As the 19th century rolled over to the 20th century, opinions regarding which fighting method was better—English boxing or boxe...

I recently read an article that was critical of randomized training as it relates to the CrossFit Games. My immediate response was: A)  I agree that the randomized CrossFit protocol does not “tunnel in” — that is, adhere to specificity to create skill mastery in a given sport. Such mastery comes only from sport- and skill-specific training. B)  It’s not surprising that the majority of CrossFit Games winners, as well as those who excel there, don’t adhere to the randomized pro

Martial arts phenom Bruce Lee reached his peak in the late 1960s and early ’70s and then, as we all know, tragically passed away in 1973 at age 32. Yet 44 years later, his combat creation, that which we call jeet kune do , remains as popular as ever. That fact speaks volumes about Lee’s genius. In this tutorial, second-generation jeet kune do instructor Lamar M. Davis II — who’s trained under Ted Wong, Joe Lewis, Howard Williams, Patrick Strong, Jesse Glover, and other JKD lu

I started taking formal martial art lessons in 1971 at age 11. By the time I tested for my first degree black belt in 1979, I was already starting to feel the effects of hip joint degeneration — I just didn't know it.

Let's face it: As martial artists, we embrace activities that ask a lot from our bodies. Chances are, you know someone who’s asked a little too much from his or her hips and, consequently, is suffering hip pain. Maybe you know someone who’s already undergone surgery to deal with the problem. It’s for martial artists like you that Black Belt  assigned me this article. It explores the hip health stories of some prominent practitioners and explores the options for preserving and

In addition to forgetting, one of the problems with aging—oddly enough—is remembering. "I remember when you could get a cup of coffee for 10 cents." "I remember when gas was 25 cents a gallon." After hearing me make a few statements like that, a young student asked, "What about Judo? What was it like back in the day?" This is the way I happened to experience the history of judo.

With the popularity of mixed martial arts (MMA) competition continuing to climb on television and online, martial artists of all stripes are becoming more well-rounded in their approach to fighting. The bad news is criminals are learning, too. Police officers report that it’s now common for suspects to challenge arresting officers physically using MMA moves. That means the good guys and gals — people like you — must be prepared to fend off an attacker who may be skilled in ki

Black Belt: If you would never have had the accident that wrecked your right knee and led you to start your career in karate, do you think you'd be called "Superfeet" instead of Superfoot? Bill "Superfoot" Wallace: I really have no idea. I wouldn't have practiced with the left foot twice as much as everybody else, which helped give the foot a mind of its own. I would have been more orthodox and fought like everyone else instead of from the side stance.

There are people who swear “Judo” Gene LeBell has practiced martial arts for so long that an image of him putting King Tut in an armbar can be found etched in sandstone in an Egyptian tomb. LeBell insists that isn’t true: “No, I’m not that old, but I was a bodyguard for Genghis Khan.”

As Okinawan Goju-Ryu master Seikichi Toguchi liked to point out, the role of the legs in his style of karate is primarily locomotion. They’re used to move the body into position and then align it so a hand strike can be delivered. The reason is clear: Biomechanically, the most natural and effective weapon for human beings to use is the fist.

Bill Wallace is a true living legend, a man who’s regarded as the world’s greatest kicker by nearly everyone in the martial arts community. “Superfoot” is universally respected for his professional full-contact karate record, in which he amassed 23 consecutive victories before retiring undefeated.

You know that sumo is Japan’s oldest martial art.That it goes back to Japan’s earliest civilization. That sumo bouts are mentioned in the Kojiki , Japan’s mythological stories of its creation. You know that sumo bouts can be won in only two ways: Force your opponent out of the ring, or cause him to touch the ground with any part of his body other than his feet.

In the past four decades, Cynthia Rothrock has accomplished what many of us dream of but few of us achieve: nurturing martial arts skills into an international career in fight films. Here’s a look back for those who are too young to have witnessed the rise of Rothrock.

Kelly McCann, author of Combatives for Street Survival , offers invaluable insight into an essential component of self-defense. Here are a few of his top tips!

Attack is imminent, you're ready with a stick strategy – and then life gets in the way! As a practitioner of arnis—or any other stick-based martial art—you devote a ton of time to training, especially to fine-tuning your offense. It's totally understandable because, after all, who doesn't want to be the first to land a clean, precise stick strike in a self-defense encounter that could turn deadly at any moment? But what happens when your opponent does something that takes you

Tonight, while you sleep your deepest sleep, 100 black-clad figures gather in meditation. Their mantra fills the air around their clandestine mountain retreat and contrasts with the hiss of their controlled breathing. They prepare for their upcoming mission by believing they are turning into tigers; by force of will, they drift into a different phase of being. Their breathing becomes deeper, and they count backward from nine to one, mentally taking a step down an imaginary fl

Almost since its inception and especially since the art high-kicked its way into the 1988 Olympics, taekwondo has been renowned for its dynamic moves and its practitioners lauded for their explosiveness. Those qualities may have been engineered for success in competition, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work in self-defense — provided you get guidance from someone who knows of what he speaks. To deal with that last point, I sought out a true expert: G.K. Lee, ninth-degree bl

Interested in the first half of this electric conversation? Part 1 of our exclusive Q&A with Tim Tackett can be found here ! In your experience, what is holding back the growth of jeet kune do in the greater martial arts community? Judging from the popularity of Bruce Lee, JKD should be the most popular art in the world. Bob Bremer and I once did a seminar for about 50 people. I asked Bob privately how many JKD guys were in the room. He said, "Three." I said, "Maybe four." An

Every traditional martial art exists in the present because at one time in the past, it was used successfully in battle.

As I sat in his immaculate living room, listening to the tale of Tim Tackett unfold from the mouth of the man himself, I couldn't help but note the parallels between his life and mine. Both of us started our martial arts journeys in the United States before going to Asia for non-martial arts reasons. Both of us, however, seized the opportunity to train as much as possible while in Asia. Both of us found that local masters were flattered that a foreigner had come so far becaus

Biceps, chamber, hip, point. Thrust, slash, cover. The rhythmic shouts come from a kali master instructor, and they’re echoed by hundreds of students who are mimicking his every move. It’s part of the training that’s taking place at the 2018 Martial Arts SuperShow in Las Vegas. In attendance are police officers, former SWAT team members, Special Forces operatives, U.S. Marines, and ordinary martial artists representing disciplines that range from krav maga and taekwondo to Br

The techniques you see in MMA are not new techniques. They’re just a blending of old martial arts techniques. In MMA, we’re just taking what works from a lot of different arts, then we make sure it does work. How? By experimenting. In MMA competition — outside of biting, eye gouges, and groin shots — everything else is pretty much fair game.

Rhee was most certainly the kind of man who made things happen..

Young people who grew up in the age of the internet will find it difficult to grasp just how hard it used to be to track down information about rare martial arts. Case in point: hisardut. I first heard about the Israeli self-defense system in 1990 while attending college on the East Coast. I was part of a small group of die-hards who kept their eyes and ears open for leads on events that featured styles that were new to us. A campus flyer indicated that a hisardut seminar wou