It’s a Wild & Wooly, Western, WuXia, Samurai Tour de Force Epic by Dr. Craig D. Reid John Wick is at a boiling point. Feel it! Hands up, down and sideways, the best American martial arts movie in 2023 is John Wick: Chapter 4 ( JW4 ) as he returns under more attritional circumstances. Turn on the end of the 2023 Saturday night floodlights for all to see, it is a film where its very essence of what it is, how it is, and where it can take us into 2024, where it might just mute all other martial art films next year. Yet these are the martial arts movie moments in history we search for, as JW4 is reflecting its sheer utter dominance, a rare acquaintance in our genre where it’s a heavy weight of nuts and bolts that hopefully can inspire other American made martial arts filmmakers prowl to do better. It’s no easy task, here is what filmmakers are up against. (Maybe only JW5 can ascend beyond?) In JW4 , Wick (Keanu Reeves) is transformed, reimbued with fervent ambition, believing he has a way out of the High Table, the secretive and powerful organization that governs and controls the underground world of assassins. It serves as a council of high-ranking individuals who enforce a strict code of conduct within the assassin community. Wick’s margin of error has vanished, it all comes down to one night , it is non-negotiable. One more moment to cease, one more moment to nettle, to grasp. As he scrambles for what’s left of his reputation and preserve his dominance against the world’s assassins who pledge their blind allegiance to the blackmailing, irreverent leader Marquis de Gramont, from Wicks perspective does he have the guts to face the ferocious frenzied prejudice of this pseudo-Monarch? Oh yeah! The whole organizational concept of the Wick films is influence by the secret world of Jiang Hu that is so beautifully and surreptitiously the backbone of Chinese wuxia novels and films. Jiang Hu is an alternative society made up of beggars, martial art heroes, villains and outcasts who coexisted within normal society yet lived by their own laws, systems of brotherhood and a morality code of ethics. Wu Lin became a strict martial artists subdivision of the Jiang Hu underworld that adhered to their own unwritten and respected ethical codes of righteousness, loyalty, chivalry, and gallantry. If I was to guess which wuxia novel director Chad Stahelski’s Wick character was influenced by, whether knowingly or unwittingly, especially in JW4 , I would pick Louis Cha’s (aka Jin Yong) novel, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, and that part of Wick is greatly based on Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggar Clan within Wu Lin. It’s worth noting Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King role and Wick supporter, sometimes projects an image of an authoritative vagrant beggar. During dastardly and deranged exigent circumstances, Wick and Qiao are marked as public enemy number one where everybody within their respective underground societies is told to assassinate the two antiheroes at all costs. In JW4 , Stahelski’s dynamic blending has crafted an action film that transcends boundaries, while captivating audiences with its breathtaking visuals, masterful choreography and are true homages to the mixture of genres he has embraced, such as the powerful action vibes of Wuxia, Samurai and Westerns cinema as well as the sensibilities of anime, manga and graphic novels. The Mad World of John Wick 4’s Wick-ipedia of Action Stahelski’s thrilling floods of raw ambition and action maturity uses his brain to train, his heart to impart the incorporation of whatever his eyes and ears, feelings and emotions, and body and mind can conjure up. He’s done what in 1993 Jackie Chan told me on the set of Drunken Master II , “Make the choreography as difficult as you can,” and during the same trip the father of wire fu, Ching Siu-tung, advised, “Dream up whatever you want to do, then figure out how to do it.” With the clutches of a renaissance man, Stahelski has firmly grasped both of these valuable pieces of fight choreography approaches to the nth degree and created his own luxurious martial art world of reality. Shot in 2021, in JW4 , still fresh after a movie that breathes familiar territory, Donnie Yen had completed a film donned in a 65-pound fat suit, doing an homage remake of Sammo Hung's 1978 film of the same name, Enter the Fat Dragon (2020), to now play the blind assassin Caine. Not only did fans wrongly assume that Caine was influenced by his scene-stealing appearance as a blind warrior monk in Rogue One (2016) but he also ran into a similar fat-suited character, Killa, which is also an homage to Sammo, played by the English martial arts star Scott Adkins who was born a mere 100 miles north from my hometown birthplace, Reading, England. David Carradine’s Caine persona’s influence in the Kung Fu TV show is cemented in JW4 when Wick becomes a member of sponsoring assassin sect by receiving forearm body art in the same fashion Caine did when he left the Shaolin Temple. During the opening samurai genre influenced fray of frantic ferocity at the Continental Hotel in Osaka, Japan, the die is cast as the hotel keeper and close friend of Wick, Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada), comes face-to-face with the Marquis’ discontent for the Japanese traditions of bushido, as Marquis’ right hand liquidator Chidi (Marko Zaror) arrives and refuses to hand over his gun. The gauntlet torn down, the lung-busting fight is magnificently tense and with every passing second it’s cranked up, industrial, intricate, it’s escapism. Chidi chides Shimazu by refusing to honorably fight with swords as his Marquis marauders arrive dressed in black armor totting firearms while wearing what looks like kabuki masks, symbolizing they’ll shut down Shimazu’s show and coat the set with the blood of Wick’s brethren. Or maybe the masks are a symbolic nod to the origin of the first assassin organization in history, the Hashshashin of Persia created by Hasan-I Sabbah between A.D. 1090-1275. Either way, it’s sign of things to come as mostly Keanu, Donnie and Zaror flex their martial art muscle and weaponry wares that we can guess will climax on the one night, which little did we know would be a 45-minute action paradise, and an extravaganza worthy of an Oscar. Bravo on Wick’s nunchaku fight looking nothing like no other nunchaku fight I’ve seen and doesn’t try to emulate Bruce Lee or people who flail their weapon at lightning speed doing fancy movements that in the paraphrased words of MacBeth, “Have sound and fury, yet signify nothing and is heard no more.” However, we will be hearing about John Wick for decades to come. The final act of JW4 is the one night mayhem of death-defying extravagant outrageousness, a rowdy riotous environment in Paris, full of colossal collisions, gut-wrenching fearing and thumping, a veritable landslide of goosebump rolling, and a heavenly Sergio Leone climax ending with someone being thrown under a triple decker bus. Hats off to Vincent Bouillon, Keanu’s stunt double who has become the ultimate “roll” model when doing a falling downstairs stunt. With the gall and guts of a mighty Spartan warrior, he pulled of a different kind of 300 . The camera choreography of each fight/action scene is Wickedly mesmerizing, Stahelski doing the usual wide-angle shots so you can see everything and keeping the camera rolling as to draw you into the action. Yet there is one sequence he’s never done before, where he was inspired by the look of video games and anime. It is a bird’s-eye POV oner using a camera that shoots wider angles than normal, as it tracks Wick with mostly a shotgun using dragon breath shells that lights the enemy on fire (great lighting effect), walking and shooting around the first floor of an ornate building with large multi-interconnected rooms. Since it’s an elongated moving overhead shot, they could only light from the side, because any elevated lights could look like many crisscrossing spotlights and make the scene dizzying. Watch it carefully. How many Texas Switches did you see? I saw two and maybe a third. Throughout JW4 , you’re always waiting for something calamitous to happen as Wick pinches victories from defeat. Stahelski’s undulatingly unique approach to ballistic ballet and car combat congas is more insane than being attacked by killer hornets. His incisive action is always seeking the master strike during each fight scene, where ironically, every shot, scenario, choreography idea and his multi-levels of fu-n (kung fu, sword fu (jian and katana), gun fu, car fu, wire fu and dare I say stunt fu) are all jollified snap, crackle, and pop master strikes in his chorographical mapping of pure golden magic and reality. Who is going to step up in 2024 to top this? Perhaps the key is in further understanding wuxia novels and the library of wuxia martial arts films that have been influenced by these books.

Undefeated boxer and kickboxer, Graciela is the first athlete male or female to hold 2 world championships in kickboxing and boxing at the same time. Graciela Casillas shares on Defending Against Blades and Guns. Long-time advocate of self-defense training for women, Graciela has expertise beyond the ring as a certified NRA Weapons instructor, Kali FMA Master, and one of the first and few females to graduate the ESI Executive Protection Program. Today she is one of the most sought-after martial arts and tactical trainers in the world teaching self-defense programs with stick, blade, gun, and empty hand to civilian law enforcement and even military personnel around the world. She is also an adjunct professor at Oxnard College with two masters degrees. Take us down the origin story of your relationship with firearms. Early on, in my martial arts journey, I quickly grasped the importance of firearms training in an increasingly dangerous world. It all began at Dan Inosanto's Kali Academy, where I had the privilege of meeting Clifford Stewart—an executive protection specialist and the visionary behind Within Arms Reach (WAR), a program dedicated to Close Protection Specialists. Stewart's mentorship extended far beyond the realm of physical techniques. His profound influence was rooted in a deep understanding of the distinctions between martial arts as art, sport, and the harsh realities of street self-defense. He challenged me to seek out practical training that addressed the most pressing self-defense needs of our time. Another transformative experience during this period was being introduced to Massad Ayoob, the founder of the Lethal Force Institute. Ayoob's expertise was renowned not only for teaching firearm operation but also for delving into the intricate legal and civil implications surrounding the use of lethal force. To enhance my proficiency my training included many extensive firearms training courses and additional courses on the judicious use of lethal force under Ayoob's expert guidance. My commitment to ongoing training continues, occasionally returning to train with Ayoob to keep my skills sharp. Traditionally, martial arts were designed to combat the weaponry of their respective eras —swords, tonfas, sickles, and staffs. However, in today's environment, martial arts must evolve to encompass modern weaponry, including guns. The alarming rise in crime rates underscores the urgency for individuals, especially women, to be proficient in both traditional self-defense techniques and dealing with threats posed by firearms. As a certified NRA instructor, I am dedicated to training and teaching firearms skills. In the United States, the demand for concealed weapons permits has surged, with an increasing number of women seeking self-defense options due to the growing crime rates. According to a Harvard study, half of all guns in the U.S. were bought by women between 2019 and 2021. That number continues to rise with women making up a significant portion of permit holders. Regardless of personal beliefs about firearms for self-defense, there is an undeniable need for safe firearm handling and proficiency. That is just one reason I have taken the responsibility of teaching, ensuring their safety and competence in firearm use. A comprehensive martial arts program, particularly for women, should encompass holistic training that includes firearm use and defense. Taking a holistic approach embraces the dynamic nature of self-defense needs in the contemporary world and empowers individuals, especially women, by endowing them with the skills, knowledge, and resilience needed to navigate an ever more complex and potentially dangerous environment. You have a lot of knives and guns as part of your training, how important is that for you personally and do you think all women should have the same arsenal? I believe it is essential for women, and individuals in general, to have a well-rounded martial arts skillset that includes training on how to use and defend against knives and firearms. Women, in particular, can benefit greatly from such training. The unfortunate reality is that women are disproportionately targeted in various situations, making it vital for them to be equipped with the tools to protect themselves effectively. Learning how to use weapons responsibly and defend against them can level the playing field and enhance personal safety. Moreover, being a well-rounded martial artist goes beyond physical prowess; it cultivates mental resilience and determination. This mindset is often the most potent self-defense tool, enabling individuals to stay alert, make quick decisions, and respond appropriately in high-stress situations. Empowerment should go beyond the physical level, but also mentally, providing women with the confidence and ability to protect themselves effectively when faced with potential threats. You are constantly growing your knowledge base even taking weekend classes in shooting and knife fighting, many masters in martial arts would be afraid to “start as a white belt” but you have done this over and over, what drives this appetite? The relentless pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement drives my insatiable appetite for continuous learning, even when it means starting anew as a white belt in various disciplines, including shooting and knife fighting. Many might wonder what fuels this unceasing hunger for growth. Above all else, I view self-improvement as a personal and professional responsibility, not just for my benefit but also for the students I have the privilege of instructing. It's a commitment to offer the best guidance and knowledge to those who entrust me with their martial arts education. One of my foundational lessons in this quest for growth came from Guru Dan Inosanto, a true martial arts luminary. He emphasized the significance of problem-solving and self-discovery, teaching that every problem has a solution, even when it may seem elusive. This mindset has been instrumental in shaping my approach to learning and teaching. In life, we often encounter challenges that can leave us feeling stuck, whether in our personal or professional endeavors. Embracing new training and acquiring fresh skills propels me forward because I relish the journey itself. I recognize that the pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong endeavor, and I don't anticipate reaching the end of it in this lifetime. The wisdom encapsulated in Bruce Lee's famous quote, "empty your cup," resonates deeply with me. To continue growing as both a student and an instructor, it's essential to let go of preconceived notions and remain open to new ideas and perspectives. This willingness to empty one's cup, to release the constraints of what one thinks they know, is pivotal in the journey of self-improvement. Ultimately, my unceasing appetite for learning and growth is driven by a profound love for the process itself. It's the joy of discovering new insights, acquiring fresh skills, and evolving as an individual, martial artist, and teacher. This journey is not a destination but a lifelong odyssey, and I embrace it wholeheartedly, knowing that the pursuit of knowledge is an integral part of what makes me who I am.

Phillip Rhee is a master martial artist, actor, and filmmaker best known for creating the Best of the Best film franchise with his producing partner and mentor Peter E. Strauss (former chairman of Lionsgate) and Frank Giustra (founder of Lionsgate). The first Best of the Best starred Academy Award-nominated actors, James Earl Jones, Eric Roberts, Louise Fletcher, Sally Kirkland, and Chris Penn was distributed through Sony Pictures. In 2015, Best of the Best was chosen by Fandango's 15 most inspirational sports movies of all time along with Rocky . Rhee is a 7th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, 3rd degree in Hapkido, and Kendo and is one of the most sought after teachers in the world. His former students include top CEOs, industry titans, professional athletes, and film celebrities. You have been an icon in martial arts cinema for over 34 years and yet we learned that you actually teach Tae Kwon Do every week without a break, what kept you so grounded? I had great mentors, such as Grand Master Jun Chong who trained my brother and I, and we have the responsibility to share the knowledge to the next generation of martial artists. Share with us your martial arts journey and the styles you were exposed to such as wing chun and boxing? My brother Simon and I studied various combat arts because: - Taekwondo has powerful kicks. - Boxing is great with hands. - Muay Thai is great with knees and elbows. - Kung Fu or Tai Chi have grace and fluidity. - Japanese Karate or Kyokushin are great for discipline and hard work. - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is great for ground fighting and grappling. - Judo is great for throwing and choke holds. Describe the early days training with your brother and how that motivated or inspired you? We started in Korea when we were very young. Those days, we all worked out on wooden floors and fought without protective gears. On top of that there was no air conditioner in the summer or heaters in the winter. To endure this type of discipline is not for everyone but it shapes a person through hard work and humility. You had a great successful series of movies during a time when “shoot ‘em up” action films and martial arts films were the rage, what inspired you to create Best of the Bes t, which has become a beloved film franchise? The reason we made Best of the Best is because we wanted to share the beauty, power, humility and the heart of the martial arts. Describe your relationship with martial arts, is it a philosophy, exercise, or other in your current daily life? The difference between sport and martial arts are similar but different. In the martial arts there are three disciplines to learn: 1. MIND: In order to cultivate the mind we have to learn and study. 2. BODY: To cultivate the body we have to eat healthy and exercise. 3. SPIRIT: To cultivate the spirit is to help others in need. You took a break from film making after the huge success of Best of the Best , what did you do during that period and what motivated you to start producing again? I’ve been approached to make other movies but the scripts were not for me. So I’ve been writing various stories that I was attracted to, and one of them is Best of the Best 5 and is in negotiation as we speak. You are a hero to so many who are your martial arts heroes on and off screen? Hands down is Jackie Chan. Jackie is a great martial artist but why I like him so much is because he is so humble and gracious. We were in a big party and all of the sudden, Jackie approached me and gave me a cigar and he said, “Phillip, this is the Best of the Best cigar for you” and said hello to me. I mean, Jackie is a huge star and he didn’t have to do that but he’s such a great guy and I learned humility from him as well as my dear friend, Sammo Hung. When you teach today do you have a focused approach and has that changed over the 40+ years of teaching? For me, it’s all of the above. After many years I realized that the power is NOT about taking people down but it is about lifting people up. Today many actors and martial artists find social media fame but still strive for the silver screen. What is your advice for those that want to blaze a path like you did? The most important thing is to believe in yourself. And if you believe in yourself it will manifest itself. So work hard and never give up your dreams! You are beloved across the world, what is your message to fans who are waiting for another film from Phillip Rhee? To be honest I didn’t want to make a movie just for the money until I found a great story, but after many years, I finally wrote Best of the Best 5 with my writing partner Mark Nemcoff and it’s going to be great. The action is going to be great! But more so, Best 5 will have a lot of heart that Best 1 had, and there will be more to come. We cannot wait. It’s been a pleasure, Master Rhee. Photos via Phillip Rhee

Africa is the largest and most culturally diverse continent on the planet. Unfortunately, it is also the continent we are the least exposed to in the West. While we recognize the differences in Asian cultures, be it India, Japan, Thailand, China, Mongolia, Russia etc. – we often think of Africa as just… Africa. We look at it as though it is all the same, when in reality there are over 3000 distinct ethnic groups in Africa, with over 2000 languages. Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania, all African countries, and all radically different. That’s to say nothing of the many different cultures within countries that are grouped together now, only because of the lines between nations that were drawn by Europeans during the colonial era. Africa is rich with a wide variety of martial arts, of which we see nothing about. Today we’re going to take a brief look at a few of them. Nguni Stick-Fighting This South African art, also known as Zulu Stick Fighting, is practized by Nguni men and teenage boys. Those who are familiar with Filipino martial arts will probably recognize a lot from NSF. Each fighter is armed with two sticks, one used primarily for offense and the other used for defense. The offensive stick is really more of a club, with a weighted ball at the end. The same hand that holds the defensive stick, also holds a small shield to protect the hand from strikes. Like a lot of armed martial arts, the reality of the fight is a lot grittier than what you may initially picture. While the name of the game is to club your opponent with the stick, it’s not just attacking and defending with said sticks. Fighters will grab each other, clinch, push, shove and unlike HEMA and Kendo competitions where the fighters have plenty of protective armour, in Stick Fighting, no such protection exists. The results, predictably, can be quite bloody. The defending stick does a lot of the work for you, so long as you’re competent, as there is very little reason to move and parry as you would with a style like kali, or Krabi krabong. Instead you can hide behind the defending stick and be ready to block and counter attack. Attacks can often look flaily and uncoordinated, but this has less to do with a lack of skill and more to do with the awkward way you have to swing in order to make contact. The nature of the defensive stick means that it’s often more efficient to change the angle of your attack mid swing to creep around your opponent’s defence, rather than trying to smash through it with a traditional swing. In Nguni culture, it is customary that during wedding celebrations, the bridge and grooms’ male guests compete against each other. While emotions will always run high during a fight, the practise is less about asserting dominance and more about building comradery and respect amongst the fighters. As a rather humorous result, wedding crashers are known to appear just looking for competition and are usually welcomed. Dambe When I told my friend, a fellow martial arts enthusiast, I was writing this article, the first thing he said was ‘like Dambe?’ Originating in Nigeria, West Africa, Dambe originates from the Hausu people. At first dambe had me a little bit puzzled. The fighters have one fist fully wrapped in rope, transforming it into a solid brick to smack with. The other hand is free, and from there you will see both fighters stand almost fully side on to each other, pawing with their lead hand and looking to land the wrapped hand. It was puzzling because I couldn’t fully understand why this would have come about as opposed to regular bare knuckle boxing that you see in styles like Lethwei or Kard Cheuk Muay Thai. It was only after watching Nguni stick fighting that I started to see the similarities between the two, prompting further research. Dambe as a style harkens back to the same sort of armed combat that we see in Nguni stick fighting. The lead arm serves as the ‘shield’, keeping distance, defending and grabbing to set up blows, whereas the rear arm acts as the weapon, but instead of holding a weapon itself, the rope transforms the fist into a solid club. With that in mind it becomes a lot easier to understand how this seemingly unusual sport was born. Despite the rear hand looking imposing, it’s the front hand where the fight really happens. The fights are methodical, using patient hand fighting that you would normally associate with wrestling to clear a path for the ‘spear’ hand. A fighter might slap the opponents guard away, or outright just grab their opponents wrist to shut them down. Though rarer to see, kicks are permitted in dambe and wrestling was also once allowed. On its surface it looks like it will be little more than a brutal street fight, but there is a clear art and history to this Nigerian style of boxing. Senegalese Wrestling Wrestling exists in every culture. Whether it’s Judo, Sumo, Shuia Jiao, Mongolian Bokh, Greco Roman Wrestling or any other of the hundreds of styles – we collectively as a species understand that wrestling is the simplest and most efficient form of fighting. Wrestling is so universal that it’s also very rare that you will take up a new style of wrestling, and not immediately understand what you’re going to do. Wrestling is practically a universal art with the only real differences coming from specific styles allowed throws and grips. So it should come as no surprise that Senegal has it’s own wrestling style. Senegalese wrestling, also known as Laamb en Wolof, like a lot of folk wrestling is contested outside, but while a style like Mongolian bokh is performed in a field – Laamb is contested in sandy arenas, often alongside Dambe matches. Unlike the majority of wrestling styles, it can allow for strikes, in addition to takedowns. This results in some brutal displays of bare knuckle dirty boxing, as fighters club each other in the clinch, while working for takedowns. Aside from a knockout, a win is determined when a wrestler falls. A fall is counted as the head, back or buttocks touching the floor, or alternatively when there are four points of contact with the floor. For example a wrestler can be brought onto one knee, but it would not be a win, the wrestler can continue to wrestle up from that position, but if they were brought onto their hands and knees, the contest is over. Unlike dambe and stick fighting, Senegalese wrestling as actually quite big business. While stick fighting and dambe are more a social sports that communities gather around, wrestling is a huge spectator sport that will be watched in arenas more like sumo, or bokh. These are of course, only three of countless African martial arts. It’s very easy to think of martial arts as purely an East Asian thing, as we are generally not exposed to African marital arts, and with European martial arts we often take them for granted and forget they exist. As Africa grows more and more influential on a global scale, it’s possible that we may see its martial arts grow in exposure and popularity. If it does, it will be fascinating to see which one rises to the top.

A master in Jeet Kune Do, Burt Richardson has spent his life in pursuit of the mastery of several martial arts styles including BJJ and Filipino Martial Arts. Under the tutelage of such greats as Dan Inasantos, Tony Diego, the Machado Brothers, and Carlson Gracie he is on a constant quest for knowledge. He’s an author and teacher working with people from law enforcement to civilians. We are thrilled to reconnect with Black Belt Hall of Fame inductee Burt Richardson. Watch his full interview in the Black Belt+ exclusives section!

Jared Wihongi breaks down step-by-step how he'd handle an armed combatant: Jared Wihongi is a full-time International Close-Quarters Combat (CQC) Instructor. His TRICOM combatives system is an integration of empty-hand combat, impact weapons, edged weapons and firearms tactics. Jared has trained in multiple traditional martial arts for 40 years, and is a senior Tuhon of Pekiti-Tirsia Kali under Grandtuhon Leo T. Gaje Jr. He is the founder and President of the Pekiti Tirsia Tactical Association. Jared worked 23 years as a Police Officer and Operator on three SWAT Teams, and was contracted as a U.S. Army Special Forces Combatives Instructor for almost two decades. These experiences heavily influenced his training programs. He has taught his TRICOM programs to police and military Special Operations personnel and civilian martial artists across North & South America, Western & Eastern Europe, East & Southeast Asia, Australasia and the Middle East. For more about Jared, visit: www.tricomtraining.com for TRICOM programs. www.pekiti.university for Kali programs. www.jaredwihongi.com for personal Bio.

With BRAVE CF 80, 'Zuhair' is ready to show Bahrain what they could not witness live at BRAVE CF 72 At BRAVE CF 80 on December 15, Mohamed Alsameea will make his return to BRAVE Combat Federation. After a thoroughly successful amateur career, the youngster made the jump up to the professional ranks, with his first pro bout taking place at BRAVE CF 72. His opponent was Ibrahim Hassan and although it went into the second round, Alsameea left no doubt over who was the better fighter as he tore through Hassan with a finish that really did put him on the map in the promotion. Unfortunately, with it being a closed event, his many loyal supporters weren’t there to witness his crowning achievement. Now, at BRAVE CF 80, he has the chance to run it back - and do it right this time. "In my pro debut with BRAVE Combat Federation, I did not have as many fans supporting me since it was a closed event. Now during my next fight happening at BRAVE CF 80, the entire Bahrain will be there to support me, and they will witness what I have got to show." The flyweight sensation has never been the kind of fighter who backs down from a challenge, and in his homeland of the Kingdom of Bahrain, you can bet he’ll do everything in his power to remind everyone why he’s such a highly-touted prospect. BRAVE CF 80 will serve as the final event of BRAVE CF’s International Combat Week, with three shows spread over an incredible ten-day period next month. Stay tuned for breaking news, fight recaps and more as we continue the countdown to fight night!

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At BRAVE CF 76 Indonesia, fight fans witnessed one of the greatest comebacks of the year in mixed martial arts - and one of the best in the history of BRAVE Combat Federation. In the fourth fight of the evening, we saw a Bantamweight collision take place between Randi Febian and Dewantoro. We expected to see an incredible brawl between the two men, and when push came to shove, that’s exactly what we got from both of these warriors. In the blink of an eye, Dewantoro made his power count as he dropped Febian almost immediately. However, things soon turned when they got to the ground, and Randi locked in a nasty submission hold that left him on the verge of breaking his opponent’s arm. Dewantoro managed to escape, and upon their return to the feet, it wasn’t long before he put Febian on the canvas for a second time. The referee took a close look at the action and appeared to be close to intervening, but an illegal knee saved the day for Febian and ensured that the bout would continue. This absolute war bled through into the second round, with Dewantoro once again looking like the aggressor and the more well-rounded striker of the two. However, in true Rocky fashion, Febian kept moving forward despite the pressure he was under and managed to drop Dewantoro with a short left hook. The follow-up shots rendered Dewantoro unable to continue, and in the words of the commentary team, Febian was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It’s the kind of comeback that will be talked about as part of the promotion’s journey to prominence for a long time, and many fighters can take great inspiration from seeing evidence of what we all know to be true - it’s not over until it’s over.

ONE Championship's weekly event series ONE Friday Fights rolls on this Friday, December 1, with ONE Friday Fights 43 The action-packed series has lit up Lumpinee Boxing Stadium throughout 2023, and the final chapter begins with an electric 12-bout lineup. In the main event, Pettonglor Sitluangpeenumfon battles Kongsuk Fairtex in a flyweight Muay Thai bout. Pettonglor has won his first two bouts at ONE Friday Fights and wants to extend his streak to three before the year's end. Flyweights also take centerstage in the co-main event of the evening. Kongthoranee Sor Sommai will welcome Parsa Aminipour to ONE as he tries to move his promotional record to 6-1. Kongthoranee last competed in October with a thrilling victory over Taiki Naito, moving him one step closer to the division's upper echelon. 20-year-old Aslamjon Ortikov returns to attempt to keep his professional record clean. The 16-0 rising star will take on Chatanan Sor Jor Joyprajin in a 129-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest, where the Thai will try to stop the fast-moving hype train and stake his own claim to fame. In addition to the nine Muay Thai bouts in Bangkok, Thailand, three MMA battles will commence. Dave "Kintas" Bangguigui shined on ONE Warrior Series before stepping into the ring at ONE Friday Fights 14. The 28-year-old Filipino wants to prove he can compete in the talent-rich strawweight division. Still, Ryosuke Honda steps onto the global stage to steal his thunder. All that action and more will go down live and free on Friday, December 1, at 7:30 a.m. EST/4:30 a.m. PST on ONE's YouTube channel . ONE Friday Fights 43 Full Card Kongsuk Fairtex vs. Pettonglor Sitluangpeenumfon Kongthoranee Sor Sommai vs. Parsa Aminipour Sibsan Nokkhao KorMor11 vs. Award Kazimba Bakashabaruhanga Chokdee Maxjandee vs. Yousif Qadir Koklai Chor Hapayak vs. Jomjai Naksugym BM Fairtex vs. Petnamkhong Mongkolpet Aslamjon Ortikov vs. Chatanan Sor Jor Joyprajin Chanajon PK Saenchai vs. Mustafa Al Tekreeti Rambong Sor Therapat vs. Jiduo Yibu Carlos Alvarez vs. Nachyn Sat Ryosuke Honda vs. Dave Bangguigui Faine Mesquita vs. Baktygul Kurmanbekova

With more than 60 events planned, ONE Championship is looking to make a massive impression on martial arts fans around the world when the ball drops in the new year. ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong is setting the stage for a huge 2024 for the organization. In 2023, Muay Thai took centerstage. ONE held the vast majority of its events inside the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, with only three events outside of the city. That will change in the calendar turns. “ONE Friday Fights and the Muay Thai product are very much on a firm footing now. We’ve laid the groundwork and feel very comfortable it’s running on autopilot, and now we’re able to scale up. We’ve firmly established we have the No 1 striking property on the planet. The focus will be sharply back onto mixed martial arts,” Sityodtong told South China Morning Post’s Nicolas Atkin. The focus on MMA will begin with already-announced plans for a ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship rematch between champion Jarred Brooks and former titleholder Jacio Pacio early in the new year. Also announced, Sityodtong stated ONE Lightweight and Welterweight MMA World Champion Christian Lee would return for a title defense in February. But Sityodtong is promising even more. “The next chapter of 2024 is going to be a record high number of events for us across all different martial arts, around the world in different locations. I think that will get fans and athletes super pumped. I’d rather not comment too early right now,” the ONE Chairman and CEO said. The Middle East will be one of many regions to see a ONE event next year. Sityodtong thanked stakeholders in Qatar ahead of the massive March 1 event in Doha. Japan will see ONE return for two events in 2024, according to Sityodtong. A press conference is scheduled for the end of the month in Tokyo, and there was a slight tease for the expected debut of Takeru Segawa. “I don’t think Takeru is training so hard for no reason,” Chatri said. “When I look at his Instagram, I think ‘my goodness this guy is a monster,’” Sityodtong said. ONE Championship 'Back In Full Force' For 2024, says Chatri Sityodtong Sityodtong concluded that ONE would embark on an event in Europe in 2024 as well.

The first kung fu film I saw was in 1973, Bruce Lee's The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury ; 1971). Since then, I've accumulated 950+ martial arts movies from the '70s from 20 countries mostly on Betamax. Rather than list them from worst of the best to the best of the best, I preferred to present the films by the year they were made. There's good chance you haven't seen them all, yet they're out there somewhere. Happy hunting! Brothers Five (1970—Hong Kong): When the head of Flying Dragon Villa, Lung Zheng-feng (Tien Feng) wants his enemy's five children killed, a swordsman rescues them and sends the five to different places to be raised. Twenty years later, the Flying Dragon Villa has become more feared. Meanwhile, the swordsman's daughter, Yen (Cheng Pei Pei) sets out to find the brothers, end Lung's reign and make Flying Dragon Villa an honorable place again. After uniting the five brothers, she teaches them the Five Tigers with One Heart kung fu skill to give them a fighting chance against Lung. Seeing this technique will help you understand why the Chinese are known for those amazing balancing and people-pyramid acts. During the 1960s until retirement, Pei Pei was touted as the first queen of kung fu films and prior to a serious accident in Golden Swallow (1968) was known for doing her own stunts and fights. Yet after the injury, a male double was used if the director wouldn't allow her to do it herself. When Pei Pei fights Tien's stunt double, who's armed with a guan dao (massive blade on top of a long pole), they rock the screen with lengthy weapon exchanges captured within the same shot. To me, this is Pei Pei's best fight ever. She's relentless, smooth, and graceful, which is a difficult to do when fighting someone with a larger and heavier weapon. The Avenger (1972--Hong Kong): Based on the true story of Ma Yong-zhen (aka Boxer of Shantung), The Avenger , which opens with Shaft (1971) theme music, is a remake of Brave Girl Boxer in Shanghai (1972), as the exquisite Chia Ling debuts as Ma Yong-zhen's sister Ma Su-zhen, who travels from Shantung to Shanghai to find the gangsters that killed her brother. Chia enters the genre like a bat out of hell on a freakazoid chopper high on Meatloaf. In what must be the most men killed by any female star in a kung fu film, the final fight is as mesmerizing as it is relentless. For nine-and-a-half minutes, Chia is surrounded by knife-wielding warriors and hatchet men trying to feed-frenzy her into oblivion. Ultimately, it is the lady who axes the questions and when they try to lie and cheat her, she becomes the cheetah and makes them lie on the ground. Avenger uses 1960s fight choreography while shooting the action with tight angles that create a strained sense of pugilistic claustrophobia that makes us feel Su-zhen and Chia are both fighting for their lives. With a wee background in Chinese opera combat choreography and this being Chia's debut kung fu film, it was fitting to not disrupt Chia's expectations of what the fight might look and feel like. During the use of 1960s choreography where hooligans would form tight circles around the hero and the non-attackers would excessively move to add motion and commotion to the fight, Chia was instructed to throw non-stop kicks and punches in all directions while spinning around like a female Olympic skater except to do it with knives and hatchets in hand. Everybody gets nailed by a sharp hatchet hammer or a pointed screwdriver knife…Su-zhen's tools of the trade. Fist of Fury (1972—Hong Kong): Bruce Lee rocketed into superstardom with Fist of Fury and overnight sparked feelings of global pride to Chinese folks and Asian Americans, single-handedly stirred a tidal wave of nationalism among the world's Chinese population by defeating the shadow of Japanese domination, and legitimized martial arts cinema. The Mandarin title Ching Wu Men means entering the gate of knowledge of the Ching Wu martial arts school, which was created by Shanghai martial arts legend Huo Yuen-jia. Set during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in 1901, after the Japanese deliver a plaque with the words Sick Men of Asia written in searing black ink and Huo's top student Chen Chen (Lee) endures ridicule from the Japanese delegation, we're minutes away from a very important moment in fight choreography history; Lee kicking eight different bullies in one unedited shot in a Japanese karate dojo then introducing the world to a nunchaku. Adding to the scene's steam, a reflection of Lee's disdain toward how the Japanese treated the Chinese during that era, he adds insult to injury by having some Japanese fighters wearing their hakama backwards and at the end of the nunchaku sequence, Lee defiantly poses in front of Gichin Funakoshi's (father of Japanese karate) portrait. Yet Lee's ultimate powerful pervasive message of Chinese not being sick people is brilliantly depicted when Lee defeats Japanese thugs in front of Shanghai Park by splintering a wooden sign that read, "No Dogs or Chinese Allowed" with a flying kick (it's a sign that never existed). The Black Tavern (1972—Hong Kong): They don't make films like this anymore. Black Tavern is the best whip movie in the history of whip-moviedom. My mouth was so agape watching this film that I swallowed a thousand flies. Whip master Zhang (Ku Feng) is like a flamethrower full of rocket fuel. It's on the list not for the story, but for the fight scenes that are cooler than liquid nitrogen freezing the Terminator, which includes the whacked out, Viking-helmeted, villain Hu terrorizing the Inn like an enraged bull in a ring filled of blind matadors who forgot their capes and swords. The story opens when after a drunk monk performs shu xiao ban (11th century Chinese rap music) to an inn full of vagabond, thieves, and a cryptic swordswoman that a treasure chest is heading to Black Tavern, all the rascals leave the inn with brains wrapped in greed. At the tavern, all hell breaks loose as the menagerie of Chekhovian pseudo-heroes, back-stabbing villains, zombie men, ghosts, leopard-skin lackeys, switched women and Hu partake in increasingly lethal and inventive death scenes. Ku's choreography goes far beyond simple whip twirling circles and figure eight motions that inject a whip crack or two. He's Quisp and Quake, and the continued use of cool sight gags stupefy our brains like how his whip uniquely beheads a woman, and when Hu attacks Ku with a pole, what follows is an outlandish kooky fight sequence featuring a wicked reverse-angle point-of-view shot of Hu holding onto his weapon for dear life while he's being lifted skyward, travels in an overhead semi-circle, lands on his back, while his face grimaces into camera the whole time, then ends up being whipped into a coffin and dragged across the ground toward several swords. The night fight in a snowstorm between the swords-woman and Zhang is a combo whip-in-a-whip-in-a-whip crescendo with a headless horse and carriage as a wayward rolling wheel tries to crush them. Chinese Iron Man (1973—Taiwan): Chinese Iron Man was Taiwan's answer to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury , where after Chinese chef Little Tiger Liang (Wen Jiang-long) sees Japanese karate students from Musashi Martial Club enter his restaurant, bully the Chinese patrons, and call them dogs, he breaks out his rolling pin and flattens every one of them. The Japanese dojo challenges the Chinese guan to a competition to draw Liang out of hiding. He complies and the dojo pays a dear price for their misplaced loss of face. Choreographer Lin You-chuan was known for creating relentless, fast-paced fights that didn't rely on perfect technique, posture, or real kung fu fighting. My hat goes off to Wen. In earlier films, he put his body on maniacal overdrive and just kicked and scrapped his way all over the screen, not caring about what other kung fu stars thought of him. When he takes on multiple attackers in this film, each shot is pure mayhem. He's as intense as he's fun to watch, regardless of the choreography's haphazard nature and the somewhat sloppy kung fu. The key to Lin's choreography was having Wen throw his leg in the direction of an attacker and the stuntman would react to his leg placement. As a result, Wen's not kicking at anyone, he's rapidly lifting his leg in many directions. It's flail-on-flail choreography with animalistic luster. Wen mimicking Lee's nunchaku dojo sequence with a piece of rope is so blatant that you've got to admire his audacity. Wen's rope has the same sound effect, Wen copies Lee's nunchaku movements and the fight is shot using the same camera angles. Wen kicks the karate dojo sign like the Shanghai Park sign and a brief Bruce Li moment is a sign of things to come. The Defensive Power of Aikido (1975—Japan): The Defensive Power of Aikido is Sonny Chiba's homage to the founder of aikido , Morihei Uyeshiba (1883-1969). The film follows the path of jujutsu expert Uyeshiba (Jiro Chiba) losing fights to karate expert Natori Shinbei (Sonny Chiba; Jiro's brother) and to the bokken -wielding sword master Okita. Uyeshiba thus learns karate from Soubei Honda. Armed with newfound skills, Uyeshiba revenge fight plans go awry causing Shinbei' brother to commit suicide setting up a superbly orchestrated fight between two real brothers, Chiba vs. Chiba, with a hard-style karate vs. soft-style aikido tuning fork. Though the fights are intensely riveting, it's the displays of true karate morality that is most memorable. When Honda presents Uyeshiba with a teacher's certificate and Uyeshiba declines it because he can't afford it, Honda replies, "I don't take money when I give lessons to a man I trust. Though I can sell my skills, I can't sell my marital heart." Honda returns all the money Uyeshiba paid him for lessons over the years. Jiro Chiba's portrayal of Uyeshiba's martial transformation is transcendently dynamic as to how he adjusts his martial movements from one teacher and fight scene to the next. His techniques subtly change and improve over the film's duration, which shows how Uyeshiba's aikido evolves from Japanese jujutsu to aikido's basic hand guard, fight-ready position that is modeled after the way a samurai holds his samurai sword during battle. The Fists of Vengeance (1973—Taiwan): If there's ever a film that rocks and rolls this is it. On the surface, the movie appears to be a run of the mill, topsy turvy, grittily and cheaply made early '70s Taiwanese kung fu flick; yet it balled me over. Imagine Led Zepplin meets Def Leppard ala Deep Purple wrapped into one group and their sole song's music is translated into the sensibility of the final fight scene. When Zhen Zheng (Jiang Bin) returns home, he's called a traitor, ostracized by his village and his girlfriend forsook him as his brother, a turncoat that mines red sand from a river for the Japanese, who use it to forge steel to make guns to kill Chinese. Though the early fights resemble out-of-control windmills, they're raw and you watch them to the point of mental fracking. They're filled with unabashed desperation and overblown fantastical facial expressions associated with silent-film stars. It's like female fans of Rod Stewart saying he's so ugly that he's cute, Jiang's fights are so sloppy that they're great. Just when you think Jiang can't get any worse the attack ante rises as Yasuaki Kurata skulks onto the screen as the nefarious nemesis from Nippon, who oozes the animalistic intensity that Sonny Chiba brought to his Street Fighter films, yet Kurata's hapkido kicks elevate the film's frays and makes Jiang look like a 20th degree black belt in everything. Midway through the finale, Zhen taps into his Buddha Prayer Fist, a cheesy and effective turning point in the fight as they begin battling on a fast-moving freight train with the frenzied intensity of Lee Marvin vs. Ernest Borgnine in Hitchcock's savage barreling train skirmish in Emperor of the North (1973). The emotional sacrifice of breathless intent behind the assault asphyxiates every moment of the fight for them and us. This was a rare accomplishment in Chinese kung fu films that also featured the bewitching soundtrack of Black Magic Woman by Santana. The Gallant (1972—Taiwan): In this ode to the age-old virtue of gallantry, Jimmy Wang Yu stars in a trilogy of short films playing three different characters that challenges the unjust behavior of various black knights as he slays them to save three fair maidens. Overall, the fights in The Gallant are intense and well-choreographed, and Wang portrays each character and their fighting skills with dexterous prowess and violent acumen. In The Stranger , a trapped woman flees from an abusive Triad into the arms of a man (Wang) that's part James Bond and knight in shining armor. He doesn't use a gun or sword instead he's armed with flaming fists and combustible kicks, and fights with 10-tiger intensity soaked in an avalanche of bowling balls that uses up to 25 technique per shot to destroy the kingpin. The somber Stranger Attending the Tomb features Wang as a heavy-hearted prodigal son who while guarding his father's grave laments on his own sinful past, while his sister believes her brother is the last bastion of goodness in the world. When she's threatened by a gang of grave-robbing rebels that want to loot the father's grave, with snapping dragon fists, and a pitchfork and shovel, Wang goes more berserk than Billy Jack at an OK Corral spree that is filled with wretched revenge and insane disdain. In The Avenger , a man (Wang) returns home from prison after taking the rap for a treasure heist to protect two accomplices, his father-in-law, and the double-crossing Li San. While the man was away, San killed the father-in-law and heinously coveted the man's wife. With two daggers in hand, it's time to unleash a whirlwind of steel-slashing bewitchment upon San and his clan. Never say, "Cut it out," to a former inmate with blades. The Pacific Connection (1974—Philippines): Set in 1565, the film opens with a father and son Ben (Roland Dantes) practicing arnis as the father tells Ben about a legendary 100-year-old master who'll never rest until he finds and teaches a righteous hero to become his successor. However, when Ben and father use arnis to thrash two cowardly sons of the Philippines' first colonial governor Legazpi, and stop them from raping his mum, Legazpi retaliates by killing Ben's father, raping then killing his mum, and shipping Ben to Los Mananos to be executed. Desperate to escape the storm-ravaged sinking ship, when forced to kill the captain and conquistadors blocking his way, Ben is mortally wounded. Washing up on an unchartered island he stumbles upon the old, now blind master who teaches Ben and how to make arnis sticks that can withstand sword strikes, which he needs as he prepares to battle Legazpi, his two sons and Mori, their hired deadly samurai bodyguard. Though the muscle bound Dantes could have mimicked Lee's Enter the Dragon eskrima fights to become a Filipino Bruce Lee, he chose to using effective traditional stick fighting, applying simple disarming techniques, heaven-six double-stick maneuvers, and kali knife skills. The impressive aspect of the arnis, Spanish fencing and samurai sword action is that each fighter stuck to their respective arts. After Chief LapuLapu killed Magellan with a Filipino kampilan dagger in 1521, natives were forbidden to carry swords. The Moros and Visayanns peoples combined their sword with Spanish sword skills and applied them to ratan sticks to create arnis/eskrima. These historical homage moments are subliminally intertwined into the film. The Tongfather (1974—Taiwan): What would you get if Orson Welles directed Humphrey Bogart as the Man From U.N.C.L.E. in a Mickey Spillane black and white detective noir thriller disguised as a kung fu film? Director/lead actor Roc Tien's Tongfather , which is a magnificent film noir that's more electrifying than a hair dryer tossed into a bathtub of water. It's a brutal yarn about two Taiwanese undercover agents (Roc and Tian Hao) sent to Hong Kong to stop powerful Triads and Yakuza bosses peddling opium and other vices. It's also one of the most outstanding kung fu films I've ever seen, not because of the bizarrely effective and entertaining fight scenes, but because of two things that no other Taiwanese-made kung fu film has ever done. One, the film's most powerful scene is when Chinese boss (Chen Hung-lieh) proves his loyalty to the Yakuza boss by calmly breaking his own leg while chatting with him. When the Yakuza boss offer to see him home, the Triad boss, with hypnotic calm replies, "I'll manage it alone, thank you." He exits the room crawling on his stomach and drags his dangling leg over the rough surface. It's as gripping as a pair of rock-climbing shoes on flypaper. And if that that wasn't enough, it takes a minute to realize the English dubbing is excellent. Why? It's the beauty of shooting without sound. The Chinese actors were saying their lines in English, thus having true lip movement and then dubbing the lines later with English speakers. I did several scenes like this in Battle for the Republic of China (1980). Roc delivers his lines with a Humphrey Bogart-esque grunting lisp and glare and displays fighting savvy with the cool of Napoleon Solo. His strait-laced posture and swanky placement of look-away kicks (looks in the opposite direction a split second before making contact) are alive with voodoo magic.