Black Belt Magazine

Black Belt tells you everything you need to know about every style of self-defense in the world! It offers the broadest, most informative coverage of all aspects of the traditional fighting disciplines that were developed in Asia, as well as the modern eclectic systems that were devised in the West.

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Black Belt Magazine • VOLUME 59, NO. 5 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

BRUCE LEE’S NUNCHAKU SELLS FOR $83,000

STUDY INDICATES TAI CHI AS EFFECTIVE AS OTHER EXERCISES IN FIGHTING OBESITY

SAKURA KOKUMAI BECOMES FIRST AMERICAN KARATEKA TO QUALIFY FOR OLYMPICS

TITO ORTIZ RESIGNS FROM CITY COUNCIL

THE FIERY HISTORY OF SAMOAN MARTIAL ARTS

AZERBAIJAN TEAM DISQUALIFIED FROM SAMBO CHAMPIONSHIPS

FORMER U.S. JUDO TEAM MEMBER PASSES AWAY

ART CAMACHO GOES EXPERIMENTAL

MYANMAR SANCTIONING BODY BLACKLISTS ITS WORLD LETHWEI CHAMPION

NEW JERSEY OVERTURNS CONTROVERSIAL WERDUM LOSS IN PFL

DOJO LISTINGS

ON OUR BIRTHDAY • BLACK BELT: AS WE CELEBRATE 60 YEARS OF BLACK BELT, CHECK OUT THIS ISSUE FROM JANUARY 1973 FEATURING DAVID CARRADINE AND THE KUNG FU TV SERIES.

ON FAVORITE FILM FIGHTS • BLACK BELT: REPLY TO THIS TWEET WITH YOUR FAVORITE FIGHT SCENE FROM ANY MARTIAL ARTS FILM OR TV SHOW!

ON UNFORGETTABLE INSTRUCTORS • BLACK BELT: WHO IS THE BEST MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR YOU EVER TRAINED WITH?

ON A BRUCE LEE ACTION FIGURE • BLACK BELT: THIS VINTAGE ACTION FIGURE OF A BO-WIELDING BRUCE LEE IS FROM 1983! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MARTIAL ARTS COLLECTIBLE THAT YOU OWN?

ON “JUDO” GENE • BLACK BELT: AS WE CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE OUR 60TH ANNIVERSARY WITH VINTAGE COVERS, CHECK OUT “JUDO” GENE LEBELL IN AUGUST 1971. DID YOU NOTICE THAT A COPY OF BLACK BELT WAS ONLY 60 CENTS BACK THEN?

ON YOUR BEGINNINGS • BLACK BELT: WHAT IS THE NO. 1 REASON YOU STARTED TRAINING IN MARTIAL ARTS?

MISTAKES CAN BE EMBARRASSING • THAT A DIRECTOR OF MY CITY’S OPERA COMPANY WOULD CALL ME SEEMED A LITTLE ODD. THERE ARE PROBABLY SOME MONKEYS WHO KNOW MORE ABOUT OPERA THAN I DO. BUT THE DIRECTOR WAS INVITING ME TO LUNCH, SO OF COURSE I WENT.

DEAR HOLLYWOOD: REBOOT “WMAC MASTERS” • IT’S TIME TO REBOOT WMAC MASTERS. YEAH, I SAID IT, AND I MEANT IT. IF YOU WEREN’T A KID IN THE 1990S, YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T EVEN HEARD OF THE FICTIONAL WORLD MARTIAL ARTS COUNCIL AND THE TV SHOW BASED ON IT. IN THAT CASE, YOU’RE IN LUCK BECAUSE I’M ABOUT TO GIVE YOU THE LOWDOWN.

FINAL DESTINATION? NO WAY — WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED! • IF YOU’RE UP ON YOUR MARTIAL ARTS HISTORY — OR YOU FREQUENT OUR WEBSITE OR FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA — YOU KNOW THAT BLACK BELT WAS FOUNDED IN 1961. IF YOU’RE EVEN MARGINALLY PROFICIENT AT MATH, YOU KNOW THAT MAKES THE MAG 60 YEARS OLD THIS YEAR.

THERE’S A NEW “SHERO” IN TOWN, AND HER NAME IS GILLIAN WHITE! • GILLIAN WHITE HAS WORKED IN FILM AND TELEVISION FOR 25 YEARS — FAR LONGER THAN SHE’S BEEN MARRIED TO MICHAEL JAI WHITE, WHOM SHE WED IN 2015. RECENTLY, SHE’S CREATED A BUZZ IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY BECAUSE OF HER ROLE AS ZARA IN TAKE BACK, A MOVIE THAT ALSO STARS HER HUSBAND AND TEACHER, AS WELL AS MICKEY ROURKE. AFTER EIGHT YEARS OF HYBRID TRAINING THAT INCLUDES KYOKUSHIN KARATE AND AN ARRAY OF EFFECTIVE FIGHTING STYLES, GILLIAN WILL STEP INTO HISTORY AS THE FIRST BLACK FEMALE MARTIAL ARTIST TO PLAY THE LEAD IN AN ACTION FILM WHEN TAKE BACK IS RELEASED THIS YEAR.

JAW TRAINING FOR STRIKERS • NEWS FLASH: FIGHTERS GET PUNCHED IN THE JAW! THE JAW AND ITS HINGES, ALONG WITH THE CHIN, ARE COMMON TARGETS FOR KNOCKOUT ARTISTS. A WELL-PLACED PUNCH TO THE JAW CAN RENDER AN OTHERWISE TREMENDOUSLY CONDITIONED ATHLETE UNCONSCIOUS IN A HEARTBEAT.

PURPOSE, FEAR AND MINDSET • WHEN THE SUBJECT OF SELF-DEFENSE COMES UP, THE AVERAGE PERSON GENERALLY THINKS OF...