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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ross "Turbo" Levine returned to the Karate Combat pit on Saturday night to defend his middleweight championship for the first time since defeating Shahin Atamov last year. His opponent was a familiar foe, Igor "The Iberian Bull" De Castaneda, who Levine knocked out with a combo capped off by a spinning axe kick as De Castaneda was backed up against the slanted wall of the pit. Although most believed the stoppage was justified, De Castaneda thought it was a bit early and came into this title bout seeking revenge. The Iberian Bull came out of the gates in round one seeking big shots, a trademark of his fighting style that has earned him several knockouts. Levine, however, had a calm and collected approach in the first round as he efficiently checked leg kicks and countered with strong body kicks when De Castaneda would start swinging. More of the same took place in the early second round, as the commentators noticed how Turbo could cut off his opponent's movement and apply pressure that kept him near the wall at all times. The highlight of the second round came near the end, when a calf kick by Levine sent De Castaneda to the tatami and allowed Levine to get some valuable ground and pound. It was evident that Levine could smell blood in the water in round three. He connected with the left hand squarely to the face of his adversary multiple times. Another strong leg kick sent De Castaneda back to the mat, then after they reset De Castaneda found himself against the wall eating a massive body shot by Levine. Moments later, Levine would cap off the masterclass with a stiff left hook that put De Castaneda asleep for the night. In his post-fight interview, Levine complimented his opponent's corner and invited middleweights from throughout the martial arts world to come to Karate Combat if they wanted to test their striking skills against him. He expects it to be a while before his next bout as Karate Combat works on building up their middleweight roster following that callout. Levine also delivered a heartfelt thank you to his wife, Maddie, for her patience and support as he continued to prepare for this fight for months on end. With the win for Turbo , sport karate fans around the globe can rejoice as one of our legends remains the middleweight king for Karate Combat. Speaking of sport karate fans, another prominent point fighter was in the mix on this Karate Combat card as Robbie Lavoie of Canada defeated Damian Villa by split decision. Check out the link below to see that fight, and the entire rest of the card thanks to Karate Combat on YouTube!

Though people may associate Krav Maga in the Israel Defense Forces with men, many of our top combat instructors are women. Seeing women perform the techniques showed me how effective Krav Maga was. It was hard for me to imagine my larger instructors ever realistically being bear-hugged or choked. Seeing the techniques done with men made it harder to judge whether the techniques were effective. Therefore, it gave me a lot of confidence to work with instructors whose “attackers” were stronger than them and see they were able to hold their own. It taught me an important lesson. When doing self-defense demonstrations and videos, many instructors miss a key point and ask the wrong person to be their demonstration partner. They will pick someone they know very well, without considering their body type and the type of attack it would. It’s very important for the attacker role to be played by someone who could actually pose a threat physically to the defender, and be the kind of attack that realistically would happen. Otherwise, it looks very fake. The attacker doesn’t necessarily have to be taller than the defender, but they do need to look like a real and realistic threat. In a competition martial art, it’s fine to work with someone of a smaller size, because most competitions are by weight class and therefore, you’re very likely to be paired with someone your size. In self-defense, the defender is always the underdog. I have made this mistake a lot. During Covid, I got comfortable working with the same few people and it took me time to realize that working with someone I’m comfortable with is great for technical demonstrations, demonstrating defenses for attacks means making the attack look as realistic as possible. I remember watching a video in a different martial art discipline, where one teacher demonstrated with a fellow instructor who was far less physically imposing than her. The smaller instructor was acting as the attacker and it looked comical. In reality, no smaller person would go for an attack like that, and if they did, it would be easily defensible. In fact, it looked more like a friend sneaking up behind the other to surprise them with a hug. This concept is really important for videos. I’ve seen a lot of videos where the attacker looks incapable of being a threat. I don’t want to call out institutions that are doing great work that are making this mistake. I’ll reach out to them privately with a more detailed critique. However, I will identify two videos that not only get it right but highlight two incredible former Krav Maga instructors. I’ll be interviewing both women in the next few days, and I thought this would make an ideal introduction. I know Rachel is a trained combatant who can hold her own and I still felt scared for her when the “attackers” whistled menacingly. It’s a very visceral feeling of danger, highlighted by it being at night. I actually know the “attackers” very well. One was the commander of the instructor course, a highly skilled fighter who was tall and strong and very trained. The other did the advanced instructor course with me, who I remember as being a tough and professional fighter, with an appropriately aggressive fighting style. Both are wonderful guys but are most definitely capable of inflicting a lot of damage individually. Working as a team would make them very dangerous to even a trained fighter. You don’t even need to know their background to see how formidable they are. Showing them jump the fence was a nice touch, it demonstrates they are quite capable of inflicting violence. I have no doubt that Rachel would be fighting for her life. This scenario is sadly one very common to women. A study by women’s rights NGO showed 65% of women reported being subjected to street harassment, which can quickly escalate to physical attack. Therefore, it’s a powerful video that should be used in self-defense classes. Here’s another excellent video by Lior Bitran. The person playing the attacker (who happens to be her brother, Hagai) is a trained instructor of Seido Karate, Krav Maga, and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, and there’s no doubt that he is capable of inflicting damage. Her video highlights a scenario that needs to be discussed more, being attacked by someone you know. Although people usually think of attackers as being strangers in a dark alley, statistics show that it’s more common to know your attacker. According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network , four out of five victims of sexual assaults knew their attackers. I actually know people that this happened to, and watching the video highlights why they still find it so traumatic. In this scenario, the danger comes very quickly. The attacker is not only powerful and capable, but they are someone who was allowed into Lior’s personal space. Therefore, there’s very little warning to prepare for the attack. Having to create the distance and escape lends extra urgency. Therefore, it also fits the criteria for being a great tool for realistic self-defense. Let’s be honest, perception is reality. One of the most valuable lessons I ever taught was when I selected the largest student in class, a student who towered over me and outweighed me by quite a few kilos. I told them to take me to the ground and put me in full mount. In that position, I looked quite helpless. “He won, right?” I asked. Everyone nodded. I smiled and removed the fake knife I had hidden in my pocket. I mimicked stabbing the student in the kidneys. Everyone’s eyes were wide. “No, he didn’t.” Had I used a smaller student, the lesson wouldn’t have been so sharp. They needed to understand the dynamics of the situation. Once they did, they were able to truly learn to the most realistic standard.

At this stage in my career, virtually everything that I do with regard to sport karate is focused on growing the sport to make it a better place for the competitors of tomorrow. I believe that all the top athletes in sport karate, forms competitors and fighters alike, are some of the most entertaining athletes in all of sports. The power and stage presence of a traditional forms competitor, the obvious difficulty and entertainment value that extreme performers bring, all of it can be suitable for large-scale broadcasts if presented appropriately. However, point fighters deal with a unique challenge when it comes to making their performances attractive to the uneducated viewer. Those of us who know the game can appreciate the human chess match and understand the complexity of the fakes, set-ups, and timing of the techniques. The problem that point fighting faces is that an uneducated viewer has no idea what they are seeing when combatants collide and judges’ hands fly in every direction, with one fighter being awarded a point for a technique that the layman could have never seen. As someone who wants to see point fighters alongside forms and weapons competitors when sport karate ultimately gets more opportunities to appear on television or major streaming platforms, we have to work on making the art of point fighting more consumable now so that it has success when that big break occurs. I feel that an essential first step is the innovation of slow-motion replay, for three main reasons. Clearly Visible Techniques The first and most obvious of these reasons is that a slow-motion replay would make the scoring technique clearly visible to everyone watching. Keep in mind that I am only suggesting this feature be made available for fights in the night show (shout out to the promoters for recently increasing the number of fights we see in the show), as this benefit is primarily for broadcasting and not the impact on the fight itself. Imagine watching a fight on a stream somewhere, while the judges are determining who scored and the competitors come back to the line, a 3-5 second slow-motion replay shows the clash. Everyone watching from home sees which punching hand reaches the body first. What used to be a bizarre collision of two fighters that no untrained eye can make sense of, now has a clear indication of who made contact first. In turn, this will force our judges to be held more accountable. If they are not 100% certain who made contact first, they should call a “clash”. A common criticism of this idea for slow-motion replay is that it could expose our judges and the occasional calls that are missed. My immediate response is… is that a bad thing? Furthermore, having judges or referees means that mistakes are inherent to the sport. How often do we hear about a blown call at the end of a basketball or football game? It happens! The fact that judges are human and make mistakes, just like any other professional sport, it not a valid justification to hesitate about the introduction of slow-motion replay. If anything, judges may be even more careful to make the right call because they know thousands of people at home are going to see any mistakes that take place. Cleaner Techniques with Rule Modifications Another concern that I have heard when explaining this idea is that it could expose fighters for poor techniques that wind up scoring. My argument here is that just like judges would be held accountable for their calls, fighters would be held accountable for the techniques they score with. Do you think any fighter would want to be known for their blitz secretly being a backfist with minimal power as opposed to a true reverse punch? I am sure that most fighters would pride themselves on scoring with a true body punch. I believe that techniques would automatically get cleaner because fighters know that any no-so-pretty technique is going to be replayed in slow motion for the world to see. A secondary impact of this innovation would be the consideration of some rule changes that eliminate certain techniques. If it is decided that we don’t want backfist-to-the-body blitzes to be displayed in slow motion, then I feel it would be reasonable to outlaw backfist to the body all together (not just the lead hand as NASKA rules currently enforce). The issue here is that judges will not always be able to tell the difference between the backfist and the reverse punch at the world-class speed of these fighters, which is why the next benefit is so important. Implementation of the Challenge Flag Having slow-motion replay available in night shows introduces the possibility of a challenge flag. This flag would be available to coaches only once per match, and could be used for the reassessment of any rule application. Most commonly this would be used to assess who truly landed the technique first on a close clash, but could also be used to challenge if a fighter was in bounds or not, if any time was remaining on the clock when a final technique was thrown, or to determine if a technique was actually legal. Referencing the previous point about the reverse backfist-to-the-body, if a point was given for such a blitz the opposing coach could challenge, the replay would reveal if the technique was a punch or a backfist, and the point can be upheld or reversed based on what the majority of the 3-5 judges see on replay. The clear benefit of this is that match-deciding calls can be made with substantially more accuracy, as most fans recognize that late-fight calls are often influenced by the momentum of a comeback fighter on a scoring streak. There is also significant benefit to the entertainment value of point fighting as a whole, which is really the purpose of this proposition in the first place. Some of the tensest moments when watching a football game is when there is a close call, a coach challenges, and viewers get multiple slow-motion replays by which they can form an opinion about the call while the suspense mounts for the referees’ decision. This would have a secondary impact of starting social media debates between Impex/KTOC fans yelling through their computer screen that Avery Plowden landed first, while Straight Up fans dive into their comment sections explaining why they think Bailey Murphy actually landed first. Some friendly competitive discussion about which way a close call goes is good for the sport. It brings hundreds of millions of extra views to the NFL on social media when the refs make a close call, with one fanbase always being furious and the other feeling validated and overjoyed. Alex Reyes has already proven that people take an interest in these close calls through his series on the Point Fighter Live page in which he asks followers what call they would have made. I feel it is important to reiterate in conclusion that this is all about making point fighting more consumable for an uneducated audience. It all starts with using slow motion replay on streaming and broadcasting to show exactly what the scoring technique was. That has a trickle-down impact that would hold judges more accountable for their calls and fighters more accountable for their techniques, with the possibility of some synergistic rule changes. Finally, it provides an opportunity to add another exciting element to point fighting that would both increase the accuracy and validity of the results as well as providing a new topic of intrigue and discussion that point fighting fans could enjoy. Ultimately, the more new viewers that we attract to the sport, the more attractive the sport is to potential sponsors who care more than anything about viewership, and access to more sponsors ensures a brighter future for the sport karate competitors of tomorrow across the board. With regard to point fighting, it all starts with slow-motion replay. Special thanks to Lindsey Little Photography for the image used in this article.

How many of you practice martial arts, kung fu forms, karate katas, hundreds of kicks, punches and blocking drills, and intense stance and balance skills outdoors in the pouring rain, heavy snow and hail, enduring the freezing cold, facing extreme gale force winds, all on grass, cement, muddy hills, forest floors and on frozen ponds? How often do you practice weapons or even spar with someone under these scenarios? This is what I did during my first six years of martial arts training and the lessons of body mechanics, coordination, weight and balance adjustments, heightened senses and terrain awareness were all wild, wacky, and essential. Who made me think of doing macroweather training in the rain, snow and winds? My dad. It was something he shouldn’t have done because it was something that could have killed me, yet I did it, survived it and without realizing, he made me stronger in ways we never could have imagined. Born 1956, disabled since birth, mum noticed that after I cried for a few seconds, dead silence. Then I’d look like a dying fish on land trying to breathe; broken lungs. Although fed every hour and losing weight, my tens of daily nappies (diapers) were more soiled than a mud-prone hill attacked by typhoon rain. I had constant lung infections and a swollen head, not from pride but dangerous penicillin allergies. When my doctor told my parents I was dying of cystic fibrosis (CF), a cruel terminal disease that robbed my breath and ability to digest food, he mourned, "Have him avoid exertion and make his final few years as comfortable as possible." As legend has it, with fiery eyes and red hair aflame, my Scots mum pierced the doctor’s soul and snarled, "My son will not die!" She stormed out of the hospital refusing to cry and show defeat in front of crowds that stood and stared, they walked away unchanged, my parents didn't. Dad was a professional soccer player in Scotland after World War II, his three sons wanted to be soccer players too, but I couldn’t run around; no lung power. Mum always taught me that I would catch my death in the rain and cold, yet my earliest memories of dad was on rainy days, he’d teach me how to kick a ball with my weaker left foot, believing players must be two-footed. A shoe on my left foot and a bare right foot, he had me kick the heavy, leather, waterlogged ball. Stinging painful right foot kicks later, I began using my left foot. Lungs weak, nose plugged like a clogged toilet, thus unable to run much, yet I could joyfully stand in one spot and kick the ball. To me, rain was glorified sprinkles of God's tears dancing upon my pale face giving me colors of peace and calm. Rain, thunder, and lightning shaped my wee young mind, body and emotions. I’d get sick as a dog, stayed home in bed from school, took more medication. I got used to the cycle and over time realized that rain and inclement weather cemented my relationship with dad. March 1973, at 16, when my doctor said I’d be dead from CF in five years, dad was with me and it rained all the way home from the hospital, I silently glared at the sky and God. Distraught, empty, abandoned. To prevent mum and dad from watching me die slowly, I decide to commit suicide, knowing that if I stopped taking my 30 pills-a-day medicine, I’d be dead in two weeks. Two weeks later, on my last lap, my brothers convinced me to go to the Vestal Drive-in theater in New York, things that I secretly kept on a bucket list of things to do. It rained all the way to the theater, but at that point I didn’t care, death was at my door, and no one knew why. When the film began, that’s when I met Bruce Lee in The Big Boss (1971). In his first fight, as Lee nailed a bully with two lightning -fast kicks with thunderous ferocity at an ice factory, I screeched like a banshee; my mind and body quickly associated this with rain. In that moment I went from being depressed and waiting to die to wanting to live and do what Lee was doing. When I stumbled upon two magazines in a store, one about Lee, the other about kung fu, I read that centuries ago, children dying from unknown diseases would be left at the front doors of the Shaolin temple and the monks would take them in, teach them kung fu and the secret art of chi gong; the kids would become powerful kung fu men. I realized that my current situation didn’t have to be my final destination. In order to create a new ending, I took matters into my own hands. I needed to first learn martial arts then go to Shaolin and learn this little-known chi gong. In 1977, while at Cornell, I serendipitously found an Okinawan goju ryu dojo way off campus. After my college roommate and I joined, they had eight students. This is where I learned about the fine line between discipline and stupidity, which partly involved training outdoors under hazardous weather conditions. I’ll save this discussion for Part 3: Man of this series . Three years later, my quest to find chi gong found me as a grad student at National Taiwan University and paying for my education by becoming a token white dude getting my butt kicked in by different Chinese actors in Chinese kung fu movies/TV shows. I met an actor who was an arcane chi gong master and during the monsoons subjected me to a perilous, 30-day test of worthiness on Monsoon Mountain. Health rapidly declining, I faced Noah biblical rain, entities, endured an earthquake and with a major banana peel moment, was engulfed by a mudslide. He accepted me, taught me chi gong and five months later, I was off all medication. But had I really found a way to control CF and not have CF control me? My final test occurred amid a violent typhoon where after being chased by a pack of rats the size of cats through waist-deep sewage flood waters, I practiced chi gong at a construction site full of body-damaging flying debris. The Doppler effect sound of a spear-like bamboo pole whistling toward me was filled with harrowing, impalement trepidation. The CF control point was at hand. After a few days, I came down with a serious lung infection, which was quickly followed by a 106 o F. body temperature. Six years ago, a similar illness would require doubling my antibiotics, having a long hospital stay with intensive therapies and it would have taken months to recover. Three days later, I had completely recovered from the infection without any medication. Monsoon rain tested me, typhoon rain taught me, macroweather training prepared me.