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3 weeks ago | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
In the martial arts, few individuals honestly can be said to have changed history. Among the handful who have, perhaps none generates a wider range of emotions than Rorion Gracie. Opinions about him vary. Some admire him, while others view him as the type of evil mastermind one typically sees in a Bond film. But no one can deny that he’s exerted as big an influence on the contemporary martial arts scene as anyone alive.
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4 weeks ago | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
With a deadline fast approaching, the need for 1,000 words on the business of writing about martial arts and a case of writer's block, I finally realized that the best way to approach the creation of this column might be to let other people explain what it's like to write rather than explain it myself.
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1 month ago | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
Lee’s life read like a novel that frequently found him appearing at the confluence of historical events — from escaping the Communist takeover of China to working on formative flights in the American space program to becoming Bruce Lee's first official Los Angeles student.
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1 month ago | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
Roger Greene remembers the first time he walked into a martial arts class in California way back in 1964. Having always held an interest in combat sports like boxing and wrestling, he was intrigued when a friend invited him to a school that taught a Korean fighting style called kang duk won.
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
It’s become an all too common sight on the nightly news: allegations of police officers using excessive force, which lead to furious protests from outraged citizens, followed by a vocal defense on the part of the law-enforcement community. Regardless of which side of the debate you fall on, you’ll agree that attempts should be made to limit these kinds of incidents. But is this possible?
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Aug 26, 2024 | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
A few years ago, Glen Heggstad was in Mexico taking an early-morning stroll through the streets of Tijuana when a passing group of men set upon him. The first one clotheslined him and slipped into a rear chokehold as the others looked to rob him. A former nationally ranked judoka with a vast and varied martial arts background — not to mention a one-time member of an outlaw motorcycle gang with more than a few street fights under his belt — Heggstad was caught off-guard only for a moment.
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Aug 5, 2024 | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
Displaying the shaven head and orange robes of a Shaolin monk, representative of Shaolin Martial Arts with a hip gray hoodie tossed on top, Shi Yan Ming cuts a disconcerting image.
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May 23, 2024 | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
Even though many combat sports now incorporate grappling, it’s the rare martial artist who can navigate them all and put his skills to use regardless of the setting. But from judo to sambo and from mixed martial arts to nogi grappling — and, most recently, Brazilian jiu-jitsu — Gokor Chivichyan has shown a unique aptitude for making his game work regardless of the rules.
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May 13, 2024 | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
Being one of the top martial artists in the world sounds like a dream come true for any practitioner of kung fu, karate or taekwondo. Yet that alone isn’t always enough to bring success outside of martial arts schools and tournament venues. In the early 2000s, Marco Johnson was one of the best tournament competitors out there. The son of Black Belt Hall of Famer Willie “The Bam” Johnson, Marco had won everything in sight as a junior. He was undefeated in empty-hand forms for two years.
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Dec 16, 2023 | 
blackbeltmag.com | Mark Jacobs
When Bruce Lee died back in 1973 he was just 32-years-old. Martial arts fans have often wondered just what he'd have been like if he'd lived into his later years. How would his martial arts have developed? What kind of movies would he have done? What would he have thought of the UFC? While we'll never know the answer to most of those questions, now we may at least know what Lee would have looked like if he'd lived into his later years.
