Martial artists are more fascinating than a college kid with a credit card. Many will agree that the journey of a martial artist is more about conquering ourselves than someone else. In short, training martial arts helps us to be a better person then we were yesterday. This journey will require inward reflection, meditation and self-discovery. It is a journey that we must take on our own, and at the same time, having help is essential. Sure, solo-training is necessary (even essential) but living like a hermit in a cave may slow down your progress. In this article we outline three reasons not to fly “solo” for too long. Listen up Han. Reason One- Body Manipulation: If you are looking to improve in your martial arts (be it self-defense or competition skills), training with others is a must. In many arts, you will need resistant or “live” training in the form of drilling and sparring. In the martial arts, learning to move your own body is a good start and eventually (with the right training partner), you will need to learn how to move someone else’s torso and limbs. If you want to sharpen your skills and take your training to the next level, another person is a must. Reason Two- Cheering Chums: Ever had a hard time dragging yourself to a workout? Maybe the solution for you will be to buddy up. Having a friend to hold you accountable may be all that is needed to get you training regularly. Alone, it is easy to skip your martial arts class. You will improve your odds of showing up to a workout when you have a friend (or friends) waiting for you. A person can go far with the encouragement and accountability from others. Reason Three- The Fountain of Youth: Unless, you just emerged from an ancient temple in the Wu Dang Mountains, you no doubt have read the research- a large contributor to health and longevity is socializing. Yep, getting out there and hanging out with your buds can add years to life (and depending on your circle of friends), life to them years. And as far as I know (and yes, I am shamelessly biased), martial artists make some real cool friends. The friends you make in the martial arts school will challenge both mind and body, and help you live longer. There you go. Three reasons to train with others or in a group setting: one, it will help improve your martial arts no matter if you strike, lock or grapple. Two, your odds of showing up to training is increased and three, you may live longer (not a bad deal at all). Human beings are social creatures and martial arts can reinforce that socializing we deeply crave. Did we miss an advantage about partner training? Please let us know in the comments. About the author: Dr. Conrad Bui is the co-founder of Tiga Tactics, a combatives and self-defense consulting company. As a life-long martial artist, his credentials are as follows: 5th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and American Freestyle Karate, full instructor in Jeet Kune Do, sigung in Ba Gua Zhang, maha guru in Pentjak Silat Serak, sigung in Kuntao Silat de Thouars, guro in Kali, coach in Muay Thai and black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He has competed in point sparring, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was also a bouncer in college and is currently a certified pistol instructor with the NRA.

If you’ve watched MMA long enough I’m sure you have seen a guy get stuck trying to finish a takedown off the cage or even stuck in the turtle position and watch his opponent accidentally strike to the back of the head and then the referee intervenes. It does make the bout safer because the rule is in place due to the fact that the back of the head is an extremely vulnerable area of the brain stem and carries a much higher chance of permanently crippling or even fatally injuring someone. It’s the same reason why you cannot target the spine of your opponent as well. All of this is explained in the “fouls” section of the UFC’s unified MMA rules website, which I’ll link here . All of this seems to be in the name of safety for the fighters so I do wholeheartedly support it but there is one unique observation that I would like to bring attention to. It seems that these rules imply there is a zero-tolerance approach to the rule because it is so inherently dangerous but the rules for slamming an opponent attempting a submission or even finishing an explosive double leg seem to almost disregard the safety component entirely. The way it reads on the official website is as follows “It should be noted that when a fighter is placed into a submission hold by their opponent, if that fighter is capable of elevating their opponent they may bring that opponent down in any fashion they desire because they are not in control of their opponents body“ Even though it would seem that the other illegal examples they would also not be in control of their opponents body. It appears on a surface level that safety does not take priority over exciting moments. Perhaps there is a layer I’m not considering or maybe I’m not even understanding what they mean by “In control of their opponents body” but, it seems that they might be only be ostensibly concerned with safety as to deem one technique a foul but then allow a much more severe case of a blow to the same area when it would be more exciting. To put this into perspective I’ll link to the worst case scenario here. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. After watching that video I want you to take a look at this one, where the slam finishes are being celebrated and really think about how big of a difference there is or even what changes could be made to make the sport better, keeping it exciting for fans and safe for the competitors.

One of the main goals of martial arts training is of course learning an effective means of self-defense. Different systems take different approaches toward this end. For today’s discussion, I’m not going to get into the methodology of kicks versus punches versus grappling versus eye gouges, etc. Rather, I will be focusing on how we practice self-defense techniques in American Kenpo, how similar approaches across different styles can prove beneficial, and one of the most important parts of getting the most out of your training. For those unfamiliar, we have over 150 “techniques” in American Kenpo. Each of these is a pre-determined response to a variety of attacks. It’s important to understand that these are simply ideas of motion and not expected to be carried out perfectly in order in a real-life altercation. T his is not unlike a boxing combination. A boxer will repeatedly practice a jab, cross, hook, uppercut combination. However, in the ring, if he starts the combo and the opponent moves in a way that stifles the combo, he adapts. This is the same for the Kenpoist as he formulates on the fly. If a secondary attack comes or the adversary is out of the expected position, the response to the attach morphs. Practicing techniques or combinations is not unique to Kenpoists or Boxers. In TKD and Hapkido we have a series of punch, kick, and grab responses much like those done in Kenpo, only with stylistic considerations more fitting of their fighting philosophy. The same goes for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. At the begging of BJJ class, we drill “techniques” like armbars, chokes, or mount escapes and then put them into practice against non-complying partners in a live roll. The point is that we pretty much all practice some version of techniques, and there is a vital component that cannot be ignored. That all important ingredient to effective training is a good partner! Now, I understand that there may be times when you are forced to study alone. There are even times where it can be ideal to supplement your class time with some solo work at home. In Kenpo we frequently work our techniques “in the air.” This is similar to a boxer shadowboxing. We visualize the attack and respond with our technique against an imaginary assailant. This is an excellent way to get reps and ingrain the motion into our bodies, but it lacks in real-feel contact. It also doesn’t supply the unexpected responses and movements that a live partner will demonstrate. So, though training solo is helpful, it is only a part of the whole. And to get the whole experience, we need quality partners with which to share the mats. I would even take this a step further and ask those of you that practice katas regularly, do you frequently envision the attacks you’re working against in your form? That’s the ideal way to perform katas. However, it often is bypassed as the body just moves to where it is “supposed to go.” That said, if you’re not already doing it, you can apply the same “technique approach” to your katas. Have partners step in with the attacks you’re defending against in your forms while working your way through each step. Then return the favor and attack them appropriately as they practice their forms. When stepping in as a partner on this approach to katas or when simply practicing techniques, it’s vital to be a good partner. A good partner understands the different phases of learning and offers appropriate resistance and challenge dependent upon the phase in which they are in. For instance, if the technique is brand new to the practitioner, a partner is not helping by going 100 percent with their attack. Instead, they should go easy and slow, allowing their buddy to learn what they’re supposed to do and gradually increase speed and power. This goes for standup as well as ground fighting techniques. On the flip side, if the attacking partner never works up to “realistic” attack power and speed, they are doing their friend a disservice. They will never understand what it takes to block a real attack if they aren’t challenged in class. This is where, as a partner, you must gauge those you’re working with and adjust your attacks from slow and easy up to safelyrealistic . None of what has been discussed today is some sort of new earth-shattering revelation. It is, however, a good reminder of how to get the most out of our training. Whether it is typical technique training, rolling in grappling class, or finding function in your katas, working with great partners will undoubtedly boost your performance. You’ll see responses you hadn’t expected. You’ll feel resistance where you weren’t even aware it existed. And most importantly, you’ll walk away from training having learned something new and having helped your training partners do the same. Salute, Ian Lauer 3rd Degree Black Belt American Kenpo 1st Degree Black Belt Tae Kwon Do 1st Degree Black Belt Hapkido 1st Degree Black Belt Coszacks Karate

Martial arts films have come a long way since the first kung fu film was made in China, which starred Beijing opera star Tan Xin-pei in Ding Jun Shan (1905). It’s been 18 years since I wrote the first Top 20 Best Martial Arts Films of All Time, and with time passages I now watch martial aspects with a different eye as I’ve learned more about fight and camera choreography, and have increased my focus on fight creativity, unique stylism and overall ingenuity. It’s why 10 of the original 20 films are no longer on the list. It’s November 2022, and here is what I consider to be The Top 10 Best Martial Arts Films of all Time. 10) The Protector (2005): Tony Jaa displays his passion for elephants in Protector by fighting like the fierce Jaturungs (guardians of the elephant’s feet that Kings rode during battle) and must rescue two elephants by defeeting animal cruelty restaurateurs in Australia. The fight that distinguishes Protector from all other films is the 4-minute oner (one continuous shot in a multi-floored restaurant), which was inspired by Bruce Lee’s Game of Death (1997) where Bruce climbs flights of stairs and fights on each floor. Each of the six floors was split into teams of stuntmen that needed to attack Jaa at the right moments. Yet in fight scenes where timing is everything, the clock didn't always strike midnight. After eight takes, the oner that made the final cut in the film became the oner standard. Still as of this writing, none compared to Jaa’s intensely spiced and flamboyant fiery skills, thus the film’s Thai soup title, Tom Yum Goong. Yet the valiant almost 4-minute oner in Jiu Jitsu (2020), which featured Tony Jaa and Alain Moussi doing two separate oners that merge into one, is a close second. 9) Duel to Death (1983): After a trusted martial arts star/director friend told me I should watch the Rurouni Kenshin films a few months ago, I was flabbergasted as I realized how influential the father of wire-fu and director Ching Siu-tung’s Duel to Death had become. Back in 1983, it was a one-off film and I thought that was that. I was wrong and I’m sure fight choreographer and action director Kenji Tanigaki would agree. Ching’s Duel to Death is the true embodiment where the line between real and the supernatural is poetically blurred, where villains are neither human nor poltergeist. Ching proved that shooting old-fashioned sword fights at 18 frames per second didn’t make the fights look hokey but made them sing with gleeful steel slashing bewitchment. The film intelligently weaves in the traditions of the classic chivalrous and righteous lone swordsman traveling down his path of martyrdom motif with a quasi-modern, German expressionistic visual approach. Ching's swordplay action brought decapitation to new explosive heights and human vegematics to the depths of beauteous slaughter. No one has ever done a samurai/ninja film that comes close to this one, except one film. 8) The Grandmaster (2013): While director Wong Kar-wai spent years roaming China and tracking down old kung fu masters to learn their old traditions, non-martial artist Tony Leung underwent three years of pain-ridden training and broke two bones in preparation for an unknown role. The Grandmaster focuses on Ip Man (Leung) and the martial trade secrets Wong learned from the elders. Grandmaster’s core begins when the retiring head of the kung fu world, Gong Yu-tian, tests his maybe successor Ip Man, via battles of wit, perplexing kung fu governance and subtle cryptic physical combat. It’s purposely confusing because Wong wanted to reserve the esoteric essences for insiders. Fight choreography is intelligently shaped to hide and reveal each skill as the film opens with Ip fighting 12 combatants in the evening during heavy rain, a scene shot over 30 successive nights, where Leung and stuntmen were drenched and disallowed from changing clothes for 30 days. The finale between Gong’s daughter and traitor Ma San confused Western critics; they didn’t comprehend how fa jing strikes can break one’s chi, forcing fighters to lose their abilities for life. If this confuses you, learn real kung fu. 7) The Villainess (2019): Sooh-hee (Kim Ok-bin) is a ballistic-bladed assassin coerced by an untoward agency to be a calmer, more deadly, hatchet-slashing killer. After Soohee’s opening psychotic fight on a multi-floored building full of thugs, one becomes enchanted by director Jung Byung-gil’s novel camera choreography style, what I call ping-pong camera. Imagine a ping-pong ball being a camera and instead of being struck back and forth between players with paddles it ricochets between fighters. The ball’s POV images would be tight, shaking camera angles, with rapid in and out zooms away and toward fighters creating snappy rolling pans, tilts and spins. Now have the ball hit the ground, go up in the air, through a door or out a window three-stories up while recording the actors’ reactions and the spatial displacement between them. That’s how the Villainess ’ fights look. It's ingenious and adds extra kinetic energy to the action, which if it was shot with a wide angle at 24 fps, it would look monotonous and reflect minimal training chops of the actors involved. And now you know why the Villainess used 63 days of their 70-day shooting schedule to do action. 6) John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019): Directed by Chad Stahelski, John Wick 3 is one of the top two best American made martial arts film where each fight features innovative fight choreography and beautifully constructed camera choreography. The fights are so gruesomely violent and ballistically brutal that they’re hilarious as hell. With a bounty on his head, the loveable John Wick’s (Keanu Reeves) survival rests upon apocalyptic action, mesmerizing mangling and grisly grappling that are akin to an exquisite ballet recital. Each fight has less editing, uses wide angles, and features long takes, often 20-25 techniques per shot. Stahelski hides nothing. Of note, at 53 and training for 6-7 months, Halle Berry learned how to fight like Keanu and do so in close proximity while shooting and kicking dozens of thugs in a desert compound. In dance, it takes two to tango, in Stahelski’s fights, it takes two to tangle. 5) Fist of Fury (1972): After the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), China was a fractured country and from that point on, Japan played a villainous role in Chinese history. Even after being defeated during WW II, because Japan’s post-war economy was U.S.-supported, the fear of economic backlashes against the Chinese kept Hong Kong and Taiwan (ROC) mum about Japanese atrocities committed against the Chinese during the war. Yet Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury changed that because his character defiantly defeated Japanese martial artists in the film’s 1909 Shanghai setting, when Shanghai was under strict Japanese rule. Lee single-handedly crashed through that barrier of silence giving the Chinese a sense of identity and pride while sparking a tidal wave of nationalism amongst the world's Chinese population. Lee also legitimized the second genre of Chinese martial arts film, the gong fu pian (kung fu films, where heroes fought with realistic skills) and brought international prominence to Hong Kong’s waning martial arts film industry. Loosely based on the death of the legendary Huo Yuin‑chia, the scene where Lee kicks eight different attackers in the Japanese dojo in one unedited, wide angle shot changed the direction of kung fu fight choreography forever then Lee introduced the world to the nunchaku. 4) Drunken Master II (1994): Although Jackie Chan’s tea house skirmish in Mr.Canton and Lady Rose (1989) features the best use of film props and set environment in a martial arts movie fight, based on fight choreography, Drunken Master 2 is Jackie Chan’s best pure kung fu film ever made. Chan reprises his legendary hero role of Huang Fei‑hung in this sequel that far surpasses its 1978 original. Huang battles traitors smuggling Chinese historical artifacts to the British. At the time of its release, Fant-Asia films were at their peak and other directors were switching to Chan’s wu da style of action. Yet Chan returned to his kung fu roots 16 years after his savvy Drunken Master (1978) to make a superior sequel. Filled with phenomenally fresh fight choreography, Chan avoided the popular bobbing style of choreography used during his first heydays as his martial skills flowed like a waterfall over smooth rocks. The final 16 minutes of the film is as mesmerizing and creative as it is relentless and exhausting to watch, and he does it without repeating the same movements. The bout with Ken Lo in the warehouse, and the spear and sword fight with the 60 year‑old Liu Chia‑liang underneath a train, once and for all shows why Chan is the best when it comes to utilizing his environment during the fight sequences. 3) Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021): Rurouni Kenshin’s five films feature a warped love triangle, where a supranatural swordsman is torn between two lovers, two alter egos, and two dogmas within two eras of Japanese history. Played by Takeru Satoh, on one sword, he’s Battosai, anti-Shogunate assassin who falls in love with one of his victim’s fiancé, Tomeo, her wee brother Anishi becomes his worst nightmare. On the other sword, ten years later he’s Himura, who vows not to kill and uses a reverse blade katana to protect those in need, and falls in love with Kaoru, who as Battosai, tarnished her dad’s dojo reputation. As The Final arrives,you can sense the coming madness as Shanghai mafia leader, Enishi, slithers into Tokyo with a macabre cloud of death hunters; sordid fleshy, deformed, maniacal fighters oozing psychotic creepy crawly support. Part human, part gun, part demon, they all psychotically swear to shred Battosai’s life and soul in a way he’s never seen in the Wild Wild East. Enter action director Kenji Tanigaki’s en vogue vicious take, on standard samurai sword combos shot at slower frame rates. He elevates Ching Siu-tung’s frenetic paced surgical sword fights to new levels by adding far out running, sliding and jumping fight gags ala Donnie Yen’s Legend of the Fist (2010) and Legend of the Wolf (1997). As his enemies vanish like kids in Blair Witch Project (1999), Battosai’s feet dance as his body barges, evades and barrels through these horrific hoards, then when he puts his feet on the welcome mat, he says thank you very much and wipes the enemy clean during his magic carpet ride of tenacity and resolve. You blood-shot eyes will remain agog. 2) Enter the Fat Dragon (2020): This film is the result of when you mix the fight sensibilities of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwie, Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen wrapped into one. Enter the Fat Dragon is Yen’s Lee homage with a nod to Sammo’s Enter the Fat Dragon (1978) that combines the best martial arts fight scenes from the above filmmakers-fightmakers. It’s a kick in the groin higher note for Yen, who plays the diet challenged cop Fallon who is sent to Japan on a dregs case and ends up making minced fish out of yokel yakuzas strong arming a female sushi bar owner. The opening fatuous fight in a speeding small van, trapped between two vans, being chased by motorcycles (rings a Raid II bell) sees a skinny Fallon trying to rescue a fellow cop, as he ends up inside the van where he claustrophobically fights a bunch of bank robbers who are armed with knives and guns. The way Yen introduces a hammer and microphone into the fray is downright ingenious and funny as hell. Though using Chan environmentally influenced sets, unlike a Chan fanfare that would feature ultra-comedic sight gags, Yen features Ong Bak brutality without blood and death yet uses the rock-em sock-em robots meet rapid-fire 1980’s Hong Kong comedy gags. The finale nunchaku vs. sai fight is akin to Lee nunchaku vs. samurai sword battle from Fist of Fury , not in the comfort of a dojo but atop Tokyo Tower as an out-of-control helicopter dangerously whirls around the building, which takes the duel to new dizzying heights…it’s a real acrophobic gasser. 1) Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2022): Foundation laid, pole position established, this American martial arts film is a regular riot and instant ripper that has monopolized the position of being the best martial arts film ever…for now. The fact that it’s an American made martial arts movie stuns my soul, I never imagined this happening during my lifetime since I saw Fist of Fury in 1973. The irony is that it’s the best because it’s the only film I’ve seen that beautifully incorporates the intricate fight choreography combative sensibilities of all five marital art genres in Chinese cinema history: wu xia pian; gong fu pian; quo shu pian; wu da pian; and fant-Asia films. Shang-Chi is a modern-day yarn that embraces the spirit of the Jiang Hu world (translated as the kung fu underworld in English dubbed Chinese kung fu films) to create and a new dimension in a nontraditional wuxia setting, which includes Chinese triads that transcends into beastly creatures ala Marvel Universe hysteria. Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) teams up with a hidden Jiang Hu village to fight hideous dark demons and to stop his schizoid dad from destroying Jiang Hu and the normal world. The final icing of the cake beyond the five-genre action is the fight coordinator, Andy Cheng, as he has developed his own style and flavor by adding in a secret ingredient nobody has used before…the AC Way. The next time you watch Shang-Chi , see if you can spot which fights uses which genres and where some use three genres within the same fight.

Last year before the bracket-centric “March Madness” basketball tournament, Alex Dingmann and Jeff Doss talked through a bracket on their Inside Scoop podcast courtesy of the Martial Arts InterNetwork that featured all the best “things” at sport karate tournaments to see what would come out on top. With the famous basketball tournament just around the corner and my beloved Kentucky Wildcats fighting for a chance to dance, this episode of their show came to mind. The last few opinion articles I have written for BBM have focused on more serious topics like ways to improve the sport as a whole and tips for competitors to step up their game, so I feel it is time for a feel-good article in which I countdown what I feel are the best “things” at a given sport karate tournament. Although I am writing this list from my perspective, I will not be including the obvious “good stuff” like winning an overall grand or landing a difficult trick. These are all aspects of tournaments that don’t hinge on my personal achievements as a competitor. 5. Making an Entrance I feel this one sets the tone for the rest of the countdown: it’s really all about the little things. There are three instances that I feel “making an entrance” applies, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single time this happened at a tournament. The first is that moment when you step out of the Uber from the airport, walk into the lobby, and see at least two or three of your sport karate family members that you catch up with while waiting to check in. It doesn’t matter if it has been weeks or years since you saw these people, as soon as you are at a karate tournament you can talk as if you’ve spoken every day. The second is the walk to the tournament venue itself. One of the many reasons I have always loved the U.S. Open is that the walk to the tournament site from the hotel room is especially long because of the size of Coronado Springs. Every single time for over a decade, I walked the exact same path from Casitas to the back of the convention center where one of the world’s largest events would take place. The same staircases, the same sidewalks, looking at the same fountains… Every. Single. Time. That walk to the tournament is a time of reflection, in which you feel the nostalgia from making that same walk in years passed. It is a time to get in the zone, your favorite hype playlist acting as the soundtrack to your walk, preparing to do what you love more than anything else. Those walks were the best walks. The third and final instance is if you have the opportunity to take the stage. There’s simply nothing like stomping your way up those notoriously shaky stairs next to any night show stage as you puff your chest and lift your chin while the crowd cheers in response to Dennis Brown saying your name. The battle cry you can let out to tell the audience how bad you want it, the little wink you give to a stage-side coach to say I’ve got this , there’s so much fun to be had in those 15-30 seconds before it’s showtime. In all of those ways, making an entrance is one of the best parts of any karate tournament. 4. Daytime Grands This mostly refers to junior runoffs (sport karate’s version of a semifinals to determine who goes on stage), but also accounts for the few times that the adult men ran their runoffs during the day instead of going straight to stage. I would also say this also includes those divisions that weren’t necessarily grands, but the caliber of talent and importance of the moment certainly made it feel like a grand championship. I am also not necessarily just talking about competing in the grands or an important division, that’s obviously a good time. I’m referring to the energy that is felt during these divisions. Unlike a night show in which the audience is hidden in the relative darkness on the other side of the stage lights, the crowd envelops the ring for daytime grands. Eager sport karate fans stand on chairs to see over those lucky enough to get front row seats, and a crowd of maybe 300 starts to feel like 3,000 because of how close they are to the action and the energy they bring. If there’s a daytime stage, the stage-side slaps from friends or teammates rattle the platform and might as well send vibrations directly to your heart. It just feels different from just about any other competitive atmosphere. Let’s not forget the added hype when someone’s music is an absolute banger in these kinds of divisions. There is not a broadcast or organized livestream for these divisions, so competitors are still allowed to use any music they want regardless of copyright. There’s nothing like when a song gets the entire crowd clapping as the competitor walks into the ring. The best examples are when you can see other competitors dancing in the background of the YouTube video, that is the kind of music I’m talking about. My favorite example is when my good friend and competitive rival Reid Presley used to walk out to “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” by DMX. I always joke that it was the worst song choice he ever made. Not because it wasn’t a great song, but because if I was going after him all it did was hype me up to do a form 10x better than what I would have done if I hadn’t been listening to THAT song while I was on deck. Those who have followed my career know that I personally always try to bring extra hype to my walk-out music whether it was “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled back in my 2011 breakout season, some fan-favorite “No Problem” by Chance the Rapper for a couple of years, and some special moments like “Without Me” by Eminem after I hadn’t competed in over a year due to the pandemic. The right song choice can elevate these moments that I am talking about exponentially. 3. Warming Up This one is probably going to throw some people off, but I truly feel one of my favorite parts of the tournament was warming up. You still feel that same one-of-a-kind anticipation that I talked about before, but now it’s amplified by how close the action looms. This is also your time to put some headphones in, focus on the task at hand, and show off some of your best tricks in front of an audience with nothing at stake. Spectators have already gathered around the ring and if you put on a show in warm ups, you’ll get some nice reactions. Not to mention the fact that landing some of your best tricks in warm ups gives you a psychological advantage over some of your competitors. If they have no idea which tricks you are going to throw, they have to start scrambling to figure out their game plan in response. In some ways, the tournament has begun before a single person has bowed into the ring. After you have gotten your necessary reps in and feel ready to go, having shown your competitors an arsenal of threats and gathered data yourself about what they might be planning, you also have some valuable time for small talk around the ring. Those brief conversations checking in on a competitor/friend you haven’t seen in a while, pausing for a few moments to talk to a fan who has come over for a picture, those are the moments that seem small, but you appreciate them for a while. 2. Midnight on Saturday Night Whereas number three on this countdown was a bit obscure, number two is something that anyone who has ever traveled a tournament circuit can relate to. I’ve alluded to the fact that karate tournaments are often a place where you see friends that you may not have seen in several months, and you don’t necessarily get to enjoy all the time spent together because for the majority of the event you are focused on competing. However, Saturday night the dust has settled and friend groups across the sport karate community descend on fast food restaurants, hotel lobbies, and shared rooms to talk the night away and make memories that will last a lifetime. Everyone knows that you typically only get to hang out with these people a dozen or so times per year, so there’s a mutual agreement that everyone will stay up until their eyes can barely open just to maximize the time spent together. It may sound cheesy, and admittedly it is a little, but I couldn’t do this countdown without writing what everyone is thinking. Late Saturday nights are one of the best parts of the sport karate tournament experience. 1. JPM! JPM! JPM! WOO! I have done my best to make most of these points relatable, something that everyone can understand and feel an emotional connection to, but I can’t countdown the best “things” at a karate tournament according to ME without talking about the one thing that gives me chills every time. As a competitor wearing the coveted Black and White, there was nothing better than nailing a form and hearing my Paul Mitchell teammates chant “JPM! JPM! JPM! WOOOO!” while the rest of the crowd goes crazy. It gets you every time. It is almost just as fulfilling to start the chant for somebody else, when a teammate lands a crazy form or wins a fight in overtime. There’s something about sharing that prestigious battle cry with 10-15 of the best competitive martial artists in the world to celebrate the accomplishment of a teammate. Not only is it deeply rooted in a rich 36-year history, but it is also pretty rare. The team always does the chant at the end of a team meeting and following the night show, but to have the chant done in response to an individual performance only happens a handful of times per season. It makes the moment that much more special when it isn’t just a formality of being on the team, it is something that is earned by doing the spectacular. I understand that far less than 1% of those who participate in sport karate tournaments will ever have the chance to experience that specific chant with Team Paul Mitchell on their backs, but this concept does apply more broadly to everybody at an event. Whether you are there representing your school or a national team, it is unquestionable that one of the best things about any tournament is the camaraderie shared between teammates. The team meetings, the dinners shared on Friday nights, the quotes that your coach repeats every time, but they never get old, all of those things that come with having a karate family around you are really what keeps this sport going. If you don’t take anything else from this lighthearted article, just remember that it is really the people around us that keep us coming back to karate tournaments. We do it in pursuit of personal goals, sure, but the reason we keep doing it is because we love the people around us. The community is what keeps sport karate alive, and that is truly special.

Two-time Olympic champion Clarisse Agbegnenou, who made her international comeback today at the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv, refuses to wear the kimono imposed on her by the Federation. In retaliation, the Federation decided to deprive her of a coach and to freeze her financial aid. It is without a coach on the chair and therefore without advice that Clarisse Agbégnénou returned to international competition, this Friday in Tel Aviv, Israel. The "consequence" of a conflict between the judoka and the French judo federation. Clarisse Agbégnénou having chosen to wear the kimono of her supplier (Mizuno) and not that of the French team (Adidas), the federation decided to... cut her off and deprive her of coaching. Sébastien Mansois, the national technical director (DTN), had sent an email to the technical staff. "As national coaches, you cannot "coach" athletes if they are wearing an outfit that is not officially recognised or validated by the French Judo Federation", wrote the state executive. A warning addressed to all but which targets Ludovic Delacotte, Clarisse Agbégnénou's coach, forced to follow the orders of his hierarchy. Earlier in the day, the double Olympic champion had also received an email, sent by the DTN. "We would like to remind you that the French team's combat gear, provided by the coaching staff, is compulsory for the Tel Aviv Grand Slam, as it is for all the competitions in which you are involved as a member of the French team (...) We have no doubt that you will respect these rules, but we would prefer to remind you that in the event of a breach, it would be inconceivable for the Federation to maintain its commitments as set out in the agreement, including the support of your individual project. In short, the DTN explained to the champion that she would no longer receive personalised aid, which is paid by the Federation and which comes largely from the National Sports Agency, and therefore from the State. Teddy Riner also wears his own brand of kimono Source - Time News How did this come about? A few months ago, while Clarisse Agbégnénou signed a kimono contract with Mizuno, the French Judo Federation was negotiating with the equipment manufacturer Adidas to supply the entire French team... Except for Teddy Riner, who was excluded from the negotiations. As early as 2017, the three-time Olympic champion and his lawyer at the time, Delphine Verheyden, had obtained (after a hard struggle) the possibility of having his own kimono supplier, considering in particular that it could be a technical equipment (in this case the athlete wears what he wants, such as spiked shoes in athletics). At the time, Riner had just signed with Under Armour and the American firm did not manufacture kimonos at the time, so an agreement had been reached for the champion to wear a kimono. A new development in 2021: since the Tokyo Olympics, Riner has been wearing the Fight Art outfit, the brand he launched. Clarisse Agbégnénou wanted to do the same, in the name of fairness. Exchanges with the French Judo Federation quickly escalated to the point of becoming explosive in Tel Aviv. The Federation, fearing the loss of its equipment supplier, insisted that Clarisse Agbégnénou wear the same kimono as the other members of the French team and considered that the judoka was not entitled to negotiate with her own equipment supplier. The two-time Olympic champion wants to obtain the same agreement as Riner. Her entourage specifies that the French Federation "never provided her with a kimono" and that "the fittings only took place last Monday, in a hurry". Moreover, the name of a sponsor (Allianz) of the champion is missing from the national kimono. Coaches are now forbidden to express themselves on the subject. Read the full French article here ! Other News: RIP Louis Casamassa My good friend Louis Casamassa founder of Red Dragon Karate in 1965, died last week. Lou was legend in the world of martial arts. He started training in Japan in 1958 at the Kodokan where he got his first black belt. He also received his black belt in Karate in Japan, under Mas Nagano. In the US Marine he became the Captain of their Judo and Karate teams. Lou learned a lot about respect and discipline, which he expressed in his later job as a Police Officer in Bethlehem, PA. Red Dragon Karate became one the most successful marital arts schools chains which help inspire Cobra Kai in the Karate Kid . His son Chris Casamassa who played Scorpion in Mortal Combat continues to run the company. For several years, my son Nathan taught judo at a couple of their locations Comment on my Falling Blog of 2/16/23 Jim Thydén Here is a film I made at our club three years ago. We were the first club in Sweden giving courses on falling for seniors . Lone Star Classic Results When you come from a sport that is rich in diversity, it is easy to overlook symbolic occurrences that exists within. My friend Bobby Donaldson was the Chief Referee at the 32nd Annual Lone Star Classic held in Fort Worth, Texas on February 18th last month. Is this significant? Depends upon whom is asked; “this was the very first time a black person was chief referee at a National Test and Evaluation Site in the United States, during Black History Month no less!” Judo is so diverse that often historical aspects are lost due to the myriad of examples to emulate. Bobby is the 2nd African American whose received his full International IJF Referee license, the first to Referee on the IJF World Tour and many other distinctions that are uniquely his own. Bobby, who retired from the U.S. Navy, is no stranger to diversity. "The military is filled with representatives from every race, so much so, you see people as your shipmates first. Kano saw judo as having this same sort of fellowship. We have nearly every race in judo, that is a beautiful example of harmony” to further quote Bobby. The Lone Star Classic was a big success. Congratulations to Tournament Director Kim Mesa of Okuri Judo. Ukraine's Banksy stamps feature art of Putin in judo match Calendar: March - 2023 5th Sunday - Taishi's 13th Anniversary Tournament , Cerritos, CA 18th Saturday & 19th Sunday - Youth National Championships , Lubbock, TX 25th Saturday - Shoshinkan's Annual Kosen Tournament , Las Vegas, NV 26th Sunday - Shoshinkan's Shintaro Higashi Clinic , Las Vegas, NV April - 2023 1st Saturday & 2nd Sunday - High School & Collegiate Nationals , San Jose, CA 2nd Sunday - Mojica Tournament (16 & Under) , Baldwin Park, CA 15th Saturday - Couchigian Memorial Tournament , Las Vegas, NV 16th Sunday - Ryoku's Amarilis Savon Clinic , Las Vegas, NV 16th Sunday - Garden State Open Judo Classic , Wayne NJ 22nd Saturday - Arizona State Championships , Tucson, AZ 29th Saturday & 30th Sunday - Golden State Open , Azusa, CA May - 2023 7th Sunday - CJI State Championships , San Francisco, CA 18th Thursday to 21st Sunday – Budo Nord Cup & Lugi Camp , Lund Sweden 20th Saturday & 21st Sunday - Senior National Championships , Spokane, WA 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 7th Friday to 9th Sunday - USJF & USJA Summer Nationals , New York, NY 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.

At this point of deep uncertainty clinging to the fringes of a successful research project, for each praying mantis, they are grappling for their right to defend themselves or eat, and stay in the biggest conversation of them of all; can I recreate Chinese martial arts history? I’ve put my cards out on the table, the insane fear of insects, now here in front of me, high roller stakes, education, martial arts, to gleam at warriors staring into each other’s poker faces, playing the insect hands they’ve been dealt; life or death; eat or be eaten. Science can be so twisted. How did my life come down to this? Fear. Yet the outcome was something I could never have predicted; working and learning with the most unique martial arts training partners I’ve ever had. What are your greatest fears in life? For me, by March of 1973, two things, insects and death. When I was six years old, I asked my extremely well-mannered and proper mum, "When we burp, we must cover our mouth. So when we pass wind, why don't we cover our bottoms?" She flashed a Queen of England, neck-strained ostrich glare and commanded, "Don't be so insolent you cheeky little boy." I didn't know what that meant. Even when she spelt it out for me, it didn't sink in because I was a poor speller in school. After that ostrich glare, I should have hidden my head in the sand when mum asked, "Want to watch Charlton Heston in The Naked Jungle (1954) on BBC tonight?" Charlton who? Set in the Amazon, a billion, voracious red army ants, invade Heston's plantation. He plans to flood the moat around the plantation and rely on ranch hand Pedro to open the floodgates. The wry ants use their bodies to bridge across the moat. What!!? I screamed, "Open the floodgates!" Pedro's asleep! As ants creep up his legs, I'm yelling, "Pedro, wake up!" THEN…"Aaaah!" his face is covered by flesh-eating ants. NEXT…ants ooze out of his skeletal skull orifices! That night, an ant is in my bed. I couldn’t sleep knowing it would return to its nest to fetch mates so they could eat me. Next morning, butterflies, bees and ladybugs leered at me. They were in cahoots with the ants and all were out to get me. Seeing Pedro covered in ants etched unabashed terror into my life that began a life-long fear of insects. No wonder I was ant-isocial. I’ve shared parts of this story before, yet for those unaware, at 16, my doctor told me I’d be dead in five years from the lethal terminal disease Cystic Fibrosis. I decided to commit suicide so my parents wouldn’t have to watch me slowly die. The jackals were after me, no place to Hyde. Two weeks later and almost dead, after seeing Bruce Lee’s first fight in The Big Boss (1971), I instantly went from being depressed and waiting to die, to wanting to live and learn kung fu. The Effect of a Big Bully In 1978, when I was a junior at Cornell, a karate bully who disliked me, approached, and began trash talking my Chinese friends then viciously lunged at me. Seconds later, I apologized for hurting him, we spoke and cleared the air. As I moseyed off, a bug attacked me. Freaking out I punched it out of mid-air. It flew west and I ran east believing it would get its gang and seek revenge. Heart racing, my mind roared, "Stop! Why can I calmly defend myself against vicious men, but insects fearfully disable me?" Martial arts instantly removed my fear of death but not my life-long fear of insects. Solution? Enroll in Cornell's entomology program. I was already training in probably one of the toughest dojos in America, where thrice a week, we’d do bone-on-bone training until our wrists looked like something a boa constrictor would regurgitate. More on that dojo experience in Part 3 and why over-the-top training is important. I came up with an undergraduate thesis project that blew my thesis adviser’s mind. He later told me that the sheer audacity left him so flabbergasted that his piqued curiosity couldn’t say no. According to one account, when 17th-century Shaolin monk Wang Lung was one day studying his Buddhist texts, he heard a praying mantis attacking a cricket. Struck by how easily the mantis defeated its prey, Wang prodded the mantis with a piece of straw. He observed how the mantis jumped back and forth to escape harm and used its front legs to parry, grasp and crush the straw. Three years later, Wang had created the 13 Arm and Hand Movements of the Mantis . My research goal was to scientifically re-create Wang Lung's work and prove that we can learn martial arts from animals, in my case, a praying mantis. Think about it, this creature has walked and fought on our planet since the Jurassic Period, 145.5 million years ago. That’s far out man. Lights, Camera, Action My two roommates were excited about my plan of to raise praying mantises in our apartment. I was initially squeamish having to capture live insects for food. Weeks later, no big deal. I’d walk around the apartment withmantises perched on my shoulders like a pirate’s parrot. They’d never fly off. I had one perched on my shoulder during an exam, when the teacher asked me why, I said, “Noone’s an atheist around exam time, I have extra hands praying for me.” Borrowing a friend’s aquarium, I strategically placed twigs, rocks and hiding places to create an artificial habitat as their dojo. I borrowed a reel-to-reel videotape machine, a black and white camera, and a 10” B&W TV from the library for a semester. I had raised 20 adult European mantids ( Mantis religiosa Linnaeus ), pale green insects two inches in length. It was time. I shot the mantises fighting each other, defending themselves against other predaceous insects and like Wang, I studied them while provoking aggressive behavior with pieces of straw. After logging hundreds of hours of videotape and using slow-motion playback, I was able to identify ten stereotypical patterns of behavior employed by the mantises during attack, defense, and provocation. Next, I set out to replicate their movements for humans. With a reaction time of 1/40th of a second, mantids are 70% successful in catching walking flies and 25% for catching flying flies. I wasn’t that fast yet I could throw five punches in one second. Thesis Self Defense The octo is gone, it’s my thesis adviser’s square entomology office. The professor, who knew how to box, prepared to attack me like a large predacious stinkbug, by protruding its powerful spear-like mouthparts forward as to pierce it into a mantis’ gut like a battering ram. I assume a standard upright mantis posture, raptorial arms (modified front legs) held like a half opened Swiss army knife that has a serrated blade in front of my body. He charges in, I shuffle to one side and deflect his arm (battering ram spear-like mouthparts) then immediately with both arms I strike at the same time to do one of three things: push him back to create distance between us; to grab his body and pull him toward me; or to grab and crush his body. With my arms above my head (wings wide), I look bigger and offer him an opening to charge in, instead I strike down at the charging in head, grab him or his mouthparts and crush them. Regardless of prey size, spiders, large predacious bugs (beetles, stinkbugs), non-predacious bugs (crickets, beetles) and other mantids, the strikes, blocks, trapping maneuvers, are extremely quick and filled with snapping rough and rumble jumps, grappling holds, lots of nibbling, wings expanding out for balance and to look larger. It’s collections of repeatedly quick combos, where the mantis ends up distancing itself from its attacker as if measuring its opponent. My adviser enjoys the combat and asks if he can attack me with boxing and I use the mantis skills I’ve learned. WHAM, WHAM, WHAM, WHAM! He rattles off combinations of punches to my face and body. To his and my surprise, I effortlessly block and parry each strike while moving side-to-side then counter by grabbing the back of his head and pulling him toward me. Since I knew no one who practiced mantis kung fu, how could I know if I had successfully learned what Wang did and re-created martial arts history using modern technology? Major Surprise! Two years later, while studying rice pests in Taiwan, I was cast as a Persian magician on kung fu TV soap opera. The fight choreographer, Zhou Shifu, who trained the President’s body guards, was the Zhang Men Ren (head dude) of Zi Ran Men’s (Natural Door) Praying Mantis Division. He had me do a short fight using mantis kung fu and was impressed I picked up what he wanted me to do. I told him that I learned the movement from a real mantis. He sneered, saying, "Show me." By then, I had put the 10 movements into a flowing sequence using the mantis stances. He said I had crudely performed 10 of the 13 basic techniques created 300+ years ago by Wang Lung, which also happened to be the first 10 of his 20-move mantis form adding, "You are the American Wang Lung." I joked, “Wang studied the larger, five-inch-long Chinese mantis Tenodera aridifolia sinensis , which would explain why I missed the other three movements.” Mantis-Monkey to Rabbit-Crane In the realm of yin-yang…balance…attack or defend…fight or escape…be serious or humorous, I’ve learned over the past 67 years to first be humorous then serious. Where mantis kung fu adopted the leg work of another animal, the monkey, I too was influenced to take two non-related animals and create a unique manimal style by combining rabbit gentleness with the stalwart white crane leg work. Why? Just to say, “Happy Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit. In Scotland, my ancestors would bellow, ‘Have a Bonnie Year,’ yet perhaps today, they might say, ‘Have a Bunny Year,’ because it’s more in line with the wonders of nature and environmental inclusiveness.” On that serious note, due to the nature of the praying mantis that allowed me to step into their environment, apart from learning the basic movements of a martial arts style in the same manner of its founder, they helped me to overcome my lifelong fear of insects as well as to develop a keen power of observation, which is an extremely important device for self-preservation. By stepping back and quietly observing you can train yourself to assess life scenarios, whether it’s combative, social, workplace, lifestyle, interactions with others, etc. Observing is a key component to survival that can create powerful ways of critical thinking and to think, it all evolved from watching praying mantises duke it out.

No matter what martial art you study, there is no substitute for partner training. Nothing teaches the student how to apply their techniques and skills faster than squaring off with an opponent or working with a partner. While there is still value to supplemental training, such as working on a heavy bag or a “Bob,” as well as practicing katas and solo drills, cooperative partner practice and resistant partner training, such as sparring, randori, or reactive training are where the practitioner can really assess their skill level and determine what needs to be improved. Do you want to get the most out of your partner training? Here are some ways to do it. Don’t Live in Your Own Private Idaho What does it mean to live in your own private Idaho? Apart from being a great song by The B-52’s, it means: don’t live in your own head. When you are sparring, rolling, or doing randori, pay attention to what your partner is doing. For myself, I know I can become so fixated on trying to apply a specific technique, that I can end up with “tunnel vision,” and miss other better opportunities. So how can you avoid this trap? You should always have a plan, but not to the exclusion of other options. Observe your opponent. If you initiate something, how do they react? You may find a way to set up your technique or they may reveal an opening for something better. For grapplers, try closing your eyes. You will learn a whole new way to literally “feel” what is happening in the exchange. After your workout, get feedback. Ask your partner what they noticed. “What did you see? Was I telegraphing my intentions?” Honest feedback will teach you a lot. It is not always fun to hear, but it is always educational. Be open to it. Incorporate the necessary changes and see yourself improve. Speed and Resistance Sometimes, when we learn something new, the temptation is to do it a few times and then try to apply it fast and hard. However, that is not the best way to learn how to incorporate something just learned. You walk before you run, and you also jog a bit before you go to a full sprint. That middle place between the initial learning of something and the fast application in a non-compliant exchange is critical. The two important factors to consider are speed and resistance. Try working at a “medium speed” with about half the resistance. Both speed and resistance can be difficult to gauge, but the mere attempt and willingness to try will go a long way toward making the practice productive. Here are some tips. When practicing at a slower speed, neither person should stop, pause, or hesitate in their movement. The idea is to go slower, but take out all the delays from the previous step of learning and strive for fluidity in your technique. It should look like moving in slow motion. Especially when grappling, dialing back the resistance when learning to apply a specific technique or skill will help both parties understand what is happening and how it feels. Increase resistance as skills improve. For strikers, slowing down and striving for better targeting will ensure that more strikes land and that they are more effective when power and speed are added. Mindset When working with a partner, the goal is not to “win,” it is to learn. It’s a subtle distinction in the student’s mindset that can make a big difference in how one approaches the interaction with training partners, and what one takes from it. You are not going to win a medal or a trophy, you are going to gain knowledge. However, that knowledge may very well help you to win a medal or a trophy at your next competition. My first teacher used to say that you should leave all your problems at the door. When you step onto the mat, you should have a good attitude without dragging your job’s office politics, your family problems, or lingering anger from that jerk that cut you off in traffic, onto the mat. That also means leaving your ego at the door as well. A student with a calm and humble demeanor will get more out of their partner practice than someone that gets angry when they lose. Don’t get me wrong though, the goal is to strive for a successful outcome. However, if you were bested by a training partner because they exploited a weakness that you have, and you learned from that experience, that is a win in my book. When defeat arrives, it must be accepted or a valuable lesson will be lost. This is the way a student learns, matures, and improves. Gratitude Always thank your training partners. If you got your clock cleaned, and you learned from that experience, then count yourself lucky. It was a valuable lesson. In general, any time you work with someone, thank them and acknowledge that you appreciate their effort. We are all on our own martial art journey, but we can’t get to our destination alone. We need the help of others along the way.

When I first saw the quote "Women hold up half the sky" being used as a social media Instagram handle, I thought how strange! This is a quote from 1949 proclaimed by Chairman Mao Zedong, who helped to rally women to join the labor force, saying, “Whatever men comrades can accomplish, women comrades can too.” It’s a good start, but this article is about celebrating women warriors all over the world where I believe we can say, at least for March, that women hold up all of the Sky. I will start with my mom, Sandra Kahn, who left her small world in Rhode Island and became one of the first female electricians’ in the Bethlehem Steel Shipyards in San Francisco. Then, keeping it personal still, I can celebrate Jill Rooks, owner of, The Energy Lab in Redlands, California-a true modern-day warrior; Colleen Lemay, owner of New Generation Martial Arts for 30 years and a skilful and badass martial artist; Tonika Taylor, Dance instructor, and Jungshin Fitness master trainer. The list goes on. And on. And ….on. We know and honor the legends: Rosa Parks, Rosey The Riveter, Harriet Tubman, Wonder Woman, Michelle Yeoh, Serena and Venus Williams, The Iron Butterfly, The Amazonian Women, etc., etc. but what do all these women have in common and why are these women warriors? According to the Oxford Dictionary, “a warrior is a brave or experienced fighter or soldier.” These women, amongst many other women, shine brightly because they pioneered paths and soldiered the way for millions of others. These women made our lives easier, for men and women alike! They passed the baton to the next generation, and now we have it: we must continue to pave the way for equality in the workplace, safe homes, and fair opportunities. As men, we get to provide good role models and templates for our daughters and celebrate our wives, moms, and grandmas, even if they are NOT perfect! As women, we raise kind and compassionate young men and strong women, honor the masculine and work alongside them. We get to use our feminine strength to guide those in our lives. We are the ones who get to stop all trials of injustice and do what is right. Why us? Because we are martial artists and we know how to. In Martial Arts, it has been more established than in other sports for a more extended period that women are strong and practice the arts like their brothers. This is one of the welcoming aspects of martial arts I love so much. When we put on our belts, we are martial artists. We are not men vs. women. In addition, Martial Arts is a legendary and ancient discipline with a deep purpose in mindfulness, tribal warfare and protection, and the art of self-defense. Within this field it is equally safe to be male or female, they or them. Who are the women in your closest circles and are you celebrating them? Please tag @jungshinfitness on Instagram and let us know! Happy International Women’s Month!

Are you prepared to compete with the best of the best in Karate? Sport Karate competitions provide participants a chance to demonstrate their skills, push themselves, and become a champion. However, it's crucial to understand what it takes to win in these high-stakes contests before you go onto the mat. Priorities: Establish some goals Having a clear understanding of your goals is essential before you even begin practicing for a Sport Karate competition. Do you wish to return home with a bright medal? Break your own record? Or perhaps you just want to know how you compare to the opposition? One of the top competitors from Sport Karate history, Matt Emig, mentioned his unique perspective on competition in his interview on The Jackson Rudolph Podcast. For him, competition wasn’t always about targeting the approach which would be most impressive to the judges, it was sometimes more about seizing improvised opportunities on stage and obtaining new levels of overall performance. Whatever your objectives, be sure they are time-bound, relevant, quantifiable, and explicit (folks in the business world know this as “SMART”, for short). This will assist you in maintaining your training-related motivation and attention. Choose Your Battles and the Appropriate Rivalry It's time to pick a competition that supports your objectives once you've set them. Do your homework before selecting a Sport Karate competition since not all of them are made equal. Take into account the logistics, including the venue, transportation, and lodging, as well as the format, regulations, and degree of competition. And don't be scared to set your goals on a significant, prominent event because you never know what you could accomplish if you do. Train Like a Champion: Be Consistent You must train persistently and shrewdly if you want to win a Sport Karate tournament. This calls for a comprehensive training plan that incorporates technical instruction, overall strategy, sparring and/or forms drilling, and physical fitness. Address your flaws while concentrating on your strengths. To keep your body and mind on their toes, switch things up. Don't overlook the value of rest and recuperation though; if you want to perform at your peak, your muscles need time to repair and regenerate. Fuel Your Fire: Diet and Hydration Are Important Sport Karate competitions are about bringing your best performance, which depends on proper diet and hydration. To feed your body and aid in muscle regeneration, make sure you are consuming enough of the proper nutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Don't forget to drink enough water, as this is essential for sustaining both physical and mental function and regulating body temperature. Don't undervalue the power of sleep while we're talking about recuperation. In the days before the competition, make sure you get plenty of sleep to make sure you are well-rested and prepared to rock. Mind Over Matter: Manage Your Stress and Emotions Sport Karate event competition may be stressful, especially if you are under pressure to do well. It's crucial to control your tension and emotions so they don't hinder you. Finding strategies to stay focused and optimistic, as well as using relaxation techniques like deep breathing, are some ways to handle stress. Understanding the competition's rules and structure will also enable you to prepare tactically and control your tension. Make sure you are prepared for the event day, and think about participating in a nearby competition or viewing internet recordings to acquire a sense of the competition setting and observe how other competitors do. The Early Bird Gets the Golden Worm: Arrive on Time and WarmUp. I’ll keep this tip short; enhance your mobility, loosen up your muscles, and psychologically prepare for the competition with the aid of a decent warm-up. Your body will thank you, and so will your competition score. Karate Karma: Focus and Be Upbeat It's critical to maintain positivity and focus during the tournament, no matter what transpires. You can maintain the present moment and provide your best effort if you do this. Never lose faith in your skills or training, and try not to allow failures or defeats get you down. Instead, consider them as chances for development and improvement. Loses provide lessons, so long as you are willing to capture them. Mind Over Matter: Management of Your Stress and Emotions Sport Karate competitions may be nerve-wracking, especially if you are under pressure to do well. To avoid being held back, it's critical to control your tension and emotions. Using relaxation methods, such deep breathing exercises or meditation, and finding strategies to maintain concentration and optimism are some approaches to handle stress. You can control tension and make a smart preparation plan by being familiar with the competition's rules and structure. A local competition or internet recordings can help you get a sense of the competition atmosphere and how other practitioners fare. Make sure you are aware of what to anticipate on the day of the event. Leading Sport Karate Leagues and Groups If you want to get involved in the world of Sport Karate competition, you need to learn about the best leagues and groups that put on competitions. Here are a few of the great ones to follow: WKF, or the World Karate Federation. The WKF, the biggest and most prominent worldwide Karate organization, organizes a number of competitions and events every year. The WKF offers events for Karate practitioners of various skill levels, including the World Karate Championships and the Karate 1 Premier League. USKA,or the United States Karate Alliance. The USKA, a prominent Karate association in the country, organizes a variety of competitions and events every year. The USKA offers several chances for Karate practitioners to compete and display their abilities, from the USKA National Championships to the USKA World Cup. ISKA, or the International Sport Karate Association. The ISKA is a worldwide organization that sponsors a variety of competitions and events for Karateka of all levels. The ISKA offers a range of competition possibilities for Karate practitioners, from the ISKA World Championships to the ISKA National Open. Practical Suggestions for Competitors Here are a few quick helpful suggestions for you in addition to the previous advice and tactics: ● Keep your training consistent. Keep to your training and have faith in your talents. ● Take losses or defeats gracefully - Try not to lose heart if things don't turn out the wayyou expected. Instead, concentrate on the lessons you can take away from yourmistakes and see failures as chances for development. ● Finding the right balance between fun and seriousness is important. Sport Karatetournaments might be tough, but that doesn't mean you can't have a good time. Strive to strike a balance between taking the event seriously and having fun.ConclusionSport Karate tournaments are a terrific chance to put your abilities to the test, push your limitations, and challenge yourself. You can position yourself for success and have a meaningful and joyful experience by creating SMART objectives, choosing the correct competition, training consistently and wisely, managing stress and emotions, and being focused and happy.Don't be hesitant to participate in Sport Karate events, regardless of your skill level. You never know what you could accomplish! Conclusion Sport Karate tournaments are a terrific chance to put your abilities to the test, push your limitations, and challenge yourself. You can position yourself for success and have a meaningful and joyful experience by creating SMART objectives, choosing the correct competition, training consistently and wisely, managing stress and emotions, and being focused and happy.Don't be hesitant to participate in Sport Karate events, regardless of your skill level. You never know what you could accomplish!

In my hometown of Pittsburgh I’m particularly fascinated by how big judo is in Israel. With the latest IJF Grand Slam held in Israel, here some articles I collected and links over the last year I share as my Black Belt Blog for this week. ( Video Highlights & American Judo Article on Recent Grand Slam in Israel ) Saeid Mollaei Turns 30 (Now 31!) Here you can watch ALL IJF World Judo Tour events LIVE, along with various Judo Highlight shows, video series, best moments, athlete interviews ... Saeid Mollaei sacrificed a lifetime for a dream. He did it of his own free will and he did it in Japan at a place called the Budokan. Fate has reasons that reasons does not know, but when it pays justice it has an unmistakable flavor. Today is the birthday of Saeid who turns 30. In 2019 Tokyo was the scene of a bad action, espionage and suspense movie, whose main actor was Mollaei. Bad because when politics penetrates the field of sport things usually end badly and sometimes very badly. Mollaei's sin was not being born in Iran. His sin was not accepting orders and his penance was an ordeal that cost him much more than a person can bear, because to be free he had to renounce everything. The story is well known. What is little known, because it has not been offered, is Mollaei's life between 2019 and 2021. "It was the hardest decision of my life because it meant giving up my life in order to compete as a normal person." Normality, that condition that is only understood once lost. Saeid rebuilt his life with parsimony and a non-negotiable goal: the Tokyo Olympics. "That's why I left Iran and that's why I haven't seen my family since 2019: to be here." Little by little, "step by step,” as he puts it, Saeid raised his head from under the water in Germany, where he has lived ever since. "I barely spoke German. I was afraid of possible reprisals from the Iranian regime, not only for me, but for my wife and of course, my parents and brothers, who are still in Iran." Saeid has had to learn to look over his shoulder and resume his Olympic preparation. They are periods of four years, five this time. Any little misstep can cost a medal because judoka plan complex but necessary cycles to get to the peak on the right day. He also received a Mongolian passport, which has allowed him to participate in the race to Tokyo. “It was not the ideal preparation, quite the opposite. I've never lost hope because I knew I could get a good result in Japan." Mollaei took a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Saeid slept that night with the silver medal. "I have spent half the night kissing the medal."

Two-time Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame honoree Fumio Demura marks a rare milestone anniversary this weekend as he celebrates his 75th anniversary in martial arts. The renowned karate and kobudo instructor's Genbu-Kai organization will be honoring his achievement at a banquet in Fullerton, Calif. Demura began training in martial arts in the late 1940s starting with kendo and karate in his native Japan. At age 12 he began practicing his primary style of shito-ryu karate. He would also go on to study traditional Okinawan weaponry under famed kobudo instructor Taira Shinken, later writing books on various karate weapons including the tonfa, sai and nunchaku. Demura moved to the United States in 1965 becoming a popular martial arts instructor in Southern California. He's, perhaps, best known as the stuntman who performed the karate scenes for Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi character in the original "Karate Kid" movies. He was named Black Belt Magazine's karate instructor of the year in 1969 and martial artist of the year in 1975.