called Bad Boys From Brazil, but because they just came out with Bad Boys, they said, “No, you can’t call it Bad Boys From Brazil.” They changed it to Brazilian Brawlers, which is the worst movie in history. I recommend not to watch. That movie is so bad. When you finish the movie, you want to break the TV. I smiled the whole time. There were also some cameos in there — not only your brothers but I also saw Dan Inosanto in the movie. Machado: It was kind of funny because Dan Inosanto was my student, and I called him and said, “Dan, why don’t you play my uncle or something?” He said, “Sure, no problem.” That was great — a Brazilian boy has a Filipino uncle. Machado: The movie makes no sense. Wasn’t your brother John part of writing that movie? Machado: John was the head of the show for sure. He came up with the idea to copy a Charles Bronson film and add the brothers and stuff. But the problem when you have no experience and work with people who don’t know what they’re doing is everything can go wrong. Everything went wrong from the beginning to the end. I don’t know how the movie was able to finish because [they] finished the money in the budget in the middle of the movie. I think the process of how hard it is to do a good film — people have no idea. When you look from outside, you imagine, I’m gonna be a movie star. I’m gonna do this, do that. It’s not that easy. You need a great cinematographer, an engineer for sound, a good fight choreographer and a good director who knows how to film the angles. Then you need good postproduction. It’s a lot of work, but it’s kind of nice because I believe the best way for you to be good at something is to learn from your mistakes. I learned so much. Today, I believe I have the knowledge and the experience to do a movie from the beginning. I have the ability to finish the film by myself. I think I can put the team together. As I look over your shoulder, I see a picture on the wall. Is that you and master Helio Gracie? Machado: I have a picture of me, Helio Gracie and Carlos Gracie. And on top of that, I have a picture of me and Rolls Gracie, one of my coaches. I know you started very young, about 5 years old, right? Who was coaching you at that time? Machado: It’s kind of funny because growing up, I had a lot of issues — like a little bit of asthma and dyslexia. I had a lot of problems in school. Carlos Gracie was a doctor of nutrition. He created the Gracie Diet and was the mentor of the whole family. He married my mother’s sister. We became very close. He brought me to live with him and do the Gracie Diet, do jiu-jitsu and swim twice a day. He put me in to train with all his kids. It basically was like you were surrounded by fighters 24 hours a day. I started getting good. And my cousin Rolls and Carlos Gracie Jr. went to talk to my mother. They said, “This kid has a chance to be really good. Why don’t you give him a chance to stay here longer? He’s a horse. He’s pretty big. He’s strong. We believe we can make him a fantastic fighter.” And my mother said, “No problem. If that’s what he wants, let’s give him a chance to have a shot.” I lived with my cousins for 15 years or something like that. When you moved in with your cousins, what was your mindset? Were you excited to go? Machado: My uncle lived in a place in Ipanema Beach. He lived in this amazing house with mats in the house. We ate so healthy. We surfed, went to school and trained all the time. People came to the house, all these black belts and some great athletes to practice with us. And I was a young bird, a rookie. I was the youngest in the group. I got beat up a lot. When you are in an environment of pit bulls, you become a pit bull in a way because you have amazing partners to train with. I started winning. You start winning, and more people start to support you. And I remember Carlos Gracie called Rickson, and Rickson liked me a lot. Then Rickson started to teach me, too. And I trained with my brothers. I felt at the time like the luckiest man alive because I had the best of the best surrounding me. The luck I had was the environment. The second thing was I had amazing people behind me. I love the environment of fighting. One of the best feelings in the world for me was to look across the mat and see another guy who wants to take my head off, another warrior who wants to give his best to take his spot on the mat. And we go to war. And when you end up with the victory, it’s the best feeling in the world because you feel like a gladiator, like a champ.

Graciela Casillas I was staring down the barrels of a shotgun. At that precise moment, I realized that I was not fully prepared to defend myself. It was by the grace of God that I was able to get out of that situation. In other words, I was incredibly lucky. This near miss served as a stark reminder of my vulnerabilities. That was the moment I began my journey of self-defense and empowerment, determined to break through the barriers that society had placed before me and every other woman. Growing up in an era where women were discouraged from participating in male-dominated sports and martial arts remained largely inaccessible to them, I became acutely aware of the disparities in gender representation. Men outnumbered women in this field by a staggering thirty to one, and societal norms cast men as the protectors while women were perceived as damsels in distress. I vividly remember conducting a women's self-defense seminar in North Carolina in the early 1980s. Some attendees admitted to deceiving their husbands, claiming they were going to the mall rather than a self-defense seminar. Why? Because many men didn't feel the need to learn self-defense; it was their role to protect their spouses. Decades have passed since then, and although men still dominate martial arts dojos, it has become increasingly normal, especially in the U.S., for women to engage in various styles of contact sports and martial arts. Women have realized that, ultimately, they must rely on themselves for protection. As an advocate for women's personal protection skills, I've expanded my approach well beyond physical and tactical skills. I believe the mind should be trained before the body. Self-defense extends beyond physical protection; it encompasses mental and spiritual well-being, equipping us to strengthen our minds and nurture our souls. By practicing self-awareness, mindfulness, and spirituality, anyone can learn how to cultivate resilience, inner strength, and discover a profound sense of purpose. By embracing self-defense in all its dimensions enables us to live more fulfilled and empowered lives. When it comes to personal well-being, we should prioritize the importance of self-defense in these areas of our lives. On a mental and psychological level, self-defense equips you with the tools to protect and fortify your mind. In a world filled with stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and negativity, developing a robust mental defense is vital. I emphasize the power of self-awareness, the ability to recognize and confront negative thoughts and emotions, and the practice of techniques such as meditation, mindfulness, and positive affirmations to cultivate mental clarity and inner strength. The importance of self-defense extends to the spiritual realm. Students should be encouraged to explore and nurture their spiritual well-being, which plays a critical role in self-defense. By connecting with one’s inner self, you can tap into a wellspring of resilience, faith, and purpose. Spiritual nourishment can take various forms, depending on personal beliefs and values, including prayer, meditation, or engaging in fulfilling activities. Stay tuned for Pt 2.

by Robert W. Young Black Belt started working with Bruce Lee before he was a star — witness our October 1967 issue, which featured him on the cover at a time when his name was deemed less attention-getting than the phrase “Green Hornet’s ‘Kato’: Does he really practice kung fu?” Since he passed away, the magazine has continued to work with the Lee family to keep readers up to date on all the projects that are in the works. In that vein, we present our annual interview with his daughter Shannon Lee , who has her hand in so many projects that it’s hard to imagine her ever resting. First of all, could you make a few comments about Bruce Lee in Black Belt, the book that Black Belt Publishing is about to release? I think this is going to be a real treat for people, even for myself, to have all this content in one place. We have such an amazing long history with Black Belt. The magazine gave a voice to my father way back in the 1960s and ’70s, and we continued this relationship over 50-plus years. There’s been a lot of content, and now for all that to be in one place — I just think it’s exciting. The exciting thing for us is that it also deals with those iconic first generation students who became well-known masters — like Dan Inosanto and Richard Bustillo. It’s a continuation of the work your father started. It’s like a tree. It starts with the seed from him, and then it sprouts out from there. All those people are part of his legacy. Could you comment on the Bruce Lee app? Is it the vehicle that people use to access your “Be Water” membership program, or is it something else? Yes, it’s about the “Be Water” membership. The reason it’s changed to an app is so we could offer it internationally. When we launched the program, it was just within North America, and it was a texting-based program, which was great, but there were so many people from other countries asking, “How do I get this?” We didn’t have the technology quite yet, but now we do. I have the app on my phone, and it’s great when I get a text message — Ihave the number saved as “Baba,” which means “father.” That’s what I used to call my dad, so it’s like getting a text from my dad five times a week. (laughs) They’re great daily reminders. When you sign up, you are entered into a monthly giveaway, also — and we give away some pretty cool stuff. (laughs) They are random thank-you prizes for continuing to be a part of my father’s legacy. It’s amazing to read your father’s quotes because they seem timeless, as well as concise and meaningful. They will be relevant forever. There are teachings from different people that continue to be popular for centuries because they’re based on essential life practices and wisdom, which his are. One thing I’ve noticed is that whenever I read a Bruce Lee quote, it has an impact, but then if I watch a video of your father saying that quote, it’s even more memorable and more powerful because of the way he delivered it. On our website and on our social media, we love to post those videos because they’re just so inspiring. At this point, would you say your father is still better known as a martial artist or is he better known for his philosophies, the kind of wisdom that comes from a culture that goes back thousands of years? That’s an interesting thing. He’s probably still best-known as a martial arts action-movie person. That said, I do think that most people know that he had at least some quotes such as “Be like water,” and that he had other inspirational things to say. But I don’t think he’s quite reached the level of having people understand the depth of his research and philosophical practice, which is part of what I tried to present in my book Be Water, My Friend. And that’s really the foundation that made him the impactful human being that he was. The reason I asked that question is the example set by people like Miyamoto Musashi, whose writings initially gained popularity in the martial arts world but then moved into the business world and many other fields. I’m wondering if you’re seeing that same thing happen with the wisdom your father was presenting through martial arts. I believe that it is. But we have to remember Musashi lived how many hundreds of years ago, so I think it takes time to make that transition. But I think we’re very much in the midst of it now. Are there still a lot of philosophical writings that you have not released yet? In terms of the actual words, most of them have been technically released, but I don’t know if they’ve been released in a way that puts them in the proper light to be consumed and fully graspable. There’s still a lot to be done. And you probably feel compelled to tie certain quotes and philosophies in with what’s happening now in the world, just to make them more relevant. Totally. The thing is, his philosophies are so relevant to the condition of being a human being (laughs) — from which we all suffer — that they’ll be relevant for a long time to come. How is your podcast going? We took a break for almost a year — for no reason other than we wanted to focus on different things. But we just started recording a new season, and it’s going to be really interesting. We’re focusing on the efforts of the Bruce Lee Foundation, which is in a mode of expansion and reinvention. We’re in a lot of active conversations with incredible partners, and we want to shine a light on that. Could you briefly mention the different websites and who they’re designed to appeal to? I know you have BruceLee.com — is that the basic place where all fans should start? Is there still a Bruce Lee Foundation website? If so, whom does that target? So BruceLee.com is our fan website. You can access the podcasts and general information about Bruce Lee, our social media handles and their links, and our online store. There are announcements about things that are happening in the world of Bruce Lee, so it’s a great place to start. Then there is BruceLeeFoundation.org, which is for the Bruce Lee Foundation. Some people think that the whole thing is the foundation, but the foundation is our 501(c)(3) public charity. That website focuses on the work of the foundation, the camps we run, the museum exhibits, and different talks and events that we participate in. We would love to have more people following it. You can donate at the Bruce Lee Foundation because we are a public charity. We have to raise a good portion of our funds from the general public in order to remain a charity.A really great place to stay in touch with everything that’s going on is our social media channels. Are the big three for you Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? Yes. Maybe this is a good time to quickly mention that we’re really taking my father’s teachings and practices and creating a new curriculum to put into people’s hands — in particular, youth hands — to work in “youth mental wellness.” We’re calling it Mind Body Spirit Wellness tools. It helps young people navigate their mental-emotional landscape a little better. We’re using my father’s teachings to help people with the inner conflicts they’re struggling with. Were young people a group your father was interested in addressing when he was alive, or are they a group that you have decided to help with your father’s teachings? I’m of course interested in helping all people with my father’s teachings. That said, the youth of today — I guess what I would say is my father was a youth. (laughs) Youth is really a category that goes all the way up to age 24 or 25. Today, these people are coming into such a complicated world with so many difficulties. The tools are available to everyone, but this is a way to try to put those tools in the hands of people who are in the process of molding themselves and their lives within this world — in particular, in communities of color and marginalized communities that have a lot of struggles and challenges already. We want to help kids navigate life’s storms before they’re at a point of crisis. That’s very noble. The foundation is also focused on community building and bridge building. It’s about focusing on culture, care and community. We have our exhibits, and we have things that we do to gather people together to help promote the message. Earlier you mentioned your book. What has the reaction to it been? The book is doing great. Actually, I’m in Seattle right now, meeting with the Wing Luke Museum, who we opened an exhibit with in July of this year. They have an exhibit focused entirely on my father’s book collection. And it happens to be called “Be Water, My Friend.” We sent my father’s books up to the Wing for care and housing and display. My father had over 2,800 books in his collection. I’ve seen that black-and-white photo of him sitting in front of a wall of books. And that’s not even the half of it. (laughs) My mom says he loved to go to bookstores, especially old bookstores, and hunt through editions of books on all manner of subjects. It’s an interactive exhibit up here, which is really cool. You get to see some of the influence that those books had on him and how that was turned into what he did in his life. I’m also meeting with a school up here that has been teaching my book to their high-school seniors as a way to help orient them for the journey they’re about to go on when they leave high school. It’s such an honor. A friend of mine from high school decided to teach this book, and it’s led to us using the book as a template for a lot of the curriculum and programming we’re doing. In a few weeks, I’m going to launch my own website separate from the whole Bruce Lee thing, dedicated to my own writings and teachings that connect to my book. Do you have plans for any more books? I do love to write. (laughs) I have more plans, but they’re not in concrete form just yet. You mentioned the Wing Luke Museum and its permanent exhibit. Does it change according to what you and they want to focus on at different times? We’ve had an exhibit here for several years that has rotated a few times, and right now it’s focused on the books. It’s interactive, which is a new thing for the space and the museum. The difference is that the space has become a dedicated permanent Bruce Lee gallery. Different exhibits will flow through. The exhibit that’s here now will remain for at least a couple of years. We will work on it and expand the existing exhibit because we can add to the interactivity, and we want to put more of the original books into the space, as well. We’re very excited about this because we’ve long wanted to have a permanent museum exhibit here in Seattle. It seems like there’s a lot of interest in your father in Seattle. There is. We also have an endowed scholarship at Seattle Central College. Seattle Central used to be Edison Tech, which is where my father got his GED. It is a Bruce Lee Foundation scholarship. With all these things going on, are you still involved in Warrior? Yes. In fact, I was in South Africa in July for the kickoff of our third season. That’s where we film — in Cape Town. Everyone was so excited to be back to do a third season. The show has been on a bit of a roller coaster. Cinemax’s original programming got canceled, and our show got canceled. We felt like all hope was lost, but we continued to fight to get it back on air, and we were able to. Season 3 will be on HBO Max probably mid- to late next year. We’re excited that everyone at HBO saw the merit of our show and decided to keep it going. You can watch Season 1 and Season 2 on HBO Max now. What’s your role with Warrior? I’m an executive producer. I help oversee the creation of the show and the scripts and storylines. That must be fulfilling because you have the ability to focus on what was important to your father and what’s important to continuing his message. It really is a rewarding and creative job. Even though I definitely have my input, making sure it stays within a certain energetic imprint, I have to say that Jonathan Tropper, our show creator, and Justin Lin, my executive producing partner, and all the people who are running the show now — they do the hard work and the heavy lifting. (laughs) Knowing that it affects so many people around the world, does carrying on the Bruce Lee legacy ever weigh on you? Is it stressful to make sure things are disseminated carefully and accurately to his fans and his potential fans? There is definitely a lot of care taken. We try our best to do things in the way that we feel fits with what my father was all about. We’re not perfect. Sometimes we partner with people who end up not being great partners, or we have a difference of opinion or get involved in something and then we’re like, “This is way more difficult than we thought it was going to be.” (laughs) We’re human beings just like everyone else. But I have to say that we have a very strong foundation of integrity with everything we try to do. So even when it doesn’t turn out how we would’ve liked, we at least feel good about the thing we tried to do and what our initial goal was. That helps me sleep at night. (laughs) I would really like to encourage people to follow Bruce Lee and the Bruce Lee Foundation because this is where we’re doing some really impactful social work, and it all comes from the goodness of my father’s teachings and practices. Stay tuned to see all the amazing stuff that’s coming. The year 2023 is the 50th anniversary of my father’s legacy, so there’s going to be some fun celebrations and lots of things going on. Bruce Lee, the Bruce Lee image, likeness and all related indicia are trademarks and copyrights of Bruce Lee Enterprises LLC and are used herein with its express and prior permission. All rights reserved. brucelee.com This article was originally published in the November 2022 edition of Black Belt Magazine.

Chris Bournea’s documentary Lady Wrestler: The Amazing Untold Story Of African-American Women in the ring chronicles a handful of pioneers in the fight sport, women who braved racism and sexism in the male-dominated world of wrestling from the 1950s through the 1970s. Kathleen Wimbley, now 88, trained at promoter Billy Wolfe’s gym and was a member of the first group that integrated pro wrestling. By Gerry Chisolm "My big brother came home from the Marines. I told him that I wanted him to teach me how to do judo. He said that women didn’t do judo but the closest thing that I could do was wrestling. When I found out that we had a wrestling school in Columbus, Ohio, I went!" — Kathleen Wimbley (shown) Wimbley grew inspired watching women’s wrestling champ Mildred Burke on television. She began training while in high school and made her professional debut four days after Graduating. Chris and I talked about the incredible athleticism and training that you all had. Your publicity shot shows you flexing your guns! Wimbley: (laughs) Babs [Wingo] was the very first, then her sister Ethel [Johnson] came in. Ethel was so agile and probably one of the only girls who could do a drop kick. She became very popular because she was smaller and moved much faster and was quite attractive. Their sister Marva [Scott] joined us later. I met Mildred Burke once and she said, “I recognize you — you’re the girl with my arms!” We trained and worked out in the gym. Billy Wolfe [and Mildred Burke] had a stepson Joe. [He] was always in the gym with us. He never wanted to be a wrestler, but he knew a lot about certain things, and he could tell you how to do it this way or that way and stuff like that. Frankie Talaber was in the gym and so was Roy [Shire]. Anyway, the girls had a time, and the guys had a time. We were there first. Sometimes they’d see us practicing and would come into the ring and show us new holds and things, you know. Bournea: They ate lots of lean proteins, practiced tumbling techniques and holds, even lifting weights and performing acrobatics for three hours every day. They practiced with the white women who were older and well-known in the organization, like Mae Young and others. They worked well together and mentored them. Did the women talk much about their fan base? Bournea: They had loyal fans all over the world, and what’s interesting about women’s wrestling even now is that the majority of the fans were men of all different races. They traveled to places like Japan, Canada, Mexico, Cuba before the embargo, Australia, Latin America and across the States. People always came up after their matches and stood in line to ask for autographs. They were very gracious and would always greet them afterward. Why do you think so many people came out to see women wrestle? Wimbley: We brought it to a different level audience wise. And one of the things — I’ll tell you, wrestling had some gorgeous girls. You’d think that we were movie actresses! Yeah, we didn’t come out looking like Buffalo Bill; the girls were gorgeous. And so whenever the girls were added to the card, they drew more people because people really liked to see the girls. I think we had more fire. We were moving more because wrestling was just big, heavy, chunky guys that just walked around, grunting and all. We would fly all over the place — in the ropes, out of the ropes, on the ground, jumping over the ropes, jumping off the ropes. My specialty was the “airplane spin,” so when I wrestled my opponents [and] did the airplane spin, they knew it was over. Is there any footage out there of the lady wrestlers in action? Bournea: Yes, there actually is. I have just a little clip that I was able to find. There’s more on YouTube, but I don’t know the source of it, and it would have taken so much time to try to find out who owns it, but there is footage out there. It’s very grainy and just little moments here and there. I don’t know if there’s like a whole match on film. - During the golden age of women’s wrestling, these female athletes traveled the country and the world, and they were respected for their strength, athleticism and “beauty in motion.” They were paid professionals and superstars on television. Before the rise of the storefront dojo, the sport-karate tournament and even a magazine called Black Belt, these women were feted in mainstream periodicals and major newspapers. What most people don’t know is that the integration of African-American women into this part of society by Wolfe and Burke was inspired by Branch Rickey’s success with Jackie Robinson in Major League Baseball. The combat-sports queens and female martial artists we know so well today stand on the shoulders of all those pioneers of women’s wrestling — and on the shoulders of Robinson. These grapplers played a critical role in breaking down barriers built on sexism and racism. Lady Wrestler pays homage to and illuminates the contributions of these unsung sheroes of “herstory.” Gerry Chisolm was Black Belt’s 2020 Instructor of the Year. For more information about Lady Wrestler, visit ladywrestlermovie.com.