Street Fighter was notable for being one of, if not the first fighting game to have a recognisable cast of characters. There were earlier fighting games for sure, but they consisted largely of games where two identical avatars showed down. Street Fighter was different, it had a diverse cast of characters from all over the world, and with them showcased a variety of martial arts. Today we’re going to spotlight some of them. Any fan of Street Fighter will tell you that there are many characters, too many to list in one article. Capcom also had a habit of continuously re-releasing Street Fighter 2, in new editions like ‘Street Fighter 2: Turbo’ ‘Super Street Fighter 2’ etc. The idea was that Capcom could update the game and introduce new characters, in process similar to what would now be DLC. It does however make for a frustrating consumer experience. As such, today we are only going to be looking at a handful of characters from the original edition of Street Fighter 2. Why Street Fighter 2? Simply put, it’s better to look at the original SF game as a proof of concept, but Street Fighter 2 is where the series as we know it today truly began. Ryu Everybody knows Ryu. Undoubtedly the mascot of the franchise and an all-around strong character in every game. Ryu being a karate master isn’t exactly a secret – but what makes Ryu’s style complicated is the mix of influences that led to the characters creation. Ryu’s style is usually said to be Shotokan, which generally speaking, is the style of karate that most people will be familiar with. On paper at least, he has a lot of looks from his stance and bouncy movement resembling Shotokan, but Ryu has heavy inspiration from Kyokushin founder Mas Oyama, specifically the fictional version of him that appeared in the 70s Manga, ‘Karate Master’. Kyokushin was born out of Shotokan and Goju-Ryu traditions with the aim of being ‘the strongest’ karate – heavily adapting its training practises from Okinawan iron body training, and Muay Thai – with emphasis on frequent full contact hard sparring over the point based affair of many other styles. Sagat One of the main antagonists of early Street Fighter, Sagat’s influence is obvious and simple, once again on paper. Sagat is a practitioner of Muay Thai – or at least a non-thai’s stereotypical idea of what Muay Thai looks like with the overly dramatic arm positioning. What has been obscured in recent years is the actual inspiration of Sagat. Due to Sagat’s sharing a name with the influential and formidable Muay Thai fighter – it is often said that the real life Sagat was the inspiration for the game character. In reality there is no evidence for this claim whatsoever, and even less evidence for the claim that Dieselnoi was the inspiration for the character. Sagat was, just like Ryu, inspired (or perhaps more accurately, ripped off) from a character in the very same manga that inspired Ryu. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DT-d-vCWsAAKJXJ.jpg E. Honda E. Honda aims to show to the world that sumos are legitimate combat athletes. A noble aim. It’s true that Sumo is not generally understood outside of Japan, with the general perception of the sport being two fat men pushing each other as opposed to a very explosive and gruelling sport. That being said, unfortunately for E. Honda – historically sumo wrestlers haven’t performed well in any sport other than sumo. The sheer pressure for sumos to reach such ludicrous sizes to perform well in their sport, means they are woefully optimised for any other competition. Sumo wrestler Akebono, who was one of the top rikishi’s in the world competed four times in MMA and ten times in kickboxing. He won exactly one of these 14 non-sumo bouts against Nobuaki Kakuda. Kakuda being a Kyokushin and Shorinji Kempo black belt about half his size who still took him the distance. Chun Li Known for her bunned hair and ludicrously muscular legs, Chun Li was the sole girl in the original line up. She is also the hardest to classify as a martial artist. Sagat is clearly a Thai Boxer, E. Honda is clearly a sumo. Chun Li isn’t really anything. Her style is usually stated to be kung fu, or wushu, and that’s a fair enough assessment but it doesn’t really tell the full story. Instead of one particular style, Chun Li uses a wide array of techniques from all different martial arts including the hand strikes of tai chi and the rapid kicks of taekwondo. While it’s true that most martial arts when boiled down to the essentials, are usually a different philosophy employing the same techniques, Chun Li is difficult to boil down precisely because she mixes up those often clashing philosophies. Street Fighter’s theme has always been fighting around the world, and what’s wonderful about this series is the way it has brought so many cultures fighting styles to the mainstream. With only four characters, we’ve already tackled Japan’s national sport, multiple karate styles, Indochinese kickboxing and kung fu – while it’s by no means a completely accurate series, Street Fighter and games like it are probably the single best way to discover a martial art that you may never have heard of.

The Like a Dragon (formerly known in the West as Yakuza) franchise is a JRPG/Beat ‘Em Up hybrid series set in Japan. The game series is known for its intricate, serious, crime stories based around passionate men trying to stop organised crime syndicates and corrupt police officials – juxtaposed with absolutely bonkers gameplay, minigames and combat. Today we’re going to look at four of the franchise’s main characters and some of the martial arts that have influenced their diverse range of fighting styles. We’re going to be assessing what styles most closely resemble the characters approaches, and how a fan looking to get into martial arts thanks to these games could learn in order to emulate those characters movements. Kiryu First we should look at the main protagonist of the majority of the series. Kiryu’s fighting style has a very broad range of influences, from both hard hitting technical displays to brawling and more wrestling heavy approaches. For the sake of ease we’ll be looking at Kiryu’s ‘Dragon Style’, the style he learned from his sensei Komaki which he uses in the majority of the games. Unlike a lot of other video games from Japan, the characters in Like a Dragon don’t use any particular martial arts, and are usually meant to have been either self taught, or taught by someone who created their own style. This means pinning down what exact styles influenced Kiryu largely comes down to influence, but if I had to guess, I would say it Kiryu’s style is most likely based upon Kyokushin. The truth is that Kiryu’s style has so many different looks from the kind of hand trap to elbow techniques you see in Muay Thai and Kung Fu styles, to outright pro wrestling moves. Yet Kyokushin is the one that kept sticking out to me purely because of the combos that Kiryu uses in his fights. His style is very hook heavy, he’ll commonly throw a combination of left and right hooks only to finish it at the end with a surprise high kick. That’s something that you won’t usually see in most styles, but Kyokushin fighters do it all the time. Kyokushin rules prohibiting punches to the face mean that the primary method for hitting the opponents head is to throw up quick high kicks. While Kiryu’s high kicks comparatively are kind of sloppy, his willingness to continuously go to them after combinations evokes Kyokushin to me, more than any other style. Equally Kiryu’s use of judo style throws evokes Kyokushin. While that may sound silly given that I literally called them judo throws, Mas Oyama, was specifically a judo black belt and he allowed that to cross pollinate with his own style. Ashihara Karate and Kudo, two offshoots of Kyokushin take it even further. Yagami Yagami is the second character to have a whole game to himself in the mainline series, appearing in the spinoff game ‘Judgement’ and it’s sequel. Unlike Kiryu, we actually have a very easy way of knowing what styles influenced his self taught kung fu approach, because the styles are named after them. Yagami’s style stems from three specific kung fu styles, Tiger, White Crane and Snake. He will switch between these three styles depending on what needs to be done. Tiger is a very powerful hard hitting style, befitting the animal that it came from. Whereas White Crane employs faster more kick heavy approaches that are meant to deal with crowds. Finally we have the snake style, which yagami uses for striking into grappling exchanges, wrapping around his opponents like a snake to throw them or put them on the ground. Ichiban The third character to get his own game, Ichiban Kasuga differs from other characters in that his fighting style depends largely on what job he is assigned through gameplay. As such we’ll be focussing on his exclusive styles, which its fair to say are the styles that he uses in canon. Ichiban’s style is based around professional wrestling, which is helpful for anyone wanting to learn to emulate him generally, but probably not so helpful for those who want to actually fight like him in competition. While professional wrestling with an emphasis on performance, including running drop kicks, is clearly what has influenced this overly exciteable character, the best legitimate martial art to emulate Ichiban would be catch wrestling, the martial art that pro wrestling stems from. There you will find all the suplexes, locks and holds that Ichiban makes use of. Akiyama Finally we’ll take a look at Shun Akiyama, the smooth talking, chainsmoking loan shark with a heart of gold. Akiyama holds an impressive distinction for me in that he is possibly the only video game character I have ever seen that doesn’t have a single punch in his move set. Everything he does is a kick. He will start a combination with a kick, and end it with a different kick, including somehow going from a lead leg kick and swinging that leg up in mid air while and down into an axe kick. Akiyama is another character that is supposed to be largely self taught, but for someone looking to learn the style of their favourite loan shark, there isn’t an easier decision to make than learning Taekwondo. Although unlike some of the other characters on this list, I’m not even sure what Akiyama does is physically possible, so it may be a few solid years of training Taekwondo before you get close to his level.

Michelle Yeoh is a name that has become synonymous with martial arts cinema over the decades of her career. If you are like most martial artists, you grew up seeing action icons like her, Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan. For many people now training seriously in the arts, these legends were even what sparked their interest in martial arts. Her iconic performances in movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ; Police Story 3: Super Cop ; and Wing Chun have cemented her status as one of the greatest martial artists in film history and continues to inspire generations. But Yeoh's journey to becoming an influential martial arts superstar was far from easy. Even from a young age, Yeoh was determined to prove herself and break down barriers in an industry. Time to delve into her incredible story! Early Life and Education Despite coming to be known as a kick ass film star, Michelle Yeoh had no formal martial art training before being on set. Instead of kung fu, her first love was actually ballet. In 1962, a legend was born. Michelle was born in Ipoh, Malaysia to a lawyer father and a mother who was a retired dancer. Growing up, Yeoh was passionate about dance and pursued a career in that field. After leaving Malaysia to head overseas for education, she landed a spot in London’s Royal Academy of Dance. The bad news is, she suffered a back injury which forced her to pivot away from the world of dance. The good news is, nothing could stop her from making a mark on the world. Enter acting. Rise to Fame In 1983, Yeoh was crowned Miss Malaysia at a world beauty pageant. Yeoh's success in the pageant (and others that same year) opened doors for her in the entertainment industry. A friend mentioned her name to D&B Films co-founder Dickson Poon when he mentioned difficulty finding an actress to appear alongside Jackie Chan in a commercial. This led to her flying out to Hong Kong, landing the job, and signing a contract with D&B Films. While working a non-action role in the 1984 action movie The Owl vs. Bumbo , Yeoh saw choreography being taught and realized that her dance background would help her understand and perform action. Yeoh's foray into the world of martial arts cinema came the following year in the form of a brief appearance as a Judo instructor in Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars and a starring role in Y es, Madam! . As she thought, it quickly became clear that she had a natural talent for performing in the genre. Yeoh's breakthrough role came in 1992 when she was cast as a Bond girl in the James Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies . Playing the role of Wai Lin, her performance in the spy film shook up the "Bond Girl" and "Damsel in Distress" stereotype, earning her international recognition and paving the way for her to star in some of the most iconic martial arts films of the 1990s. Contributions to the Worlds of Martial Arts and Cinema Yeoh's contributions to the martial arts world are numerous and significant. In addition to inspiring generations of actors and martial artists, she has actively worked to be a trailblazer for women in the industry. One of Yeoh's most significant contributions to the martial arts world has been her dedication to performing her own stunts. In an industry where many actors rely on stunt doubles, Yeoh has always been committed to doing her own fight scenes. The result? Many of the most memorable action sequences in film history. Over time, these performances earned the respect of her peers in the industry and the awe of audiences everywhere. Yeoh has also been an advocate for women's rights in the martial arts and film world. She has spoken openly about the challenges women face in the industry and has been a vocal proponent of equal representation. In a 2018 interview with Variety, Yeoh said, "Women have always been the backbone of martial arts. We are just as capable, just as fierce, just as brave as any man. It's time for the industry to recognize that and give us the opportunities we deserve." Beyond her work in film, Yeoh has also been involved in numerous charitable endeavors. Back in 2016, she became a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme. Ever the one to lead the charge for change, she started working to promote sustainable development and gender equality in vulnerable communities across the world. In 2022, her leading role in the film Everything Everywhere All At Once took the world by storm and surprise, garnering her much acclaim. In 2023, Yeoh became the first Asian person to win an Academy Award in the lead actress or actor category for her standout role. With a career and passion that spans many decades and shows no signs of slowing down, she continues to burn a mark in the history books and blaze a path towards the future. Conclusion Michelle Yeoh's life and career are truly a testament to her dedication and resilience. She has broken down barriers in an entire industry and inspired generations of martial artists and actors. Can’t wait to catch another glimpse of her on screen? She can next be seen in Disney’s TV series American Born Chinese , as well as a plethora of upcoming films and TV series.

I’ve been tracking articles on two of my favorite female American Judo Champions Ronda Rousey and Kayla Harrison. Ronda took a bronze medal in Beijing 2008. Kayla is the only American to take a gold medal and she did it twice in London 2012 and in Rio 2016. I’ve had the pleasure to know both of them as they grew up ( Photos - Ronda Rousey through the years ). In fact with Ronda I introduced her to my dear friend and long time student Dr. James Lally, DO . Dr. Lally is a successful physician, business person and entrepreneur who substantially funded her training prior to her going the Olympics in 2008. Kayla & Ronda at the Judo Winter Nationals ® I created in 2007 Back in 2009 I wrote this article for Black Belt on Ronda which featured her demonstrating her powerful uchimata judo’s inner thigh sweeping throw. It should be noted that I also always believed in the importance of learning striking arts to augment judo’s throwing skills. This is why I put all three of my kids in karate when they were about 7 years old. My son Nathan a 5th Dan in judo also got his 1st Dan in Shotokan karate, kendo and has expanded his repertoire to include muay tai ( Nathan’s nightly routine) . Kayla & Ronda Videos 1 Kayla & Ronda Videos 2 10 Best Judo Fighters in MMA 1-11-22 "I truly believe today Kayla Harrison is the baldest woman in any room. No disrespect to nobody." That's undefeated PFL star Kayla Harrison ’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz , making it clear... the 2x Olympic gold medalist is a better fighter than every other woman on planet Earth, (this was w ritten before her first loss ). But what about Amanda Nunes ? Abdelaziz says Kayla "looks up to Amanda very much" but he's confident Harrison could handle the consensus greatest female MMA fighter ever and it's a fight he wants to set up. “Listen, if somebody writes the check for 8 figures, we can make this fight happen tomorrow." How about Olympic gold medalist and boxing champ turned 1-0 MMA fighter, Claressa Shields ? "It’s kind of disrespectful when people bring Claressa Shields in the same sentence as Kayla," Ali says. Abdelaziz says Shields is an amazing boxer ... "probably a future Hall of Famer" -- but she'd stand no chance against Kayla in the cage. "In reality, you know, it’s 187. It’s a murder. You know, it’s a fact. If Kayla fought the boxer, that wouldn’t make sense. Claressa fighting in MMA, it’s not going to last probably 60 seconds." Kayla's manager also brought up Ronda Rousey . Kayla's former roommate and Judo teammate. "[Kayla's] everything that Ronda Rousey was supposed to be. She’s Ronda Rousey 6.0. You know what I’m saying?" Abdelaziz says. Before Kayla fights Nunes or Shields ... she continues her quest to win another million-dollar prize (her 3rd) when she takes on Cindy Dandois Friday night at PFL 6. October 4 2021 - Kayla announced “I just officially became Kyla’s mom. To say this is the greatest day of my life doesn’t do it justice. I will never take this gift God has given me for granted. I know everything happens for a reason and I truly believe that you are saving me as much As I am you. I promise Kyla Rose Harrison that I will do my very very best for you. I will protect you, provide for you, cheer for you, cry for you, laugh with you, support you and love you unconditionally for the rest of my life. One down. One to go!” Former WWE Raw Women's Champion "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey ESPN MMA 2-23-21 Eight years ago today, Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche made history as the first women to fight in the UFC Rousey would win the bout at UFC 157 by first round armbar to retain her bantamweight title. Ronda Rousey was a world-famous name before her WWE days. An Olympic medalist Judoka, she transitioned into MMA with great success, becoming an inspiration for women to enter the combat sport. Rousey then shifted to pro-wrestling, immediately becoming a main eventer. Her WrestleMania debut was surprisingly excellent, and she displayed a natural mastery over the theatrical, controlled violence of the medium. Ever since losing the WWE Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 35, Rousey hasn't stepped inside the squared circle. She has recently become a mother and is enjoying her new role. Published 01/06/2023, 1:45 PM EST By AKSHAY PALLAV Ronda Rousey did great things for the USA Judo team. While an Olympic medal was the highest peak, Rousey won many world championships both at the Junior and senior levels. She, however, was not happy with her coaches and their methods. In her memoir, “Rowdy” described the reasons that made her feel disappointed in the coaching that USA athletes received . Rousey used to note the difference in the coaching her opponents got. She has documented the simple things that other coaches did for their players that Rousey was not getting. During the 2004 Junior World Championships, Rousey‘s coaches could not provide vital information about her opponents before matches. Although she won the tournament, she didn’t share any credits with her coaches and didn’t hug them even after winning dominantly. Ronda Rousey observed the difference in coaching Remembering the times when she was climbing up her career in Judo, Rousey recounted an incident from a training camp in Spain where she was training with athletes from other countries. She wrote, “I saw the enormous disparity between the resources provided to athletes from other countries and what we had as members of the US judo team. At Castelldefels, USA Judo sent one coach, which was more than we usually had. Other teams had a 1:1 coaching ratio.” ” I saw my competitors’ coaches observing them intently, scribbling down notes not just about their own athletes but about their athletes’ opponents.” RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 01: UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey of the United States rushes forward against Bethe Correia of Brazil during the UFC 190 event inside HSBC Arena on August 1, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)Round Rousey had no trust in her coaches. She even thought they could not help her with the things she needed. Rousey didn’t like the fact that the entire US team had one coach and that too was a fortunate event. She further added, “It wasn’t only about coaching. I would have traded our coach for some athletic tape and ice. The French team had a dedicated physiotherapist who had dozens of rolls of tape and a cooler full of ice. “ DIVE DEEPER 19 Years Ago, “Missing American Flag” Fueled Ronda Rousey to Become a World Champion ‘The Arm Collector’ further added, “The Germans, Spanish, and the Canadians had physios as well. The Americans did not. “ Rousey was left in the dark before her fight. During the 2004 Junior National Championships, Ronda Rousey asked her coaches if her opponents were left-handed or right-handed. The critical information would have helped her plan her initial moves and defenses. The American coaches failed to provide this information. They cited the reason that they were watching Rousey and didn’t watch her opponents . Ronda Rousey was left shocked when one of her coaches asked her if she was left-handed or Right handed. This showed that the coaches had not been attentive to her the whole time. These incidents broke Rousey’s trust in her coaches. Have you ever had a coach you didn’t like? Let us know. More Miscellaneous Links on Kayla & Ronda Kayla Harrison has already climbed toughest mountains 3-11-21 Kayla Harrison 'Ronda Rousey 6.0’ MZSports.com 6-25-21 Kayla Harrison raises money for Surfside survivors after 1st round MMA victory Fox News 7-8-21 Judo having less influence on the UFC 8-15-21 Kayla PFL Negotiations 8-17-21 Kayla Harrison: now a parent having adopted her niece and nephew 8-18-21 Cyborg says Ronda was more dangerous than Kayla 8-26-21 Kayla Harrison to Appear on AEW Dynamite This Week 9-14-21 Kayla on PFL Deal 10-21-21 More on Kayla & PFL 10-21-21 Kayla's SOS 11-13-21 MMA on Kayla 11-21-21 TMZ on Kayla 11-21-21 MMA Mania on Kayla 11-21-21 Should Kayla go with UFC 11-26-21 Kayla Next MMA Superstar 1-10-22 Kayla Likely to Resign with PFL 1-19-22 Ronda Rousey's Net Worth 2-8-22 Ronda on the toughness of Judo 2-24-22 Kayla Harrison signs 'historic new contract' with PFL 3-8-22 Ronda Various Videos Including Beijing 3-11-22 Ronda's Six UFC Finishes 3-12-22 Kayla is the Highest Paid Female in MMA 3-13-22 Ronda on Judo in Wrestling 4-5-22 Ronda Needs a Manager 4-6-22 What Ever Happened to Kayla Harrison 5-2-22 Kayla Fires Back at Julianna Peña 5-2-22 Ronda Rousey says Gina Carano only MMA fight she'd come back for 6-15-22 Kayla Harrison's PFL Substitute Fight 7-2-22 What Kayla Makes from PFL 7-7-22 Ronda Rousey Once Broke a Reporter's 8-7-22 Kayla on PFL’s Cyborg Offer 8-19-22 Kayla declares herself Queen of MMA 8-20-22 Earns First-Round Submission, Inches Closer To Another PFL Championship 8-22-22 Edith Bosch on MMA Fight with Ronda at Beijing Olympics 8-13-08 Vin Diesel Gave Ronda Heartfelt Response 9-18-22 Ronda on UFC vs. WWE Fans 9-30-22 Ronda's Rise in the UFC Remembered 9-30-22 Ronda’s Net Worth and Career Profiled 10-4-22 Judo Inside the UFC 10-17-22 Ronda & Arnold Schwarzenegger 11-2-22 Kayla Harrison scoffs at notion of Larissa Pacheco rivalry – but she's taking PFL finals trilogy 11-24-22 Kayla Harrison answers if she could beat Floyd Mayweather in Boxing, MMA and Grappling 11-24-22 JudoInside - News - What next for US judo great Kayla Harrison after New York defeat? 12-6-22 Ronda Rousey Red Carpet Photos Highlights 12-28-22 i Still Have What it Takes to be the Greatest 1-1-23 MMA Junkie's 2022 Upset of the Year: Larissa Pacheco def. Kayla Harrison 1/3/23 10 Pictures Of A Young Ronda Rousey WWE Fans Need To See 1-20-23 Ronda Rousey Was Never the Same After Her First Judo Loss 1-22-23 Judoka Ronda Rousey on How Training at ‘Rival National Team Pushed her’ 2/22/23 Kayla Harrison Makes A Case For 'The Man' Francis Ngannou To Join The PFL After UFC Exit Ronda Rousey Was Once Forced To Live in the Backseat of Her Car After Infuriating Her Mother Finally, here are several rising female judoka in MMA – Anissa Meksen, Danielle Kelly, Ayaka Miura, and Introducing the Russian Ronda! Update: Congratulations to Frank and Eric Sanchez of Guerreros Judo for hosting their blowout Golden State Open - GSO (national point event and national referee evaluation site) at Azusa Pacific University (same venue as the Winter Nationals® ) this past weekend with well over 1,000 competitors! My photos below. The Hudson Yudanshakai board met tonight (4/28) and decided to cancel hosting the summer nationals. This decision didn't come lightly. Last week, the venue that we elected to use informed us that the gym floor was going to be done and that it would take a week to set in. We asked for the week before or after the floor was being done, we were told that they couldn't help us since they didn't have the people to help us. We even asked for a date in August and were denied. To that end, we sought and found an alternative venue, but were told the other day that they do not rent out the gym to outside agencies. With 2 months to go, the board has decided to cancel the event and not go forward with looking into another venue. It is not what we wanted, not what we planned for, but too many issues have blocked our efforts, beginning with the non-agreement with USA Judo. This forced us to look at a smaller venue since it was not going to be a point event. Please inform the judo community of the recent development, Boris Munoz. Calendar: May - 2023 20th Saturday & 21st Sunday - Senior National Championships , Spokane, WA 27th Saturday – Olymp’s Tournament - North Hollywood, CA 27th Saturday - 7th Annual Nagase Cup Tournament , Piano, TX June - 2023 4th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA 16th Friday to 18th Sunday - USA Judo Junior Olympics , Shreveport, LA 25th Sunday - U.S. Adaptive Judo Championships , Riverside, CA July - 2023 16th Sunday - CA State Games , San Diego, CA August - 2023 6th Sunday - Nikkei Games Budo Tournament , Cypress, CA September - 2023 17th Sunday - Nevada State Judo Championship , Las Vegas, NV 24th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2023 1st Sunday - Capitol Open Judo Championships , Sacramento, CA 22nd Sunday - Fresno Invitational Tournament , Fresno, CA 29th Sunday - Fight for a Cure Women's Tournament & Clinic , Riverside, CA November - 2023 1st Wednesday to 3rd Friday - IJF World Veterans Championships , Abu Dhabi, UAE 5th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA 19th Sunday - Presidents Cup National Championships , Irving, TX December - 2023 8th Friday to 10th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA April - 2024 7th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA May - 2024 5th Sunday - Nanka West Coast Invitational , Westminster, CA June - 2024 28th Friday to 30th Sunday - USJF & USJA Summer Nationals , Tacoma. WA September - 2024 29th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2024 20th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA December - 2024 6th Friday to 8th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA I'm always looking for new subjects to write about regarding judo as well as contributions from my readers. Please send them to gary@garygoltz.com

Randa Richards has been training in martial arts for 25 years. He introduction to martial arts started in 1998, with Shotokan Karate. Having crossed-trained in various disciplines, Randa discovered Ninjutsu in 2007 and has continued her training since. With a massive social media following (182,000 followers on Instagram as of April 2023), you’d think Randa Richards would focus her content on primarily displaying her skills. However, refreshingly, her content is heavily focused on instruction and demonstration. She and her partner Michael Jones run Kunoichi/Shinobi Dojo, Cardiff Martial Arts Academy in South Wales, U.K. Age: 33 Rank: 10th Dan Style: Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu (Ninjutsu) Where she teaches: Kunoichi/Shinobi Dojo, Cardiff Martial Arts Academy, South Wales, U.K. Check out Black Belt+ for more instruction from world-class teachers. *Due to editorial limitations, parts of this interview may have been abbreviated. Black Belt+ : Ninjustu is so rare, a master of Ninjustu is rarer, but a female master is probably the most rare, who and what was your inspiration? Randa : I remember watching a martial arts documentary on TV when I was 13 that covered Ninjutsu - it blew my mind. Even at a young age, I remember appreciating the wide spectrum of combat it offered and was just in awe of watching the multitude of skills exercised. Fast forward to 16, I saw a tv show “Mind, Body and Kickass Moves.” One of the episodes showcased the Grandmaster of Ninjutsu - Masaaki Hatsumi. I felt like that 13 year old again, captured by his movements and sheer character. They filmed him in Japan and I was intrigued by the effortlessness of his movements.I remembered thinking how out of this world it would be, to train in this martial art. I did some research and I was fortunate to discover a Ninjutsu class in the next town that I lived in. You can imagine my excitement. Off I went to the dojo, and it did not disappoint! I have been lucky, throughout my journey, to be surrounded by exceptional practitioners of the art, a lot of whom have inspired me along the way. I’d like to add, I do not consider myself a “Master.” I am forever a student, still learning to develop and progress my understanding and skills, in this lifelong lesson of Budo. My instructors, Marc Moor and Ryan Hobbs have greatly influenced my training and I’m forever inspired by their ongoing teachings. Black Belt+ : Share with us your journey, how you got started and what led you to Japan? Randa: Growing up in South Wales, U.K, my own journey started at 8 years old, with Shotokan Karate. After picking me up from gymnastics one night, my Dad commented on how bored I looked during the class. I agreed, and as we started walking, we came across a Karate class. Naturally pausing, we both stopped at the window to watch. “Wow!” After watching Bruce Lee’s “Enter the Dragon” that my Dad had taped for me on video that week - this kid was hooked with martial arts and I started Karate the following week. I entered my first Karate competition at the age of 10 and won gold in Kumite. After moving abroad due to my Dad’s job at 11, I did not pick up Karate again until we returned to Wales. I recall my parents, encouraging me to get back into training. My Dad sadly passed away when I was 16. At 17, I was back in the dojo. I returned to Karate, re picking up my 3rd kyu, and made the Welsh Karate Team for Kumite. My thirst for martial arts was back! I started Lau- Gar Kung-Fu during this time also and earned my 1st grade. All the while, I had also discovered Ninjutsu and divided my time across all 3. But after a while, something had to give and I decided to focus my attention on my first and new love. I cross-trained in both, 5 nights a week, involving frequent weekends with squad training, competitions and seminars. I earned my Shodan in both Karate and Ninjutsu in 2010. Back then, my Ninjutsu instructor would take annual training trips to Japan, where a group of students across his dojos would train with Soké Hatsumi and his top Shihans, at the Bujinkan Hombu Dojo (Home dojo of the Bujinkan). Naturally, training at the source of your art is an enriching opportunity to say the least! My first Japan trip was in 2009, where I was fortunate to train in the first Hombu dojo. After competing in Karate for a few years, I found myself getting disqualified in competitions more than “winning.” I dabbled in a few other arts (Muay Thai, Systema), though Ninjutsu started to take over and it gradually became my sole discipline. After opening up a dojo with my partner in 2015, we have taken several trips to Japan, to maintain and continue our connection with the home of the Bujinkan. We hope to take a trip towards the end of this year, to continue our studies. Black Belt+ : What was training like in Japan and did they treat you differently because you are female in a male dominated art form? Randa : For anyone passionate about their art, going to the source is a dream. My first trip was like being a kid at a candy shop. I did not really see much of actual Japan, but I saw the Hombu dojo daily. Classes are available throughout, morning to evening, every day. Like I said… a dream! You can’t fail to ignore the essence of Budo when you step foot in the Bujinkan Hombu Dojo. Practitioners from all over the world gather to train with the Japanese Shihans, paying homage to our masters that generously share their knowledge. You make solid friends along the way, which keeps the Bujinkan flourishing. As you delve deeper into Budo (this way of life) for me, you don’t tend to separate yourself as a female martial artist. Put simply, the training teaches you that a body is a body, regardless of sex or gender. Affecting the structure of a body is key. Variants such as size and mass come into play, but again, that boils down to adapting to different body types. I tend to try and separate emotion between me and my training partners - they are just a body. From my own experience, this feeling is no different in Japan. I did not feel that I was treated any different to that of my male counterparts. I felt equal to that of my fellow martial artists. We are all there to learn. Black Belt+ : Describe the art form? And what makes it different from other forms of tactical combat? Randa : Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu (more commonly known as Ninjutsu) comprises 9 separate combat schools from the samurai and ninja of historical Japan. This spans across striking, grappling, locks, throws, and weaponry that consists of sword, stick, spear, knife, rope, to name a few. Each school illustrates different tactics, strategies, mindsets and attitudes from battlefield arts to bodyguard applications, close quarters to long range; they teach the understanding of distance across hand to hand combat and a wide array of weapons. The emphasis is learning “Taijutsu” – a blanket term for mastering body mechanics and skills to apply to all movement, whether unarmed or not. What I love about this art (Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu aka Ninjutsu) is that it encourages you to figure out and develop your own advantages, to your own body, and provides the freedom to explore what truly works for you. It is not competition based. The art of Ninpo emphasizes the ability to endure and persevere. With that, comes the attitude and mindset to survive. It does not singularly rely on striking, grappling or weapons alone but rather, brings all of these together as a whole. You don’t look to out box a boxer or out throw a judoka. You keep all of these links strong, so you don’t have to rely on any one of them - but can call upon any, should you choose to. The ability to adapt is one of the Ninja’s most valuable asset. Black Belt+ : You have created a very successful presence on social media, what are your goals in reaching your students, fans and curious observers? Randa : I started my Instagram profile shortly after creating our dojo page on Facebook, in 2015. With a successful social media presence himself, my instructor, Marc, encouraged us to join Instagram, to spread the word of our dojo and to widen people’s social awareness of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. Along the way, I’ve shared my journey, thoughts and snippets of training. I’ve simply shared my passion and I am grateful for the people that have noticed my profile. I never thought that it would “take off” as it has. I’m very humbled, as I consider myself a student, who is simply sharing what fuels her soul. Like I said, I’m no master. I’m still learning myself. The beauty of social media is that it builds great connections. I don’t advocate online training to be a single source of reference for Martial arts education. But it is a useful tool all the same, to gain a wider reach and awareness of what’s out there to consider. My goal is to empower people to start Ninjutsu and to inspire people to believe that they are capable of more than they realize. Everyone should be able to defend themselves. I get that the dojo can be intimidating, though it does not care about age, race, sex or gender. Turn up and show up, for YOU. Black Belt+ : What is the emphasis of your teaching? Randa : My emphasis is on self defense/survival and the philosophies of Budo - it can be applied both in and outside of the dojo. It transcends to everyday life. As I have been taught myself, I teach principles that can be applied to all aspects of training as opposed to techniques that only work in isolation. The beauty of Budo, as I touched upon earlier, is finding what works for you and empowering students to learn how to be in sync with their own mind and bodies, along the way. Movement, distance and timing are the key elements that I have learnt from my teachers and this is what I strive to pass on. The art of strategy and survival, the flexibility to adapt, is an emphasis throughout all of training. Movement is movement, and it is the understanding of time and space between you and your opponent, that dictates the wind. If you can run, do so. If you can’t, then look to survive. Black Belt+ : Tell us about your teaching seminars and how you spread the word of your art? Randa : In recent years, my partner and I have been lucky to be invited to teach seminars in Europe and the U.S. Seminars are a great source of inspiration. They encourage innovation and allows you to assess where you currently are in your own training, and highlights what you could work on or might be lacking. They take people out of their comfort zones, for you are not only surrounded by the usual people you train with, but also others that you may have never met before. Hence, drawing back to the ability to adapt yourself accordingly, is key. I have trained in various seminars across the world. I have come away from many, with an absolute buzz, from learning alternative training methods, making new connections and sharing the love of Budo. My aim is to transfer that same feeling into the seminars that I teach. Like with any martial art, spreading the word of the art in a positive way, encourages more people to be open to you and the art you seek to convey. Black Belt+ : Who are your martial arts heroes and inspirations? Randa : I watched a lot of martial art films growing up. They all really inspired me back in the day, to the point where I wanted to be a “Martial Artist in the Movies” like Zhang Ziyi and Maggie Q! (One could dream!) And who doesn’t like Buffy?! Bruce Lee, films like T he Karate Kid, Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden, House of Flying Daggers, Naked Weapon, Fearless, Ip Man, Goemon, Shinobi No Mono, Seven Samurai, Ong Bak, The Raid, Kill Bil, Blood Sport, Fighter, the list goes on! I just wanted to be in them. I remember watching the likes of Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Lui, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan on screen, in simple admiration. Entering the world of Budo, my martial art heroes and inspirations are endless. Masters well into their 50s and 80s, continue to train with such effortlessness - they’ve mastered how to conduct themselves so efficiently, that their movements are minimal yet acutely effective. This inspires me greatly. For I wish to continue and do the same, with the hope that I will grasp a fraction of what is passed on. Black Belt+ : What keeps motivating you to stay passionate and curious about your art? Randa : When you observe practitioners of Budo, they all seem to get better with age. Unlike the competitive aspects of martial arts where you find strength and speed decline through age, Ninjutsu has never focused on these. The understanding of movement, distance and timing, only increases. Strategies become more refined, and the body and responses become more natural. Throughout my time, I have seen many people come and go. Not everyone stays the course as it’s a damn right hard journey. There are 9 schools to study. Sufficiently covering even 1 alone, is a task in itself. Bringing them all together is no mean feat. It takes a lifetime and more to digest the teachings that Budo has to offer. What keeps me motivated is knowing that I have so much to learn. What keeps me passionate is that both mentally and physically, Budo has saved my life on a number of occasions. And it’s all about paying that forward. Budo is life. You can learn more about Randa and her school here: https://www.facebook.com/kunoichi.shinobidojo And here: https://instagram.com/randa.richards Start training now for free! Instructional videos on Black Belt+ . Download and subscribe directly from Black Belt Magazine at plus.blackbeltmag.com . Or download in the App Store or Google Play.

It's being reported on social media that Fumio Demura, one of the towering figures in American karate history, has passed away at the age of 84. In February, Demura had celebrated his 75th anniversary involved in martial arts. Best known for his work on the "Karate Kid" films, Demura was born in Yokohama, Japan in 1938. As a child, he began training in kendo and karate eventually coming to practice the shito-ryu style under Ryusho Sakagami. He also began training in kobudo, traditional Okinawan weaponry, under Taira Shinken. Through a relationship with American martial arts pioneer Dan Ivan, Demura first came to the United States to teach karate in 1965. Demura settled in the Southern California region at the same time that Black Belt Magazine was establishing itself in the same area. As one of the most accomplished karate experts in the country during this period, Demura became a favorite of the magazine being named to the Black Belt Hall of Fame as Karate Instructor of the Year in 1969 and, again, as Martial Artist of the Year in 1975. He would write a number of books on karate and kobudo for Ohara Publications, Black Belt's publishing arm at the time. In 2001, Demura was expelled from the Shito-ryu Itosu-kai organization in Japan for what they said was a failure to communicate with them for more than 20 years and issuing black belt certificates in his own name. Demura had already established his own Genbu-kai International organization in 1999 and concentrated on running it for the rest of his career. Perhaps Demura's most lasting contribution to karate came through performing several of the martial arts scenes for Pat Morita's "Mr. Miyagi" character in "The Karate Kid" movies. He is sometimes cited as an inspirational source for the legendary film sensei.

Reviewing Alakazam the Great - for the readers of Black Belt Magazine It’s 1979, the clock of life implacably ticks towards my destiny, whatever that might be. I’m on an airport tarmac heading to Taiwan in search of finding Chi Gong, which I fervently believe will save my life from the deadly grip of cystic fibrosis. My mum, who doesn’t believe in saying goodbye because in our family that means finality, a product of WWI and WWII, with weak kneed stamina, she breaks down and with forlorn tears of sorrow, sobs, "I'll never see you again will I? Goodbye." A final hug, she melts away. My torn dad shakes my hand. As I hug him, he whispers in my ear, "Goodbye son." My doctor’s final ominous words echo inside, “Without warning your cystic fibrosis will swoop down and suck the life out of you within weeks.” In Part I, it was noted that the first English dubbed, wide-released Chinese kung fu film seen in the USA wasn’t Five Fingers of Death (1972), it was Alakazam the Great (1960), a film adapted from the epic kung fu novel about a monkey named Swuin Wu-kung in Journey to the West . Little did I know, back then, on the plane, that my life was inextricably tied to this story. For me and my Chinese name for the next 28 months, it was Lee Ke-rei’s Journey to the East. In the Alakazam English-dubbed version, Majutsoland is ruled by King Amo and Queen Amas with son Prince Amat in tow. Curiously, amo , amas, amat are Latin conjugated verbs for I love . The gods search for a new animal-world king, only monkey Alakazam can fulfill the test-mission, but after becoming king he boasts he’s smarter and wiser than humans. To prove it, he defeats Merlin the Magician then calls out Amo by defiantly eating the forbidden fruit. Amo defeats Alakazam and imprisons him in a cold snowy mountain top cave until he learns the stupidity of conceit and selfishness. As monkey girl-friend Dee Dee brings him food, the cold drains her life. Alakazam begs that he’ll do anything to save her, so Amas agrees to help her if he escorts Amat on a pilgrimage. Maybe this film is pushing the notion that love conquers all. The Alakazam Gang Along the way, they meet the rake-wielding pig, Quigley, who forces a young lass into marrying him and a cannibal Lulipopo, who fights with a half-moon shaped blade on a pole and wants to eat Alakazam. Rather than killing them, Alakazam befriends them and hires them as bodyguards. Bratty imp Fister, who has a unicorn horn, kidnaps Quigly and Amat for Gruesome, a large raging bull who wants to eat them to please his witch-like wife who has a big feather that can turn things into ice. When Alakazam and Lulipopo rescue Quigley and Amat, volcanos erupt, lava flows, and all hell breaks loose and it’s a race to save the close-to-death Dee Dee. Throughout the film, Alakazam learns important lessons about humility, courage, compassion, mercy, wisdom and ultimately becomes a wise and powerful monkey king. So how is my life inseparably tied to Swuin Wu-kung and Xi Yo Ji ( Journey to the West )? In Part 1 , I described how whatever the powers that be in life, death, change, time, fate, destiny or God, Bruce Lee’s film Big Boss (1972) came unto me at a time of greatest need. I noted that I don’t believe in coincidences. Taiwan, early 1980, my doctor’s threat was coming true. For months I’d hear that no one practices chi gong, and if they did, they’d never teach a white man. I was suddenly bedridden, couldn’t eat food, losing weight, coughing, no energy. My fiancé Silvia was watching me die. During Chinese New Year I stayed at Silvia’s sister’s empty flat next door to her parents, so Silvia could keep an eye on me. A few days later I asked her to take me back to my dorm room, there’s something I’ve got do and I don’t why or what it is. With tears, she took me back. The Abridged Book that Helped My Troubled Waters When I began Chinese language classes, our Chinese teacher recommended we read the three greatest classics of Chinese literature that are required reading in Chinese high schools and they’re ultimately all kung fu novels: The Romance of the Three Kingdoms ( San Guo Yan Yi ); The Water Margin ( Shui Hu Zhuan ); and Journey to the West ( Xi You Ji ). Now that I'm sick and reliving my old bedridden habits, rather than doing jigsaws, I'm going to read these books. Completed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and written by Wu Cheng-an, Swuin rides around on a cloud and fights with a pole made from a strand of his hair. Accompanied by the rake-wielding pig Zhu Ba-jie and the Monk spade-carrying Xia Wu-jing, they protect Buddhist Monk Tang on a mission to collect sacred scriptures. I know this story… Alakazam the Great ! One of the famous chapters tells how Princess Iron Fan and Ox Demon King want to eat Monk Tang so they can live for 1,000 years, yet Tang is protected by Swuin, Zhu and Xia. However, Ox’s son, Red Boy (aka Hong Hai-er) has mastered the Three Types of True Fire in Flaming Mountain and they order him to kill Swuin. Just as all hell breaks loose, the Goddess of Mercy, Guan Ying, descends from heaven to make peace on Earth. In most cases, it’s obvious who each character in Alakazam represents. Some are less clear, yet my thoughts are that Fister is Red Boy, King Ama is Buddha, Queen Amas is the Goddess Quan Ying and Merlin the Magician is probably Lao Zi or some other Taoist sage. Five neat things about Xi You Ji : it's the first film I ever saw; it's a Chinese kung fu film; I saw it when I was five; Doc said I'd be dead in five years; and I was born in the Year of the Monkey. When I saw Alakazam, only dad and I were in the theater, in the middle of nowhere England and that made me feel safe. As a kid, because of CF, I disliked crowds, noise and always felt trapped if I needed to the toilet. Reading Xi You Ji gave me a strong sense of safety, I felt I was gonna be okay. Many Water Margin chapters focus on how 108 heroes meet each other while vividly describing great feasts and drinking binges to celebrate their brotherhood. My appetite returned. Monkey King in Beijing Opera Several months later, I was doing much better and was moments away from my Chi Gong mentor putting me through a harsh 30-Day test of worthiness on Monsoon Mountain. Crazily enough, a few weeks ago, the most obvious thing that I had never thought about was that I learned Chi Gong and overcame my deadly lung disease during the Year of the Monkey. Also, this morning, as I was scanning the cover of Xi You Ji (1942), I read that the author Arthur Waley was praised from translating the original 100-chapter book into 30 Days, I mean 30 chapters. What more can I say? Just the following: In life, one never knows, where everything goes, so keep on your toes, and see where life flows.

After the deep, dark, dank winter of discontent in So. California, with two tornadoes in Los Angeles and snow falling on San Diego beaches, the home city of the director of who most believe his film Five Fingers of Death (1972; aka King Boxer), was the first English-dubbed, wide-released Chinese kung fu film, Alakazam The Great, shown in the USA in March 1973. Yet the reality is, there’s a film of similar vintage with a different backstory that has changed this agenda, the real first English-dubbed Chinese kung fu/ wuxia film that featured the voice of the teenage heartthrob Frankie Avalon in the wider released Alakazam the Great (1960; aka Saiyuki ) that arrived stateside in 1964. Life stories can be wrapped in fate, destiny, God and/or so many other existential facets that we as humans knowingly or unknowingly confront daily. In life, we look for reasons as to why we’re alive, what is our purpose, how does our past shape who we become? A popular sentiment is that what we have in life, we didn’t find it, it found us. Alakazam is all of this to me, and it took me half a lifetime to figure it out. How do I compare the first movie I saw at five…where my dad, a hard-core sergeant major in the British Army, who trained troops for World War II, must have struggled with his PTSD in order to take me to see the film…with me watching it 62 years later on my March 30, 2023, birthday? And why half-a-lifetime to make the connection? Alakazam the Great I’ll begin by sharing that I believe in fate and destiny where we learn that coincidence is not a coincidence. Alakazam is also the first martial arts movie that I ever saw. It’s a Japanese anime adapted from a Chinese kung fu novel about the Monkey King, Swuin Wu-kung, from Journey to the West (mandarin title: Xi You Ji ), and it was playing in a theatre in the middle of nowhere, England, in 1961, in a country still living in the past and distrusting Japan via WWII. Yet this Japanese film was in the wee village of Tadley. Coincidence or not? I was also born in the Year of the Monkey and when it comes to cinema today, Fant-Asia and martial arts films are my shtick. Here are my childhood memories of the film. Alakazam was a wee monkey who fights with a pole and zips around the sky on a cloud. He had three friends: a pig with a rake; a cannibal who wielded a pole with a half-moon blade that he used to burrow underground; and a Prince. I vividly recall an impish, child-like villain dressed in shorts with a horn on top of his head, which he used like a telephone to call a raging bull who had a witch wife that owned a giant feather. Alakazam eventually returns home to save his sick monkey girlfriend and they lived happily ever after. It had a huge visual impact on my memory. Coincidence or not? At 16, my doctor said I’d be dead from the deadly lung disease cystic fibrosis (CF) in five years. Some folks know that two weeks later with my death by suicide at hand, I saw what I thought was my first Chinese kung fu film, Bruce Lee’s Big Boss (1971). Lee changed my mind to ignore spitting out pieces of broken lungs and to fix my health by doing what he does. Yet how could I possibly know what he was doing? Due to CF, the only way I could keep up my weight and energy levels was by eating a lot of candy, where I would often buy at wee local stores. The CF medication I was on fogged my brain and because of it, studying schoolwork was tough and I hated reading. Thus, what happened the day after my Lee-induced, life epiphany is such a remarkable event that I’m still bewildered as to how what was about to happen, happened. The Big Boss I was on a candy run at an Upstate New York store and for reasons unknown, when I walked past the magazine rack as I had done for the past five years, I suddenly stopped, and felt compelled to look up at the top rack. I reached toward a Teen Beat magazine with a David Cassidy cover and grabbed the magazine hidden behind it, to reveal the Secrets of Bruce Lee's JKD Training Techniques with an attached bonus magazine called Kung Fu , which detailed that Shaolin monks train not to fight, learn to heal rather than hurt, and use chi gong to save the lives of children dying from unknown diseases. Within a day of crucial need, something answered my call, made me see Big Boss, which convinced me to fight to live, have me find two hidden magazines on a rack that I’ve never looked at before, in order to help me create a cunning plan to save my own life! Also, what are the odds of overcoming my fear of insects by changing my major at Cornell from environmental engineering to entomology and my undergraduate research thesis was learning praying mantis kung fu from a mantis, a style that uses monkey style footwork and I just so happened to be born in the Year of the Monkey. And oh, that’s what Alakazam is about, the adventure of kung fu monkey, a film that I saw at age five. This story gets even wackier. In Part II, I’ll cover Alakazam , and how it and the rest of the wackiness comes to a climactic fruition of even a more bizarre critical moment in my life that also became a vital part of my existential paradigm.

This week’s article was sent to me by my friend Ron Suggs. It’s a terrific judo story that I wanted to share! My journey in Judo began in 1967 at Cascade Junior High School in Longview, Washington when I discovered a book called “Judo Boy” at the school library. My inspiration for judo came from this book written by John Ball Jr and printed in 1964. I was fascinated by this boy who learned about Judo through his parents’ Japanese landscaper. The boy’s experience while learning judo motivated me to find every book I could on Judo to learn this martial art as best as I could until I could receive formal training. I was not aware of any formal Judo Dojo in the area, so tested what I had studied in the books every time my friends and I engaged in friendly rough housing. One of those friends that I practiced on was to become instrumental to my life’s journey in judo. His name was Eddie Miller. One day in 1970, Eddie Miller told me, “There is a guy at Lower Columbia College teaching Judo”! The teacher’s name was Sensei Alex McCormick, and he became my first official Judo teacher. Sensei McCormick, by trade, was a meat cutter at the local grocery store and taught judo part time in the evenings and on the weekends often after putting in a full shift at the grocery store. Sensei McCormick had trained with Sensei Thomas Riffe (who was also a Kelso, Washington Police Officer) in 1958, and later trained with Sensei Richard Howell (who was also a high school teacher). Sensei McCormick trained frequently in Portland, Oregon at Obukan Dojo throughout the 1960’s. He continued to train at the Obukan Dojo even as he started his own classes in Longview. After I had attended a couple of classes. Sensei McCormick told me I needed a Judo Gi in order to train in Judo properly. He told me to meet him at the meat counter at the grocery store where he worked the following day. When I arrived, he loaned me my first judo gi. I later found out that he also taught judo at the local YMCA, so I began to attend there as well. In 1972, my training in judo was interrupted when I entered the United States Army. I continued training whenever I could find a class in Judo, but the training was not as consistent as I would have liked. I dreamed of learning martial arts in Asia never realizing that one day that would become a reality. In 1976, I switched military branches and joined the United States Navy with the idea of fulfilling my dream of training in Asia. My first duty assignment was to Naval Air Station Agana Guam. I did not find a judo dojo there, however, I did find a Korean Taekwondo Jidokwan teacher there named Kim, Jong Kyu. The Jidokwan style of taekwondo got its start in a judo dojo in Seoul South Korea in 1946. My next assignment was in 1979 at Bremerton, Washington at the Naval Shipyard. I bounced around several different dojos in the local area (one of which was with a female Sensei at the Bremerton YMCA). In 1980, I finally got my dream assignment at Misawa Japan which is in Aomori Prefecture. There I met Isao Negishi Sensei (who had trained with Kyuzo Mifune Sensei) and Mituhito Baba Sensei of the Misawa Judo Association. When I joined the Misawa Judo Association, I was required to take an oath to never quit judo. That was over 40 years ago, and I am still staying true to my oath. Baba Sensei and I were both military policemen and were involved joint military law enforcement operations; he, representing the Japanese military police as an officer and I, representing the American military police. We both trained at the same judo dojo, he as a teacher and I as a student. Baba Sensei and I also trained together in defensive tactics on occasion. I trained with Negishi Sensei and Baba Sensei for three years, both at the base gym and the Misawa city judo dojo, earning my Nikyu brown belt in judo. While living in Japan I competed in Shiai on different occasions. One was an inter-city competition called The Shichinohe Town Cherry Blossom Festival Championship, between Misawa City Judo Dojo, and the Shichinohe Town Judo Dojo. My opponent was a Sandan in judo and I was a brown belt. I went the distance with him and lost by a wazari . The next time I competed was in Misawa Japan at a city competition/Shodan test. I had to defeat five others to earn my black belt. My first opponent was a Japanese high school student. He took me down with a sweeping throw; however, it is likely that he had connected too high on my leg as the movement severely injured my knee and I was unable to continue the Shiai. I went straight to the hospital and was told by the orthopedic surgeon after surgery that my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)had been completely torn and he was unable to find the ends to repair it. I continued to train in judo despite not having an ACL, however I feel that the time off from judo due to the injury, which included time in the hospital for surgeries and recovery, was the cause of my inability to earn Shodan before leaving Japan in 1983 and thus only earning my Ni-Kyu in Judo before I was transferred to my new duty station in San Diego California. I did receive certification in Nage No Kata while I was in Japan. I arrived in San Diego, California at Miramar Air Station and started teaching Judo, Taekwondo and Hapkido. I believe that my judo training compliments my taekwondo self-defense and that my Taekwondo and karatedo training has improved my judo Atemi waza, so it made sense to me to teach all three styles. I also trained at Sensei Jesse Jones class at a recreation center on Clairemont Boulevard. At Naval Air Station Miramar we trained at the old swimming pool locker room because the pool was no longer in use. I eventually negotiated with the base command to move the entire martials arts programs on base to an old airplane hangar called the Red Barn. This was a huge improvement of a space for judo. We had variety of black belts coming by the Red Barn to help with the teaching because I was still a brown belt, and was teaching defensive tactics at NAS Miramar Police Academy. One of the black belts who came to teach was Sensei Walter Dean. In 1985, while assigned to the USS Okinawa I competed in the United States Navy South Pacific Sports Conference and won the gold medal in the 209lbs and over Judo competition. I qualified to go to the Navy training camp on Naval Air Station Memphis, Tennessee and compete for a spot on the United States Judo Team. Sensei Jerry Hays was the team coach. I began my training with the group, however the rigors of hard training complicated by the fact that I was still missing my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), was causing my knee to be extremely painful and go out on me frequently. I was forced to make the hard decision to withdraw from the training camp and go home. In 1987, I was on the organization committee and was an official at United States Judo Association National Junior Championships in San Diego. Sensei Jesse Jones hosted the event. I continued teaching Judo, Taekwondo and Hapkido on base until 1988 when I was medically discharged from the United States Navy. In 1988, I opened a Judo, Taekwondo, and Hapkido school on Miramar Road just outside of Miramar Naval Air Station. While teaching in this school in 1989, 30th August I was promoted to 1St Kyu in judo. The school on Miramar Road was closed in 1990 and reopened at the Longview YMCA in my hometown of Longview, Washington and this same year on September 1st I was awarded Shodan in judo by United States Judo Association. In Washington, I was looking for a space to teach in where I had more control of the space and eventually found the perfect space at a local dance studio. On December 9th, 1991(rank number 1-8235), I was awarded Shodan in judo from United States Judo Federation. I taught Judo in Longview, Washington at the dance studio until 1992 during which time I was promoted to Nidan by the United States Judo Association. Further in 1992, I mortgaged my house to buy a building in Kelso, Washington to have a place to teach Judo and other martial arts. During all the changes my students continued to do well in Judo competitions in the Pacific Northwest. The Kodokan promoted me Shodan 13 January 1992. The United States Judo Association promoted me to Sandan on May 02, 1994. In 1996 I sold my building in Kelso, Washington and started teaching at a variety of locations including Grange Halls and such, until I settled into teaching at Longview, Park and Recreation. In 2000 I went to The Washington State Criminal Justices Commission training to become a State certified Police Trainer in Defensive Tactics Instructor. Around 2000 I joined the Pacific Southwest Judo Association which became my Yudanshakai. I joined this Yudanshakai because Sensei Jesse Jones and Sensei Walter Dean (who I had known and trained with in San Diego, California) were both members of this Yudanshakai. On December 14, 2000 I was promoted to Yodan judo by the United States Judo Association and the Kodokan promoted me to Nidan January 17, 2000, Sandan June 16, 2008, and Yodan October 7, 2015. I had started to work for Cowlitz County in 1996 and after receiving the instructors training in defensive tactics began teaching this to Cowlitz County Sheriffs and corrections officers. I also taught martial arts in Cowlitz County at Recreation Centers from 2000 until 2009. In 2007, was contacted by a victim rights group in Cowlitz County to help a woman who had been assaulted with a knife while working at a convenience store. She was traumatized and unable to return to work as she feared for her safety. I taught her Judo for eight weeks; she regained her confidence and was able to go back to work. I received an award from the National Crime Victim Rights Week in 2007 for my efforts. In 2008 I was awarded 1st place for the most USJF life members. In 2009 I moved to Lane County Oregon where I purchase a building to have as my permanent dojo. I have attended many Kata clinics at the local, state, and national level and have even hosted Kata clinics at my dojo, however I have never sought any further Kata certificate since leaving Japan in 1983. In 2012 I was promoted by both the United States Judo Federation and the United States Judo Association to Godan in Judo. In 2015 I was able to accomplish something I had wanted to do for many years. I got to return to my dojo in Misawa Japan to visit my old Sensei, Nigishi Sensei. I was also able to meet with Baba Sensei before leaving the country. In 2022, I passed the online Course for instructors/teachers’ certification with the United States Judo Federation (USJF). I am a certified national coach by both the United States Judo Federation and United States Judo Association. I am a Presidents Club Life Member with the United States Judo Federation and a Gold Patron Life Member with the United States Judo Association. After all the years of dedication to judo one may ask how judo has been a benefit to my life off of the mat. Judo has been of benefit to me in my career in law enforcement by providing me with greater opportunities in that field. In addition, Professor Kano’s philosophy and teaching impressed upon me the value of education leading me to continue my education as an adult and obtain my Bachelor of Science degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences. His teachings also led me to strive to improve my character development in the spirit of mutual benefit (Jita-Kyoei) and welfare of others. I still own the building/Dojo in Swisshome, Oregon and continue to teach judo, host clinics, and promote judo in this dojo where someday my journey in judo, and life, will conclude. Update: This past weekend I helped out at the Couchigian Memorial Tournament and Amarilis Savon Clinic , in Las Vegas. It was hosted by Nevada Judo, directed by Sergio Sanchez and Marcus Martin. Enjoy these photos! Calendar: April - 2023 22nd Saturday - Arizona State Championships , Tucson, AZ 29th Saturday & 30th Sunday - Golden State Open , Azusa, CA May - 2023 20th Saturday & 21st Sunday - Senior National Championships , Spokane, WA 27th Saturday - 7th Annual Nagase Cup Tournament , Piano, TX June - 2023 4th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA 16th Friday to 18th Sunday - USA Judo Junior Olympics , Shreveport, LA 24th Saturday - Sensei Gary's Birthday Scrimmage , Claremont, CA 25th Sunday - U.S. Adaptive Judo Championships , Riverside, CA July - 2023 16th Sunday - CA State Games , San Diego, CA August - 2023 6th Sunday - Nikkei Games Budo Tournament , Cypress, CA September - 2023 17th Sunday - Nevada State Judo Championship , Las Vegas, NV 24th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2023 1st Sunday - Capitol Open Judo Championships , Sacramento, CA 22nd Sunday - Fresno Invitational Tournament , Fresno, CA 29th Sunday - Fight for a Cure Women's Tournament & Clinic , Riverside, CA November - 2023 1st Wednesday to 3rd Friday - IJF World Veterans Championships , Abu Dhabi, UAE 5th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA 19th Sunday - Presidents Cup National Championships , Irving, TX December - 2023 8th Friday to 10th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA April - 2024 7th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA May - 2024 5th Sunday - Nanka West Coast Invitational , Westminster, CA June - 2024 28th Friday to 30th Sunday - USJF & USJA Summer Nationals , Tacoma. WA September - 2024 29th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2024 20th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA December - 2024 6th Friday to 8th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA I’m always looking for new subjects to write about regarding judo as well as contributions from my readers. Please send them to gary@garygoltz.com , thanks.

To put things in perspective for our remarkable neuroplastic brains, Black Belt Magazine was birthed in 1961. The first female action hero, Ms.Cheng Pei Pei,1966. The first laptop came out in 1989. The first iPhone was in 2007. All of these are still within the 20th and 21st Centuries AD. So there are 40 centuries before the common era. The first modern human appeared approximately 100,000-200,000 years ago BC, or between the 10th and 20th century BC, the same approximate timeline when we have records of the first martial arts. Sometimes putting things in perspective can be so overwhelming to the forward-thinking human characteristics that we have to rely upon the language of the Universe, mathematics, structure, and numbers to get a grip. But why is this "getting perspective" thing so vital to our survival as a human race? Because, in my experience, it slows us down. And why is slowing down crucial to our survival? Because we are not computers yet, and our organs cannot keep up with our extreme push to get things done sustainably, and we live longer, yay, so we have to figure this out. This "getting a perspective" allows for that much-needed pause, the inhale and exhale between sentences, a daily practice of meditation on #beinghuman that can be done 22,000 times a day; we are taking this many breaths anyway, so we may as well do it mindfully. This article provides a daily easy-to-follow tool kit for the modern-day human: the busy, over-exerted, under-slept, multi-tasking, spine-flexed, chin-dipped us. The Being Human Tool-Kit-part 1, a 30-day path to modern-day health: Body : each morning, take a moment to ask your body how it feels and what it needs from you today. I prefer to do this with my eyes closed. Then, write down what your body said to you. Sometimes it's just one word like 'rest,' 'massage,' or 'water.' But, whatever comes, write it down. Intellect: do the same for your intellect. The mind is the part of you that plans, goes to meetings, and is brain-oriented. How is your intellect feeling? What does it need from you? It might be as simple as 'I feel stressed' or 'I need help with this project.' Or, maybe your intellect has a lot to say to you. Write what comes. Closing the eyes helps the ego not take over. Emotional Self: same process, what is your emotional self-feeling, what do she/he, they/them need from you today? The emotional Self is usually the younger part of us, the one that gets or gets neglected because our intellect, if not taken care of, will drive our body and younger parts into the ground. The word ‘neoteny’ describes the plight of our human psychology. Unlike other animals, we are the only animal that stays psychologically immature or juvenile throughout the aging process so that the young part of us stays with us forever, until our body goes. Spiritual Self: this is the higher Self of you, the peaceful, kind, ever-watching Self. It is good friends with the body, intellect, and emotional Self and has a daily message for you. Write it down. These are the four parts of our modern-day being taught by my teacher in the Hoffman Process. It takes about 5 -7 minutes daily and is best done in the morning. Many other styles and examples exist, but I like to keep things grounded and simple as a martial artist. I also prefer to start with the body as this is the vessel I move in my practice regularly. If I push the body when tired, all the other parts (intellect, emotional Self) fall apart. As you read this, think of a time when a part of your body did not feel right. Maybe your knee or back hurt, your joints ache, or something is up with your digestion. Found it? Now how do you move through your day with your body aching? Can you be your best Self in what you encounter during your day? If you take medication to numb or ease the pain, which is sometimes very necessary, how then does your extraordinary body, still hurting but now you can't feel it, move through the day? Maybe during the morning meditation, your body says, 'rest,' and you have a packed 15-hour day full of meetings, family, and life. Acknowledging that your body needs rest, even if you cannot give it the rest it needs, allows for a nervous system reset as it feels heard. What does that mean? My body feels heard? Our bodies are alive. We need to remember this. Our heart moves about 2 gallons of blood daily, enough to fill a 10-foot swimming pool! It beats approximately 100,000 times a day. Our heart has its very own nervous system. It's like having another brain in our chest. In fact, advanced humans can operate from the heart's brain, using the heart's electricity to manage all of life. Our adrenals work hard all day to keep us alive. Our digestion, another brain (yep, we are a 3-brained being), works for you every second while you text and plan this all day. So, to say, 'the body hears you' is much like Dr. Masar Emoto's studies on consciousness and water. The morning meditation, a vital toolkit to being a thriving, healthy human, gives us the pause to remember that we are living organisms. What would it be like to move through your day aware of your body, intellect, and emotional Self? Try it for 30 days, and please let me know what you find! I'd love to hear about your experience: annika@jungshinfitness.com If you would like to begin now, @jungshinfitness offers a meditation at the end of every sword workout that takes care of the organs of our bodies that keep us alive. There is a FREE workout on the website, www.jungshinfitness.com You can also join here, https://jungshinfitness.com/join-now/ , or here, https://jungshinfitness.com/jungshin-events/ , PS If the earth were flat, we would undoubtedly fall off her. But, thank God, literally, it's round.

The Black Belt Magazine World Sport Karate Rankings have been updated yet again, this time immediately following the Ocean State Grand Nationals (OSGN). This event in particular is a NASKA World Tour tournament that attracted much of the top talent in sport karate thanks to increased prize money and the generosity of promoters Don and Christine Rodrigues. The Cowboy Up Martial Arts Championships has also taken place since the last rankings update, the event’s first year on the NASKA World Tour. The committee used results from the Cowboy Up as a differentiating factor when decisions were very close based on the results from Rhode Island. As mentioned in the preface to the rankings update on Black Belt’s official rankings page, this is a subjective ranking system that weighs grand championships and head-to-head matchups at the most well-attended events to make decisions. There is no official bearing on these rankings other that the prestige of being recognized by Black Belt Magazine. In the interest of transparency, this article aims to summarize how decisions were made about the top-ranked competitors. Click here to view the rankings before reading this breakdown. Beginning with the men’s forms and weapons divisions, Dawson Holt made a strong run at the number one spot in the Men’s CMX Weapons division with his overall grand championship at OSGN. However, Esteban Tremblay’s two overall grands in this category at the AKA Warrior Cup and the Compete Internationals helped him maintain the number one spot. In traditional weapons, Jake Presley was absent from OSGN due to a Hollywood opportunity but remains the top-ranked man for his other performances this year still riding an undefeated streak when he is in attendance. In forms, Esteban Tremblay’s win at OSGN combined with the Warrior Cup back in January has him ahead of Compete Internationals champ Salef Celiz. As for traditional, Caio DaSilva made his return to NASKA at OSGN and faced the deepest field of the season. His dominance in winning the traditional challenge, Japanese/Okinawan division, and the overall grand championship have catapulted him to number one. Regarding women’s forms and weapons, Haley Glass has been inactive in the CMX divisions due to an injury at the AKA Warrior Cup followed by a temporary absence to perform for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. She has been removed from the CMX rankings for that reason, but she did make it to the finals for her traditional sword form at the Warrior Cup which is maintaining her top rank in that category for the time being. As for CMX weapons, the return of Sammy Smith and her overall grand championship at the Ocean States lands her in the number one spot. Sammy Smith was also the highest-finishing women’s CMX forms competitor in Rhode Island, earning her the top spot in that division as well. The women’s forms overall grand champion from OSGN, as well as at the Warrior Cup and Competes, is Gabrielle Rudolph who remains the woman to beat in women’s traditional forms. Now for the fighting divisions, where some of the most difficult decisions of the entire ratings were made because of how much excellent talent is active right now. The men’s lightweight grand champions of the three largest NASKA events this season hold the top three ranks in the order of Bailey Murphy, Enrique Letona, and Jack Felton. Murphy clings to number one based off his performance in Chicago and overall having the highest level of activity on the national scale with the best consistent results in recent memory. Murphy did not compete in the lightweight division at OSGN as he focused on open weight and SuperFights, so Letona sits at two for making it out of a still-deep field. You know the gap between number one and number three is rather small, when the man sitting at number three is the great Jack Felton. The heavyweights didn’t make the committee’s job any easier. Keep in mind that the heavyweight rankings only consider the outcome of the divisions and subsequent grand championships, the open weight and SuperFights only count towards the open weight rankings. This being said, Avery Plowden sits atop the heavyweights after a one-point overtime victory against Kameren Dawson in the division, combined with his Warrior Cup win back in January. Alex Mancillas sits at three following back-to-back heavyweight overall grands, but is missing head-to-head wins against Dawson or Plowden that he would likely need to jump them in the rankings (Plowden was forced to bow out of the heavyweight final at OSGN due to injury). Open weight is where Kameren Dawson holds the crown as SuperFights were given more weight than the regular open weight division because of the higher stakes including increased prize money and substantially more promotion by the event. It was shaping up to be a great final between Dawson and Murphy, but that story ended quickly when Dawson landed the side kick heard around the world. Murphy, the open weight winner from the event and obviously the SuperFights runner-up, is an extremely strong contender sitting at number two. Women’s fighting was also a tough division for the committee. Morgan Plowden, the well-established champion who was this year’s Warrior Cup runner-up, was not active in Rhode Island and slips to number three. KiTana Everett fought very well at Ocean States, bringing her fight in the finals against Katarina Herman all the way to the wire, earning the number two spot. Herman holds the number one ranking with a ridiculous résumé this year including a Warrior Cup, Compete Internationals grand championship and open weight, and now OSGN grand championship and open weight, defeating both Plowden and Everett in head-to-head matchups along the way. Let’s show some love to those stellar senior competitors now. Samuel Diaz III and Casey Marks-Nash of Team Paul Mitchell both won double grand championships for forms and weapons at OSGN and each sit atop of their rankings for those reasons. On the men’s side of both forms and weapons, Kevin Kowalczik of Team Revolution and Jeff Doss are dangerous contenders. In women’s fighting Morgan Plowden came out on top of the senior division in Chicago and holds the number one spot, as Mouse Millner won the overall grand championship in that category at OSGN and is firmly at number two. As for the men, Santiago Aversso had an incredible run through a very deep field at Ocean States and sits at number one. Now for the junior (14-17) divisions, we will start with CMX forms. I mentioned how difficult it was to establish the rankings for the fighters, but this may have been the single most difficult division for the committee to debate. Phillip Brumme won the overall grand championship at the Warrior Cup, as well as at the Competes and Cowboy Up. He is the number one athlete right now. The tough decision came between Wassim Dridi and Shane Billow for the 2 and 3 spots. Shane Billow won head-to-head matchups against the top-ranked competitor in the eliminations at Ocean States, then Wassim Dridi defeated him in the divisional grand championship and went on to win the overall. Do you take the guy who has multiple head-to-head wins against the number one, or do you take the guy that beat him in the runoff and won the biggest title at the tournament? After much deliberation, weight was granted to the grand championships and Dridi was ranked at two. Keep a close eye on this division as we move into the summer events! Billow does come out on top in the traditional weapons division, where his lightning-fast traditional bo work earned him an overall grand championship at OSGN. In CMX weapons, Brumme remains the top man there as well. In traditional forms, Noah Sansait of Team Revolution now has multiple traditional challenge wins, divisional grand championship wins, and stage appearances that have earned him the number one rank. As for the lady warriors, Sofia Rodriguez-Florez has been very impressive in the traditional divisions. Her double overall grand championships at back-to-back tournaments using traditional performances have solidified her as the number one for both forms and weapons. Rodriguez-Florez also sits atop the CMX weapons division with her musical traditional bo form earning her divisional grands at the Warrior Cup and Cowboy Up. Isabella Nicoli’s divisional grand championship in Rhode Island has her at two, and Maria Routel-Ferguson’s divisional grand from California has her at three. In CMX forms, Averi Presley’s Warrior Cup and Compete Internationals wins have her atop the division with her teammate and OSGN divisional grand champion Isabella Nicoli at number two. In the youth (13 & under) divisions, Judah Sagawa and Adomas Rackauskas have been the most consistent competitors in the CMX and traditional divisions respectively, earning Sagawa the top rank in CMX forms and weapons while Rackauskas holds the top rank in traditional forms and weapons. Sagawa won both overall grand championships at OSGN, while Rackauskas made the finals as his opponent with traditional forms. Henry Hawkinson was a new face coming to the stage at OSGN, and his breakout performance earns him a spot in traditional weapons at number three. For the girls, Riley Claire Carlisle won the weapons overall grand championship in Rhode Island and earned the top rank with her Competitive Edge teammate and Compete Internationals champion Olivia Cano just behind her at two. Her opponent on stage was Demi Rodriguez of Team All Out, who settles at number two in the rankings for traditional weapons behind the consistent double sword form of Adelynn Lau. The two competitors on stage for forms at OSGN hold the top rankings in their respective disciplines, as overall grand champion traditionalist Amanda Duarte reigns over traditional forms and Madalynn Wiersma won the divisional grand championship to make it on stage and become the number one girl. The committee recognizes a ton of talent in these youth divisions, a promising sign for the future of the sport. Due to the lack of consistent opponents who travel the circuit in the junior fighting divisions, as well as the splits between short and tall and different age groups for divisions versus open weight, it is much fairer for Black Belt Magazine to just highlight the winners of the most recent NASKA tournament than to attempt to make subjective comparisons with insufficient data. At Ocean States, the 10-11 grand championships were won by Malachi Randalle and Aria Martin, 12-13 went to Edwin Rivera and Collins Howard, 14-15 was taken by Jayson Perez and Sofia Rodriguez-Florez, and last but not least 16-17 grands went to Diego Gomez and Briana Ballou. For the open weight, 11 & under went to Malachi Randalle and Aria Martin once again, 12-14 was won by Luis Rivera and Audy Sandrine, and finally 15-17 titles were taken home by Sebastian Villanueva and Sofia Rodriguez-Florez. We will close out this overview with the team events. Team Freestyle out of San Diego has been the most consistent demonstration team this season and is deserving of the number one spot. In the synchronized divisions, Ben Jones and Esteban Tremblay of Team Paul Mitchell have been dominant and sit firmly atop the weapons rankings, while a back-and-forth battle has been going down between Team Paul Mitchell and Team Infinity on the forms side. Dawson Holt and Ben Jones currently hold the top spot for their win the Ocean States, with Sofia and Diego Rodriguez-Florez threatening at two. Men’s team fighting was as stacked as it has been all year at OSGN. Team Dojo Elite came out on top after a thriller against Top Ten Team USA that came down to a buzzer-beating backfist by Kameren Dawson. TDE is the number one men’s fighting team in the world right now with Top Ten Team USA right behind them. Black Belt Magazine hopes that this sneak-peek into the committee’s decision-making process increases the level of transparency about the rankings. My interest, and the interest of Black Belt Magazine as a whole, is always to help spread the word about sport karate and generate discussion through publications such as these rankings. Congratulations to the athletes that have been recognized, we look forward to seeing more from all of you this season!

Somewhere in the United States, one superpower and one seemingly pseudo-power, meet face-to-face, for a day of big business that will engulf more than what you think. It’s the IRS, which has ruled the land since 1862 when it created income tax to pay for war expenses vs. the lowly female Chinese American immigrant laundromat owner Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), a pawn in the Chinese chess game of life. Major war imminent, the lines between hero and pantomime villain are purposefully ambivalent and ambiguous. It's the will of one of the most creative and whackiest kung fu films ever, the Yeoh starring Everyone, Everywhere, All at Once (2022), where stale aspiring IRS agent Dierdre will confront the slowly expiring Evelyn that during the audit interrogation, she becomes infected by unexplained mood changes where at one moment she’s here and there, and the next moment elsewhere. Only her seemingly wimpy husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) is in the know. Happiness and life are becoming illusions as a seething pendulum wreaks of impending doom as key battles align to determine the growth and death of incoherent pasts, presents and futures, where sharp rivalries of fortune and fear collide; who’s the predator and who’s the pest? The conundrum of integrated pest management where on one hand, one can be good with kids and on the other hand dastardly creations are geared toward eliminating time un-honored prey. In the directed and written by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schemert Everyone , Evelyn is unwittingly locked within 4000+ parallel universes where she must embrace her multiverse characters before humanity is destroyed by Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu) who if Jobu’s date with a giant bagel is consummated, the multiverses will be eliminated. Just when you think things can’t get more outrageously zany, enter brothers Andy and Brian Le, co-founders with Daniel Mah of the martial troupe called Martial Club who became celebrated YouTube stars. They are Everyone ’sfight choreographers, and each have dynamic fighting roles. Perhaps the club was named in honor of director/fight choreographer Liu Chia-liang’s amazing Martial Club (1981), which starred Liu Chia-hui (aka Gordon Liu) and Chia-liang’s favorite martial villain-actor Wang Lung-wei. The narrowing alley fight between Wang and Gordon is a rock and rollicking masterpiece of choreography. Chia-liang’s schtick in kung fu films was that heroes would befriend their enemies and they’d end up working together for the good of kung fu. For those that came in late, born as Yang Zi Chong in Ipoh, a small mining town in West Malaysia, Yeoh grew up speaking English and Malay before Chinese. As a teenager she moved to England and studied ballet and acting at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Returning home in 1983 she became Miss Malaysia and Miss Mooba in Melbourne, Australia. Her acting career started in 1984 after being cast in a commercial opposite Jackie Chan. During a stint at D&B films she was known as Michelle Khan before adopting Michelle Yeoh. In her first film, Owl vs. Dumbo (1985) she plays a subdued, shrinking violet character yet later that year, Sammo Hung cast her in the female cop-buddy film Yes Madam (1986). Her cop guise continued in Royal Warriors (1986) before being cast in the must-see Indiana Jones yarn, Magnificent Warriors (1987). After the mellow Easy Money (1988), Yeoh married movie tycoon Dickson Poon. He spurred her on to retire and three years later they were divorced. For her comeback film, Stanley Tong directed Jackie Chan's Supercop (1991), and he would only make the film if the world's best stuntman and stuntwomen worked together. Yeoh's return opposite Chan was magnificently engaging. After reprising her cop role in Tong's Project S (1992), her next efforts with Hong Kong's insanely scrumptious, fant-Asia film action director and father of wire-fu Ching Siu Tung’s Butterfly and Swords , Heroic Trio and its sequel The Executioners (all 1993), gave Yeoh’s status and her characters a more mythical dimension. When she starred in Yuen Woo-ping’s Tai Chi Master (1993) and Wing Chung (1994), it was the first time Woo-ping cast a female as his lead fighter/character. In recognition of her tenacity in dealing with serious stunt injuries without complaint, Sammo dedicated his film The Stuntwoman (1996) to Yeoh. Four years later Yeoh struck it big in mainstream America with her riveting fighting prowess in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Her tough stuntwoman facade captured the country’s attention when it was learned that during a wire stunt gone awry, Yeoh tore her ACL. After a tricky knee operation where two screws and the new ligament put the knee back into place…three and a half weeks later she was back on set finishing her fights. Back then, with a slight giggle, Yeoh shared with me, “I just landed wrong. Accidents really happen when you do these kind of action sequences, and you've seen the action sequences we do. They're long. It occurred during the very first action sequence of the film. When things like that happen, you've just got to get on with it. After the operation it was just pure pain, hell and rehab. “It was traumatic, but it also builds character, it makes you learn perseverance and I wasn't ready to pack it in and say, ‘I'm hurt guys. Sorry I'm not coming back.’ I mean you feel the responsibility and that everyone is on the edge saying, ‘Oh my God what are we going to do now? How the hell are we going to replace Michelle?’ It was a challenge. I simply got back in shape for the final fight.” The Fights of Everyone, Everywhere, All at Once The film featured brain bamboozling, bodily bending and absolute barmy bedlam as the thrashing and bashing action with its clinical and cathartic sparkle and fizz were the nuts and bolts of incredibly rich veins of martial combat that truly was a force of nature. The unique quality of the first fight, which takes place in the IRS office between a multiverse leap of her husband Wayland who arrives in the nick of time armed with a fanny pack to protect Evelyn in the now universe against IRS security guards, is most precious. He first wields the pack like Bruce Lee’s nunchaku and then uses it like the meteor hammer in Jackie Chan’s Spiritual Kung Fu (1978). The fight is shot and edited like a Chan wuda pian, and it’s no coincidence that Ke’s posture, hair style and facial quality, mirrors Chan’s look from Police Story (1985), which makes sense considering the film’s impetus was initially conceived to be a Chan driven vehicle, which like time, is rapidly passing by in the film, and in our real lives, faster than a racoon on a rocket ship. Like a running gag in many Hollywood films, the IRS office fight is a running fight in Everyone , where during the diverse versions of the same fight in other parallel universes, different weapons, martial arts and how the fights are shot are based on the varying styles of choreography and camera work from the five Chinese kung fu genres. It’s pure golden magic. One version of the fight has the rhythm and visuals of a Liu Chia-liang guo shu pian , while another version has the visual plasticity of an over-the-top Ching Siu Tung wire work wu xia /fant-Asia film extravaganza. This version also featured some unique wire work seen in what I considered to be the second-best film of 2022, Donnie Yen’s New Kung Cult Master 1 . Yet the Le version has some pain-in-butt sequences using what the press called statues, yet you can tell they’re not statues but a giant version of an item that could damage one’s colon into becoming a semi-colon. Perhaps that’s why the fight arrives at a punctual time. Other highly creative choreography pieces are simply filled with absurd chaotic moments such as: a literal rock and roll bonding with a boulder statement about relationships between sibling and parent; a what the fight between Evelyn and Dierdre who both have floppy hot dog-fingered hands; the 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) simian sensibility sequence; a knife version fight influenced by a Benni Hanna restaurant; and a say no more dildo-wielding villain altercation. The Pinky Skill slug fest that features training sequences, which goes beyond the nature of pinky handshakes that we use as signs of promise to friends, perhaps prepares Evelyn for the finale Giant Bagel Bash where only she can create the promise needed to save the multiverse. Though we aren’t bread for Bagel Battles, the multiverse kneads dough to pay off the universal languages of kindness, brotherhood and proving that blood is thicker than water even in the river of deceit. What else is up for Yeoh? She recently received the 2022 TIME Icon of the Year award, which now makes her a strong candidate to win the Best Actress Oscar at the Academy Awards. If so, the 60-year-old Yeoh would become the first Asian actor to receive the Best Actress award. Years ago, when we discussed martial arts Yeoh made it clear that although she diligently practices martial arts for film, she hasn't had any formal training. To be a complete martial artist one must understand not just the physical aspects yet also the philosophical and spiritual sides. When I asked her if she had ever felt deprived of those facets, she joyfully shared, "Oh no, that's the sides that attract me most. In the beginning, it was the physical side, getting it out on screen, making sure it looks right and the power and energy is there. As you learn, you might initially get into it because visually it's stimulating or when you see someone do it, it's powerful and you want to be part of that. Once you get into martial arts, it's the philosophy behind it that makes it work. I don't believe in fighting, it's one thing that I stay away from. “I know you do chi gong. I do martial arts for my own peace of mind and health, and I'm physically and mentally in tune with my own body. Spiritually, it can become very religious and that's when meditation comes in and you can get in touch with your spiritual side. I've been reading more books about that and it's a sense of discovery as well understanding what is around you, and what is beyond the material and physical side."