Can you name them all? The 1982 Karate Illustrated Yearbook featured the very best of the best! Learn more about this cover and the...

The November 1973 edition of Karate Illustrated featured Emil Farkas , widely known as the “Karate Instructor to the Stars.” As the...

The following is a snippet of a feature found exclusively in the Spring 2025 issue of Black Belt Magazine. From Karate Champs to Industry...

The December 2000 issue of Black Belt Magazine featured legendary tae kwon do Grandmaster Hee Il Cho , founder of the Action...

The January 1974 cover of Karate Illustrated featured “Super Dan” Anderson , founder of American Freestyle Karate. A four-time national...

The following is a snippet of a feature found exclusively in the Spring 2025 issue of Black Belt Magazine. Since 1979, Burton Richardson...

The September 1969 issue of Karate Illustrated featured a young Pat Burleson alongside an even younger Pat Johnson—two trailblazers whose...

Many Black Belt  readers may be familiar with the Japanese phrase ken ki tai ichi . It means that one’s weapon ( ken , which can be...

The wrestler — having quickly disposed of his first four judomen — stood before the fifth opponent, glaring like a wild animal about to...

We’re honoring the matriarchs of martial arts. Sometimes, the most powerful warrior in the story we see never throws a punch—she raises...

Who remembers this iconic cover—the July 1975 issue of Karate Illustrated ? It inspired decades of look-alike poses, emulated by martial...

Here’s one for you to kick around with your dojo mates the next time you’re relaxing after training. It was back in the 1960s, a time...

Stanley Ketchel, aka “The Michigan Assassin,” was one of the greatest middleweight boxing champs of all time. He was noted for tremendous...

The May 1988 cover of Karate/Kung Fu Illustrated spotlighted Jean Frenette , a 10-time Canadian kata champion and WAKO World Champion....

Who remembers this tae kwon do star? The June 1982 cover of Black Belt Magazine featured five-time cover star Pu Gill Gwon , a tae kwon...

He brought a new level of performance to an era when traditional forms still dominated the tournament circuit. Peter Morales , featured...

The January 1987 issue featured Hatsumi Masaaki, best known as the modern grandmaster of Ninjutsu. Born on December 2, 1931, Hatsumi is...

Imagine a political leader going to Duluth to tell Minnesotans this: “You are the descendants of Vikings. You have the blood of warriors...

Think you know your Karate history?  Meet David Deaton —Karate Shihan and beloved champion. Named the #1 Lightweight Fighting Competitor...

Who knows the legacy of James Mitose? The November 1992 cover of Black Belt Magazine featured Thomas Mitose , son of the legendary...

Part 1 of this article examines whether the Olympic Games have been good for judo and taekwondo. For input, we interrogated fire experts,...

Frank E. Sanchez has been around the block. As a youth in Guam, the U.S. territory in which he was born, he frequently had to call on his...

Remember this powerhouse? The October 1975 cover of Karate Illustrated  spotlighted a rising star—Ray Sua. Then an up-and-coming...

The March 1994 cover of Black Belt Magazine featured Richard Norton alongside kickboxing champion Peter Cunningham, photographed by Doug...