Martial Arts Grandmasters International TM 1 SPECIAL DUAL-COVER MEMORIAL ISSUE 2 OFFICIAL KARATE Fall 2012 Martial Arts Grandmasters International TM 3 CONTENTS fall 2012 8 I The Greatest Karate Fighter Ever 40 I Cyberspace CommentsTM The Passing of the Champ, Joe Lewis Should Children be Allowed to Make Black Belt? 12 I One More RoundTM 44 I The Self-Defense SeriesTM Joe Corley reflects on Joe Lewis GM Jim McMurray on Knife Defense 16 I An Intangible Cultural Asset 46 I Jim Mather’s Karate LifeTM Honoring Soke Takayoshi Nagamine and his legacy. Who Writes our Martial Arts History? 22 I What is a “Real” Black Belt? 48 I Nutritional Self DefenseTM Part Two of Hanshi Dan Tosh’s article on 16 Dr. Craig Rubenstein on the Dangers of Anti- the black belt. Infalmmatory Drugs (NSAIDs) 27 I Karate Kids KornerTM 50 I Martial MarketplaceTM New. Dr. Andrew Linick tells you how to get great PR. 40 28 I Wisdom from a Grandmaster Helping Your Brain with Pushups? 16 30 I MAGI® Benefits Expanding Why you should be a member of MAGI®. 32 I Favorite Fighting Techniques from 8 the MastersTM Fighting techniques from William Shelton. 44 34 I Canadian ConnectionTM New 35 I American SamuraiTM Gary Lee on the Bokken Master TM 36 I Kung Fu Korner Be sure to “Like” us at Sifu Karen Schlachter on meditation www.Facebook.com/OfficialKarateMag OK READER’S TM 38 I Real Life BONUS Look for this gold star- Ted Gambordella recounts the story of a burst to take advantage MMA champion who had the courage to of freebies available only stand up in Real Life! to readers of this issue of Official Karate . 4 OFFICIAL KARATE Fall 2012 Martial Arts Grandmasters International TM 5 fall 2012 EDITORIAL THE VOICE OF THE MARTIAL ARTS SINCE 1968 www.OfficialKarateMag.com new Official Karate Magazine™ is the “official” publi- cation of Martial Arts Grandmasters International®. Sound Off! From It is a 21st Century version of the original Official letter Karate that was published from June 1969 to Win- —James received ter 1995 by founding editor Al Weiss and Charlton Publications. We are published quarterly in digital format with a printed “annual” issue. We seek to I secure permission for photographs used but if you see a photo that is yours please let us know so we can give you attribution. MAGI® is a dynamic association of traditional and modern martial arts practitioners. Since 1994, we have strived to fulfill our mission to recognize and register kyu/gup students, black belts, masters, and grandmasters of various martial arts styles organizations, Asian and Western self-defense systems, and fighting arts. Editor and Publisher: Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D. Managing Editor and Creative Director: Keith D. Yates Editorial Consultant: David Weiss Contributors: Cezar Borkowski, Joe Corley, William Shelton, Emil Farkas, Ted Gambordella, Gary Lee, Terry Maccarrone, Craig Rubenstein, Karen Schlachter, Dan Tosh. MAGI® Member Benefits Membership in MAGI® will afford you the opportunity to have an affiliation with the first-generation pioneers who sit on our Board of Advisors. Of course you can share in their wisdom in the pages of Official Karate magazine (a subscription is included in your membership) but you can also take advantage of a direct dialogue with these Grandmasters through our websites and Facebook pages. You can proudly display the impressive MAGI® membership certificates, colorful uniform patches, and even attention-getting trademark protected four color window decals that proclaim you are an “affiliated” professional MAGI® school. (It’s considered the ‘BBB’ in the MA industry) You will receive big discounts on high-quality Asian weapons, books, videos & DVD’s, e-books, t-shirts, equipment bags, and even professional custom framing for MAGI™ certificates and for your own school certificates. We are adding new features and benefits all the time so click on and “LIKE” us at www.facebook.com/joinMAGI. You can also go to www.joinmagi.org. 6 OFFICIAL KARATE Fall 2012 Martial Arts Grandmasters International TM 7 Profile of a Champion™ Joe Lewis The Greatest Karate fighter ever The Passing of a True Legend As a U.S. Marine lmost everyone involved in the sport of karate has acknowl- Angeles. Later that year he defended his U.S. edged Joe Lewis as the greatest karate fighter to ever step into Kickboxing Association title by knocking out Aa ring. He won the grand championship at one time or other “Big Ed” Daniel in the second round in Dallas. at practically every major point-karate competition in the 1960s and he He went on to defeat seven more contenders, was considered the first national champion in the sport of kickboxing, all with knockouts earning a 10-0 record in the later also called full-contact karate. One of the first super-stars of karate USKA with with 10 knockouts. he appeared on the covers of all the major martial arts publications, In 1974, promoter Mike Anderson in- including, of course, Official Karate, numerous times. troduced the PKA with what was called “full- Joseph Henry (Joe) Lewis was born on March 7, 1944, in Knight- contact” karate. In front of a national TV audi- dale, North Carolina. He was the fourth of five brothers and his father ence on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, Joe Lewis supposedly moved the family to a farm because the five of them were became the first national heavyweight champion so wild (Joe was 10). He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1962. of the PKA. The other winners of that event were He became one of the first U.S. Marines deployed to Vietnam with the Jeff Smith (light heavy) and Bill Wallace (mid- Eight Marine Brigade. He was later stationed in Okinawa and began dleweight). Lewis, Smith and Wallace would studying Shorin-ryu Karate with Eizo Shimabukuro, John Korab, Chin- become the most recognized “faces” of sport saku Kinjo and Seiyu Oyata. In spite of the fact that Americans were karate. Lewis, in fact, was the first karate fighter With Bruce Lee viewed with suspicion by many Asian karate instructors he won their to appear in both The Ring magazine and in Sports respect and earned his black belt in just seven months. He became one Illustrated. Against Chuck Norris of the first to teach Asian martial arts techniques to the U.S. military. Lewis’s impressive physique and good He returned to the states and began a winning tournament career that looks helped him land acting roles in the 1978 would be unsurpassed. In fact he won his first black belt grand cham- film, Jaguar Lives and in 1981’s Force Five. He pionship at Jhoon Rhee’s 1966 U.S. Nationals in Washington D.C. after turned down a role in Bruce Lee’s movie Way of only 22 months of karate training. His wins included Ed Parker’s Inter- Dragon, which eventually went to Chuck Norris. national Karate Championships and Joe Corley’s Battle of Atlanta. Although he never made it big in Hollywood he But perhaps his real impact was felt in the world of kickbox- did become a popular private-instructor with ing, the precursor to today’s mixed martial arts craze. In the late 1960s the well-healed of Southern California and he Lewis often trained with Jeet Kune Do founder Bruce Lee and they honed his teaching skills eventually becoming discussed the effectiveness of full-contact training as opposed to the a storehouse of intricate fighting strategies and popular point-karate competitions. In 1968 Jim Harrison of Kansas City techniques. His seminar schedule took him all hosted the first “World Professional Karate Championships.” Lewis over the world as he trained tens of thousands of beat well-known fighters David Moon and Fred Wren to become the karate fighters, boxers and mixed martial artists. tournament’s first champion. Lewis also won the first kickboxing, “to Lewis was inducted into practically every the knockout,” contest in January of 1970 by beating Greg Baines in Los contined 8 OFFICIAL KARATE Fall 2012 Martial Arts Grandmasters International TM 9 above: Against Greg Baines in 1970 above: With Bruce Lee & Ed Parker Hall of Fame and named “Man of the Year,” “Fighter of the Year,” etc. by every major martial arts publication. He won numerous civic awards for his efforts in above: Against Allen Steen in 1966 crime prevention and self-defense and his books and videos are viewed all over the planet. In a 2004 interview, Chuck Norris said, “In my mind, Joe was the greatest fighter the tournament scene has ever had. And he is the greatest to this day, as far as I’m concerned.” Radford University professor Jerry Beasley, a martial arts historian and stu- dent of Lewis said, “He was the missing link. When martial arts were first brought above: Aaron Banks raises Lewis’s glove in victory here there was always an Asian instructor with referee Peter Urban looking on. above & below: Against Bill Wallace in charge. Americans were taught they could never be as good. Joe Lewis came along and beat them in competition. He’s the guy Americans looked to and said, ‘If Joe can do it, we can too!’” In July 2011, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Doctors gave him only weeks to live. After a valiant struggle the champ passed away one year and forty-five days later, on the morning of August 31, 2012. He was 68 years old. He is survived by his son, J. Cameron, his daughter Kristina, and his former wife, Kimberly. Joe Lewis was truly one of the most respected karate men in the world and his legacy will live on for generations to come.