Mike Swain Olympic Judo Champion
Mike Swain was the first American male to win the Judo World Championships when he took the gold medal in 1987. He competed in...
Leo Fong Has Passed Away
Leo Fong was a pioneer in Chinese martial arts in America. He developed his own approach called Wei Kuen Do. He was also an author and martial arts film star.
Gokor Chivichyan Judo
From the rubble of World War II there arose a legend about a great Armenian fighter who fought on the streets of Middle East...
Mas Oyama: Kyokushinkai Karate
Masutatsu OyamaJuly 27, 1923 - April 26, 1994
Masutatsu Oyama was a karate master who founded Kyokushinkai, the first and most influential style of full...
Caylor Adkins: Shotokan Karate
Caylor Adkins is one of Mr. Tsutomu Ohshima’s first American-trained black belts in Shotokan karate. He is a pioneer in karate and a legend...
Kathy Long Fighting Her Way to the Top
Kathy Long started martial arts when she was fifteen. She holds a Master degree in Kung Fu San Soo as well as a Black...
Charles Palmer: Judo
The late Charles Palmer of Great Britain served as the International Judo Federation (IJF) President for fourteen years from 1965 through 1979 during which...
Hector Echavarria
As a sickly child who suffered from severe asthma, Hector Echavarria was encouraged by his parents to use martial arts to overcome his handicap....
Howard Jackson the “California Flash”
Howard Jackson hails from the mean streets of Detroit Michigan. Survival was a daily affair and to do so Jackson looked to the martial arts...
Francisco Conde: Oriental Defensive Arts Association
Army veteran and martial arts pioneer, Francisco Conde served four tours in the Korean War and two tours in Vietnam. He began his military...
Glenn Wilson: Bok Leen Pai Kenpo
Glenn Wilson was born to Native American and European parents in the early 1950s in Orlando, Florida. His father’s affiliation with the Air Force...
Frank Shamrock 5-time UFC World Champ
Frank Shamrock became an icon to fight fans all over world when he entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s famous squared circle and as the...
Jean-Claude Van Damme
1960 - 1972
Jean-Claude Van Damme (Jean-Claude Van Varenberg) was born and grew up in Brussels, on October 1960. This large European city is the...
Hironori Ohtsuka and Wado Ryu Karate
Hironori Otsuka, a wiry, white-haired master, drops of sweat glistening across his brow and up the crown of his bald spot, led 40 young...
Hee Il Cho: Taekwondo
Hee Il Cho was born October 13, 1940 in Pohang, Korea. He began his training in the martial arts when he was 10 years old...
Ernest Lieb: American Karate System
Ernest Lieb was born in Berlin Germany in 1940 as Hitler’s armies were devastating the European country side. He, along with his mother and father,...