Diana Inosanto on the set of Ahsoka via StarWars.com If you aren’t in the martial arts world, you might not notice that the driving villain of the Ahsoka Star Wars series on Disney+ is actually a martial arts legend from a lineage of martial arts legends. Diana Inosanto isn’t just acting as a fighting arts master, she is one. She plays Morgan Elsbeth, a cool, steely, formidable antagonist to Rosario Dawson’s titular character. Despite the character’s wicked ways, she’s a badass in Star Wars canon as a force-sensitive human Nightsister. In the world of martial arts and entertainment, Diana Inosanto has emerged as a dynamic force to be reckoned with. Known for her martial arts prowess, acting talents, and impressive lineage, Diana's journey in the film industry has been shaped by her dedication to martial arts, her famous father Dan Inosanto, and her partnership with husband Ron Baliki. Raised in an environment where martial arts was not just a passion but a way of life. Diana's martial arts journey began at an early age, as she was introduced to a world of discipline and dedication by her father, the legendary martial artist and actor Dan Inosanto training partner of Bruce Lee. Under his guidance, Diana honed her skills and developed a deep appreciation for martial arts as both a physical discipline and a spiritual practice. Her training encompassed various martial disciplines, including Jeet Kune Do, Eskrima, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Thai, among others. Diana's commitment to mastering these arts was evident, and she soon became a skilled practitioner, earning recognition and respect within the martial arts community. Diana Inosanto's versatility extends beyond martial arts. She has proven herself as a multifaceted talent in the world of entertainment. Her roles in movies like "The Sensei" and "The Hunted" showcase her acting prowess, while her martial arts skills bring an authenticity to her on-screen performances. However, one of her most notable achievements has been her role in the critically acclaimed series "Ahsoka." Diana's portrayal of a powerful and skilled warrior in the show has garnered praise for her dedication to authenticity and martial arts expertise. "Ashoka" not only highlights her acting abilities but also her deep-rooted connection to martial arts, a tribute to her father's legacy. In addition to her accomplishments in martial arts and acting, Diana Inosanto's life and career are closely intertwined with her husband, Ron Baliki. Ron is not only her life partner but also her training partner and collaborator in the entertainment industry. Together, they have founded the Diana Lee Inosanto International Martial Arts Center, where they continue to promote and teach martial arts to enthusiasts of all levels. Their partnership extends to their work in film and television, where they share a passion for bringing authentic martial arts action to the screen. As Diana Inosanto continues to make her mark in the world of film and martial arts, she not only honors her father's legacy but also creates her own, inspiring future generations of martial artists and actors to follow in her footsteps. With her unique blend of skill, authenticity, and a strong sense of heritage, Diana Inosanto is a force to be reckoned with, leaving an indelible mark on both the martial arts and entertainment worlds. Check out Diana Inosanto videos with Ron Baliki here: https://www.youtube.com/@blackbelt_magazine

You’re driving down a residential street behind a car, when suddenly you see a basketball roll out into the street in front of the car in front of you. Your foot is automatically moving onto the brake pedal, but the car in front of you doesn’t slow down as indicated by the absence of brake lights. Then your fear comes to fruition. A little boy, between seven and nine years old, is chasing the ball out into the street without looking for cars. You hear the sickening impact of a human body, and the boy flipping into the air like a rag doll thrown upward, and then he comes down hard onto the asphalt street. To your horror, the car that just hit him speeds up. It’s a felony hit and run. You don’t have time to fumble for your cell phone to take a photo of the idiot. If you try, you’ll miss your opportunity to get a look at the license plate before the increasing distance makes it unreadable. You can’t chase him, because there’s a little kid lying in the street who needs your first aid skills. You release the steering wheel with your primary hand, point, and then using the tip of your index finger like a writing pen, you write the license plate on the inside of your front windshield. You got it! It’s invisible, but you know from your tactical training that it’s been recorded. You put your car into park, get out of the car, and jog over to the little boy to render first aid. Thank God he’s alive. When the police arrive to the crime scene, you’re a good witness. You describe the incident second by second. After finishing your account, you suggest to the police officer, “When your Crime Scene Investigations person arrives, you’ll want him or her to ‘dust for prints’ the inside of my windshield. I used my finger to write down the license plate of the vehicle that struck the boy.” Of course, the police officer knows that sweat and sebum (the oil that moistens and lubricates the fingertips) would leave a residue on the windshield if done correctly. The police officer is astonished that you’d know this trick, and relays the message on the radio. When CSI arrives, the investigator brushes the inside of the windshield using an extra soft fiberglass fingerprint brush, dipping the end of it into a small container of graphite-based black powder, until the entire surface of the inside windshield has been coated. It looks like a scene right out of a detective movie. Once the process is completed the license plate number looks like it was written with a thick black marker as clear as day. The police officer puts the suspect’s plate number out over the radio, and then after pulling up the registration information the dispatcher broadcasts the information over Red Channel so that all the law enforcement agencies on the frequency for miles around can start looking for the hit and run vehicle. Here’s another example of how this finger-on-glass trick could save your own life or others. Let’s say you’re being held hostage, either by thugs or terrorists, any you’re sitting next to a mirror, window, or you were allowed to use the toilet in the bathroom. When the hostage taker is not looking, you can write your message for the authorities: the number of bad guys and their descriptions or any information you may have overheard, like where they are going to move you next. When the authorities arrive at your last know location, where you wrote the note on the slick surface, you can be certain that they are going to “dust the crime scene” for any usable finger or palm prints. When they come across the slick surface you wrote your message on, it will “light up like a Christmas tree.” There you go. You’re now equipped with another reality-based martial arts technique for your “tactical toolbox.” Of course, “martial arts” literally means “war arts,” and the two scenarios I just described to you are indeed two potential “battles” you, or anyone you train, may one day have to face. BE A HARD TARGET That gray beyond the windshield represents any crime you may witness on the road, and the vehicle in front of you is trying to get away. There’s no way you can get to your phone or grab a pen before the license plate gets too far away to read. Using the tip of your index finger, you write the suspect’s license plate on the back of your windshield as if your finger were a big marker. When the police arrive, a Crime Scene Investigator, per your instructions, “dusts for fingerprints” on the back of your windshield. The black magnetic dust clings to the oils excreted by your finger, and the license plate number you wrote shows up clearly, provided you applied enough pressure and spaced the numbers and letters evenly. The suspect’s license number is “123ABC,” and the police officer transmits it to the dispatcher, who in turn puts out a broadcast to all units. You did your part as a good citizen.

2021 was another year highly impacted by the pandemic. In 2020, nearly all of the major jiu-jitsu tournaments were cancelled, leaving room for many super fight promotions to shine. As such, many grapplers seemed to shift their focus from the major IBJJF tournaments to a more super fight heavy approach. Many of these matches were no-gi, leading to an even further divide in the sport. In 2021, however, the IBJJF brought back many of its major tournaments, including the Pan Ams, Brazilian Nationals, and World Championships. Additionally, after postponing the ADCC World Championships to September 2022, the organization brought back the trials this year. These events offered tons of action from new and veteran competitors, setting the stage for an amazing 2022 World Championship. IBJJF Brings Back Major Tournaments The pandemic dramatically changed the jiu-jitsu competition scene since it started in 2020. Jiu-Jitsu’s major competition circuit, the IBJJF, was forced to cancel its events. Many competitors based their yearly training and competition schedules on the IBJJF calendar, so this was a very difficult time for many full-time athletes. In 2021, the IBJJF brought back nearly all of its major tournaments. The Pans, Worlds, No-Gi Worlds, and Brazilian National tournaments all took place, bringing back some sense of normalcy to the competition scene. Although travel restrictions were still an issue for many competitors, we did see most of the elite athletes in each division fighting for these titles. This year’s World Championships saw a new generation of athletes take gold in the black belt divisions, some of whom were only purple belts at the time of the last Worlds in 2019. ADCC Trials Resume for 2022 World Championships ADCC was another tournament organization that was highly impacted by the pandemic. Originally scheduled for 2021, the ADCC World Championships were pushed back to September 2022. The first trials did, however, take place in 2021, starting with the European Trials. Following the European Trials were the East Coast Trials, which took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event turned out to be the biggest trials in history. The trials saw some familiar names and also some new ones take gold in their divisions. Cole Abate of Art of Jiu-Jitsu won the 66 kg division, despite being just 16 years old and a blue belt at the time. Kade Ruotolo of Atos Jiu-Jitsu won the 77 kg division, after having a breakout year that also saw him capture the WNO Championship title as a lightweight. These performances, among many others, have set the stage for an epic 2022 ADCC World Championships. New Styles and Rulesets Continue to Shake Up the Sport As jiu-jitsu has continued to grow, so too has the divide between the various styles and rulesets. The IBJJF and ADCC are widely regarded as the most prestigious for gi and no-gi, respectively. However, many other organizations also continued to put on spectacular events. Fight to Win, Who’s #1, EUG Promotions, and BJJ Stars are just some of the promotions that put on stellar events in 2021. Now that athletes have more options for competition, they are also starting to have more professional opportunities. Bigger paydays will ultimately mean better competitors as athletes can start to focus more on their training and less on side hustles and other jobs needed to live the life of a professional jiu-jitsu athlete. 2021 was ultimately a great year for jiu-jitsu. Expect 2022 to be even more epic!

One of the most controversial topics when teaching groups (especially teenagers) is the issue of collective punishment. I would define this as punishing the entire class for the actions of a single student, such as making them do push-ups or run laps when they aren’t focused or paying attention. I have found this policy to be an effective teaching tool when used properly. As much as it would be great to tell students verbally, I find that helping them remember with physical feedback helps them alter their behavior quickly. After all, we all hopefully learned not to touch the hot stove after one sore finger. That sore finger kept us safe because we learned to avoid hot surfaces which would bring similar negative results. Similarly, when there’s too much talking in class, I tell everyone they have too much energy and need to burn some off. Therefore, I have them run back and forth a few times. Soon, they understand talking means sprints, and therefore, talking should be avoided. And if it’s your classmate that is talking, you should shush them yourself and hold each other accountable because if one person screws it up, everyone will be doing sprints. It’s a great policy, but it can be easily abused. First, this tool should not be used if you have a student who is consistently a problem and lagging behind. That’s a very different issue that will be dealt with in an upcoming article. If everyone has to suffer for the actions of one student, that student will be hated and likely bullied. This is the exact opposite of the intended purpose, which is to build the team. Collective punishment is when you see students exhibiting similar issues across the board, and you want to deal with it efficiently. Therefore, you deal with it collectively. Second, this tool should be used carefully. While it can be used with great effectiveness, this concept has gotten misused by instructors, who use it in order to frighten the class into submission, and can easily turn the class against the instructor. The goal of treating the students as a group is to reinforce an important lesson. They have a responsibility to each other, and their actions have consequences for the group. If some students talk instead of train, it spoils the experience of the entire group. If some are wild and lack control, the entire class is put at risk. Therefore, students who are struggling to maintain discipline get a new incentive of not wanting to ruin it for everyone. This is especially helpful for younger students, who often like to be the center of attention. If they crack jokes and misbehave, they can bring down the tempo of the class. If I punish those few students, I reward their behavior with attention. If the entire class suffers from the jokester students actions, the other students will usually handle the issue internally and tell the funny friends to knock it off because they aren’t in the mood for more sprints. It also humbles the more advanced students by reminding them that in the end, they are also part of the group. Therefore, they should share their knowledge and skills and elevate the group instead of only thinking of themselves. In the end, martial arts is about training leadership and morality, in addition to muscles. This is why it’s a tool used in the military with soldiers. A soldier from my former unit was killed in a training accident a few weeks ago, and as I mourned, I remembered how I had almost died in the same way more than a decade ago when I was a new recruit. During an early boot training drill, a confused fellow recruit broke protocol and began firing from the wrong position. I remember dropping into the dirt, digging my nose into the sand as the bullet flew over my head and my life flashed before my eyes. My teammate was rightly chewed out by our commander, who told him the next mistake would mean being dropped from combat service, but all of us soldiers had to do burpees and sprints together as punishment. The commanders wanted us to never again repeat the mistakes of that day. As miserable as it was to do it, physical discomfort is a very good way of learning and making the learning memorable. We would forever associate not following orders with terrible exhaustion. But only one of us made a mistake? Why punish all of us? This collective punishment made us aware that despite our teammate being the screw-up at the moment, we were a united group. We triumphed together, and we failed together. While each of us was responsible for our own mistakes, we also had to watch each other’s backs and make sure no one was headed into danger. We were a team, and the only way to success was together. That lesson was painful but invaluable.

Black Belt Magazine has a storied history that dates back all the way to 1961, making 2021 the 60th Anniversary of the world's leading magazine of martial arts. To celebrate six decades of legendary martial arts coverage, take a trip down memory lane by scrolling through some of the most influential covers ever published. From the creators of martial art styles, to karate tournament heroes, to superstars on the silver screen, and everything in between, the iconic covers of Black Belt Magazine act as a time capsule for so many important moments and figures in martial arts history. Keep reading to view the full list of these classic issues. The First Cover - 1961 This is where it all began. This 34-page first issue contained feature articles about kendo, aikido, and the AAU National Judo Championships. Legends like Jigoro Kano, Ed Parker, and Koichi Tohei are all mentioned. The first page even explains where Black Belt got its name! Tak Kubota - September 1965 The September 1965 issue had some international flavor, with articles featuring karate practiced "The Tokyo Way" by Tak Kubota and a piece titled Judo in Yugoslavia. There is also a write-up about the All-Japan Judo Championships and a story on the Judo icon Wally Jay. 1st Chuck Norris - June 1967 Black Belt tried out a hand-painted art style for many of the covers in 1967. This cover was the first to feature Chuck Norris after he narrowly defeated Joe Lewis at S. Henry Cho's North American Karate Championship. The final score was 27.5 to 25.5. 1st Joe Lewis - September 1967 Joe Lewis would avenge his loss to Norris earlier in the year by winning Jhoon Rhee's U.S. Karate Championships with Bruce Lee in attendance. The feature article tells how Lewis defeated John Wooley in the finals in front of 8,000 fans in Washington, D.C. 1st Bruce Lee - October 1967 The first issue featuring Bruce Lee on the cover had to be one of Black Belt's most iconic issues. Action fans everywhere were tuning into The Green Hornet and "Kato" was a superstar. Also, the results of a survey showed that karate was gaining popularity over judo in the U.S. 1st Fumio Demura - December 1967 Young kobudo master Fumio Demura shared the secrets of the sai in a feature article that included photograph tutorials of various grips and techniques. A four-year judo university called "Yudo College" in Korea was also featured in this issue. Capoeira - June 1969 In this issue, Capoeira was described as an art that captured Brazil's history and culture. Another sign of the times, a study was published suggesting that karate can be learned from films for the first time. Pat Johnson described films as the "finest single aid to karate training". Jhoon Rhee - July 1970 The cover article of this issue featured the legendary Jhoon Rhee, who was deemed the "Father of U.S. Tae Kwon Do" in the story. The Bornean Dyak tradition of Kenjah was also featured, which prepared boys for murder in a bloody ritual that was required for manhood. Gene LeBell - August 1971 In the first issue featuring Gene LeBell on the cover, he compares judo and its limitations to professional wrestling. Another feature article provides self-defense information from law enforcement advisors after recent increases in violent crime were observed. Kung Fu TV Series - January 1973 David Carradine was prominently featured in the cover piece about the Kung Fu television series. Black Belt also claimed that Japan's reign on Olympic judo had ended, as Dutchman Willem Ruska took two gold medals and the Russians won four total medals (one gold). Bob Wall - January 1974 In this issue, Bob Wall of Enter the Dragon tells all about how mastering pain helped him achieve success in competition, business, and acting. Black Belt also sponsored the "First Oriental Fighting Arts Expo" with 35 martial artists performing for over 10,000 fans. Ed Parker - February 1975 The Father of American Kenpo is prominently featured in a piece titled And in the Beginning There was Ed Parker. There is also a forward-thinking article about informing the media of martial arts in order to grow participation in martial arts schools and tournaments. Bill Wallace - April 1975 "Superfoot" gets his own Black Belt cover and discusses his fighting career. He said that he liked the then-new innovation of safety gear because he can "really hit the guy". Successful martial arts businesswomen Pauline Short, Julie Webb, and Py Bateman were also featured. Dan Ivan - September 1976 Southern California karate pioneer Dan Ivan gets a a cover article about his career in this issue. The magazine also contains advertisements for Jhoon Rhee's Safe-T gear and Braschi protective equipment as endorsed by Chuck Norris, early competitors in martial arts supply. Chuck Norris - December 1977 Chuck Norris finds himself on the cover of another issue and is famously quoted in the feature article stating, "I would really like to become a white Bruce Lee". The issue also shares a photograph tutorial for elbow techniques designed to defend women against rape. C.S. Kim - March 1979 Tang Soo Do gets a national spotlight as C.S. Kim graces the cover of this issue. Century Martial Arts had their classic Kickin' Jeans advertisement featured. The art of Chi Kung is also prominently featured in the piece Harnessing Internal Powers with Chi Kung. Joo Bang Lee - May 1981 Joo Bang Lee shares his knowledge of Hwarangdo and how it can be used for knife defense in his cover piece. There is also a write up about Mas Oyama's 2nd World Karate Tournament, where overtime bareknuckle matches were determined by breaking competitions. William Cheung - April 1983 A four-part feature series about William Cheung concluded in this issue as he was pictured on the cover. The issue also contains an exclusive interview with Hirokazu Kanazawa, who was one of the premier instructors in the Japan Karate Association. Ninjamania - December 1984 The ninjutsu craze earned Ninjamania the cover, but this issue included other big stories like Chuck Norris reflecting on his toughest opponents and the U.S. Olympic Judo team making history by winning their first-ever silver medal. Benny "The Jet" Urquidez - March 1985 Benny "The Jet" Urquidez lands on his first Black Belt cover in this issue and stresses the importance of striking to the legs when fighting. There was also a special update piece on previous Hall of Famers, such as Ed parker, Joe Lewis, Jeff Smith, Ark Wong, and more. Thai Kickboxing - November 1986 Thai boxing gets some notable American press in this issue, and Jhoon Rhee is featured again for teaching multiple United States congressmen. Fumio Demura is also pictured in the issue breaking glass for an article titled Hand Strikes of Karate . Masaaki Hatsumi - January 1987 Masaaki Hatsumi continues the 80's ninja craze on the cover of this issue. The WUKO World Championships were also covered, where American superstar Hakim Alston defeated an opponent in under 22 seconds. This prompted a drug screening that he passed without issue. Mike Swain - October 1988 Judo legend Mike Swain gets the cover in October of '88 as the United States Olympic Judo Team gets a spotlight for all of their members. The U.S. Taekwondo team was also given a feature, recognizing notable athletes like Jimmy Kim and Arlene Limas. Hee Il Cho - March 1990 Taekwondo Master Hee Il Cho shared his art's amazing jumping kicks for this cover. Various martial arts weapons also received a spotlight in articles about lesser-known Samurai weapons like the sickle and chain, as well as a Kung Fu piece about the Wu Dang sword. Ted Wong - July 1990 Ted Wong is featured on this cover as he tells Black Belt about his training under Bruce Lee. Another feature article tackles a question that is still prevalent today- What's Wrong with Tournament Karate? in an attempt to figure out how to make martial arts a mainstream sport. Suh In-Hyuk - September 1991 Suh In-Hyuk graced this cover because he was a notable professor for the Rockwell College of Applied Arts and Science that offered doctorates in martial arts through the mail. This issue also provided one of the first major national spotlights for Gracie JuJitsu. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - July 1992 The NBA's all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is featured on this cover for an exclusive interview in which he talks about training with Bruce Lee. Other features include a piece about stunt performers and cross training in martial arts for other athletes. Kathy Long - August 1992 Kickboxing champion Kathy Long tells all in this issue about being the stunt double for Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. David Lea is also prominently featured for his work as a stunt double for Michael Keaton in Batman and the sequel, Batman Returns. Brandon Lee - July 1993 Brandon Lee wields a three-sectional staff on the cover of this issue shortly after his tragic passing. In addition to the memorial, champions on the tournament circuit at the time such as Cynthia Rothrock and Kenn Firestone share secrets about designing a winning tournament form. Royce Gracie - December 1995 UFC 1 tournament winner Royce Gracie gets the cover in this issue as he explains why he had been inactive at the time. There's also a write up of the Ocean State Grand Nationals, where over 1,000 competitors attended while Richard Branden and Mafia Holloway won titles. Ken Shamrock - March 1996 MMA legend Ken Shamrock is pictured on the cover with challenger Kimo Leopoldo in the background ahead of their superfight. In other news, Team USA took home multiple WAKO world titles as Richard Plowden, Mike Chaturantabut, and Willie Johnson all won gold. Marco Ruas - February 1997 This cover features Marco Ruas as he tells the Black Belt readers about Vale Tudo, an intense martial art that helped him earn the title of King of the Streets. Another feature article discusses the appeal of martial arts movies and what made them so popular in this era. Rickson Gracie - May 1998 Rickson Gracie, arguably the greatest jiu jitsu practitioner of all time, is seen on this cover for his feature article about the No-Holds-Barred Fighting association. A fascinating article about learning Tae Kwon Do in Korea is also featured in the issue. Shannon Lee - February 1999 Shannon Lee, daughter of icon Bruce Lee, is featured for her piece that dives into her training in a variety of martial arts. Gary Alexander, winner of Mas Oyama's first North American Championships, also earns a prominent feature to discuss the state of martial arts at the time. Steve DeMasco - February 2000 Steve Demasco shares how Chinese Kempo maximizes striking power in the cover issue. In another feature, Meredith Gold shares one of many women's self-defense articles. Century's iconic BOB also makes one of its first advertising appearances in the issue. Steven Seagal - May 2001 This cover features Steven Seagal after his return to the big screen for Exit Wounds, and discusses his influential role as a promoter of Aikido in the United States. Bare-knuckle karate is also featured as part of the classic debate between Budo and Bujutsu. 40th Anniversary - July 2001 Black Belt celebrates four decades of martial arts history with a mosaic of many impactful covers over the years. A feature article explains how grappling skills are useful for self-defense and "Hwa Rang Do's Golden Child" Taejoon Lee landed an article/photo tutorial as well. Michael Jai White - February 2002 Michael Jai White credits his Hollywood success to mastery of traditional karate and kobudo in the cover piece of the February 2002 issue. There is also a somewhat controversial piece about the art of trapping and wether or not it is effective in the real world. Joe Rogan - December 2002 The now ultra-famous podcast host Joe Rogan gets the cover in this issue when he was the host of Fear Factor and was known for training in Taekwondo and Jujutsu. There is also a story about a martial arts "Celebrity Roast" to honor Bob Wall featuring the likes of Chuck Norris. Helio Gracie - February 2003 Co-Founder of Gracie Jiu Jitsu alongside his brothers, Helio Gracie, graces the cover of this issue for an article about his life and legacy. Also, after new rules were implemented by the World Karate Federation, John Fonseca shares his kumite secrets. David Carradine - December 2003 Following the release and success of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 1 , David Carradine gets a long-overdue feature on the cover of Black Belt. In other news, K-1 legend Bob Sapp confronted Mike Tyson after knocking out Kimo Leopoldo. Liddell & Couture - March 2005 Following the release and success of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 1 , David Carradine gets a long-overdue feature on the cover of Black Belt. In other news, K-1 legend Bob Sapp confronted Mike Tyson after knocking out Kimo Leopoldo. Jet Li - June 2005 Wushu superstar Jet Li sheds his hero archetype in Unleashed and gets a spot on the cover for it. The legendary Morihei Uyeshiba is also prominently featured in an article that details the striking and pressure points used in Aikido. Scott Adkins - February 2011 Leading up to Black Belt's 50th anniversary, this issue is the second in a series of five that features a decade-by-decade timeline of martial arts history as told by Black Belt. Scott Adkins gets the cover as one of seven featured individuals that define the "21st Century Martial Artist". 50th Anniversary - June 2011 Martial arts icons like Jhoon Rhee, Stephen K. Hayes, Dan Inosanto, and more write personal notes to Black Belt in celebration of the 50th anniversary. There is also a prominent write up of Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster starring Donnie Yen. Mike Dillard - August 2011 Black Belt's 2011 Man of the Year and the founder/CEO of Century Martial Arts, Mike Dillard, is featured on the cover of this issue. Anthony "Showtime" Pettis is also featured in the issue after his signature knockout of Ben Henderson by jumping off the cage with a round kick. Ronda Rousey - May 2012 Ronda Rousey gets featured on the cover after medaling in Judo at the olympics and having some early MMA succes, but before fighting for the UFC title. Sport Karate legend Steve "Nasty" Anderson does an exclusive interview about the Superman Punch vs California Blitz. Kayla Harrison - November 2012 Kayla Harrison lands on this cover after winning her first gold medal and bringing United States Olympic Judo to prominence. The 2012 Black Belt Hall of Fame is also announced in this issue, featuring Jae Chul Shin, Ronda Rousey, Sage Northcutt, and more. M aster Ken - December 2014 YouTube superstar Master Ken dons the signature red Ameri-Do-Te sleeveless uniform on this cover. He and his true self, Matt Page, answer questions separately in a truly one-of-a-kind feature article. The rest of the 2014 Hall of Fame class is also announced in this issue. Cobra Kai - February 2021 This brings us to 2021, the modern era of Black Belt. The stars of Netflix's Cobra Kai are featured as their show captures the attention of martial artists and fans around the world. Black Belt celebrates their 60th anniversary and looks ahead to many more years of martial arts.

Get Within Striking Distance of Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Martin Kove! The third season of the martial arts mega-hit Cobra Kai debuted just days after this issue of Black Belt went on sale. If the past two seasons, which are currently streaming on Netflix, are any indication, the new season once again will show no mercy to the competition and crane-kick all challengers in the teeth. After all, Cobra Kai was one of Netflix's top series in 2020, which means it's guaranteed to garner a legion of viewers starving for martial arts action. Anticipating the demands of die-hard fans of Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid, we've assembled this cover story featuring Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and, of course, Martin Kove. Find out from the mouths of the stars themselves what has gone into the making of a modern martial arts classic. From Student to Master Black Belt: Outside of preparation for the Karate Kid movies and the Cobra Kai series, have you trained in the martial arts? Ralph Macchio: I did take some jujitsu lessons when I was around 10 years old. However, my true intro to martial arts came when I started on the original film during preproduction in 1983. Since then, I have often incorporated some elements of martial arts into my workouts. Black Belt: Was there a specific training routine you adopted to prepare for the new season of Cobra Kai? Ralph Macchio: For Season 3, I dove a little deeper into preparation training and conditioning as I had more fight sequences than in the prior two seasons. Black Belt: Do you engage in any additional activities to supplement what you do for the show? Ralph Macchio: Absolutely. I have done a lot of stretching, cardio and light weight training for conditioning and maintenance. Black Belt: Cobra Kai features a lot of action. What role has age played in your training and action scenes? Ralph Macchio: Stretching, stretching, stretching … Advil, Advil, Advil. Black Belt: Season 3 will be released in January. Will you continue to portray Daniel as long as there's an audience, or is there a finite number of seasons that you'll do? Ralph Macchio: We all feel the same. As long as the show is resonating and [the] stories feel organic with character growth arcing, we will aim to keep it going. We love making this show. Black Belt: Like other small businesses, martial arts schools were hit hard by COVID-19. Do you think Cobra Kai will help get students back into the schools when it's safe? Ralph Macchio: I think there will be an uptick in interest to study martial arts once schools begin to open. I think the series will absolutely be a shot in the arm of that industry with such a high viewership of all ages. The Karate Kid universe will continue to be relevant and drive that up even higher. Black Belt: Will there be as much martial arts action in Season 3 as we've come to expect from Cobra Kai? Ralph Macchio: More. Black Belt: Daniel has become the patron saint of bullied kids everywhere. Has that made you feel obligated to be a representative for making positive choices and choosing martial arts to deal with such situations? Ralph Macchio: I have always embraced the responsibility of paying it forward and carrying out the "fighting always last answer to problem" Miyagi-ism. Finding balance is also an element I take to heart in my own life. The empowerment you gain from the physical discipline of martial arts is something I enjoy and think is beneficial, as well. Black Belt: Now that Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA are so prominent, do you think Daniel would have embraced those styles in real life? Or would he still choose Mr. Miyagi's old-school karate? Ralph Macchio: I have always loved the philosophy associated with the goju-ryu style, so that is where my loyalties lie. Black Belt: For you, what has been the hardest move to pull off — in either the movies or the series? Ralph Macchio: I had a fake outside-inside tornado kick that I worked hard on for a sequence in Season 3. Tough on the groin! Everything is harder in your 50s. Black Belt: What has been the most satisfying moment for you while making Cobra Kai? Ralph Macchio: Too many to choose. To name a few, reconnecting with William [Zabka] and Marty [Kove] and breathing more life into these legacy Karate Kid characters, the pride I have in our young next-generation cast and keeping Miyagi's spirit alive through the show. Legacy of Johnny In the Karate Kid movies, William Zabka portrayed bad guy Johnny Lawrence. In Cobra Kai, he adds depth to the character, who's struggling to adjust to the 21st century after decades of being the archetypal bully. Black Belt: Do you still practice tang soo do? William Zabka: After The Karate Kid, I continued to train in tang soo do for a number of years on and off. I've tested to my second green belt so far. It's great to be back at it. Black Belt: I've read conflicting things about the styles of karate used on-screen for the Cobra Kai system and for Miyagi-do. Are they tang soo do and goju-ryu, respectively? William Zabka: I believe so, and on the show, we build on those styles [with] a variety of creative ideas and disciplines. Audiences are used to more flashy martial arts these days, so we have fun and mix it up, but the roots remain the same. Black Belt: Do you keep in touch with Pat Johnson, the martial artist who trained you for the Karate Kid films? William Zabka: Not as often as I'd like to, but I know he's there if I need him and vice versa. He's like a father figure to me — I've learned so much from him. I saw him last at the Martial Arts SuperShow in Las Vegas in 2018 when Martin Kove and I presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to master Fumio Demura. For the rest of the exclusive interview with William Zabka and more become a Black Belt Member!

Top Martial Arts Films of the 21st Century For Black Belt's September 2005 issue, I wrote "Top 20 Martial Arts Films of All Time." I based my selections on each movie's impact on martial arts cinema, not necessarily on its acting or fight choreography. It wasn't an easy process then, and it wasn't any easier when the editor of Black Belt asked me to write this piece on the top films that have been released during this century. Nevertheless, I agreed. Here's my top-21 countdown. 21. Baahubali: The Conclusion 2017 This Bollywood hit is so outrageous and stunning that I laughed at its bravura. It's Ten Commandments meets Ben-Hur in ancient India. The plot revolves around a queen who chooses her adopted virtuous son Baahubali as her heir over her contemptible birth son Bhalla. Subsequently, Bhalla's venomous deceit causes Baahubali to be exiled. As Bhalla becomes a power-hungry ruler, Baahubali returns, leading a stampede of flaming bulls with horns afire to destroy a dam and wash away the army that surrounds the city. Holy cow! When Baahubali wields a half-ton chain with each arm, no soldier, statue or wall at Bhalla's palace is immune to the chain reaction. The fights feature plenty of speed-ramping, which accentuates the emotions. 20. Flying Swords of Dragon Gate 2012 Directed by Tsui Hark and starring Jet Li, this is the best 3-D film ever made. Even though I saw it in a theater that didn't have tiered seating, the hairdo of the person in front of my wife didn't block her view of the subtitles — they jumped off the screen! One engaging scene in the movie had a murder of crows seemingly fly from behind, over our heads and into the screen. That had the people turning their heads to see whether any more birds were sneaking up on them. When that technology is used to depict Li and the villain engaging in a sword fight inside a tornado, it makes your head whirl. 19. Shadow 2019 Palace intrigue, deceit, power plays, doppelgangers and a wonky love triangle — these are the elements that put director Zhang Yi-mou's Shadow on this list. The fate of Commander Yu's (Deng Chao) home of Jing City hinges on defeating Gen. Yang's (Hu Jun) signature skills in a duel. Yang's weapon is the masculine da dao, a heavy blade that requires great power to wield. His secret skill is revealed when, in slow motion, he sprints away from his opponent with his weapon scraping along the rain-swept ground, bringing out the poetry of the movement. Yu's weapon is feminine: an umbrella forged with slashing steel blades. When wielded with an exquisite touch, it becomes efficient at reminding male warriors what it feels like to get in touch with their feminine side. The yin-yang aesthetics are hypnotizing. 18. Azumi 2003 Starring a 17-year-old non-martial artist named Aya Ueto (Azumi), this movie has a psychotic opening, offbeat characters and a wry sense of humor thanks to director Ryuhei Kitamura. It adds up to exciting, stylized violence captured by bizarre camerawork and presented with outrageous sight gags that make it one of the best samurai films ever. Two items separate Azumi from other entries in the genre: the finale in which Azumi slices and dices 200 samurai (compared to the usual one-on-one bouts) and a reverent note about Japanese women refusing to stay at home only to be culled by their male counterparts. With two months of fight training, Ueto exhibits skills that are spellbinding. It's easy to understand why Azumi re-energized Japan's waning fight-film industry. 17. Paradox 2017 n the vein of Chang Cheh's male-bonding kung fu films of the 1970s and John Woo's male-driven melodramas, director Wilson Yip's Paradox mixes Tony Jaa's frenzied elbows and Louis Koo's angst with Sammo Hung's superlative choreography — and manages to reinvent the melees that were popular in the 1980s. In Paradox, Hong Kong cop Lee (Koo) teams up with Chiu (Wu Yue) and psychic Tak (Jaa) to hunt down illegal organ traders in Thailand who plan to "dis-organ-ize" Koo's daughter. Although Koo is not a fighter, Hung weaves charged fight choreography with sleight-of-hand camerawork and edgy editing to make Koo ultra-kool. Brilliant combative action climaxes during the rooftop battle between Tak and henchman Sacha (Chris Collins) and during the high-octane meat-cleaver brawl that pits Lee and Chiu against Sacha and his gang. 16. Chocolate 2008 When watching 14-year-old Yanin Vismitananda's performance as the autistic character Zen in director Prachya Pinkaew's Chocolate, her high-trajectory death blows that swoop toward her opponents like an eagle will blow you away. Projecting a demure, empty face, Zen fights in a manner that often begins with her arms down at her sides. Yet when she elevates into Ong-Bak-style insanity, it's a new dimension of awe. She's no longer a sweet, innocent girl; she's a maelstrom. As the fights escalate, her female façade fades and the tempo accelerates into battles that are reminiscent of the ones that featured Yukari Oshima in mid-1980s Hong Kong films like A Book of Heroes. Zen's outlandish duel against a capoeira teen with Tourette syndrome is a gem. 15. The Raid: Redemption 2011 This film monitors a band of cops who bring anarchy to a drug kingpin's 15-story apartment complex. While Rama (Iko Uwais) searches for his brother, he's forced to elevate his swashbuckling pencak silat into pummeling the pill-pushing pirates into a putrefied pulp. If that sounds gross, the crazy thing is it's exactly what he does as more blood spurts than at a vampire convention. Shot mostly in black and gray, the movie by director Gareth Evans boasts a palette that oozes grunge as each fight showcases darkness and viciousness. Shot with simple camerawork, the fights are connected logically and disconnected when necessary to reveal new levels of helplessness for the losers. 14. Kung Fu Hustle 2004 If you love old kung fu films, this one will let you relive those nostalgic feelings. Directed by Stephen Chow and set in pre-revolutionary China, it follows small-time thief Sing (Chow), who aspires to join the underworld's ruthless Axe Gang. He convinces the gang to attack Pig Sty Alley. Yet when Sing learns secret kung fu from certain Alley inhabitants, he becomes their hero. From obvious Bruce Lee parodies to the not-so-obvious use of traditional Cantonese opera pieces from classic 1950s black-and-white kung fu films, it features several actors who haven't been seen for decades, including a Bond girl. Chow even satirizes Tom & Jerry, Road Runner, Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire — and delivers a farcical rendition of Neo battling a hundred Mr. Smiths from The Matrix Reloaded. 13. Kill Bill: Volume 1 2003 Created by Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino while shooting Pulp Fiction, this is Tarantino's homage to Hong Kong's old kung fu flicks. Kill Bill focuses on The Bride (Thurman), an assassin who, after being shot and left for dead at the altar, wakes up from a four-year coma and seeks revenge on her lover Bill (David Carradine). The most significant nods to Hong Kong cinema are Thurman dressed in Bruce Lee's one-piece yellow tracksuit from Game of Death and The Bride's final fight against the Crazy 88's, led by Shaw Brothers legend Gordon Liu. It looks like Golden Swallow meets Duel of the Iron Fists. Although an American film, Kill Bill features fights that were choreographed by Hong Kong's Yuen Woo-ping. In particular, Thurman's throwdowns are dynamic, the result of her intense three-month training regimen. 12. IP Man 2008 When high-production-value wuxia films shot in China were using hyper-imagined wire work and maniacal sword fights to mesmerize audiences, Donnie Yen and Wilson Yip (director) proved with Ip Man that old-school choreography wasn't out of vogue. During Japan's occupation of China, the mild-mannered pillar of the Foshan community, a master of wing chun known as Ip Man (Bruce Lee's future teacher) is forced to wallop unruly outsiders seeking to gain fame and diminish his reputation. Ip fights with artful virtue and without malice. When pressed into dueling with the Japanese to defend China's honor, he humiliates his foes while maintaining his martial convictions. Yen never loses his combative simplicity. (His three Ip Man sequels are likewise well worth watching.) 11. SPL2: A Time for Consequences 2016 Although SPL2 (aka Kill Zone 2) isn't a sequel, it continues SPL's combative grandeur. Wu Jing returns with more body-bashing breadth and joins forces with Tony Jaa and Zhang Jin. Directed by Soi Cheang, SPL2 sees Thai prison guard Chai (Jaa) search for a bone-marrow donor for his daughter. Meanwhile, Kit (Wu) is a drug-addicted undercover cop in prison, where sadistic warden Ko (Zhang) operates an organ-harvesting ring. Things go nuts when Kit's found to be a match. The prison escape is nihilistic. During the finale in a high-rise building with plenty of glass windows, Kit tackles a loathsome knife guy, then teams up with Chai to wreak vengeance on Ko and his cohorts. The movie is full of Jaa's signature close-combat ferocity. 10. The Raid 2 2014 Rama (Iko Uwais) is now an undercover cop in an even more savage work of brutality that's comparable to a slasher film filled with blood, guts and viscera, in which the killers are good, bad and ugly. In real life, Raid is an insecticide used to annihilate ants and cockroaches. In the movie, Rama does the same thing to lowlifes and thugs. When they become resistant, the new-and-improved Rama relies on potent martial arts skills to beat them into submission. The utter filth and grime of the mud-soaked penitentiary fight is claustrophobic. Rama's use of the karambit, a tiger-claw-shaped knife designed for close-quarters combat, facilitates the bloodletting. 9. Hero 2002 Jet Li reportedly cried after reading the script for director Zhang Yi-mou's Hero, then insisted that the film include a rematch with Donnie Yen. (They fought in Once Upon a Time in China II.) He also wanted Ching Siu-tung as action director. He got what he wanted. In the movie, the fate of China rests with three warriors who are trying to assassinate Emperor Chin. One of them is Lone Sky Iron Shield (Yen), with Nameless (Li) standing in his way. Ching's refined wire work and balletic choreography add mythical dimensions to Hero. The Mirror Lake fight took three months to complete because the filmmakers could shoot only 20 minutes a day when the lake's reflective properties were perfect. The Li-Yen rematch was a fight without fighting. In kung fu folklore, martial artists with powerful chi would sit opposite each other, send their spirits outside their bodies and direct them to do battle. A fighter died if his spirit died — it's an element of the tradition that's rarely seen on-screen. 8. Ong-Bak Directed by Prachya Pinkaew and packed with influences from Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Panna Rittikrai, this Tony Jaa breakout film focuses on Thai warrior Ting (Jaa), who travels to Bangkok in search of the stolen head of a statue from his village's guardian Buddha. During training, Ting uses fighting skills related to Hanuman, a monkey God from the Hindu legend described in The Ramayana. Yet it's the confrontations with muscle-bound foreigners in illegal bare-knuckle brawls that endear audiences to the gut-wrenching action. Jaa's belligerence is emotionally countered by a gymnastic steeplechase through Bangkok's back alleys. Jaa's final bout against a meth-using adversary, along with his knee-drop strikes, elbows of fury and fire kicks, went on to inspire other Southeast Asian countries to showcase their martial arts. 7. The Grandmaster 2013 As director Wong Kar-wai tracked down old kung fu teachers in China to learn the art's traditions, Tony Leung had three years of pain-ridden preparation (two broken bones) for what was to him an unknown role. The Grandmaster centers on the retiring head of China's kung fu world Gong Yu-tian, who tests the worthiness of Ip Man (Leung) to be his successor. He does this via a battle of wits, cryptic physical combat and perplexing kung fu governance. It's confusing because Wong wants only insiders to get the nuances of the combat and therefore hides the skills. Ip's skirmish with 12 combatants at night in the rain was shot over 30 nights, during which Leung and the stuntmen were soaked until morning. The finale between Gong's daughter and a traitor confused Western critics. They didn't comprehend how fa jing strikes can break one's chi, forcing fighters to lose their abilities for life. If this confuses you, learn real kung fu. 6. The Villainess 2017 Sooh-hee (Kim Ok-bin) is a ballistic-bladed assassin coerced by an untoward agency to be a calm-but-deadly hatchet-slashing killer. After Soo-hee's opening fight on a multi-floored building full of thugs, we become enchanted by director Jung Byung-gil's novel choreography, what I call "pingpong camerawork." Imagine a pingpong ball as a camera and, instead of being swatted back and forth between paddles, it ricochets between fighters. The ball's POV images would be tight and shaky, with rapid zooms that create snappy rolling pans, tilts and spins. Now have the ball hit the ground, bounce up in the air, through a door or out a window three stories up while recording the actors' reactions. That's how the fights in Villainess look. 5. The protector 2005 The combat that distinguishes The Protector, starring Tony Jaa, from all other films is a four-minute oner — a continuous shot in a multi-floored restaurant — that was inspired by Bruce Lee's Game of Death, specifically the scene in which Lee climbs flights of stairs and fights on each floor. In Protector, each of the six floors featured a team of stuntmen who needed to attack Jaa at precisely the right moment. Yet in fight scenes in which timing was everything, the clock didn't always strike at midnight. After eight takes, however, they succeeded. Nothing since can compare to Jaa's dynamic performance. 4. SPL 2005 The title that's popular in the West comes from the Chinese phrase Sha Po Lang, which refers to three words from Eastern astrology that tell us a star is capable of good or evil based on its position in the heavens. The film's celestial stars are nut-case mob boss Wong Po (Sammo Hung); Inspector Chan, whose mission is to put Wong behind bars; and Inspector Ma (Donnie Yen), Chan's replacement who's known for bashing a suspect into a half-wit with one punch. Wong has a hidden plan up his sleeve: Jack (Wu Jing), a psychotic, blond-haired hit man who enjoys using his knife to fillet his victims. The highlight of SPL is Ma's fights, which involve Jack being pummeled with a retractable baton. The grudge match between Wong and Ma is a meteor storm of powerful knocks full of eye-popping flair, with camera choreography to match. 3. IP Man 4: The Finale Donnie Yen's 11-year-long portrayal of Ip Man has improved like a fine wine. Director Wilson Yip's fourth installment opens the combative bottle and pours out the franchise's best wing chun action. When Ip arrives in San Francisco, he sees Bruce Lee defeat a gang of white karateka and win them over. The best fight is a cinema first: Ip takes on Wu Yue in a bout that pits wing chun's chi sao (sticky hands) against tai chi's tui shou (pushing hands). When Wu notices Ip's left hand is injured, Wu insists that he will use one hand, as well. The frays reveal that when Ip and Lee are forced to fight, they maintain faith in what it means to be civil. The climax matches Ip against two bigots, played by Scott Adkins and Chris Collins, both of whom are eager to prove that kung fu is weak in real combat. Their comeuppance symbolizes that the Chinese will no longer back down. 2. John Wick: Chapter a Parabellum 2019 Directed by Chad Stahelski, this is the best American-made martial arts film to date. Every fight has innovative choreography and beautifully crafted camerawork. The fights are so gruesomely violent and ballistically brutal that they're hilarious as hell. With a bounty on his head, the loveable John Wick (Keanu Reeves) realizes that his survival rests on apocalyptic action, mesmerizing mangling and grisly grappling, and the combination is not unlike a ballet recital. Each fight has minimal editing, uses wide angles and features long takes, often 20 to 25 techniques per shot. Stahelski hides nothing. Of note: At 53 and after having trained for six months, Halle Berry learned how to fight like Reeves while shooting and kicking dozens of thugs in a desert compound. In a dance, it takes two to tango; in Stahelski's fights, it takes two to tangle. 1. Enter The Fat Dragon 2020 I nearly finished writing this article last night. Before bed, I watched this film. Perhaps it's my emotions speaking — I haven't left home in 120 days, COVID-19 is out of control and my county just dialed back its plans for reopening. (deep breath) After watching Enter the Fat Dragon, I told my wife, "This is the best kung fu film I've seen in decades!" I'll save the details for this issue's Screen Shots column. For now, think Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen all wrapped into one. It's the kind of film I live for. Photo Credits Baahubali Photo Courtesy of Great India Films USA • Flying Swords of Dragon Gate Poster Courtesy of Indomina Releasing. Azumi Photo Courtesy of Vitagraph Films • Paradox Photos Courtesy of HKIFF • Chocolate Photo Courtesy of Magnolia Home Entertainment. Kung Fu Hustle Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics • Kill Bill Photo Courtesy of Miramax • Ip Man and SPL2 Photos Courtesy of Well Go USA The Raid 2 Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics • Hero Photo Courtesy of Miramax • Ong-Bak Photo Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures • The Grandmaster Photo Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures The Villainess and Ip Man 4 Photos Courtesy of Well Go USA • The Protector Photo Courtesy of The Weinstein Company John Wick Photo Courtesy of Lionsgate • Enter the Fat Dragon Photo Courtesy of Well Go USA

This movie is what happens when you mix martial arts, an alien invader, and Nicholas Cage. How much more wild can you get? Jiu Jitsu is based on a comic book written by the producer and director of the film, Dimitri Logothetis. In addition to Hollywood superstar and Academy Award winner Nicholas Cage, the film also features notable martial arts stars Alain Moussi and Tony Jaa. The movie is scheduled for theatrical and digital release on November 20th. Until then, you can enjoy this new trailer available exclusively from IGN.

Turn on the "way back" machine for this collection of trailers from 1970s martial arts movies! Excerpts from the epic Ultimate Guide to Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s provide commentary and context as to their must-see status! With the summer blockbuster season just around the corner and everyone's bandwidth being eaten alive by trailers, previews, excerpts, clips and parodies thereof for a long list of science-fiction and superhero action-adventure movies, we at BlackBeltMag.com thought it might be fun to take a look in the "waaaaay back" machine when studios — especially smaller ones — put out a trailer that was shown before feature presentations at the local drive-in. And, of course, we specialize in — you guessed it! — martial arts here at BlackBeltMag.com. So we were stoked to stumble on a collection of awesome trailers for four martial arts movies assembled by a fellow martial arts fan and YouTube user. * The films in his trailers collection include the following: Master of the Flying Guillotine The Street Fighter (featuring the legendary Sonny Chiba) King Boxer (also known as Five Fingers of Death) Fist of Fury (also known as The Chinese Connection) *Please note this is a third-party collection of movie trailers and, as such, it may disappear at any time. MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF THE 1970sMaster of the Flying Guillotine | The Street Fighter | King Boxer | Fist of Fury BRUCE LEE® is a registered trademark of Bruce Lee Enterprises, LLC. The Bruce Lee name, image, likeness and all related indicia are intellectual property of Bruce Lee Enterprises, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Visit brucelee.com for more information. How Chuck Norris Films Seem to Bend the Course of History To contextualize the importance of the four film trailers presented, we fortunately have access to one of the world's foremost authorities on the subject of martial arts movies: Dr. Craig D. Reid, author of the epic 288-page full-color reference book, The Ultimate Guide to Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s: 500+ Films Loaded With Action, Weapons and Warriors — which features in-depth write-ups for each of the martial arts movies featured in the above trailer collection... and more than 496 more martial arts movies, ranging from the world-famous to the amazingly obscure. The following are adapted (and often condensed) excerpts from Dr. Craig D. Reid's Ultimate Guide to Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s write-ups for the aforementioned films — Master of the Flying Guillotine, The Street Fighter, King Boxer and Fist of Fury — featured in the trailer collection. MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF THE 1970sMaster of the Flying Guillotine (1976) Master of the Flying Guillotine, directed by Jimmy Wong Yu, notably has a large cast of martial arts superstars. Wong Yu was a martial director’s martial artist. In several of his directed films, there is a large cast of kung fu actors prominently featured, and they all do different kinds of martial arts. Wong Yu gave the actors in Master of the Flying Guillotine the opportunity to flaunt their skills and show audiences the diversity and novelty of their martial ways. Take the beginning of Master of the Flying Guillotine, for example: It jumps off with 12 fights that run for 12 minutes and features 18 different styles of martial arts. I also want to point out that none of the fights feature Wong Yu, which clearly demonstrates that a Wong Yu movie is not all about him. In this film, when the blind anti-Ming assassin Fung Sheng Wu Chi (Jin Gang) hears that a one-armed fighter killed his two disciples, he leaves his mountain retreat and vows to avenge his students. Shaving his head and disguising himself as a lama Buddhist monk, Fung arms himself with the deadly and scary flying guillotine. He vows to kill every one-armed fighter he meets. This movie has the best cinematic musical shtick for a villain, one that’s foreboding and dangerous-sounding. It’s a short piece called Super 16 by the band Neu. It should rank right up there with Darth Vader’s theme from Star Wars. MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF THE 1970sThe Street Fighter (1974) The neat thing about watching Japanese karate films after watching a ton of Chinese kung fu films is that for once the Japanese are the good guys. So instead of trying to kill the Chinese or destroy their martial arts schools, they are destroying the evil Yakuza. Enter Sonny Chiba, who gave Japanese karate films a different kind of fist of fury. Sonny Chiba brought Japanese karate center stage by sacrificing flair and artistry for more violence and brutality in the form of anti-hero Tsurugi Takuma the street fighter, aka Terry Tsurugi in the English dub. In this first installment of the Street Fighter trilogy, the movie opens with Tsurugi breaking karate killer Tateki Shikenbaru, aka Junjoe (Masashi Ishibashi), out of prison. However, because Tateki's brother and sister can’t completely pay for his services, Tsurugi launches one of the siblings out a four-story window. He sells the other sib as a sex slave to the inscrutable Enter the Dragon "Han" look-alike Rakuda Zhang. From the get-go, it was evident Sonny Chiba’s character was not like Bruce Lee, such as when Tsurugi breaks Tateki out of prison or when Tsurugi hissingly grunts using heavy sanchin-style breathing (to strengthen ki) to subdue Tateki. So even though Sonny Chiba’s performance was filled with over-the-top, perhaps Bruce Lee-inspired facial grimaces, Sonny Chiba was much more demonstrative than Bruce Lee. Certainly his sanchin and shorinji kenpo-inspired ultra-contorted finger and fist postures kept things from even remotely resembling a Bruce Lee film. But what really cemented this film’s cult status was its X rating, for extreme violence — which included a castration, a violent layrnx removal and a head collapsing under a hammerfist. MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF THE 1970sKing Boxer (also known as Five Fingers of Death) In King Boxer , Chao Chi-hao (Lo Lieh) is sent to learn kung fu from Shen Chin-pei (Fang Mian) by his injured master, Sung Wu-yang (Gu Wen-zong). Sung hopes that Shen can enter an upcoming martial arts tournament and defeat the local martial arts school run by the malicious Ming Dung-shen (Tien Fung), who also hires martial artist thugs like Japanese samurai mercenaries and the horrific head-butter Chen Lung (Kim Kee-joo) to do his evil deeds whenever he needs one done. Upon Chao's arrival at Shen’s school, Shen’s star pupil shows his superiority by beating up Chao, which just makes Chao train harder. When Chen begins to butt heads with Shen and his students, Chao sticks his head into the mix and defends the honor of the school. Moved by Chao’s bravery, master Sung chooses Chao to learn his most prized secret kung fu skill, the Iron Palm. This makes Han Lung jealous, causing him to conspire with the rival school headed by Ming, to break Chao’s hands and spirit. As Chao goes into seclusion, heals and then learns the Iron Palm in preparation for the martial arts tournament, Shen is killed by Ming’s minions. Watching King Boxer back in the early ’70s, I remember often hearing “brother” and “sister” and then seeing those two characters fall in love and hug in slow motion, not knowing these are terms used to identify kung fu school relationships rather than personal ones. Then there was the moral lesson that kung fu should be used for righteous purposes and not for hurting, which is the sort of message imparted in David Carradine’s TV show Kung Fu. Most of us also never realized how much animosity and distrust there was between the Chinese and Japanese, but that message was underlined when Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury came to town. (Note: There were a lot of Chinese films that carried an anti-Japanese message, but King Boxer and Fist of Fury were the first two to bring the message stateside via film).

Black Belt Magazine is a division of JungoTV, LLC (“ Jungo ") which is a limited liability corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of Delaware, with principal office address at 4605 Lankershim Boulevard, Suite #180, North Hollywood, CA 91602. JungoTV, LLC (“Jungo”, “we”, or “us”) is an international streaming media company based in the United States. Our Commitment to Privacy Black Belt Magazine values your privacy. We will never sell your information to a third party under any circumstances. Our website uses cookies which we use to better understand you and tailor your experience based on your shopping preference. We are committed to providing high quality service for our customers and partners. As an extension of that commitment, this Privacy Policy is designed to assist you in understanding how we collect, use and safeguard the personal information you provide, and to assist you in making informed decisions when visiting or purchasing goods through our web site www.blackbeltmag.com, hereafter known as the " Site ." It aims to assure the users of the Site that we are observing the appropriate level of personal data protection in compliance with the standards prescribed by the pertinent laws. This Privacy Policy will be continuously assessed against new technologies, business practices and our customers' needs and legal developments, and may be revised accordingly. By using the Site, you consent to our collection, use, disclosure and processing of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. Special Note About Children Please note that persons under the age of 18 (" Children ") are not eligible to use or purchase goods or services through the site unless supervised by a parent or guardian. In addition, we ask that Children under the age of 13 do not submit any personal information, even if requested. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under the age of 13 who you believe has submitted personal information to Jungo, please contact us at info@blackbeltmag.com and we will take appropriate steps to remove such information from our files. What Information Do We Collect? If you choose to use the Site, you may be required to provide personal information and authorization. Specifically, you may be asked to provide the following: Name Mailing Address Email address Credit card number Home and business phone and/or fax numbers Other personal information (i.e., mother's maiden name) IP address In addition to providing the foregoing information, if you choose to correspond further with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protection for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received by mail and telephone. Jungo collects personal data (e.g. card number, expiration date, name, address, transaction amount, any chargeback data, IP address etc.) and this information is provided to Paymentech for purposes of processing payment transactions and future fraud-scoring, detection and prevention services. We automatically collect information from your browser through data analytics tools and other technologies when you use the Site, and when you view advertising outside of the Site. These technologies may include the following: 1. Cookies and Local Storage. A cookie is a small data file that is transferred to your computer’s hard disk. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies. We may create a unique device or user ID for you and store it in a cookie to enable us to customize your experience based on your preferences. Information may likewise be collected through other kinds of local storage (also referred to as “Flash cookies”) and HTML5 local storage, including those connected with features such as volume/mute settings. These technologies are sometimes called “browser cookies”, since they are similar to browser cookies, even though they may be stored in different parts of your computer. You may stop accepting cookies or receive a notification before accepting a cookie by changing the settings of your browser. Note, however, that disabling cookies or deleting information contained in cookies or Flash cookies may interfere with the performance and features of the Site, including not being able to store your preferences. 2. Web Beacons, Pixels and mobile SDKs. Technologies such as web beacons or pixel tags, which can be embedded in web pages, videos, or emails, may be utilized to collect certain types of information from your browser or device. 3. Mobile Software Development Kits (“SDKs”). We may also use or work with third parties including our business partners and service providers that use mobile SDKs. The information collected may include the following: 1. Information about the browser or device that you are using, including your internet or other electronic network activity, IP address, device type, browser and software characteristics (such as type and operating system), geolocation data (which may include precise location data), referral URLs, network state, device identifiers or other unique identifiers such as advertising identifiers (e.g., “ad-ID” or “IDFA”) and identifiers associated with browser cookies and carrier information; 2. Usage data and preferences; 3. Your activity on the Site, including information about the content you view (“ Viewing Information ”), time and date on which you viewed the content, page views, and ads you have viewed on the Site; and 4. Advertising identifiers (e.g., “ad-ID” or “IDFA”) and information related to how mobile devices interact with the Site. Furthermore, we collect certain information when you choose to log-in, access or otherwise connect to the Site, or contact Jungo through a third-party service. We also collect information from companies through which you may access or interact with Jungo (e.g., distribution partners, including device partners and voice assistant platforms) or through which you pay for Jungo’s services or otherwise receive access to the Site as part of your relationship with such company (e.g., mobile phone carriers, smart television providers, or other companies that provide services to you). We may also collect information about you from other sources, including service providers (e.g., data licensors, research and analytics companies, and payment processors), public databases, our marketing partners, and advertisers. The information collected may include the following: 1. Identifiers including your user ID and username associated with the third-party service, information you make public using that service, and information you have authorized the service to share with us such as your user ID, billing information, public profile information, email address, birthday, pages you have “liked” and other account and profile data; 2. Email address and other identifiers that support authentication, activation, and personalization of the Site, as well as payment processing and other billing-related matters; and 3. Your interests, demographic data, purchasing behavior, and your activities online (such as websites visited and advertisements viewed). How Do We Use the Information That We Obtain? Broadly speaking, we will only use the personal information you provide to us or that is obtained through your use of the Site to administer our business activities and provide customers the products and services they have requested. If you have supplied us with personal information, we may combine such personal information with information we gather from your use of Site and other information that we may obtain from other sources to design and arrange the Site in the most user-friendly manner and to continually improve the Site to better meet the needs of our customers and prospective customers. Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to the Site, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable. The lists used to send you product and service offers are developed and managed under our traditional corporate standards and are designed to safeguard the security and privacy of our customers' personal information. By visiting our website, third party advertisers such as Google Adsense may place cookies on users' browsers for targeted advertising purposes. To learn how to opt out of receiving targeted advertising, please visit networkadvertising.org/choices. We will not sell, rent, share or otherwise disclose any information provided by you or obtained through your use of the Site to any unrelated third party unless required to do so by law or disclosure is necessary to enforce our rights under this Agreement or to protect the public. Furthermore, we use the information we collect from or about you in order to help deliver a first-class user experience, including for the following purposes: 1. providing services including customer support, performing our obligations and responsibilities with you, and improving our services; 2. To properly manage your account, personalize customer care activities, monitor quality and security of our services, train our staff, and provide services to you in a timely and efficient manner; 3. operating and optimizing the Site, such as by conducting analytics and research; 4. understanding the preferences and behaviors of users and thereafter customizing the content and advertising you view and evaluating how well they performed; 5. To conduct research, analysis and development activities for the purpose of improving the Site and enhance your experience; 6. contacting and communicating with you, including for promotions, surveys, contests, events, updates, and notifications; 7. compiling aggregate data for internal and external business purposes; 8. detecting security incidents, preventing potentially fraudulent, illegal or harmful activities and otherwise enforcing our Terms of Use and other policies; 9. protecting your and our rights and complying with legal obligations and processes; 10. other uses in accordance with our Terms of Use; and 11. any other purpose that is disclosed to you at the time we collect the information or that is related to a request made by you. In order to access the Site from your computer or mobile device, you may be required to share your device’s precise location data (e.g., latitude and longitude) with us. In addition to providing you with certain services, this also enables us to serve you content related to your local area as may be applicable. This data may also be used to tailor advertising based on your location. We may aggregate information about our users, or otherwise “de-identify” the information about you (which means that the information does not directly or indirectly identify you). We may use information in these forms for any legitimate business purpose, including for research and analysis, administration of our services, advertising (e.g., improving our targeting efforts), and promotional purposes. To Whom Do We Disclosure your Information? In the course of performing its services and responsibilities, Jungo may engage the services of third-party service providers, agents, its affiliates or related corporations, and/or other third parties. Such third parties include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Partners. We work with a number of business partners who help us provide our services, including our content programmers, distributors and device partners, and corporate owners. We may share your information with such business partners in order to provide our services and for other legitimate business purposes, such as reporting and analytics, activating, administering, improving and personalizing user experience, and providing joint promotional offers and opportunities. 2. Service Providers . This includes companies that provide services to us, advertisers for ad supported contents, and companies that assist with payment processing, analytics, data processing and management (e.g., to facilitate our targeted advertising and marketing efforts), account management, hosting, customer and technical support, marketing, advertising, measurement, and other services. The categories of information that we share with service providers will vary depending on the types of services they provide and the type of service that you avail of. 3. Audience Measurement Providers. This includes our business partners, such as content programmers and advertisers, that seek to measure the performance of their creative material across many platforms, including the Site. Jungo may permit the use of third-party measurement software that enables third parties to use your information and include your viewing on the Site in calculating measurement statistics. 4. Advertisers. We display advertisements from other companies on the Site that may enable users to interact with the advertisements or click through to websites or other properties owned or operated by other companies. These advertisers and their service providers may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information, from or about you through the Site in order to tailor advertisements for ad supported contents, measure advertising effectiveness, and enable other enhancements. This information may relate to your use of the Site, websites you visited, advertisements you viewed, and your other activities online. We may also compile and provide reports, including in encrypted, aggregated, or de-identified forms, to advertisers about the effectiveness of their campaigns. 5. Third Parties When Required By Law or When Necessary to Protect Your or Our Rights . We may disclose your information to protect the legal rights of Jungo and our affiliates or partners, to protect the safety and security of users of the Site or third parties, to enforce our Terms of Use, to protect against fraud, and to comply with or respond to the law or legal process or a request for cooperation by a government entity, whether or not legally required. 6. Third Parties in Connection with Certain Transactions. If we sell all or part of our business, make a transfer of assets, or otherwise might be involved in a change of control transaction, or in the event of bankruptcy, we may transfer information from or about you to one or more third parties as part of the transaction, including the due diligence process. 7. Parties with Your Consent or When You Otherwise Choose to Share. Certain functions within the Site may give you the option to share information about your activities by email, text message, social networking services, or other sharing function. In addition, you may allow the sharing of information with our advertisers or other partners through an interactive ad unit. Information you share through third party platforms and with social networks, advertisers, and other third parties is subject to their terms of use and privacy policies which we recommend you review. The Site may, from time to time, contain links to external sites or resources which are operated by third parties. Jungo has no control over the content and privacy practices of such sites or resources. You are advised to review the privacy policies of these sites and resources operated by third parties and understand how your information may be used by those third parties. What are Your Rights? In accordance with the applicable Data Privacy Laws, we shall respect and uphold your right to be informed, to object, access, correct, to rectification, erasure and blocking, to data portability, to file a complaint, and to damages. Furthermore, you have the following controls and choices regarding how we and third parties use certain information collected from or about you: 1. Opt-Out from Promotional Communications. You may opt out of receiving promotional communications from Jungo by emailing us at info@blackbeltmag.com . Please note that you cannot opt out from receiving all communications from Jungo, including administrative messages, service announcements, and messages regarding the terms and conditions of your account because those may contain important information. You can choose to receive push notifications from Jungo on your device and can use your device’s settings to turn them off. 2. Opt-Out from Collection of Precise Location Data from Your Mobile Device. You can opt out of our collection of precise location data from your mobile device in your device settings. Note that opting out of our collection of precise location data may limit your access to our services on your mobile device. California Residents The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“ CCPA ”) provides California residents with the following additional rights, subject to certain exceptions as indicated in the law: 1. Disclosures About Your Personal Information. We collect personal information belonging to different categories, such as identifiers, those listed in the California Customer Records provision, characteristics, commercial information, internet or other electronic network activity information, audio, electronic, visual, or other similar information, and inferences based on the information we collect from or about you which we use to better understand your preferences and behavior. The details of these personal information, as well as their use and disclosures, are provided in this Policy. 2. Right to Know. You can request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you as well as information about how we collect, use, disclose, and share personal information. 3. Right to Delete. You have the right to request the deletion of personal information that we collect or store about you and your account. Please note that requesting deletion will require the cancellation and deletion of your account which, upon completion, may not be undone. If you are under the age of 18 and a registered user of the Site, you may request for the removal of content or information you have publicly posted on the Site by emailing us at the address provided in this Policy and including a detailed description of the specific content or information you would like to remove. Please note that the request for removal is subject to the requirements and limitations of the pertinent laws and regulations. 4. Right to Opt Out of “Sale”. Jungo may disclose certain information about you for purposes that may be considered a “sale” under the CCPA. For example, we may disclose information to advertising partners, advertising technology companies, and companies that perform advertising-related services in order to provide you with more relevant advertising tailored to your interests on the Site. This information may include identifiers such as your IP address, advertising identifiers, your email address (in a de-identified or hashed form), age and gender, your internet or other electronic network information such as your interaction with an ad, and geolocation data. We may also disclose to our content programmers information about you, which may help personalize your experience and the content and ads you see on the Site as well as other platforms and services, as further described in our Privacy Policy. You may choose to opt-out and limit the disclosure of your personal information by emailing us at the address provided in this Policy. You may request information regarding Jungo’s disclosure of personal information to third parties who wish to contact you or send you promotional information about their products and services directly (as compared to when the third party is acting on our behalf or you have provided your personal information as part of a co-promotion by Jungo and the third party). Exercise of your data privacy rights will not affect the nature or quality of services provided to you unless permitted by applicable laws or it is a direct consequence of the right exercised. For instance, if you exercise your right to opt out of “sale”, the ads you will see may not be as tailored to your interests. How Do We Protect Your Information? 1. Information Security . We utilize encryption/security software to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information we collect, to protect it from unauthorized access or disclosure and accidental loss, alteration or destruction. We use a variety of physical, technical, and administrative security measures to safeguard information in our possession against loss, theft and unauthorized use, disclosure, and modification. 2. Evaluation of Information Protection Practices. Periodically, our operations and business practices are reviewed for compliance with corporate policies and procedures governing the security, confidentiality and quality of our information. 3. Employee Access, Training and Expectations. Our corporate values, ethical standards, policies and practices are committed to the protection of customer information. In general, our business practices limit employee access to confidential information, and limit the use and disclosure of such information to authorized persons, processes and transactions. 4. What About Legally Compelled Disclosure of Information? We may disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights. Despite these efforts, please note that there is always a possibility that a breach in data transmission or storage may occur and we cannot guarantee the security of any information from or about you 100% of the time. Your personal information may be stored in Jungo's own secure on-site servers or other internally hosted technology. It may also be stored by third parties, via cloud services or other technology, to whom Jungo has contracted with, to support its business operations. These third parties do not use or have access to your personal data other than for cloud storage and retrieval, and Jungo requires such parties to employ at least the same level of security that it uses to protect your personal data. Terms of Use Agreement Our Terms of Use Agreement, as it may change from time to time, is hereby incorporated as part of this Privacy Policy. Limitations By using the Site, you agree that we are not responsible for (i) any disclosure of your personal information made by you to a third party through your use of the Site; and (ii) any disclosure of your personal information obtained illegally from us. Your personal information will be retained by Jungo until it is no longer necessary for (i) the fulfillment of the purpose/s for which it was obtained, (ii) any legal or business purposes and (iii) other legitimate interests that may warrant further retention of such personal data. Upon the cessation of the said circumstances and subject to the applicable Data Privacy Laws, your personal information may be stored for an additional period of five (5) years, after which, the data will be anonymized and utilized solely for statistical purposes. Subject to applicable laws, Jungo may securely dispose of your personal data without prior notice to you. If you do not consent to the collection and processing of your personal information, you may opt out at any time by notifying Jungo's Data Protection Officer in writing. Jungo will process such requests in accordance with this Privacy Policy and its obligations under the applicable Data Privacy Laws. Note, however, that opting out or withdrawing your consent may affect your use of the Site. Notice If we change our privacy policies and procedures, we will post the revised Privacy Policy including such changes on the Site. For your convenience and future reference, the date of the version of the Privacy Policy set forth on the Site is listed below. You can print the version of our Privacy Policy that you reviewed and approved, and compare it to the version in effect when you use the site in the future to determine what, if any, changes have been made and whether you want to continue using our Site. To the fullest extent permissible under applicable laws, your continued use of the Site shall constitute your acknowledgment and acceptance of the changes made to this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or if you wish to exercise your data privacy rights, you or your authorized representative (appointed via notarized document) may email us at info@blackbeltmag.com. You will be required to verify your request via your account credentials and/or by other means.

Check out the second half of our chat with the very real Matt Page and the very made-up Master Ken, founder of the deadly martial art of ameri-do-te. Caution: You're about to read comments from a real martial artist (Matt Page) interspersed with comments from a fictional character (Master Ken). To make it easier to distinguish the two, we've italicized the words of Master Ken. BLACK BELT: WHEN A PERSON TEACHES AN ART AS DEADLY AS AMERI-DO-TE, IS IT ESSENTIAL TO COUNSEL STUDENTS ON HOW NOT TO WIND UP IN JAIL? Master Ken: Absolutely. Some of the moves I've invented simply cannot be taught for liability reasons. For example, recently I created an inescapable hold where you trap your opponent's arms and legs, then you sit on their head and release a lethal barrage of flatulence to suffocate them. It's called the “gas chamber." I can't send civilians out in public with that kind of knowledge. It's just too dangerous. Years ago I took an invaluable class called Introduction to Business Law at the Central New Mexico Community College, and my instructor, a one-legged veteran named Jim Hooker, gave me the most important piece of legal advice I've ever heard: “Dead men don't sue." And he was right. Because a year later, he died in a freak accident at a meat-processing plant and ended up being served as ground beef at three Albuquerque public schools. Nobody even noticed until some cheerleader bit into a sloppy Joe and broke her tooth on what turned out to be a piece of his catheter. But the point is he never pressed charges because he was deceased at the time of the accidental ingestion. BLACK BELT: WHERE DID THE CONCEPT FOR MASTER KEN AND ENTER THE DOJO COME FROM? Matt Page: In creating Master Ken, I was influenced by something I noticed: Some instructors, no matter how skilled or intelligent, tend to bad-mouth other styles. They see a move from some other martial art and say, “That's not bad, but in our style, it's better because we do it like this." Each time something weird happened in any dojo, I would take a mental note and say, “Someday I'm gonna do something creative with all this." Eventually, I found my way to New Mexico and went to College of Santa Fe, now Santa Fe University. Once I received my bachelor's degree in moving-image arts, I saw that everyone was making their own Web series. At the time, I'd become obsessed with Ricky Gervais' original version of The Office on the BBC, and I decided I wanted to try that but in a world I understood. So I chose martial arts. BLACK BELT: WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH WITH ENTER THE DOJO? IS IT PURE ENTERTAINMENT? Matt Page: The goal now is really the same as when we created the first episode: I want to entertain people while making a commentary on things that are important to me. It's not just about the jokes; it's about pointing out the contradictions in various teachings and the commercialization and the issue of theory vs. practice in the martial arts world. But I want to address it all with humor. I've gotten emails from soldiers with PTSD, martial artists who struggle with depression and people from all walks of life who thank me for making them laugh and helping them forget their troubles for the moment. That's the most rewarding thing I've ever gotten out of what I do. BLACK BELT: YOU'VE APPEARED AT THE MARTIAL ARTS SUPERSHOW IN LAS VEGAS TWO YEARS IN A ROW. HOW DID THAT GROUP OF EXPERIENCED, PROFESSIONAL MARTIAL ARTISTS FEEL ABOUT THE MESSAGE YOU PROPAGATE? Master Ken: The first year, I was like a tsunami of truth that forced many so-called “masters" to re-evaluate their training and, quite frankly, their lives. I think that's why they wouldn't allow me to perform at the opening ceremony this year. They lost too much business on people closing their schools so they could take up Ameri-Do-Te. I've made a lot of enemies, but then again, so did Napoleon. And he was able to conquer most of South America despite the fact that he was shorter than a Shetland pony. BLACK BELT: DO YOU HAVE FORMAL TRAINING IN ACTING? Matt Page: I've been taking acting classes and performing in plays since I was a kid. My influences range from old episodes of Saturday Night Live to mockumentaries by Christopher Guest to more serious cinematic works like the films of Robert Zemeckis, David Fincher, etc. But I've loved comedic movies and television shows for as long as I can remember. BLACK BELT: DO PEOPLE EVER RECOGNIZE YOU ON THE STREET? WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF THEY DID? Matt Page: I rarely get recognized mainly because Master Ken looks and speaks and moves so differently. I've been told I look 10 years older when I get into costume and makeup and put on the voice, and that's flattering. I have great respect for character actors who can disappear into a role. I've had conversations with people as Ken, then gone up to my hotel room and changed out of costume, and 15 minutes later, that same person will have the exact same conversation with me all over again. As far as anonymity goes, at first I was really concerned, especially since I make a show where I [insult] trained fighters. But most people know I'm kidding, and the recognition I've gotten from Enter the Dojo has been wonderful. BLACK BELT: WHAT'S THE MASTER PLAN FOR YOUR DOJO? EXPANSION ACROSS THE USA? EVENTUAL WORLD CONQUEST? Master Ken: For starters. But why stop there? My ultimate goal is to be the first person to open a dojo on the moon. Imagine how devastating my techniques would be without the restriction of gravity. You could kick an opponent and send him hurtling through space forever. I'd have to hire someone to clean the bathrooms, though. BLACK BELT: WHAT'S IN STORE FOR ENTER THE DOJO? ANY TV ASPIRATIONS? Matt Page: After Season One, I got to pitch the show to a few cable networks, but nothing happened. That was back when we had about 1 million channel views. Now we have 11 million and counting, and I get inquiries at least once a week, but nobody seems to know what to do with us. I've gotten several offers to take the show off our hands for free. But if someone is serious and wants to step up and fund the show, I'd be all for it as long as we can keep making it the way we want. Luckily, with the way distribution is now, we can continue to get the show out to the masses through YouTube, through Master Ken Live and through our merchandise, and it's on our own terms. BLACK BELT: MASTER KEN, BEFORE WE FINISH THIS INTERVIEW, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SAY TO OUR READERS? Master Ken: My message is that martial arts is about staying alive in the street. It's not a sport, and it's not a hobby. If that's what you want, take up pingpong or collect figurines. And when I say “the street," I don't mean an actual street. I wish all the rapists and murderers lived on the same street. If they did, I could tell my students, “Hey … don't go down that street." But life doesn't work that way. So whether you're in bar, in the office of your proctologist or in an actual street, you're in “the street." Matt Page: After Season One, I got to pitch the show to a few cable networks, but nothing happened. That was back when we had about 1 million channel views. Now we have 11 million and counting, and I get inquiries at least once a week, but nobody seems to know what to do with us. I've gotten several offers to take the show off our hands for free. But if someone is serious and wants to step up and fund the show, I'd be all for it as long as we can keep making it the way we want. Luckily, with the way distribution is now, we can continue to get the show out to the masses through YouTube, through Master Ken Live and through our merchandise, and it's on our own terms. BLACK BELT: MASTER KEN, BEFORE WE FINISH THIS INTERVIEW, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SAY TO OUR READERS? Master Ken: My message is that martial arts is about staying alive in the street. It's not a sport, and it's not a hobby. If that's what you want, take up pingpong or collect figurines. And when I say “the street," I don't mean an actual street. I wish all the rapists and murderers lived on the same street. If they did, I could tell my students, “Hey … don't go down that street." But life doesn't work that way. So whether you're in bar, in the office of your proctologist or in an actual street, you're in “the street." Master Ken on Breaking "I've never been attacked by a pile of lumber. Styles that focus on the number of boards broken are an embarrassment to real street fighters. You don't need to focus on kicking someone's femur in half. But there is something other than trees that grows out of the ground that we can use for training: fresh fruits and vegetables. It only takes 8 pounds of pressure per square inch to break a collarbone — or a cucumber. If you can use your hand to open a cantaloupe, you can crack a human skull. And if you can squash a grape, you can burst a testicle. The best part about this particular training method is that you end up with the ingredients for a healthy salad." Master Ken on Weapons "I don't need weapons because my tiger claws are always with me. Even when I'm naked, I'm still fully armed. Learning Ameri-Do-Te is like swallowing weapons-grade plutonium — except in this case, you don't die from radiation sickness. You become a walking weapon of martial destruction. Especially if you train right after eating some New Mexican food." Master Ken on Tournaments "The few tournaments I've attended with my students have been a confirmation that Ameri-Do-Te cannot be contained by regulated competition. There are no rules in a street fight, and that's the way we train. Which explains why we have been disqualified from every tournament we've ever attended for excessive contact or illegal moves. There are more sports-regulation violations in one minute of Ameri-Do-Te training than in an entire pint of Lance Armstrong's blood."

Find out where the Five Venoms came from, how they evolved in subsequent fight films and why they ruled drive-ins and cable television in the 1970s and '80s. We all love martial arts movies. Right now, let's test your knowledge of one part of this vibrant genre: kung fu films. Your first task is to name the Five Venoms. For extra credit, tell me how many films the actors who played them made together. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I bet most of you didn’t get the answers right. If that’s the result of a lack of interest in Chinese martial arts movies, all I can say is you don’t know what you’re missing. If it’s the result of the confusion that was created by the way the movies were marketed in the United States, you have a valid excuse. But let's continue. It all started in 1978 when cameras rolled to make a Shaw Brothers kung fu film titled The Five Venoms. It also would be known as The Five Deadly Venoms and Five Poisons, the latter being a direct translation of the movie’s Chinese title. Now here’s the rub: Five Venoms actually featured eight venoms. So if there really were eight venoms, why are only five reflected in the title? The answer is complicated — and confusing. The five venoms and the actors who played them were Scorpion Gai Ji (Sun Chien), Toad Liang Shen (Lo Meng), Centipede Zhang Yiao-tian (Lu Feng), Snake Qi Dong (Wei Bai) and Gecko Meng Tian-xia (Kuo Chue). The other three venoms didn’t have associated animals. They were Yang De (Chiang Sheng), the head of Venom House (Dick Wei) and the bookkeeper (Ku Feng). The actors who portrayed the five venoms appeared together in only three other films: The Kid With the Golden Arm (1979), Invincible Shaolin (1978) and The Brave Archer II (1978), the last of which was shot before Five Venoms. Yet an additional 16 movies were released in America under the banner of “films that featured the five venoms.” Keep reading to find out how that came to be. In the late 1970s, kung fu films were on the decline. After all, the king of martial arts cinema — Bruce Lee — had died in 1973, and no one had been able to fill his shoes. Furthermore, drive-ins — the outdoor theaters where kung fu films ruled — were waning. Then out of nowhere, cable TV appeared. Scores of just-launched channels began searching for programs to attract audiences, and they were willing to accept movies that network-TV execs would never deem acceptable. Cable distributors decided the solution to this problem lay with the studio that started the kung fu craze in the USA: Shaw Brothers. They immediately began asking which English-dubbed offerings were available. At the top of the list were Five Venoms, Golden Arm, The Master Killer and Chinatown Kid. Each one wound up getting lots of cable-TV airtime in the afternoon and late at night, but it was Five Venoms that had the biggest impact. American video distributors quickly keyed into that popularity and began buying rights for films that featured those kung fu stars. The sixth venom actor, Chiang, became a replacement for one of the original five, Wei Bai. So the first follow-up film that was advertised as featuring the five venoms — Crippled Avengers in 1978 — was conveniently renamed Return of the Five Deadly Venoms. Wei suffered from Tourette’s syndrome, a disorder that causes uncontrollable motor and vocal tics. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to control the outbursts on camera. Consequently, his last appearance with the four venoms was in Golden Arm, and even by then, his martial skills were fading. It was fortuitous that Wei used a sword during his fights in Golden Arm because it minimized the direct body contact he had with the stuntmen. That, in turn, lowered the frequency of tics on the set. After Wei left the group, films that were shot after Five Venoms (featuring Chiang and the four original venoms) were initially branded in Asia as Five Weapon Guys movies. In the United States, the preferred marketing tactic entailed designating the productions as Five Venoms films and later as just Venom films. Later on, any movie that featured at least one of the Venom actors ended up being called a Venom film. Now, are you ready for the quiz? (Photo of Eric Lee by Rick Hustead)