Black Belt Magazine - December/January 2023

In this issue

World's Leading Magazine of Martial Arts. Black Belt is dedicated to both the classical and the modern martial arts. First published in 1961, it features interviews with the world's most prestigious masters and historical pieces on the philosophies of various combat styles. The magazine also provides in-depth coverage of mixed martial arts, reality-based self-defense, Bruce Lee, weapons defense, cutting-edge training methods, fight films and industry trends.

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON RANK

NON-PRACTITIONERS OFTEN ASSUME THAT RANK IN KARATE AND OTHER MARTIAL ARTS IS A STANDARDIZED AFFAIR, CONTROLLED PERHAPS BY AN OFFICIAL BODY LOCATED SOMEWHERE IN JAPAN. THOSE WHO TRAIN, OF COURSE, KNOW THAT THERE'S NO SUCH THING AND THAT A SIXTH-DEGREE BLACK BELT IN ONE DOJO MIGHT NOT EVEN BE CONSIDERED A FIRST DAN N ANOTHER SCHOOL

3 mins

OLD SCHOOL

TRAINING IN A REAL MARTIAL ART REQUIRES AND BUILDS PERSEVERANCE AND FIGHTING SPIRIT. YOU ENJOY THE BENEFITS NOT ONLY ON THE MAT BUT ALSO IN DAILY LIFE WHICH 1S WHY THE ARTS REMAIN SO POPULAR CENTURIES OR EVEN MILLENNIA AFTER THEY WERE DEVELOPED FOR COMBAT. KNOW THIS BECAUSE I'VE SPENT THE PAST 60 VEARS FOLLOWING THE MARTIAL PATH.

4 mins

FIRST FAMILY OF NINJUTSU

THIS TALE STARTS WITH TWO PEOPLE WHOSE STORY COULD HAVE BEEN A TWILIGHT ZONE EPISODE. IT’S ABOUT A TIMELESS FORCE THAT BOUND A MAN AND A WOMAN FROM DIFFERENT WORLDS AND DIRECTED THEM TO BECOME ONE WITH THE PAST SO THEY COULD MOVE INTO THE FUTURE.

5 mins

BULLETPROOF! MEET HALEY GLASS, NEWEST ADDITION TO TEAM PAUL MITCHELL KARATE

Glass was born on June 3, 2003, and raised in Orlando, Florida. She started karate at age 5 while her mom Giomayra Walker worked late every night to make a better life for them.

4 mins

MISTAKES OF THE VASTLY EXPERIENCED

\"But in all my experience, I have never been in any accident of any sort worth speaking about. I have seen but one vessel in distress in all my years at sea. I never saw a wreck and never had been wrecked nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort.\"

4 mins

BEST PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKES AND PALMS VS. FISTS, PART 1

In the June/July, August/September and October/November 2022 issues, I presented an overview of pre-emptive attacks as the lastresort option of proactive self-defense. In this issue, I will cover the two best strikes to use in that context and follow up with my thoughts on using palms versus fists.

4 mins

LEGEND OF BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU

RIGAN MACHADO WAS INTERVIEWED FOR AN EPISODE OF THE COMBAT SHOW ON THE BLACK BELT MAGAZINE CHANNEL ON JUNGO PLUS. AS YOU MAY KNOW, HE'S PART OF THE RENOWNED MACHADO FAMILY OF BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU MASTERS. (HIS BROTHERS INCLUDE JOHN, JEAN JACQUES, ROGER AND CARLOS.) PRESENTED BELOW ARE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE Q&A, BUT BEFORE WE GET TO THEM, HERE ARE THREE FILMS WITH THE BEST TITLES EVER THAT YOU'LL FIND ON OUR CHANNEL.

5 mins

IS JEET KUNE DO AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?

BRUCE LEE IS ALMOST UNIVERSALLY CITED AS THE BEST MARTIAL ARTIST EVER, SO WHY ISN'T JKD MORE POPULAR?

9 mins

THE RISE OF ATA NATION

HOW THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR MARTIAL ART SPAWNED ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST MARTIAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS!

10+ mins

SHANNON LEE REVEALS THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BRUCE LEE UNIVERSE

Black Belt started working with Bruce Lee before he was a star witness our October 1967 issue, which featured him on the cover at a time when his name was deemed less attention-getting than the phrase Green Hornet's Kato’ Does he really practice kung fu?” Since he passed away, the magazine has continued to work with the Lee family to keep readers up to date on all the projects that are inthe works. In that vein, we present our annual interview with his daughter Shannon Lee, who has her hand in so many projects that it’s hard to imagine her ever resting.

9 mins

FOOT SWEEPS TO PUT YOUR OPPONENT DOWN AND OUT!

What if I told you that you could learn a technique that will send your opponent crashing to the ground, regardless of that person's size or strength?

5 mins

HOW KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR MET BRUCE LEE

AND DISCOVERED JEET KUNE DO He ducked his head as he walked through the door. When he stood up straight, his head almost touched the ceiling. Everyone in the office paused as the well-known figure nonchalantly strolled into the display room to browse through our books. \"He's tall!\" I murmured.

9 mins

FAREWELL, GENE LEBEL

Martial Arts Community Loses a Grappling Legend

10 mins

DISCIPLINE, RESPECT AND THE DOJO

Discipline is a weighty part of the martial arts experience. That's because discipline figures into so many of the features and details the arts offer. While these can vary from one system to the next, there are key components that affect every training hall.

3 mins

Read all stories from Black Belt

Black Belt Magazine Description:

World's Leading Magazine of Martial Arts.
Black Belt is dedicated to both the classical and the modern martial arts. First published in 1961, it features interviews with the world's most prestigious masters and historical pieces on the philosophies of various combat styles. The magazine also provides in-depth coverage of mixed martial arts, reality-based self-defense, Bruce Lee, weapons defense, cutting-edge training methods, fight films and industry trends.World's Leading Magazine of Martial Arts.
Black Belt is dedicated to both the classical and the modern martial arts. First published in 1961, it features interviews with the world's most prestigious masters and historical pieces on the philosophies of various combat styles. The magazine also provides in-depth coverage of mixed martial arts, reality-based self-defense, Bruce Lee, weapons defense, cutting-edge training methods, fight films and industry trends.World's Leading Magazine of Martial Arts.
Black Belt is dedicated to both the classical and the modern martial arts. First published in 1961, it features interviews with the world's most prestigious masters and historical pieces on the philosophies of various combat styles. The magazine also provides in-depth coverage of mixed martial arts, reality-based self-defense, Bruce Lee, weapons defense, cutting-edge training methods, fight films and industry trends.