MMAASSTTEERRSS HHAALLLL OOFF FFAAMMEE EEXXEECCUUTTIIVVEE OOFFFFIICCEERRSS • Hanshi Daniel Hect, CEO • Soke David Dye, President • Grandmaster Eric O'Neal, Vice-President of Marketing • Grandmaster Gregg Wooldridge, Vice-President of Alumni Relations • Grandmaster Robert Parham, Director of Public Relations • Shihan Paul Hayes, Director of Technology • Shihan Alfred Urquidez, Executive to the Ambassadors' Council • 'Ôlohe Solomon Kaihewalu, Special Council to the Masters Hall of Fame • Grandmaster Eric Lee, Special Council to the Masters Hall of Fame • Sensei John McCarthy, Special Council to the Masters Hall of Fame • Sifu N. Neil Hardin, Special Council to the Masters Hall of Fame Executive Officers JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2010 VOL. 1 NO. 1 CCOONNTTEENNTTSS 4 LETTER FROM THE CEO 6 THE PROFESSOR GARY LEE CHRONICLES 10 MASTERS HALL OF FAME FAVORITE SPORT KARATE MOMENTS 12 THE DRAGON SPEAKS 16 LIONMAN AND THE SEVEN KURODOS 21 WEAPONS: A NECESSITY OR OBSESSION? 23 MASTERS HALL OF FAME MOVIE REVIEW 24 MASTERS HALL OF FAME BANQUET 2010 27 BACK ALLEY SELF DEFENSE COVER STORY THE DRAGON SPEAKS Don Wilson is one of the greatest kickboxers of our era. “The Dragon” gives us exclusive insight on his views of MMA and a possible return to the ring. MASTERS HALL OF FAME AMBASSADORS •Shihan Dana Abbott • Grandmaster Eric Lee • Shihan Brent Ambrose • Grandmaster Eric O'Neal • Shihan Jeff Anderson • Grandmaster Robert Parham • Sensei Thomas R. Boganski • Shihan Robert Posslenzny • Grandmaster Fred Brewster • Shihan Lou Salseda • Grandmaster Craig Carter • Hanshi Dan Sawyer • Professor Carlos de Léon • Grandmaster Mark Shuey • Master Robert Deahl • Master Bo Svenson • Grandmaster Eugene Fodor • Grandmaster Darren Tibon • Sifu N. Neil Hardin • Sensei Gene Tibon • Lisa "The Black Widow" King • Shihan Alfred Urquidez • Soke Dr. Alonzo Jones • Master Anthony Zimkowski LETTER FROM THE CEO Masters Hall of Fame was founded in 1999 and is recognized as one of the premier Martial Arts events on the West Coast. In 2006, I was fortunate enough to become the CEO of the Masters Hall of Fame and along with a great staff, expanded the focus and operations to include the recognition of exceptional Martial Arts Leaders and Legends through Induction into the Masters Hall of Fame. Our last three events have sold out. This signifies the level of exceptional martial artists and community leaders that we seek to serve and honor. As CEO, I am always looking for a way to expand our services to the martial arts community. Two years ago, the Masters Hall of Fame partnered with Disney and held our banquets in conjunction with the Disneyland Martial Arts Festival. Now comes a new foray to help us serve you…The Masters Hall Of Fame Martial Arts Magazine! Now you can keep us abreast of what is going on in your community. You don’t have to be a martial arts celebrity to have your article published or even appear on the cover. This magazine is all about you, the Masters Hall of Fame Alumni and the Martial Arts community! If you have any ideas or suggestions to make our magazine better, I’d love to hear from you! Please send drop me an email and let me know how we are doing. Enjoy our premiere issue and I hope to see you at the Masters Hall of Fame 2011 to celebrate our twelfth anniversary! Hanshi Daniel Hect CEO, MASTERS HALL of FAME THE PROFESSOR GARY LEE CHRONICLES Professor Gary Lee is the curator of the Sport Karate Museum. In this monthly column, he shares his personal stories with us. The stories you are about to blended into sort of a dream for read are true and have been me. lived out by the Old Sensei. There are lessons to be learned I had lost my parents when I at an early age and this is one was four years old and had to of many. live with my uncle. He was a mean man and I didn’t like him. I am nine years old and I have One night he hit me and beat lived with Sensei now for three me for not taking out the trash years on big WAKIKI. It was and I decided to run beautiful, a paradise for tropical wonders and man. The jungle, the beach and Martial Arts all away. He was always You might say I was grounded screaming. I think he missed without privileges. my dad. I really believe he was forced to take care of me. Sand, ocean and jungle are not much for a six year old to do. Well, of course I didn’t go far Plus, I was extremely lonely before I was found and and missed my parents. I punished. I was told not to remember sneaking out late at leave my little hut where I lived. night, walking down to the huge ocean to sit at the edge of the water karate class. He never found out. pretending to see was mad that I Even on my the mainland and even knew about uncle’s deathbed all the wonders I it. Nonetheless, I he would not tell had read about in would go down to me. the magazines. We their workouts on had no television, the beach. I was Now I am training not even a radio, only six years old everyday and night but even then I had and scared to studying Budo. dreams that one death, but I knew The first real day I would leave this was my lesson you never this beach and destiny. forget and it stays start my journey. with you forever. I I started to go had just finished One night I everyday after my chores around couldn’t sleep, so I school to the tiny the dojo and I went down to the little hut they called wanted to go beach and what I a dojo. No carpet, surfing with my saw would change no mirrors, no air friends. The wind my life forever. In conditioning just a had just picked up the ocean, late at tiny hut, thirty foot and the waves night, in the by thirty foot in size were breaking ten crashing waves of with sand all to fifteen feet off Waikiki, I saw my around. the north end of first real Karate. the shore. It was Groups of black Soon, I was there perfect! belts were in the every day and ocean doing kata night. Then one I told Sensei Kishi I underneath the day, Sensei Kishi was done and I moonlight. I was told me I would be was going to go overwhelmed and staying with him out in the water. from that moment I instead of my He looked up at knew what I uncle. I really don’t the sky and said, wanted to be, a know all of the “No, bad weather black belt, a real details, but Sensei coming, you not blackbelt. would be training surf today, too me and sending dangerous, you The next morning I me to school. I stay and train.” ask my uncle guess I was traded about the late night for something, I Well, it was the first time I ever argued with him. I didn’t really argue, I just kind of smarted off to him and said, “What? You don’t surf. All you do is karate. I need a break every now and then you know. I’m sick of training. All I do is train.” To be continued Masters Hall of Fame Favorite Sport Karate Moments Chuck Norris vs. Allen Steen - By The Old Sensei One would go and become the most famous martial artist of all time, through blood and guts competition, to movies and television fame. He would be come a icon to thousands, no million's of Kid's though his incredible program Kick Start, working in the inner city school programs against gang's, violence and drug's. Grand Master Norris is such a role model for the American People and should be, he is one of the nicest person's in the world of martial arts, this old Sensei knows only Daniel, Skipper Mullins and Keith Yates to because when I met him at the first United name a few. Fighting Arts Federation Tournament in Ohio back in the early seventies, he was Learning Tae Kwon Do under Jhoon Rhee, so courteous and cordial and thirty -seven Grand Master Steen took fighting to a blood years later, he is the same, he has not and gut level of point fighting. close gap changed! grab, sweeps, take downs, stomp ,kick or He is real American Sport Karate Champion, punch or throw, creating a Hybrid type o a real American hero! fighting called "Tex Kwon Do " that incredible Texas Sidekick with a The other would become the father to Texas chamber ,turning the hip and ground heel Karate, invent the Texas Sidekick forward, ribs are broken and teeth shattered and introduce the world of Sport Karate and he had the gift of passing it on to his Texas Attitude in a fight, besides himself generation of Black Belts. being a beast in the ring; GM Steen would produce a supreme list of Black Belts A great instructor is not known by Champions, D.P Hill, Pat Burleson, Ed his teaching alone but he is known for the students he leaves behind. Grand Master Allen Steen and Grand Master Chuck Norris have come a long way since that Saturday afternoon at the Long Beach Internationals and we are very thankful they chose our sport to become Champions in! Visit www.sportkaratemuseum.org Samurai Swords | Katana Swords Japanese Swords Exclusive Samurai Swords offered only by www.samuraisupply.com and the Museum of Sport Karate.