ONE Championship will start 2024 with a masterclass in kickboxing. Superlek Kiatmoo9 will defend the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship against Elias Mahmoudi at ONE Fight Night 18. Superlek is on an incredible 10-bout winning streak across kickboxing and Muay Thai. In his last outing, Superlek defeated Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a tightly contested three-round bout in the biggest Muay Thai bout in 50 years. The January 12 bout will mark the first title defense for “The Kicking Machine” since defeating Danial Williams by knockout at ONE Fight Night 8. Mahmoudi, the #5-ranked flyweight contender, enters the contest coming off a memorable performance against Edgar Tabares. The Algerian striker won by technical TKO after dropping the Mexican star three times in just 68 seconds. With Mahmoudi flashing his showstopping strength, Superlek will have to be dialed in to defeat his latest challenger. It is a matchup of pristine technique vs. formidable power, and it will bring out the best in both athletes. The flyweight kickboxing showdown will headline the action that is already getting hot and heavy in Bangkok, Thailand. Previously announced, John Lineker will make his first foray into Muay Thai against Liam Harrison in a bantamweight contest sure to deliver explosive results. In more bantamweight action, Kwon Won Il battles Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in a mixed martial arts contest. ONE Fight Night 18 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, January 12, at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.

PFL Forms Global Powerhouse Poised to be MMA Co-Leader PFL + Bellator Combined Fighter Roster Equal to UFC – Both Rosters 30% Top 25 World-Ranked PFL to Launch Reimagined Bellator in 2024 with Bellator International Champions Series PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions in Landmark MMA Mega-Event to be Staged in 2024 NEW YORK (MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023) - Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced it has completed the acquisition of Bellator from Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), creating a global powerhouse in mixed-martial arts (MMA) and accelerating the combined company to become the industry co-leader. PFL has acquired an immense number of top fighters through the Bellator acquisition, and its combined fighter roster is now equal in stature to UFC. PFL and UFC both showcase rosters that are 30% comprised of fighters who are top 25 independently world-ranked in their weight-classes. In addition, PFL + Bellator now has the best roster of women’s fighters in the world. All newly acquired Bellator fighters will become part of the PFL platform and available to compete in PFL fight franchises. PFL will continue the Bellator brand, and Bellator will be the “one-off” event product from PFL. PFL will launch a reimagined Bellator product in 2024 – the “Bellator International Champions Series.” The Bellator International Champions Series will consist of eight fight events each year hosted in major cities across the globe, and each Bellator event will feature two compelling co-main fights competing for championship belts. Bellator becomes one of five live fight franchises of the Professional Fighters League: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator. Overall, the company can now meet fan and media demand by producing and programming a year-round calendar of live fight content with 30 premium MMA events per year. PFL as a fighter-first and fan-focused organization plans to stage a landmark mega-event in 2024 – PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions. The PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions mega-event will feature the champions of each promotion in all seven weight-classes in a head-to-head epic fight experience. Details of Bellator events, distribution, partnerships, and management will be announced at a later date. Donn Davis, PFL Chairman and Founder, and Peter Murray, PFL CEO, continue to lead and operate the combined company. “PFL is now a global powerhouse in MMA,” said Donn Davis, PFL Founder and Chairman. “Our Bellator acquisition turbocharges PFL’s mission to innovate the sport and become the industry co-leader.” “The combined PFL and Bellator fighter rosters are second to none in MMA,” said Peter Murray, PFL CEO. “We can’t wait to bring MMA fans what they have been asking for - best vs best with the PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions Mega-Event.” MMA with 650 million global fans is the third largest fan-base of all sports worldwide. MMA is the sports growth business of this decade with its current $1.75 billion industry revenue projected to grow 10% annually to $4 billion by 2032. Bellator has served fighters and fans worldwide for more than a decade, staging an astounding 301 major MMA fight events. Bellator has successfully identified and developed dozens of acclaimed MMA world champions. Bellator’s current fighter roster has 46 fighters world-ranked in the top 25 of their weight-class per independent source Fight Matrix Rankings. PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight-class, the same percentage as UFC. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience. PFL is primetime on ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S. and is broadcast and streamed in 150 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners. Citi and LionTree served as financial advisors to PFL and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel to PFL. ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global powerhouse in MMA and the fastest-growing sports league world-wide. PFL has five live fight franchises, offering year-round content: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator. Founded in 2018, PFL is backed by major blue-chip investors including SRJ, Ares, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners. MMA is the growth sport business of this decade, with 650 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demographic, and true global revenue streams. MEDIA CONTACTS PFL Loren Mack; lmack@pflmma.com Paramount Allie McLarty; allison.mclarty@paramount.com

PFL to premier 9 new must-see original programs on ESPNews in anticipation of the 2023 PFL World Championship 2023 PFL World Championship takes place on Friday, November 24 at The Anthem Washington D.C. Live on ESPN+ PPV NEW YORK (November 22, 2023) - The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest-growing and most innovative sports league, will premier original programming to further build more anticipation and excitement for the upcoming 2023 PFL World Championship. The PFL has produced 9 brand new and exciting original programs to air on ESPNews starting on Friday, November 17 at 6:00, with multiple replays leading up to fight day. Showcasing the season’s best finishes, important storylines, and analysis on upcoming fights, these programs will set the tone and get fans even more pumped for this season’s must-see finale. The 2023 PFL World Championship takes place at The Anthem in Washington D.C. on Friday, November 24. The main event will be live on ESPN+ Pay Per View preceded by prelims on ESPN+. Check out the list of programs and schedules below: PFL 2023 Top Finishes Premier: Nov. 17 at 6:00 AM Replays: Nov. 18 at 4:00 AM, Nov. 21 at 4:00 AM, Nov. 22 at 3:00 AM, Nov. 24 at 4:00 AM PFL Championship Journey: 2023 Light Heavyweights Premier: Nov. 17 at 7:00 AM Replays: Nov 19 at 1:00 AM, Nov. 22 at 12:00 AM and 11:00 PM, Nov. 23 at 5:00 AM, Nov. 24 at 6:00 AM PFL Championship Journey: 2023 Heavyweights Premier: Nov. 17 at 7:30 AM Replays: Nov 19 at 1:30 AM, Nov. 22 at 12:30 AM and 11:30 PM, Nov. 23 at 5:30 AM, Nov. 24 at 6:30 AM PFL Championship Journey: 2023 Featherweights Premier: Nov. 17 at 8:00 AM Replays: Nov 19 at 2:00 AM, Nov. 21 at 2:30 AM, Nov. 23 at 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM, Nov. 24 at 7:00 AM PFL Championship Journey: 2023 Welterweights Premier: Nov. 17 at 8:30 AM Replays: Nov. 19 at 2:30 AM, Nov. 21 at 3:30 AM, Nov. 23 at 12:30 AM and 6:30 AM, Nov. 24 at 7:30 AM PFL Championship Journey: 2023 Women's Featherweights Premier: Nov. 17 at 9:00 AM Replays: Nov 19 at 3:00 AM, Nov. 22 at 1:00 AM, Nov. 23 at 1:00 AM and 7:00 AM, Nov. 24 at 8:00 AM PFL Championship Journey: 2023 Lightweights Premier: Nov. 17 at 9:30 AM Replays: Nov. 19 at 3:30 AM, Nov 21 at 3:00 AM, Nov. 23 at 1:30 AM and 7:30 AM, Nov. 24 at 8:30 AM Road to the 2023 PFL Championship Premier: Nov. 19 at 12:00 AM Replays: Nov. 21 at 12:00 AM and 5:00 AM, Nov. 22 at 10:00 PM, Nov. 23 at 8:00 AM, Nov. 24 at 1:00 AM, 5:00 AM, 9:00 AM, and 2:00 PM PFL Battle Lines with Dan Hardy Premier: Nov. 20 at 1:30 AM Replays: Nov. 22 at 9:30 PM, Nov. 23 at 9:00 AM, Nov. 24 at 12:30 AM,

On Friday, November 24th, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) will wrap up another memorable season with the 2023 PFL World Championship, featuring one of the most stacked finale cards in league history. Apart from having big names and former champions such as Kayla Harrison, Ray Cooper III, Aspen Ladd, Derek Brunson, and many others, Friday’s season-ending offering also includes the traditional six world championship bouts, with the winners not only taking home bragging rights, but also a hefty million-dollar purse. This season’s set of world title bouts are quite intriguing, with each bout potentially being a tightly-contested affair. Ahead of “MMA’s Richest Night”, here are predictions for all six world championship bouts: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Clay Collard for the PFL Lightweight Championship: Headlining the 2023 PFL World Championship card is a lightweight title bout between last season’s champion “The Canadian Gangster” Olivier Aubin-Mercier taking on fan-favorite “Cassius” Clay Collard. A veteran of the UFC, Aubin-Mercier has been on an impressive run since joining the PFL. Last season, “The Canadian Gangster” continued his undefeated run all the way to a PFL championship. Collard, on the other hand, has established himself as a must-see fighter in the PFL, with exciting wins over some of the biggest names in the league. While Collard has proved to be a tough out for the PFL’s 155-pounders, Aubin-Mercier is more well-rounded, and should emerge victorious. Prediction: Olivier Aubin-Mercier by Decision. Denis Goltsov vs. Renan Ferreira for the PFL Heavyweight Championship In the co-main event, two of the PFL’s hardest hitters collide for the PFL Heavyweight Championship, as Denis “The Russian Bogatyr” Goltsov faces Renan “Problema” Ferreira. A PFL veteran since 2019, Goltsov has recorded ten wins inside the PFL SmartCage, with six of those wins coming by way of KO or TKO. Ferreira, on the other hand, wasted little time in showing his explosive power, recording two of the fastest knockouts in PFL Heavyweight history. Four of his five PFL wins have come by KO or TKO, with three of those coming in under a minute. With 36 stoppage wins between the two of them, it’s unlikely that Goltsov and Ferreira go the distance. While Ferreira might be the PFL’s most feared knockout artist, Goltsov has more tools in his arsenal and this should carry him to a stoppage win and the PFL Heavyweight Championship. Prediction: Denis Goltsov by Stoppage Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina for the PFL Women’s Featherweight Championship For the first time in league history, a female 145-pound titleholder will be crowned, as 2022 PFL Women’s Lightweight Champion Larissa Pacheco meets Marina Mokhnatkina for the PFL Women’s Featherweight Championship. The PFL’s most dominant fighter not named Kayla Harrison, Pacheco finally broke through last season and captured PFL gold while also becoming the first person to defeat Harrison in the process. This season, Pacheco is on track to make history by becoming the PFL’s first two-division champion. Mokhnatkina, on the other hand, has quietly been impressive since joining the PFL in 2021, compiling a 5-1 record, including back-to-back dominant wins this season. As impressive as Mokhnatkina has been, Pacheco will likely prove to be too vicious and too powerful, which will lead to another historic title reign. Prediction: Larissa Pacheco by KO/TKO Sadibou Sy vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov for the PFL Welterweight Championship Former titleholders collide, as 2022 champion Sadibou “The Swedish Denzel” Sy faces 2018 champion Magomed Magomedkerimov for the PFL Welterweight Championship. One of the PFL’s longest-tenured fighters, Sy has made the playoffs in each of his five seasons in the league, including finals berths in the last two seasons, and a title run in 2022. Magomedkerimov, meanwhile, returns to the PFL finals for the third time in his career, and remains dominant inside the SmartCage, with an impressive 15-1 record including eight wins via stoppage. Sy has been greatly impressive in the last two seasons, but could see his amazing run come to an end at the hands of the very dominant Magomedkerimov. The two 170-pounders crossed paths back in 2021, with Magomedkerimov taking the decision win. History will likely repeat itself, with Magomedkerimov emerging victorious and becoming a two-time PFL champion. Prediction: Magomed Magomedkerimov by Decision Joshua Silveira vs. Impa Kasanganay for the PFL Light Heavyweight Championship A pair of PFL up-and-comers get their chance at glory, as Joshua Silvera takes on Impa “Tshilobo” Kasaganay go head-to-head for the PFL Light Heavyweight Championship. A graduate of the PFL Challenger Series, Silviera has been remarkable since joining the main roster, picking up five wins in six outings, including three straight stoppage wins this season. Kasanganay, who also passed through the Challenger Series, has made the most of his maiden PFL season with three impressive wins of his own, including one against former finalist Marthin Hamlet. In one of the more evenly-matched bouts of the night, this light heavyweight title bout could go either way and should be an exciting watch. With Silveria being a little more well-rounded however, it could ultimately be enough to lead him to victory and PFL gold. Prediction: Joshua Silveria by Decision Gabriel Braga vs. Jesus Pinedo for the PFL Featherweight Championship In the first title fight of the night, two PFL newcomers target championship gold, as Gabriel Braga meets Jesus “El Mudo” Pinedo for the PFL Featherweight Championship. Another product of the PFL Challenger Series, Braga was able to translate his Challenger Series success into an impressive maiden PFL season, where he went undefeated with wins over Pinedo, Marlon Moraes, and Chris Wade. Pinedo, meanwhile turned in one of the most stunning seasons in PFL history, with back-to-back upset knockout wins over 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane and perennial top contender Bubba Jenkins to reach the Finals. Braga may have a win over Pinedo from earlier in the season, but what the latter has done since then has been astounding. It would not be surprising to see Pinedo pull off another upset win to become PFL champion. Prediction: Jesus Pinedo by KO/TKO Don’t miss the 2023 PFL World Championship this November 24th, live on ESPN+ PPV!

Numerous Black Belt readers have contacted our staff to ask for more information about Gerry Chisolm, the martial artist who is perhaps better-known by her nickname — which happens to be the name of her column: Lady Sensei. This bio is for all who have wondered about the origin story of one of the most accomplished and visible women in the American martial arts. — Editor by Gerry Chisolm Popularly known as “Lady Sensei,” Gerry Chisolm is a martial artist on a mission. The founder of the Women’s Martial Arts Network, she has dedicated her life to creating greater awareness of the accomplishments and contributions of women in the martial arts — and to getting more women on the path to proficiency with respect to selfdefense. Chisolm is not just a facilitator; she’s also a teacher. She has traveled around the United States, Europe, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean to offer instruction in personal protection, empty-hand combat and weapons. She has lectured as an independent scholar, presenting her research on African-American women at the Martial Arts Studies Conference at Cardiff University in Wales and at Chapman University in California. The portion of her life that qualified her to take on those tasks is impressive. She holds rank in three systems and speaks often of her primary teacher Ronald Duncan, the man who is often called the “father of American ninjutsu.” Chisolm is his last black belt and the highest-ranked active female instructor in his art. Chisolm was a private student of Duncan’s for years, and during that period, she devoted all her resources to cultivating her selfdefense skills. The motivation to do so stemmed from the domestic violence she had experienced and her vow to never let it happen again. She devoured every combat curriculum to which she had access — ninjutsu, combatives, traditional weapons and firearms. Before Duncan passed away in 2012, she received her third degree from him. The most important lesson she learned during her martial journey, she says, is one that all masters know well: The mind is the primary weapon. Everything else is just a means to an end. With encouragement from Duncan before he died, Chisolm began training simultaneously at the Vee Arnis Jitsu School of Self-Defense under Scott Stewart. She still trains — and teaches — at the Staten Island, New York, dojo. The subsets of martial arts that she specializes in there include street defense using Filipino stick-fighting techniques and knife techniques, along with jujitsu. “Between the two systems, I train regularly four to six days a week,” she says. Anyone who knows Chisolm will tell you she’s not one to rest on her laurels. At the Staten Island school, she became the first female black belt. By age 56, she had earned her fifth degree. She continued training in ninjutsu under Dan McEaddy, one of Duncan’s earliest students, and became his first female shihan. By 2018, she’d earned her sixth dan in the system. And because she knows weapons skills are just as perishable as empty-hand skills, she continues to train in defensive shooting and executive protection with Lateif Dickerson at the New Jersey Firearms Academy. Along the way, Chisolm noticed something was lacking, however, and the observation proved to be life changing. “I remember seeing very few women students or instructors, and perhaps only one or two on the seminar circuit as presenters,” she says. “For a long time after O Sensei [Duncan] passed away, I kept looking for opportunities to meet or train with other women, but I really didn’t have much luck. I had pretty much developed without warrior-sister camaraderie and grew accustomed to being the only woman in a class or teaching at a seminar. “These types of experiences led to the establishment of the Women’s Martial Arts Network in 2018.” For Chisolm, limiting her outreach to just people she could contact face to face was never an option. Her network quickly established a chapter in Ontario, Canada. Over the years, she’s worked with an organization called Black and Missing Families and taken her message to the masses via Black Girls Rock, the Urban Action Showcase & Expo, the Museum of the Moving Image, and the Fist and Sword Martial Arts Film Series, to name a few. “We have annual women’s celebrations and conduct campus-safety seminars for colleges, universities, and community and civic organizations,” she says. “We feel like we are making a difference.” When it comes to making a difference with respect to promoting personal safety, she’s always thinking outside the box. Years ago, Chisolm and Duncan discovered that she had a natural talent for wielding edged weapons. After fine-tuning her skills, she performed her first knife demonstration with him at Aaron Banks’ 43rd Oriental World of Self- Defense show in New York. Years later, the blade skills she’d learned from Duncan paid off in a way she never could have anticipated. Casting directors from the History channel’s Forged in Fire: Knife or Death series saw images of Chisolm on social media, posing with a kukri knife. They reached out to ask if she would like to audition for the show. “I honestly thought someone was trying to prank me, so I ignored them for a time,” she says. “At some point, I investigated and realized that it wasn’t a joke.” Chisolm auditioned — and passed. She was flown to Atlanta, where she wound up being the only woman on Season 2, Episode 4 of the series. Her appearance was such a crowdpleaser that the producers invited her back for a Thanksgiving special titled Forged in Fire: “Bladesgiving” Marathon. Fast-forward to 2020: For all that she had done — and is still doing — to promote the martial arts as the solution to so many of the problems faced by women in modern society, Chisolm became Black Belt’s Instructor of the Year. Months later, she started writing the magazine’s Lady Sensei column. She says that she’ll continue to shine a spotlight on the accomplishments of others who are striving to educate the public on all things martial. “The future of the martial arts rests in the hands of the women and girls — not just as students but also as teachers, leaders, representatives, proprietors and event organizers,” she says. “Congratulations to all who support and encourage their development, safety options, health and self-expression through martial arts.” This article originally appeared in a 2022 edition of Black Belt Magazine.

By Gerry Chisolm A quick internet search will reveal that Michelle Manu is a rare individual. A 10th-degree Kumu (teacher), she’s the only female disciple and inheritor of Hawaii’s ancient combat art of Lua. She’s also a multidisciplinary practitioner and the only woman to receive the designation of “knight commander” from the royal order of King Kamehameha. Fierce, fascinating and formidable, she represents the Hawaiian woman warrior, or Wahine Koa. In this Black Belt exclusive, Manu talks about her art and her devotion to it. Photos courtesy of Michelle Manu As an inheritor of lua, what are your responsibilities? My responsibility is to represent the woman warrior — specifically, through lua, which is kuia’ lua, the ancient and only native warrior art and cultural practice. It wasn’t just martial; the cultural practice of lua entailed warrior massage, the metaphysical [and] spiritual aspects, the connection with nature and all things. Then they had the hula, which concealed the war arts — that was mandatory. So you have all these elements that made up the cultural practice of what a warrior, or koa, was. More women are joining, and they’re learning the ways of the ancient women. I also teach men, and they’re learning this. That’s the cultural aspect bringing the old into the new. Tell me about the ancients. The women in lua were deadly. They needed to finish things quickly because they were tied to the land — those that weren’t nomadic, the ones that stayed in one place. They had to govern over the land, the individuals of the tribe, the animals. And then there were others who were nomadic. They did not have children, or if they did, they fought pregnant and gave the child up for adoption. They didn’t take a spouse because their job, mission and purpose was to protect. This was about maximum kills and about women being able to infiltrate areas where the male koa could not. What weapons did they use? They used the strangling cord, and they used the pikoi, which was like a lasso that had a jagged tree root on the end or a sharp rock. It was the favorite weapon of the ancient women. The Hawaiian culture was also big on poison. They were very good with their daggers, pahi (swords) and knives. They used pohaku rocks, slingshots... Slingshots? Slingshots were much better than bows and arrows beca use when it started raining in battle and the wind started picking up, the bow and arrow would be rendered useless. This made the slingshots very effective. You’ll see a lot of the leaders and chiefs, even the king, wearing a gourd helmet because it deflected the flying rocks from the ma’a, or slingshot. Kauai was the only island that was not overtaken by King Kamehameha. They were experts [with] the slingshot. And so they entered into a treaty with the king and were never defeated — only because of that weapon. How do you help modern women step into new versions of themselves? We learn differently. We shadow differently. Our experiences are different. We process differently. Our responsibilities are different. Our upbringing is different based on demographics and our economical status with our parents, their maturity level, their levels of abuse, etc. My women’s program is for everyday women. They learn how to be wise in their environments, how to powerfully and elegantly move. They learn basic lua techniques for safety in elevators and cars, in public, at work and at home. These are things for survival. We are weaponizing women today to be educated and knowledgeable on how to navigate through this world. I’ve also been able to teach women that work in high-risk professions: medical, health care, real estate, air travel. And I love working with college students. I’ve actually been asked to work with some of the adult entertainers —strippers — because they are at high risk. How do the women benefit from training? I try to meet my students where they are right now and let them evolve as they evolve. I think having the only female teacher that’s proficient in this art at this time, that accepts all different types of people and not just Hawaiian people, is a benefit. They get to see me manually manipulate men because it is just physics. It doesn’t matter what genitalia we have. Working through hula or getting their foot movements, translating that into lua where it becomes non-contact into full contact — they get to see that it’s possible. They start to learn and manipulate their koa brothers, and they start to really step into their power. What emphasis do you place on the warrior mindset? This is the huku principle in Hawaii. If you give me aloha love, I will reflect that back to you and then some. If you come to me with ill intentions, you will get that back and then some. We need to teach our young ladies and our young boys that if someone touches you, you have the right to touch them back. And it’s time to be wise and use our wisdom so we don’t get ourselves killed or create collateral damage. We step into our space rightfully, how to throw down if we need to. To read more about Michelle Manu, visit MichelleManu.com.

by Andrew Bryan One of the hardest things about training by yourself is a lack of direction. When you have a coach or even a friend to train with, there is someone who puts you through your paces and gets you to train the parts of your martial art that you don’t necessarily like doing. It’s easy to fall into the habits of just training the things you’re already good at, or like doing, and neglecting things you don’t immediately have an interest in. Unfortunately martial arts is kind of like school, and in order to do well on that history test, you need to know all about the parts that bore you to tears. That’s why today I’m providing a very easy structure that anyone can do, that will give them a full workout and plenty of time to work skills. This is intended to be practised for just an hour, and can be used alongside other training plans that I have published on Black Belt in the past. Phase One: Cardio Cardio can suck, and I know plenty of martial artists who will do anything to avoid it. Myself included. It’s a lot easier to skip cardio when it comes at the end of a long session and you’re already tired. That’s why it’s best to start with it and get it out of the way. We start the session with a short 15 minutes of high intensity cardio, this could be running, skipping rope, or whatever you most prefer, for me it’s battle ropes. Set a time for 15 minutes and aim to get to the end of that 15 minutes taking as few a breaks as possible. Once this is complete we can go on to phase two. Phase Two: The Part You Suck At We’re going to prioritize that part of your skillset that you need to work on. It might be a particular kick, throw, combination, or kata, anything that you know you lag behind in. For the next 15 minutes we are going to focus very hard on improving that skill, and we’re going to do it by using the lego method. Break that skill down into small pieces, for example, if it is a throw or a strike, spend five minutes practice the beginning of that throw or strike, whether it’s foot work, or just the wind up to a kick. Do this with maximum focus. If it’s a kata, practice that beginning of the kata thoroughly until you feel it getting more ingrained in your brain. Then for the next five minutes practice the technique as a whole. Do it again and again, with maximum concentration. Then in the final five minutes of this phase, work it into different combinations, for example if you’re struggling with a round kick, practice shadowboxing and working in that round kick that causes you difficulty. If it’s a kata, experiment with different speeds and tempos. Phase Three: The Parts You’re Good At Do what you want. Go nuts. You’ve practiced your weak area for fifteen minutes of intense focus, now it’s time to train your favorite skills and get them sharper, but be sure to keep working that weak skill into your work every so often to gradually introduce that weakened skill into your skillset. Phase Four: Fitness Burnout For the final phase, we’re going to train resistance exercises until we’re suitably burned out. If you’re physically able to, cycle through sets of 10-20 push ups or burpees, followed by the same amount of squats, and sit ups, on a cycle – until the final fifteen minute timer runs out. And you should have a complete workout that will benefit any martial artist. Let me know how it goes!

In the annals of cinematic history, few films have had as profound an impact on popular culture as Enter the Dragon . Released by Warner Brothers in 1973, this martial arts masterpiece not only revolutionized the action genre but also showcased the remarkable African American influence that played a pivotal role in its success. Led by iconic figures like Jim Kelly, Steve Muhammad, and Donnie Williams, members of the Black Karate Federation (BKF), the film resonated deeply within the African American community, encapsulating their struggles and aspirations during a transformative era. A Breakthrough for Representation: During the 1970s, Hollywood was still grappling with the representation of African Americans in mainstream cinema. Enter the Dragon, with its diverse cast and strong African American presence, broke the barriers that had long confined black actors to stereotypical roles. Jim Kelly, in his portrayal of the charismatic and skilled martial artist Williams, became a symbol of empowerment for black audiences, showcasing a positive and dynamic black character on the big screen. His memorable lines and electrifying fight scenes left an indelible mark on moviegoers, and Kelly's role served as a turning point for African American representation in cinema. Check out the Promo for UASE 11 (more details in links at the end of the article) The Black Karate Federation: Enter the Dragon not only elevated the visibility of African American actors but also highlighted the contributions of the Black Karate Federation. Comprised of talented martial artists such as Steve Muhammad and Donnie Williams, the BKF played a crucial role in shaping the film's action sequences and adding an authentic touch to the martial arts combat. Their expertise and dedication brought a level of realism to the fight scenes, further enhancing the film's impact and captivating audiences worldwide. Identification with Struggle: Beyond its cinematic achievements, Enter the Dragon resonated with the African American community on a deeper level. At a time when black Americans were fighting for equal rights and social justice, the film struck a chord by featuring a multicultural cast that stood together against a common enemy. Bruce Lee's character, Lee, represented an outsider fighting against a corrupt establishment, paralleling the experiences of African Americans striving for equality. The struggle against oppression and the quest for justice depicted in the film mirrored the challenges faced by the African American community, providing a source of inspiration and empowerment. Legacy and Impact: Enter the Dragon's cultural impact extended far beyond the silver screen. The film became a touchstone for African Americans, embodying the strength, resilience, and determination necessary to overcome adversity. It inspired countless individuals to pursue martial arts, fostering a sense of discipline and self-confidence within the community. Furthermore, the success of the film demonstrated the marketability of African American talent and contributed to the broader diversification of Hollywood's storytelling. Enter the Dragon remains a landmark film in the history of African American cinema, standing as a testament to the immense influence and contribution of the African American community. By showcasing talented actors like Jim Kelly and involving the Black Karate Federation, the film broke down barriers and ignited a sense of pride and empowerment among African Americans. Its themes of struggle and triumph resonated deeply within the community, offering hope and inspiration during a pivotal time in American history. Enter the Dragon continues to be celebrated as a testament to the transformative power of representation and the indomitable spirit of the African American experience. This article was provided by the team at Urban Action Showcase. Website : https://www.urbanactionshowcase.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanActionShowcase/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UASInternationalActionFilmFestival Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/urbanactionshowcase/

Dr. Craig here; over the past 50+ years of speaking and training with martial artists, 32 years of interviewing and writing about martial arts and martial artists, whether one is into traditional training (internal and external), reality-based self-defense, combative sports or filmmaking, each understood the nature of inner power . Chi is the inner power, Chi is the key to the spirituality of martial arts, and Chi Gong (Qigong) and Chi Healing are two disciplines that directly work with Chi, where Chi Gong is about tapping into Chi for personal benefits, and Chi Healing is about utilising Chi to help others. You will learn to Control your Chi. My wife Silvia (aka The Chi Whisperer) and I have a cumulative experience of practicing Chi Gong 74 years and Chi Healing 72 years. With reflection, we want to share our learnings with the martial arts communities to broaden our fellow martial artists’ understanding of the way Chi works and to then apply the knowledge to reap the benefits from working with Chi. The Spirituality of Martial Arts Series will address how Chi is woven into the tapestry of a martial artist’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness, as to improve the health and martial arts proficiency of all our kindred spirits of martial arts. After earning a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois in the field of neuroscience, the Chi Whisperer became an established research scientist in the medical schools of Washington University, Yale and UCLA, and a senior research scientist at a pharmaceutical company. One of her many contributions to science was identifying a disease-causing gene and naming the protein product of the gene. In 1984, she decided to focus her martial arts energy and training into mastering one thing, Chi Gong, to the point where she developed one of the most amazing skills that barely one out of a million practitioners can do, read a person’s Chi (more on this another time). Everything she shares in the Spirituality of Martial Arts Series is her insights derived from her hard-core scientific training and her deep understanding of chi, which are presented in direct, straightforward writing. The Chi Whisperer on Fear Fear is an emotion, a basic survival mechanism. It’s designed to protect us and keep us safe. Fear affects our Chi profoundly. When chi is at work it flows. Adequate fear enhances our Chi flow. Excess fear causes Chi disruptions and imbalances. Overwhelming fear leads us to suppressing. The suppressing reverses (or stops) Chi flow as well as disengages us from feeling all feelings, including emotions and body sensations. These effects on Chi flow and feelings disconnect us from the situation that makes us overwhelmingly fearful in the first place. These effects also prevent our body and mind from coping with the situation. Thus, fear is in control of us. The suppressed fear manifests in our body into physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, heart issues, and digestive problems. Additionally, unchecked fear can affect mental and emotional well-being, leading to anxiety and other emotional/mental issues. Emotions are contagious, and fear, in particular, is a powerful emotion that can spread easily from one person to another. We are naturally primed to be fearful for whatever other people are afraid of. Our brain is very proficient in tapping into fear. It automatically focuses on fear and creates narratives to explain, justify and accept the fear, even adding more for us to be afraid of, now and in the future. The fear snowballs into us freaking out, paralyzing, panicking, and having panic attacks. If we are surrounded by people who are constantly expressing fear and anxiety, we may begin to feel more anxious and fearful ourselves, even if their fears don’t seem logical to us. This can lead to negative consequences, including difficulty sleeping, reduced ability to concentrate, and increased risk of developing anxiety disorders. This contagious nature of fear will make one’s un-checked fear not only hurt oneself but also others too. Additionally, other people's fear can also impact our behavior. For example, if a parent is overly fearful and protective of their child, this can prevent the child from developing important life skills and can also lead to a sense of dependence and helplessness. Exaggerated fear can be overcome. When we overcome our excess fear, it can be a very rewarding experience that can also boost our own sense of self-confidence and well-being. We can then help others to overcome their exaggerated fear. By supporting others and helping them to face their fears, we can build stronger relationships and create a more positive and supportive community. Different tactics have been used to overcome fear. Putting one in extreme danger over and over is a common method used to overcome fear. This method does not snap the person out of fearful tendency. It only overwhelms the person with fear, ending up learning to suppress fear; therefore, reverse Chi flow. Introducing small doses of fear at a time is a much more effective way of overcoming fear. The small doses are enough for one to be afraid, but not enough for one to suppress it. Also, constructive procrastination is also helpful to get one ready to face the fear. Using the combination of these two strategies allows the brain to recognize that the situation is not so scary, so that the brain stops making up scary narratives. Dr. Craig Before learning Chi Gong, I was facing life threatening situations daily for 22 years due to the terminal lung/digestive, deadly disease cystic fibrosis. I was raised by traditional Scottish parents where we were taught to never complain and to be mindful of our manners. I was unwittingly being primed to be a martial artist. Practicing martial arts, 30 pills/day and a painful lung-mucous clearing therapy called pats, enabled me to survive long enough to learn Chi Gong. My story has been widely publicized on national media and all over the internet. The medical establishment concurs that I’m still alive at 67 due to martial arts and Chi Gong. When the Harvard physiologist professor, Walter Bradford Cannon, coined the term fight or flight response in 1915, it was based on animal responses to threats. If he had added freeze to the line, it would have been more accurate for humans. I’ve seen many folks freeze under pressure and during fear. Fortunately, martial artists have learned self-defense, whether it works or not is another story, or we can at least run like hell without tripping and falling over ourselves. The longer I’ve lived, the more I’ve seen how fear daily affects martial artists. Many of us through rigorous training, developing a martial artist mindset, building confidence and discover how to adapt to different environments, when faced with fear, we’ve learned how to suppress, compartmentalize, or block it out. What we were never taught is that the energy of fear remains in the body, and the longer it hangs around, it become harder to get rid of and then it will manifest into major physical health issues down the road. Since we as a martial culture don’t complain about our circumstances, we would rarely or never admit that we were afraid; we’re supposed to man up, deal with it and get on with our lives. Old school. Let’s be honest though, at some time during our martial lives, hopefully we have the wisdom to recognise or admit that one or more from this wee un-wish list of fears will come, has already arrived, or is still lingering in the body. 1) Getting Old: With age, the fear of not being able to do what we were always able to do, can be disconcerting, frustrating, or even confusing. This can also introduce other emotions into the fold such as feeling ashamed, loosing face, and feeling not good enough. 2) Humiliation: For those competing in competition or combative sports open to the public, the fear of humiliation from forgetting a routine or getting beaten to a pulp in the ring is devastating that can result in damaged psyches and the same slew of emotions described above; shame, loss of face, plus feelings of failure and inadequacy. 3) Injury: Serious injuries can prevent us from training, which can lead to feelings of weakness that can compound fears of failures because we can no longer attain our goals. Then as we get out of shape, fears of not feeling good enough about ourselves grow. 4) The fear of all your self-defense training failing you in real life situations when you learn that you cannot defend yourself or your family during a real fight. Chi is the source of inner power and Chi flow is Chi at work. Fear not only affects Chi flow, but it also weakens the Chi. Working through fear will improve Chi flow and reduce the weakening of Chi. Though a healthy lifestyle, proper diet and physical training can improve one’s external power, it doesn’t make fear go away or make the inner power stronger. To strengthen the inner power, Chi, can only be accomplished by practicing proper Chi Gong. A key component of martial arts is resilience. By practicing Chi Gong a martial artist can increase one’s resilience from within and this would give a martial artist a better fighting chance to overcome fear and facing any new challenges with ease.

Is Samart Payakaroon the Best Combat Sports Athlete of All-Time? by Andrew Bryan There are relatively few people who can claim to be a world champion in multiple sports. Those that can tend to be combat sports athletes – purely because there is more overlap in skills between the two. We have fighters like Holly Holm, who held both boxing and a UFC title, then there’s the numerous kickboxing/muay thai cross over champions but perhaps Samart Payakaroon is the greatest example. Payakaroon might possibly be the best combat sports athlete to ever live, not because he was a champion in two sports, but because he is also uniformly considered the best fighter ever in one of them. Some would say Samart Payakaroon is the best combat sports athlete of all time. Samart Payakaroon’s career began in Muay Thai after being introduced to it by his brother Kongtoranee (who is himself a five division Lumpinee Stadium Champion). Samart is considered the best in a very old school way, he simply beat everyone he fought not named Dieselnoi. Muay Thai is such a competitive sport that undefeated fighters simply do not exist, whereas boxers can hide behind an undefeated record for over a decade, through carefully picked opponents, taking as little risk as possible – Muay Thai involves you fighting monthly against whoever happens to be there. As a result fighters do get good very fast as the best are always consistently competing with the best. So to have the long win streaks of Samart, a gainst the kind of names Samart beat is legitimately incredible. Perhaps his most legendary fight, against Dieselnoi, another all time great, was effectively lost media until it somehow resurfaced in the form of a VHS tape in a gym, and uploaded to the internet. This fight was much sought after for two reasons, one, it’s Samart vs Dieselnoi, come on. The second is that it’s one few fights Samart actually lost. Dieselnoi was almost unbeatable if your name wasn’t Wicharnoi. So to see how Samart would attempt to tackle such an opponent was intriguing. Samart was a fighter of such importance that a missing fight from his career was akin to the Holy Grail in Muay Thai. Samart’s style was built off careful, linear strikes like his frequently combination of the teep and jab, and a laser like left straight. His game was about off balancing and turning his opponent and shutting down their offence, not unlike Giorgio Petrosyan. Samart won the Lumpinee Stadium Championship at 102, 105, 115 and 126lbs, and was frequent recipient of fighter of the year and fight of the year awards throughout the 1980s. It was during the mid 80s that Samart saw himself making a career move, taking up professional boxing. There is a lot of overlap between Thai boxing and English boxing. The punching technique is the same, albeit with occasional differences in nuance brought about by stance. Thailand in particular has produced numerous boxing champions of varying quality, there are greats like Khaosai Galaxy and Srisaket sor Rungvisai – but equally there are a lot of fighters who pad up records against entry level opponents. Samart Payakaroon was unlike a lot of fighters in that he was actively competing in both Muay Thai and professional boxing at the same time, and ultimately got to the top levels in both. Samart Payakaroon won the WBC Super Bantamweight Title off Lupe Pintor and while defending it against Juan Meza we saw this iconic moment. Despite the constant claims of Muay Thai having no head movement, Samart Payakaroon delivers an incredible display off timing and defence against the career boxer. Then to immediately follow it up by dropping his opponent, it’s easy to see why Payakaroon was so well regarded. It’s fair to say that he was not the same level of boxer as Thai boxer. While Samart fought decent opposition in boxing, he was champion for a very short time and we never saw him compete against the top boxers of the 1980s. That being said what he achieved wasn’t some throwaway belt that everyone and their mum had won, he was a legitimate WBC champion in the 1980s back when title belts were still a more exclusive club. So the question remains, is Samart Payakaroon the greatest combat sports athlete? Last time I made the case for Giorgio Petrosyan on the grounds of his incredible longevity against a who’s who of fighters across multiple generations. Samart has a very different case, it’s not about longevity so much as it’s about sheer versatility. He won the big one in two sports, all the while being the best in the world at his main discipline, Michael Jordan couldn’t do it, and very few other athletes have even tried. For that, Samart Payakaroon could well be the best of all time.

As a general rule, strong style refers to ‘stiff’ offense in wrestling. Meaning that while an American wrestler like Stone Cold Steve Austin, would throw an open fisted punch while stamping his feet in an attempt to simulate a punch – a strong style wrestler like Katsuyori Shibata, would instead throw a legitimate forearm into your neck. by Andrew Bryan Copyright – New Japan Pro Wrestling In my article, ‘The Life and Times of Antonio Inoki’ I referenced his approach to Japanese pro wrestling, Strong Style. What actually is strong style? Today that is a question that is harder and harder to define, as professional wrestling has developed and cross pollinated significantly in the last 20 years. Strong Style can be a controversial topic. Some claim that it is needlessly dangerous. One particularly amusing take on strong style is the notion that it is only effective as a style if you acknowledge that the match is ‘fake’. The novelty comes from two people legitimately hitting each other as hard as they can despite the outcome of the match being pre-determined. For fans of hard hitting wrestling however, strong style is a purer expression of what pro wrestling is intended to be, and despite worries of injury strong style wrestlers simply don’t get injured at the same rates as more acrobatic, or WWE style wrestlers do. Today we will be discussing the history of strong style and shoot style wrestling in Japan, and how legitimate martial arts and performance merged to birth not only a new style of pro wrestling, but also MMA as a sport. The Beginnings of Shoot Style We have to begin with Shoot-Style Wrestling – which both as a sport and an artistic movement, is probably the most influential thing to happen to martial arts in the last century. For those who are still unsure as to why they are reading about professional wrestling on black belt magazine – professional wrestling has its roots in the British martial art Catch-As-Catch-Can or Catch Wrestling. While Catch Wrestling is a very real and very brutal grappling art – the nature of wrestling as a carnival attraction meant that over time wrestlers soon realised that there wasn’t much point in legitimately fighting each other every week, while also touring the country. The risk of injury and general wear and tear on the body made it a far smarter idea to simply ‘work’ the match. Two wrestlers would agree to a winner and would then essentially spar a match leading to that pre-determined outcome. At one point or another, one wrestler had the bright idea to hit his partner with a chair and from then on pro wrestling became far more about showmanship, and defeated the purpose of taking it easy on the body. One pioneer of wrestling in Japan was the German wrestler, Karl Gotch, a legend of wrestling with more moves named after him than you can shake a stick at. Professional wrestling and Japanese athletes is a match made in heaven. Many of the wrestlers that Gotch would train already came from martial arts backgrounds such as judo, sumo or karate. Those who are familiar with Rikidozan will know well that the sumo to pro wrestler pipeline is long and prosperous. This merging of skills was already resulting in something quite different from wrestling in the West. British wrestlers were known largely for their technical brilliance and submission moves – whereas American wrestlers were known for their variety of ‘moves’ such as powerslams, fireman’s carry drops etc. What was emerging in Japan, was the beginnings of what we know today as shoot style. There was still of course, a very strong influence from American style wrestling in Japan. With the JWA, as founded by Rikidozan, being a real melting pot of skills. The two main players in the JWA towards the end of its life were Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki. Two great wrestlers, with very different ideas, neither of whom particularly got along. The Founding of New Japan Pro Wrestling and the UWF It’s fair to say that Antonio Inoki was the trouble maker when compared to the far more diplomatic and political Giant Baba. Their ideological differences essentially came down to Baba believing that wrestling was more about telling a story, and Inoki believed wrestling should be a fight. While the wrestling in Giant Baba’s AJPW was certainly hard hitting – early New Japan was known far more for its punch. While the matches did tell story – there was less focus on ring psychology and narrative than what you would see in AJPW, and in truth, NJPW was considered the B promotion, possibly for that reason. Submissions were tight, strikes were hard and there were several instances of real life fights breaking out in the middle of what were supposed to be worked matches. Several of them involving the companies founder, Antonio Inoki, who was more than happy to slap someone if they were getting out of line or on his nerves. Karl Gotch vs Antonio Inoki at NJPW’s Debut Show. Copyright – New Japan Pro Wrestling New Japan was a breeding round for great shoot wrestlers such as Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Akira Maeda who were renowned for their excellent grappling skills. Yet New Japan was also a breeding ground for backstage drama that would make a cheerleading locker room proud. This caused a split from NJPW – and saw the founding of the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) which took shoot style even further. Whereas you can tell old NJPW matches are in fact wrestling matches, matches in the UWF are sometimes down right hard to distinguish from legitimate fights. The UWF would produce several great pro wrestlers such as Minoru Suzuki, Masakatsu Funaki and Bart Vale. The more hardcore MMA fans will probably recognize all three of those names, for good reason. The UWF was created to be a more realistic alternative to AJPW and even NJPW. The wrestling looked real, the strikes were hard and it ended up being the progenitor of MMA as a sport. The UWF’s Successors and the Birth of MMA Unlike AJPW and NJPW which are active promotions to this very day, the UWF didn’t last long. It would ultimately splinter off into two main promotions. The UWFI, which was another short lived but very important shoot style promotion, and RINGS, which should be ringing a bell again for hardcore MMA fans. Headed by professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada, the UWFI had a unique training program. Not only did it have professional wrestling training, with legitimate catch wrestling being taught by Billy Robinson himself, but it also had it’s own Muay Thai coach. It should come as no surprise that some of the wrestlers who were trained by the UWFI would go on to become mixed martial artists, the most notable example being the great Kazushi Sakuraba. Meanwhile there were two more shoot style promotions, RINGS, and Pancrase, which was founded by the aforementioned Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki. Pancrase served as the first major mixed martial arts promotion, not only did it predate the UFC but had far more ‘complete’ fighters for the time. While the UFC was set up essentially to promote BJJ and featured single discipline fighters competing against each other in style vs style match ups – Pancrase was showcasing athletes trained in the art of Shooto. Shooto being the martial art created by Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask) based off the pro wrestling teachings of Antonio Inoki and Karl Gotch. RINGS would itself eventually transform into an MMA promotion and would feature numerous shooto athletes. Early Japanese MMA is a sight to behold, not only because you can actually see fighters who were capable of both striking and grappling, something that the UFC didn’t really have in abundance until the 2000s – but because it also has some of the dumbest rules you can imagine. Rope breaks are about the worst part of professional wrestling – yet here they are in a legitimate sport. In Pancrase if you could reach the rope, the fighter putting on a submission had to let go. Also, because of its pro wrestling ancestry fights were contested without gloves and you weren’t allowed to strike with a closed fist. The most famous outcome of this was Bas Rutten working out how to palm strike his opponents as hard as possible. And It All Comes Full Circle Nobuhiko Takada, who headed the UWF would eventually dive in head first into MMA, playing a key role Pride Fighting Championships. Pride is probably the most influential MMA organization in the sports history. At its peak it was the top promotion, with the UFC being a distant second – with the likes of Cro Cop, Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva and the Noguiera Brothers competing there. Eventually Pride would merge with the UFC. Meanwhile the wrestling of New Japan and its ‘strong style’ would end up proving problematic. With the abundance of real mixed martial arts, Antonio Inoki sought to prove that his wrestlers were every bit as tough as MMA fighters. He started sending his fighters into MMA promotions to compete and more often than not they would lose. Not because they were lacking legitimate skills, but because they simply didn’t have the same level of experience in real fights than their opponents. This dangerously hurt the reputation of NJPW and ironically it was the influence of American wrestling, with larger-than-life characters and costumes that would ultimately bring NJPW back to the top. The likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada have kept NJPW at the top of the wrestling world today – yet they are quite different from Inoki’s ideals. So where does this leave strong style? It’s my belief that strong style as an art form proved to be very influential, but ultimately found its footing as another expression of pro wrestling. Whereas it used to be more about simulating a fight, in doing so it revitalized shoot style and eventually led to mixed martial arts. When these became more prominent, shoot style in a round about way became more like the rest of pro wrestling. It became more focused on telling a story, more focused on the psychological aspects of wrestling – but got their via the use of hard hitting, stiff offence. It became less about which fighter would win and more about which character was the toughest and who would prevail. There is a true irony that professional wrestling, an artform and sport built to save wrestlers from having to legitimately fight night after night – would eventually come full circle and lead to the founding of mixed martial arts, which has in turn injected new life into professional wrestling – and the cycle will continue forever. Copyright – New Japan Pro Wrestling

Like the Green Berets, the ninja operated in small bands in which each man was a specialist in some form of ninjutsu training. They had such a huge assortment of ninja weapons they were expected to master that it was only natural that some men became more adept at specific ninjutsu weapons. Nonetheless, they were still expected to be proficient in all the ninja weapons in their arsenal. They were highly skilled in the use of standard weapons like the sword, spear, and bow and arrow, of course. But it was the array of specialized ninjutsu weapons that made them such feared fighters. Ninjutsu Weapon #1: Shuko One was called a shuko . It was made of a small metal plate that slipped over the knuckles. It also had four spikes extending from the palm. Thus, a ninja could rake an enemy’s face with a front palm swipe or break his jaw with a blow with the back of the hand. It was also useful for gripping while climbing trees and walls. Whenever ninja started out on a mission, they invariably stuffed their pockets with tonki, a class of small weapons used primarily for escape tactics. It included a bewildering assortment of dirks, daggers, darts and throwing weapons. Ninjutsu Weapon #2: Caltrops Ninja used a particularly vicious item called the caltrop. When ninja were being pursued, a favorite trick to slow down the enemy was to strew a number of the four-pointed caltrops behind them. They were designed so that no matter which way they landed, one sharp point always protruded straight up. Since in those days the Japanese typically wore straw sandals, one step on a caltrop was usually enough to stop a pursuer. The caltrops were also spread around encampments or along castle walls and approaches to stop ninja spies from entering. Ninjutsu Weapon #3: Shuriken Shuriken were also an indispensable part of the tonki. They were star-shaped weapons held between the thumb and forefinger and tossed overhand or side-armed with a quick, spinning motion. Ninja constantly practiced throwing them at tree trunks, posts and other fixed targets. Accurate aiming and swift throwing eventually became second nature to them. Ninjutsu Weapon #4: Kyoketsu Shogei Another potent weapon was the kyoketsu shogei. It had a metal ring at one end of a cord and a double-pointed knife at the other. The end with the ring was thrown and wrapped around an opponent’s arm, after which the ninja pulled him close. They then cut down sharply with the curved knife edge across the enemy’s neck and followed through with the straight knife by thrusting upward into a vital spot. The ring could also be tossed around one leg so the ninja could pull their attacker off-balance and spring on him with the knife. Ninjutsu Weapon #5: Bamboo Staff An innocent-looking bamboo staff used by a seemingly helpless priest could be a powerful weapon when wielded by ninja. If attacked by a swordsman, they would suddenly stoop low and swing their staff along the ground with their right hand. Out would come a weight and chain that wrapped itself around the enemy’s leg. The ninja would then jerk him forward into the ground. Moving in quickly toward their quarry, they would slam the opposite end of the staff into the enemy’s head. Some bamboo staffs were equipped with small feathered darts at one hollow end and weighted with lead at the opposite end. Presumably going on the defensive by bracing themselves for a sword attack, ninja would suddenly flick their staff forward and let fly a dart in the enemy’s face. If the opponent ducked out of the way in time, the ninja would rush in for the kill, reversing their staff and clobbering the enemy on the back of the head with the weighted end. Ninjutsu Weapon #5: Explosives Interestingly enough, the ninja were also skilled in the use of explosives. They used smoke grenades, mines, and flashing balls to confuse their opponent while they escaped, as well as explosive arrows and firecrackers. Until gunpowder and firearms were introduced by Portuguese traders in the mid-16th century, the ninja were pretty much limited in the use of fire and smoke to signal fires. But they did develop a sort of gun made from bamboo that had a range of up to 60 feet. After the Portuguese arrived, the ninja also used derringers and other handguns. Ninjutsu Weapon #6: Bamboo Bows Arrows were a favorite weapon of the ninja, and they used all kinds, including explosive and poison-tipped ones. Their bamboo bows were small and light to make them easy to carry, but they were very effective. Much as American Indians shot flaming arrows into forts and log cabins, the ninja also had fire arrows. They used them not only to start fires but also to shoot into enemy ranks to frighten them and their horses. Part One: Ninja History 101: An Introduction to Ninjutsu Part Two: Ninja History 101: Spying and Assassination Part Three: Ninja History 101: Ninja Gear Part Five: Ninja History 101: Ninjutsu Training