A variety of martial arts legends were in Houston, Texas this past weekend for the Museum of Sport Karate Hall of Fame awards celebration and banquet. The organization, founded by Professor Gary Lee, is designed to highlight the founding figures of sport karate and all the legends that came after them. The story of sport karate could not be told without Team Paul Mitchell, the most decorated team in the history of the sport with over thirty years of corporate sponsorship. Team founders Don Rodrigues and Steve Babcock were recognized at the event, as well as Team Paul Mitchell legends Christine Bannon-Rodrigues and Rocky DiRico. Joining them was the man who made the iconic competition team possible with his vision and generosity, John Paul DeJoria. The co-founder and former CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems was awarded an honorary 10th degree black belt for his contributions to the sport through three decades of sponsorship. DeJoria is known for his philanthropic efforts such as JP's Peace, Love, and Happiness Foundation which allowed Grow Appalachia to serve over 5,300 families and grow more than 4,000,000 pounds of organic produce. His spirit of giving within the martial arts community dates back to 1987, when he took a chance on what was then a small New England-area fighting team. In addition to sponsoring Team Paul Mitchell, DeJoria and John Paul Mitchell Systems have sponsored numerous events over the years that have helped increase exposure to competitive martial arts. WATCH: John Paul DeJoria speaks at TEDxLA

Century is proud to have among our various uniforms available the Official Cobra Kai Gis styled after the uniforms from the show. But... Have you tried to get a hold of the newest Cobra Kai Gi’s lately? Are you tired of seeing them out of stock because of the high demand? Well one person needed a Gi (an Official Cobra Kai Gi, no less!) so badly, they hatched a plan. This young man, this desperate soul, went on a mission. A daring and dastardly plan, hell-bent on getting his hands on some of the newest releases of the Cobra kai Gi’s . Where from? Why, the largest martial arts supply factory in the us, Century Martial Arts, of course! When? This very morning! Did he get away with anything? Yes! He got one Gi. One! And which one (there are several!), you might ask. The namesake Gi, the Cobra Kai clad uniform? No. The bold Eagle Fang gi ? No. As always in life, irony is abound. It was the Miyagi Do uniform . The gi aligned with the saintly, do-gooder clan of our dear fiction. The gi of calm, tempered action. The gi of never succumbing to rash, offensive action, when reservation and defense are available. That, of all the options, was for what he broke the laws of society and common decency. Why the Miyagi-Do gi? Why not get the original Cobra Kai gi or at the very least the Eagle Fang Gi? Well, who can say what lurks in the minds of such knaves, scoundrels, and rogues. The only thing we can know for certain is this: If you’re going to trip something, make it your opponent. Not the alarm. In any case, we wish you (and even our dreaded thief) a safe, secure, and spooky Halloween.

I have a question. How do you identify a McDojo? I was in a conversation with a high-level martial artist, superbly skilled in his art and who had obviously dedicated many years to training, when something he said made me pause. We were catching up with local happenings, talking about the nearby studios and how the experts in the area were doing with their lives. It was in this broad conversation that he dropped this bomb: “It’s impossible for real martial art training to make money”. Ok, hol’ up . Why, pray tell, do you feel that is? It’s not that potential students are lazy–becoming fluent in a second or third language is just as, if not even more, challenging mentally and a crossfit class can kick the ass of many hardened martial artists, even if they have deeply traditional training. It’s not that people don’t want to invest time or money on something from a different generation or that the thirst for wisdom and ancient knowledge is a water well long dried up either. In many cases, it comes down to high-level martial artists being stubborn and adamant that they are already doing the best they can to pass on their knowledge appropriately. Though we remain a forever student in our style, we refuse to learn–much less accept–anything new that may help spread the system to another generation in a wider or better way. We struggled for our skills, but don’t dare embrace the frustration of learning marketing or pedagogy to better impact our community. Why? Rather than dismiss all of the ideas that help sustain many modern studios, let’s look more into the logic behind the operations. Whether they are practices we choose to adapt, adopt, or avoid is irrelevant for the sake of reading this article. What matters more is that we are able to better understand the mentality and actions of those living differently than us. From this perspective shift, perhaps we will find a solution to the problems we can face when trying to pass the torch from our generation to the next. Upgrades, Renewals, and Enrollments–Oh My! Let me start by saying that any program guaranteeing a Black Belt is not the subject of this discussion. Nor are we talking about fast-track programs that purport to give you skills in a more expedient manner. In both of these cases, the only thing that should be more guaranteed to be expedient is your feet out the door– get out fast! With that warning out of the way, also don’t toss the baby out with the bathwater. If a martial art studio has multiple program options–such as a Basic Program and Master’s Club or Leadership Training–that can actually be a good thing. These offerings aren’t always intended to alleviate more money out of your pockets. We have to remember–and come to terms with–the fact that not everybody needs everything from our art at one time. We may prioritize the whole of our art, especially if the concepts and movements are intricately interwoven with each other pedagogically, however consider that parts of it may be overwhelming or unnecessary for students just getting started in the martial arts world. It’s this train of thought that drives separation of a style into multiple tiers. Perhaps the Basic tier is an introduction of the most essential skills and perks (e.g. twice a week training or just empty hand skills), then the next tier introduces weapons and sparring or leadership development. Yes, there can be a money component (we need money in order to keep our doors open and keep empowering our community while teaching the next generation), however it is also about providing program options so nobody has to reject the full price or experience. At the end of the day, we want to be able to ensure success for who and what will succeed us, that includes our art and our students. Having multiple program offerings can help a studio be able to do exactly that. Cash Rules Everything Around Me...? Do you know anybody that harvests gasoline only for the sake of putting it in a stagnant car? I’m not talking about stockpiling fuel in the middle of a worldwide crisis, I mean somebody whose lifestyle it is to just collect profusely yet they continue to neglect the purpose of their pursuit. It’s not for aesthetics, practicality, or deep interest, they just...keep collecting. In a popular video clip, author Simon Sinek relates that to people and businesses whose sole aim is making money. Money can be likened to an enabler. It allows you the opportunity to reach more people and make a wider, more everlasting mark on your community. If money is fuel and your business is the car, you can’t forget to actually pick a meaningful destination as your goal and drive over there however. It would be a pretty uninspired life just traveling from gas station to gas station. Maybe your “destination” is to have a lifestyle that allows you to turn your passion into your life pursuit and go deeper into it than ever before or maybe you care mostly about ensuring your art doesn’t die out and become just another footnote in history. Regardless of motive, the other side of the fuel analogy must be kept in mind; unless you have the long lifespan, energy, and ability to manually push that car for thousands of miles, you’ll need to keep the car filled with fuel. Of course, you can just teach in a park for free. There is nothing wrong with that. It can be especially good when teaching privately or when life is too busy to commit to teaching. When doing that, there is little to nothing in overhead costs, but there is also little to no chances that we’ll be able to reach many people in the community. I’ve regularly trained outside, overseas and locally, during blazingly high heat and icy winters...but that’s not for everybody and certainly not at all times. Perhaps you set up special training that takes place in the elements (I’m a big fan of it), however, to succeed on a wider level that allows us to eventually take people with us on those adventures, we need money to afford indoor space and/or at least the things that make for a nice presentation of classes wherever we are. Peer Pressure from the Past Can we be real for a moment? Tradition is often something we romanticize because we want to make the past more epic than it may have actually been. That’s not always the case, but it certainly does happen at times. A good example of this in our realm is in the frustration of the “Skittles Bag” of belts and uniforms you see in studios nowadays. Relatively speaking, martial art belts aren’t that old of an idea. Certificates such as a menkyo license were in place long before colored cotton started being wrapped around our waists. In fact, it wasn’t until roughly the 20th century that belts even began to become an idea. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t started by a novice wearing a white belt that kept getting caked with dirt, blood, and sweat. It was started by an educator, Jigoro Kano (yep, that Jigoro Kano), who thought it would be a good idea to classify what level of experience and ability his students were at. “Blasphemy”, I know. Don’t worry, I agree that the legend of a belt stained with your efforts sounds nicer and is certainly more motivating. When we hear the truth though, it stops being a mystical tradition that’s been kept alive by devout, purist schools. Instead, it’s simply a natural byproduct from the evolution of teaching and how to encourage further learning. Do you want a camouflage belt or one with the color scheme of a superhero? Go for it. Aside from looking a bit silly, there is very little harm in using random colors. The same can be said, to some level, regarding uniforms as well. A uniform is meant to identify you with your tribe and is a “switch” for your brain to go into preparation for what you are about to do. Because of this, uniforms can hold special meaning in adding to the culture and vibe of the classes, however any organized look can do similar. At the end of the day, it’s less about what you wear and more about why you wear it–look past the superficial details of the specific garments and instead consider the purpose and intention behind them. This is how we discover the similarities in what and how we each train, realizing that perhaps other methods and ideas aren’t as ridiculous as once thought. Time to bring it back to the initial question–what’re your answers? Again, how do you identify a McDojo? Here’s what I think. If it is a studio that doesn’t care about its students and their genuine progress, it’s just a bad school. If the staff shows up just to get a paycheck, it’s just a bad business. If it is a school whose students barely know how to move and think–well, I’ve seen plenty of those in traditional locations as well. A high level practitioner doesn’t automatically equate to high level students. Sounds like a bad teacher. Is it a McDojo just because they make money and, because of that, the instructor can actually devote his time and energy to teaching everyone in the community full-time? Is it a McDojo because the teachers strive to run classes that reach and engage as many different people with their art, ensuring the style doesn't become extinct? Is it a McDojo because they also teach children, the students who–depending on how well they are taught–will grow up to love the art and become the next generation of serious adult students and teachers. To be blunt: it’s not about selling out your art, it’s about leveling up your approach . Again, it can be tricky to accurately pin down what a McDojo is, if not simply labeled as a bad business or lazy studio. It’s a bit easier to nail down what it isn’t though. A martial art studio that can comfortably keep its doors open isn’t a McDojo. It’s a success.

Keyboard warriors unite! Wait, please don’t. After every controversial decision in an MMA contest – at least one that seems to matter to fans and media – there are scores of credible and not-so-credible armchair and pro commentators who argue over the judges’ result. This can and often does include even fights that are finished when there is question about the stoppage. Poor Herb Dean has gone from industry standard to pariah being visible in the cage. Imagine what would happen if the judges outside the cage did not have their anonymity. Well, there is some good news or some bad news depending on your perspective when it comes to how Mixed Martial Arts is judged. The good news is that there are rules one could review and know – you know, know and not guess? – how to judge such things. The bad news is, apparently no one actually knows or seeks to know what they are. This means that on that proverbial Monday morning when all are arguing over the decision that either gave or cost their favorite fighter some opportunity, they may not know what they are talking about. Enter the vocal and maligned fight-nerds. There they are with their bookmarked copy of the Unified Rules of MMA and the variants of said rules for each region. They are there. Quick to point out that things like cage- control are not actually things unless other things are equal or negate themselves by being equal. Confused? Haven’t even started yet! What about the times when there are no sanctioning bodies or a card or event takes place in a region where the actual promotion itself is the governing body? Why do we – ahem, those – hipster know-it-alls not call foul on how records are not compromised if the promotion is in a conflict of interest position to award records to its more profitable fighters? Yes, there is something to see here, but only some seem to see it. Their seeing it is not celebrated or appreciated for the record (pun intended). Think this is hyperbole? Is it an unfair assessment to say that not only do fans and professionals who cover the sport possibly not have a clear understanding of the rules, but possibly not even the fighters themselves do? Yes, fighters who compete in the actual sport governed by said rules. Even more, what if it was said that there are fighters who later become commentators on their sport, commentate for years after fighting for years at the top of the sport as a title contender, then – and only after taking a course – finally say out loud what we those fight-nerds have been saying all along: Judging is supposed to be according to the Unified Rules! For the love of all that is holy, cage control doesn’t count! Takedown defense doesn’t count! Top control doesn’t count! Submission attempts do not count! At least none of those things count until a fight can be judged as exactly equal in all the areas that do count. If a fighter lands 50 strikes going backward against a fighter who lands 30 going forward, the backward moving fighter is winning. Period. Who needed to be taught this? Who was the one that sounded surprised when he was interviewed by a well- educated journalist (Ariel Helwani) and himself was actually educated in performing arts and for broadcasting won an award called Broadcast Analyst of the Year – twice? Who himself at 17-6 in MMA has fought a who’s who of legends in MMA? Paul Felder. That’s who. Felder literally left pieces of himself in the cage and has proved himself one of the best analysts and commentators in the game. Yet, it is only after all of that he says in retirement and in 2022 after taking a judges seminar, “You forget that the way that things are judged is more specific than you realize. It was nice for me to sit down with judges and people and go, listen here's exactly what we're looking at first, then this, then this.” A veteran fighter learned this after their career. He went on to say, “Oh, there’s octagon control. That is like the last thing that judges are looking at... first and foremost they are looking at striking. Then they are looking at who's effectively grappling then if those two things are muddy or tied then they will go to those other things. I always kind of thought of it even when I was fighting and probably why I got pissed off after some decisions; where I'm like man I controlled the cage, I did this and that. It's like yeah but he may have landed more significant strikes even if I was marching him down the whole time, even if he out struck me by two or one or two punches that's what they're going to go to first and that really cleared things up for me.” It must be said that Felder and any who are learning and educating themselves and the public are to be applauded. In fact, it proves the value of Martial Arts ethos that is always willing to grow. This is not a criticism of the effort. The thesis is the equivalent of, “what took you so long?” And hey, how about a little credit (apology?) to the fans and fight-nerds who have wanted this all along? Who really do not want unknowledgeable judges or refs (or those commenting) to rob deserving fighters who compete valiantly and according to the rules? In the end, aside from the garden-variety malcontent or internet troll who would never be happy, there is a fan base in MMA that has seen this for a while. Hopefully Felder’s humility and dignity will catch on and more of the voices in MMA will get on board. Maybe even some voices with giant podcasts. One can hope.

The first Top 20 Best Martial Arts Film article I wrote for Black Belt Magazine was in late 2004 and it hit the newsstands two months later. Almost 19 years and 7500+ extra films to consider, the second Top 20of All Time choices are similarly based on a movie’s impact on the genre’s history and creative fight choreography, and this time around camera choreography. 20. One-Armed Swordsman (1967): Starring Jimmy Wong Yu (he hated that his name was misspelled as Wang Yu), the first kung fu star who did all his own fights and stunts, One-Armed Swordsman burst onto the scene when trendy musicals and romances featuring female debutant queens ruled the silver screens. Directed by Chang Cheh, this riveting revenge thriller filled with themes of heroic bloodshed and violence, reversed the Cantonese/Mandarin starlet entrenched trends to become a pivotal transition film between wu xia and kung fu films. Wong told me that though he’s right-handed he trained himself to do everything left-handed adding, “Since the weapons were real with blunt blades and heavy, when I ran around with the sword raised, I'd sometimes lose balance and fall because my right arm was tied behind my back so the audience wouldn’t see the arm. It was tied like this for eight hours a day during the whole 40-day-shoot.” Talk about being uncomfortable. It was the first Hong Kong film to earn one US$1 million. 19. Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1 (2020): The sheer outrageousness and audacity to not only think about doing a 77-minute oner fight but to pull off this mind-boggling stunt with no choreography is downright ridiculous and I still haven’t been able to reconnect with my lower jaw after it dropped to the ground. To make matters crazier Tak Sakaguchi, who played samurai legend Miyamoto Musashi, hence the original title Crazy Samurai Musashi , five mintues into the fight broke a finger and two ribs, yet didn’t blink an eye, untill some of the attackers’ sword strikes almost got them. How was the fight done? Partially, there’s standard combos taught to actors and stuntmen during their Tate Japanese Theatrical Combat skill training that are initiated with subtle cues between Tak and the next band of fighters throughout the whole film. The fun of the film is weeding out the how and when he did certain things. Considering it was shot in 2011, completed in 2013, the camera choregraphy is exquisitely elegant and the film as a whole was ingenious. 18. The Shaolin Temple (1980): The importance of this film parallels the value of its debut star. Jet Li was born a descendant of a creed bent on the subterfuge of intellectuals and philosophers, a government that outlawed martial arts and zealously destroyed Shaolin lore and executed Shaolin monks who refused to enter re‑education camps. Yet Li crushed these archaic walls of scourge to become Communist China's first actor to conquer Hollywood’s shores. He derisively accomplished this feat by excelling in the cultural contraband of martial arts, philosophy, and cinema. Shaolin Temple was China’s first live-action kung fu film since the 1949 Communist takeover. The movie inspired the masses to visit the real temple's remains, forcing the paranoid government to warn the public that it was unnecessary for people in China to learn self-defense. The movie introduced wushu to kung fu film fans worldwide. As fights using wushu students in costume doing wushu style drills quickly got old, Li moved beyond this choreography method and adapted to the new fight style introduced during the Fant-Asia film era. 17. Drunken Master (1978): Due to its unique rhythmic bobbing style of fight choreography and the way Jackie Chan portrayed Chinese legend Huang Fei-Hung as a cheeky, lovable upstart teen whose kung fu skills inadvertently landed him in trouble, Drunken Master was a milestone film in the kung fu film genre and is still considered one of Chan’s best. When Golden Harvest realized Chan couldn't, wouldn't and shouldn't be the next Bruce Lee, they teamed him up with director Yuen Wo-ping to create the first film showing drunken martial arts, which was taught to Chan by Wo-ping's father Yuen Xiao-tian, who played Chan’s beggar sifu in the film. The film’s key and most impressive scene is when Chan beautifully demonstrates the spirit and distinct skills of the eight drunken immortals, mythological gods or fairies who can transfer Huang’s power into a tool used to give life or destroy evil. Kung fu comedy was secured. 16. Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983): Western-trained, new-wave filmmaker Tsui Hark with Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain ushered in a fifth martial arts genre that was not officially named until the genre had almost run its course. Coined by yours truly, Fant-Asiacombined elements of sex, fantasy, sci-fi and horror with high-flying gravity-defying wirework, far-out sight gags and over-the-top martial arts choreography. The film’s action director Ching Siu-tung (the father of wire-fu) dared to shoot the fight scenes at 18 frames per second (fps) as spinning heroes zipped, flipped, and flew at the speed of light amid explosions and magical weapons. The film is the true embodiment where the line between real and the supernatural is poetically blurred where even a simple red sheet suspended by wires and flapping in place shot at 18 fps looks more ominous than Count Dracula’s cloak wafting in the wind during any Dracula film. 15. Police Story (1985) As kung fu and guo shu films were losing their luster, mostly due to Hong Kong's industry-destroying copy-cat mentality where martial fight action was becoming too repetitive, Jackie Chan wanted to create something new. At the turn of the decade, he avoided doing period piece films as his characters moved away from traditional kung fu to becoming extreme athletes as seen in Dragon Lord (1982). With Project A (1983) and more officially with Police Story (1985), he created the wu da pian ( fights films using martial arts ) genre that combined athleticism, martial arts influenced fights and dangerously outrageous stunts wrapped in more contemporary themes and settings. The fights incorporated more Western-style boxing with karate like kicks. Chan veritably gave the martial arts film industry a facelift featuring fast paced choreography, action and some of the most dangerous and amazing stunts and action sequences ever put on film. No wires, no doubles, and no holding back, it's the film that put Jackie on the path to becoming the world’s greatest stuntmen. 14. The Raid: Redemption (2011): This film monitors a band of cops bringing violent anarchy to a drug kingpin's 15-story home-based apartment complex. While Rama (Iko Uwais) searches for his brother, he’s forced to elevate his swashbuckling Indonesian pencak silat into pummeling pill pushing pirates into putrefied pulp. If that sounds gross, the crazy thing is, that’s exactly what he does as more blood spurts than at a vampire convention. Shot mostly in black and gray, director Gareth Evans’ palate oozes grunge as each fight shows the darkness of the situation and the combative viciousness with blood, sweat and fears. With simple camera work, we see everything that comes around, goes around and the fights are connected logically and disconnected when necessary to reveal new levels of helplessness for the combative duel losers. 13. Ip Man (2008): Not since Chan’s Drunken Master 2 had there been such a rip-roaring old-school kung fu film made until Ip Man . This film arrived on the heels of those high-budgeted, high production value Chinese/American wu xia style martial arts films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (1999), which were shot in China that featured fancy wirework and spinning swords fights. Ip Man proved that traditional kung fu fight choreography reminiscent of the 1970s was not out of vogue. The kung fu is as real as the legitimate martial arts stars that performed the fights. Though star Donnie Yen is a product of the flashy stylism of the Fant-Asia films, where he kicked quicker than his idol Bruce Lee (via slower frame rates), as the titular character Ip Man, he never loses his wing chun combative simplicity and Yen’s demeanor perfectly matches the real Ip, who fought with artful virtue without malice and even when push came to shove, like when he’s defending the honor of the Chinese against the Japanese, he humiliates his foes while still maintaining his martial convictions. 12. Ong Bak (2003): Just when one thought that good martial arts films could only be made in China, Japan, USA and South Korea, the small film industry from Thailand received instant global attention with Ong Bak . Tony Jaa’s breakout film about Thai warrior Ting (Jaa) who travels to Bangkok in search for the decapitated head of the village’s guardian Buddha statue, finds Ting going more berserk than an angry cat in a small room full of 100 old folks in rocking chair squishing its tail as he introduces a new dangerous kind of fight choreography that combined Jackie Chan’s wu da action with a highly stylized version of Muay Boran (violent progenitor of Muay Thai). The highlights of the film aren’t just about Jaa mimicking an elephant during training and his bouts with the seething, meth-induced fits of pugilistic mayhem by the film's rabidly epileptic adversary, yet also his outrageous stunts like his deadly knee-drop strikes, elbows of fury, attack of the SUV and far-out fire kicks. Jaa reminded us of why we liked Chan's films from the mid-1980s on. Jaa’s vision of showcasing his country’s martial arts inspired other S.E. Asian countries’ small film industries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia to follow suit. 11. Legendary Weapons of China (1982): The best pure martial arts director of all time, Liu Chia‑liang stars and directs himself as Lei Gong, a Chinese boxer who quits an evil sect of kung fu madmen who believe Western guns can’t kill them. When the film was made, Chia-liang was head of Hong Kong’s Hong Men (see Shaolin Studios 3 for Hong Men’s origin), and thus his kung fu is as authentic as it gets, his choreographed fight used old style skills and when he’s in the fight, he uses no gymnastics or fancy Chinese opera moves, and rarely kicks above the waist. The final 10‑minute fight between the 50-year-old Chia-liang and brother Liu Chia‑rong featured the most outstanding and authentic Chinese martial arts weapons choreography in the history of film. Each of the 18 legendary weapons of Chinese kung fu are clearly demonstrated during one continuous fight scene that you wish would never end. Keep in mind that for this film, the weapons were real, heavy, likely dull bladed and wielded at real battlefield speed. If either Liu messed up the choreography during the fight, it would have been a life-threatening mistake.

The exciting first season of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition is now available on Prime Video on-demand for fans in the United States and Canada. Prime Video became the first major streaming platform in North America to carry the critically-acclaimed series. The reality competition series won Best Non-Scripted Entertainment and Best Adaptation of an Existing Format at the Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2021. "This addition to ONE's on-demand library on Prime Video gives us yet another way to connect with our passionate fanbase in the U.S., as we provide them with this exciting new content stack," said ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. The competition featured 16 candidates vying for a $250,000 job offer to learn from Sityodtong directly as his protégé at the ONE headquarters in Singapore. Candidates competed in a variety of business and physical challenges to see who would earn the offer. Helping them along the way was a long list of martial arts stars and business leaders. The list of special guest appearances includes Grab's Anthony Tan, Zoom's Eric Yuan, Catcha Group's Patrick Grove, and Twilio's Jeff Lawson. On the martial arts front, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Rich Franklin, and Renzo Gracie assisted the candidates in the series. The show's first season was released on Netflix in over 150 countries earlier this year. The show ranked in the top 10 in Singapore and Indonesia and trended in other nations around the globe. The exciting competition has finally landed in North America on Prime Video. The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition is available for streaming on-demand right now. The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition | Official Trailer The official trailer for The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition, hosted by ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong and featuring guest athletes including Ge...

Gene LeBell died in his sleep on August 9th 22, at age 89, two months to the day shy of his 90th birthday. A pioneer of martial arts, he lived a long and fascinating life. Today we will take a look at just a fraction of it. Gene LeBell, also known as ‘Judo Gene LeBell’ is best known for, you guessed it, judo. The truth though is that he was a rare example of a martial artist in the first half of the 20th century who trained in multiple martial arts. Bruce Lee is also well known for this, but LeBell’s accomplishments are slightly different. Whereas Bruce Lee trained in a myriad of martial arts and combined them into his own named style, Jeet Kune Do, or Jun Fan Kickboxing depending on your grip on life, LeBell trained grappling and boxing and tried to put them together in a fashion similar to MMA today. In his early years, LeBell’s mother worked as a boxing promoter, as a result he was immediately around martial arts. His first notable teacher however, is actually Ed ‘The Strangler’ Lewis, the professional wrestler, who taught LeBell catch wrestling, before he started judo. If you’ve read my history piece on Rikidōzan , you’re probably aware that professional wrestling in it’s early days was a legitimate martial art that was used for worked performances. In Ed Lewis’ day a lot of the contests you would see in professional wrestling were in fact, legitimate. LeBell was learning from perhaps the best wrestler in the world at the time, putting him in the company of the legendary Lou Thesz, who we also talked about briefly in the Rikidozan piece. Eventually Gene moved into judo, training it alongside boxing. This path saw him at the centre of several weird and wonderful moments of martial arts history. Gene LeBell was well known for exaggerating and outright fabricating stories – after all, he had that wrestling background and knew what his shtick was. So, I’ve done my best to get the true accounts, to the best of my ability. Gene LeBell vs Milo Savage Boxer Jim Beck made the bold claim that a professional boxer would be able to beat any martial artist. When Gene LeBell answered the challenge, he found his opponent switched to Milo Savage. The fight was contested with both athletes wearing judogi’s, a reasonable compromise in the days before no-gi grappling was all the rage. If you’ve ever seen Randy Couture vs James Toney, you’ll know where this is going. The grappler took the boxer down and tapped him with a choke. In truth though, it wasn’t a great showing, despite the claims that Milo Savage was a top 5 ranked light heavyweight, in reality he was a middleweight journeyman who won about as often as he lost. He was also smaller than Gene LeBell, who for whatever reason struggled to put him away until the fourth. Muhammed Ali vs Antonio Inoki Thirteen years later boxers still hadn’t learned their lesson, and Muhammed Ali entered the worst fight ever committed to tape against Antonio Inoki, a catch wrestler and tough man of pro wrestling. The referee? None other than Judo Gene LeBell. This fight is worth an article on its own, but for now we will say the rules would not allow Inoki to kick Muhammed Ali in the leg, unless Inoki’s knee was on the ground. The reason obviously being that if Inoki was allowed to leg kick, Inoki would win. Inoki buttscooted the entire match and kicked two blood clots into Muhammed Ali’s legs. There was a brief moment where it looked like Inoki might have started roughing up Ali, but it didn’t quite happen. The fight was ruled a draw, Ali came off the worse of the two, and everyone promptly forgot that it ever happened. Legal Issues Strap in guys, this is where it gets weird. Gene LeBell drove Jack Ginsburgs, a porn director, to the home of Robert Hall, a private detective. Ginsburgs shot Robert Hall in the head, killing him. It turned out that Robert Hall wasn’t just a private detective, he had ties to the mob and intelligence services, as well as Robert Vesco, the administration financier of Richard Nixon. There is much more to it than that, but in short, LeBell was found guilty as an accessory to murder, although this was later overturned by the state Court of Appeals. It’s a strange, unusual story, but with LeBell, you can almost kind of expect these wild tales, especially in the 1970s. Training with Bruce Lee I mentioned Bruce Lee earlier, and it’s time to bring him back up. LeBell also had a stint in Hollywood as an actor and stunt man, using his martial arts skills to land him jobs on shows like The Green Hornet, where he met The Dragon. The two spent at least some time working together training, with Lee learning some grappling technique off LeBell. Perhaps he wasn’t Lee’s teacher , but he certainly had an impact on the worlds most influential martial artist. Training Ronda Rousey Perhaps his final big moment in martial arts came when one of his students, Ronda Rousey, became a household name after having a storied career in both mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. It’s interesting things came full circle for his legacy, with a pupil who would excel in both of the most famous aspects of LeBell’s life, wrestling and martial arts. Her career so far can best be described by LeBell on the Joe Rogan Experience: ‘She used to be such a quiet girl, and now she won’t shut up.’ LeBell leaves a complicated and fascinating legacy, as he was around for so many weird and wonderful moments in martial arts. This is without getting into his hilarious and childish feud with Steven Segal or his work as a wrestling promoter. There’s no better sign of a life well lived, when the movie of your life, would have to be a four hour disjointed, unbelievable mess, just to try to capture it all.

Antonio Inoki, a Japanese wrestling icon, controversial politician and pioneer in the promotion of mixed martial arts who once fought heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, passed away Saturday at the age of 79. Born Kanji Inoki in Japan, Inoki moved to Brazil with his family as a teen where he was discovered by Korean-born Japanese wrestling sensation Rikidozan. Returning to Japan, Inoki made a name for himself in pro wrestling eventually training under legendary catch wrestler Karl Gotch and forming his own promotion, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, in 1972. Inoki shot to international fame in 1976 when he participated in the most famous mixed rules bout in history prior to the UFC as he and Ali engaged in a 15-round draw. Inoki refused to engage Ali on the feet, instead lying on his back and kicking at the boxer's legs the entire bout. Many claimed the match was prearranged but Gene LeBell , the late Black Belt hall of famer who refereed the fight, maintained it was a legitimate - if boring - contest. Though most in the combat sports world viewed it as a farce , the match increased Inoki's prestige in Japan and prompted him to promote more crossover "fights" featuring karate and judo champions against wrestlers. While most of those bouts were choreographed, Inoki did eventually promote legitimate MMA events including giving future UFC champion Lyoto Machida his professional start . Elected to the upper house of the Japanese national legislature in 1989, Inoki failed to win re-election in 1995 following scandals over campaign financing and alleged links to organized crime. He returned to politics in 2013 winning election but would receive a 30 day suspension from the Diet over unauthorized visits to North Korea.

Let’s say that you signed up for a tournament, spoke to your instructor about a promotional test, or committed to demonstrating your style’s unique properties at a major event. Either way, there are things that you’ll need to do to get ready. Rather than overthink it, I broke down the preparation steps into just three: prepare yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally. By shoring up these three important areas, you will be doing all you can to ensure you’re firing on all cylinders and operating at your very best. Prepare Physically I’m starting with the obvious one here, but sometimes the obvious gets overlooked. Here are some practical tips for making sure your body is in the best condition to succeed. Be in good condition - Physical conditioning should always be a part of training, but some people need more than others. Taking into account age and overall health, some students may need to add supplemental exercise, such as running, strength training, or just additional classes to ensure that their body is ready for the challenge ahead. Accounting for injuries – It is not uncommon to acquire an injury during the course of practice or training. First, be sure to consult with your doctor and your coach and make sure it is still safe for you to participate in the event. If you can continue, then the next step is to determine if there are any changes you need to make to your strategy or game plan to account for it. Can you still use the same combinations? Do you need to go for submission rather than a throw to win? Etc. Rest – It may seem odd or unusual to add rest to your preparation, but it is necessary. Sometimes taking a rest day before an event is a good strategy. Regardless, there should be adequate rest figured into your physical preparation. The risk of overtraining is a real one, and while you want to be physically ready, you don’t want to be so wiped out from training that you are defeated before you ever get a chance to compete. Prepare Mentally Should you go to a mountain top and meditate for a day? Say affirmations and try to speak positivity into the universe? I think it depends on you, but you should do something. Mental preparation is just as important as physical preparation. As the quote attributed to Winston Churchill says, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” A teacher or coach is the best place to start with advice about preparing mentally, but over time, people often come up with their own program. The important thing is to have something that works for you and to use it. Here are some suggestions. Meditate – You don’t have to go to a mountain top as I mentioned above, but taking a few minutes to sit in a chair quietly, with your eyes closed and just focusing on your breathing can be a very cleansing practice. I don’t think there is a need to make it complicated, just make it purposeful. A positive mental attitude – It matters what you think. Approach things from a solution-oriented mindset. Having a positive approach means improvising when necessary, making changes quickly, and not expecting the worst if things don’t go as planned. The Unexpected – While it is good, and necessary, to have a plan, one has to expect that life does not follow it. Things will change, mistakes will happen, and circumstances will shift for seemingly no reason. All of these things are possible and fall under the heading of the unexpected. Acknowledge that there will be surprises, and with a proper attitude, they can be capitalized on to create an opportunity. Prepare Emotionally This may sound like a strange type of preparation, but it is just as necessary as push-ups, sparring, and hitting the pads. Emotional preparation might be even more important since it is often our unchecked emotions that can get us into trouble and cause us to react in ways that may not be to our benefit. Having emotional maturity is important, and like everything else, it requires practice. Notice your emotions - How do you feel when you are bested in a sparring match? Are you so angry at the loss that you are mad the rest of the day? Inversely, how do you feel when you win? Do you feel invincible, or on an incredible high? It is natural to have a sense of satisfaction when you are successful and to be a bit disappointed when you lose, but both emotions should be kept from growing beyond what is appropriate. Success and failure are times to strive to see what can be gleaned from the experience as opposed to just absorbing the emotional results. Control anger – Anger is a very strong emotion. If not controlled, anger can derail not just a competition, but a life. Tempers can flare, especially if one feels wronged or cheated. It is important to stay calm and choose words and actions carefully. From a calm state, one can deal with the source of the anger in a much more effective way. If you tend to be a hothead, then be wary of your emotions. “Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation.” -Zig Ziglar The quote from Zig Ziglar is important to note. People can indeed get lucky, and things can just happen, but if you always prepare and do your best on the day, then you are increasing your chances of success by as much as you possibly can. You will never regret being prepared.

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

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

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