Black Belt Magazine

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.

3 weeks ago | blackbeltmag.com | Dave Lowry

Using a serrated bread knife, can you cut a baguette, a loaf of French bread, in a single stroke? If you can't, you have work to do in the dojo. In our neighborhood, several families come to our house regularly for dinner. Some of them have children, and when the kids see me working in the kitchen, they want to help. TV shows and celebrity chefs have made cooking an attractive activity, making them eager to learn. I’ve introduced several young people to basic kitchen skills.

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.

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.

1 month ago | blackbeltmag.com | Antonio Graceffo

For years, Cambodia occupied a spot on my bucket list of countries in which I wanted to learn martial arts. Once there, however, I was saddened to learn that Khmer kung fu had nearly been lost. I tried training at the only club I could find in Phnom Penh but was disappointed.