Black Belt Magazine

I’ve worked for Black Belt in various capacities — freelance writer and photographer, assistant editor and now editor-in-chief — since 1988. Back in the beginning, there was no such thing as MMA. The fight sport didn’t debut until 1993. As soon as that happened, though, the floodgates opened, and fans voiced their opinions about how real MMA is and how nothing else matters. By now, most of us know that view is shortsighted. I was guilty of a similarly erroneous way of thinking in my early days in the arts. Mine didn’t pertain to winning in the cage; it pertained to being prepared to win on the street. Self-defense was the only thing that should matter, I thought. Over the years, it dawned on me that I was wrong — just…

Karate Combat, a professional full-contact karate promotion, has signed Raymond Daniels to an exclusive multi-fight agreement. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in the history of combat sports and the best American karateka to enter the professional fighting circuit, Daniels has won numerous national and world championships. In 2011 he was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame. Beginning as an amateur on the sport-karate circuit, Daniels won 10 world titles and numerous tournament championships before crossing into pro kickboxing, where he twice fought in Glory championships. He recently won the Bellator Kickboxing World Championship, which he is vacating as he joins Karate Combat. A master of timing and placement, Daniels has an arsenal of unorthodox strikes that have led to an incredible highlight reel. His YouTube videos of…

In episode 1863 of The Joe Rogan Experience, Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, talked extensively about his martial arts passion. Zuckerberg said he became interested about 12 months ago and now trains regularly. What was unclear is precisely what Zuckerberg does. On several occasions during the podcast, he mentioned that he does MMA and watches the UFC, but then he noted that his instructor is Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Dave Camarillo, a judo black belt and a BJJ black belt under Ralph Gracie who launched his own system known as “guerrilla jiu-jitsu.” Zuckerberg went on to say that he enjoys the rolling component of his workouts and that his two children are into jiu-jitsu, too.…

After years of discussion, the University of Washington finally dedicated an official tribute to one of its most famous former students, martial arts legend Bruce Lee. A permanent dedication of “Bruce Lee Ascending,” a silhouette depiction of the late kung fu film star done on the main staircase of the school’s Odegaard Undergraduate Library, took place. Han Edward So Eckelberg, a graduate student at the university, created the artwork in 2020 while an undergraduate as part of a class project. It proved popular enough among students that it was voted “Best Artwork” at that year’s university Maker’s Summit. The university officially recognized the artwork with a ceremony attended by more than 150 people. Lee studied philosophy and drama at the University of Washington in the early 1960s.…

The International Combat Hapkido Federation recently celebrated its 30th anniversary of continuous operation as one of the largest and most respected hapkido organizations in the world. Hundreds of charter schools in more than a dozen countries teach the art founded by John Pellegrini. Pellegrini started developing his style of hapkido in 1988. The process of structuring its modern, reality-based curriculum and its belt system took four years. In 1992 Pellegrini founded the ICHF as the official governing body and regulating authority of his style. At that time, he also placed himself and his organization under the supervision of In Sun Seo and the World Kido Federation. After monitoring and overseeing the quality standards of combat hapkido, as well as the growth and progress of the organization, Seo in 1999 formally granted official…

A legendary lineup of combat-sports veterans, event promoters and entrepreneurs who led professional kickboxing to historic heights more than 40 years ago have joined forces to revive the sport of pro kickboxing. The announcement of the creation of the Professional Kickboxing Association came from Joe Corley, chief executive officer of PKA Worldwide. Corley introduced pro kickboxing to the U.S. public nearly 50 years ago. His six-decade career in the sport has seen him transition from champion point fighter to professional kickboxer to co-owner of the Professional Karate Association, the organization for which he produced and commentated on more than 1,000 hours of championship bouts on cable and broadcast television. “The remarkable growth of MMA and other combat sports for the past 20 years has convinced us that now is the perfect time…