This months Black Belt Mag

[Bujingodai]

I understand that BB isn't the epitome of real MA mags but hey. But this month really sucked. The article with Matteo and DeMasco was somewhat informative I guess. I just wish the stances were a bit more believable.
Then the article on American Combato, pt 3. I have read all three now and see this as a pretty basic system. It just doesn't seem all that real or effective, maybe I am way off. Has anyone trained in it here?
I dunno to me the mag just reeked this month. Too bad it cost me 8 bucks

[rachel]

If black belt magazine isn't so good is there another magazine out there? I've been looking and haven't seen too many martial arts magazines. I'd like to find one.

[Cthulhu]

One of my old favorites is the Journal of Asian Martial Arts. I haven't seen one for quite some time, but back when I got them regularly, I enjoyed them. Nowhere near the amount of ads as other commercial magazines and much of the writing was done by people with advanced degrees. However, each issue was about $10 a pop and they only covered Asian systems.

Cthulhu

[Yari]

I used to read "Journal of Asian Martial Arts" over ten years ago. I was good then. Really dont know it now. But I've never seen it in the stores.

/Yari

[Cthulhu]

Our local martial arts store has them, but now that I have my own family, it's hard to part with $10 for a single issue :)

Cthulhu

[tarabos]

an issue of black belt magazine sucked!? :eek:

i'm shocked.

i usually stick with the interent for any news a magazine can give me...all most of them are anymore is 2/3 advertising and 1/3 propaganda for some crock of a martial art that is the latest fad. yeah...maybe the internet has all that crap too...but at least i dont' have to pay them to read it.

if i want to read actual pages on a martial art i'll buy a decent book about it.

[Kirk]

Originally posted by rachel
If black belt magazine isn't so good is there another magazine out there? I've been looking and haven't seen too many martial arts magazines. I'd like to find one.

If you enjoy b.b. mag, then by all means keep reading it! I buy it
whenever there's a kenpo article being featured. I always read
the other articles as well, and as of right now, I enjoy what I
read. Maybe as I advance more in my art, I'll have the same
distaste for it, I dunno. But as it stands right now, I don't see
what's so terrible about Blackbelt Mag.

[arnisador]

Inside Kung-Fu is better, I think, though suffers from many of the same problems and of course is more narrowly focused (though it still covers other stuff, e.g. FMA).

[Quick Sand]

Your comment seems to assume that we have a local martial arts store. I really wish we did but not luck. It makes getting equipment a real pain. :mad:

[Ty K. Doe]

I've found this one to be quite good

[GouRonin]

Remember the movie "Men In Black" when they wanted to get the scoop on what is really going down in the world? I see BB as that kind of mag. Sure it's mostly one big advertisment but it's pretty good that in telling you what people are doing.

The mags that people really like are the smaller focused mags that deal with smaller issues in martial arts and often are more narrow in scope.

So BB is ok by me as long as you look at it for what it is and look beneath the surface to what's going on.

[Disco]

American Combato.......

Dave, I have seen a few of those articles and in my opinion, there are some major flaws. One example really sticks out in my mind. He was grabbed from behind on his left shoulder. He turned (to his right), coming face to face with his attacker. He could have turned right into a weapon (gun, knife) in the attackers right hand. Not to smart in my book. There were other, what I consider flaws, but I would have to go back and find the mags again and review. Surfice to say, I was not impressed.

[MartialArtist]

Most fights don't have guns or weapons, but you never know, so hence, it really depends on knowing your situation.

[Matt Stone]

BB is bad. IKF is worse (due to the politics that are rife within the CMA community). In comparison, BB isn't that bad then... ;)

I have gotten really tired of the ragazines that line the periodical section of my local Barnes and Noble or Borders booksellers. JAMA is good, but only a quarterly publication. It is worth the $$$, but the amount of reading vs. the amount of $$$ is what makes it daunting for me.

I came to a decision - since I don't like most of what I read in the ragazines, I am writing articles of my own to submit. I have one on Yiliquan done already (waiting on some photos that have to go along with it), and have 3 or 4 others about 75% finished. I am also working on two books (one on Yiliquan and one on MA in general).

I'll let everyone know what the status is on the articles once I get them submitted. I would recommend the same course to everyone - if you are tired of the crap, write something better! That'll show 'em!

Gambarimasu.
:asian:

[arnisador]

Yes, please let us know when the articles and books come out!

[Kirk]

Originally posted by Yiliquan1
I'll let everyone know what the status is on the articles once I get them submitted.

Please do that.

[Matt Stone]

Wow! Such support for a fat, opinionated, socially unacceptable ***** stirrer... :boing1:

Nice to know I haven't pissed everyone off completely!

:cheers:

Gambarimasu.
:asian:

[Kirk]

Originally posted by Yiliquan1
Wow! Such support for a fat, opinionated, socially unacceptable ***** stirrer... :boing1:

Nice to know I haven't pissed everyone off completely!

:cheers:

Gambarimasu.
:asian:

Not completely. :rofl: :p :D

[Ty K. Doe]

I dunno to me the mag just reeked this month. Too bad it cost me 8 bucks

WOW! You paid $8:erg: . I only pay $4 bucks and the cover price is $4.99 U.S. and $6.99 CAN. I'd find a new place to buy.

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by Cthulhu
One of my old favorites is the Journal of Asian Martial Arts. I haven't seen one for quite some time, but back when I got them regularly, I enjoyed them. Nowhere near the amount of ads as other commercial magazines and much of the writing was done by people with advanced degrees. However, each issue was about $10 a pop and they only covered Asian systems.

Cthulhu

You can get it at. Barnes and Noble. Probably online Barnes and Noble too.

It may be quarterly, not sure.

[arnisador]

I was just flipping through an issue at Borders recently.

[cali_tkdbruin]

Originally posted by Ty K. Doe
I've found this one to be quite good

Where can I get a copy of this, where is it sold?:confused:

[Cthulhu]

Originally posted by akja
You can get it at. Barnes and Noble. Probably online Barnes and Noble too.

It may be quarterly, not sure.

It was quarterly back when I got it regularly, and I got most of them at B&N. Unfortunately, my local B&N doesn't stock them. At any rate, I know they're available at our local MA store.

Cthulhu

[cdhall]

Originally posted by Kirk
...I don't see what's so terrible about Blackbelt Mag.

If I'm not mistaken both Doc and Mr. Parker Jr (who have both been published in Black Belt) have decried its lack of quality and/or editorial slant.

Mr. Parker, Jr. Really ragged on them for what they did to his 2 part article a few years ago. He said stuff at a seminar I took at your school around July 2000.

Those two and even Mr. Planas would be good to ask what they think about it. Gou makes a great point as well.

[Ty K. Doe]

Where can I get a copy of this, where is it sold?

You can get it here (http://www.cfw2.com/page.asp?content_id=946)

I'm not sure about specific retailers who carry this magazine.

[Jill666]

JAMA is quarterly- and I get mine at Borders too. Since I'm in the Boston area and arnisador- hey, I don't have a clue in hell where he lives- anyway it's worth the green.

[arnisador]

Originally posted by Jill666
arnisador- hey, I don't have a clue in hell where he lives

Nowhere, Indiana.

I liked the pull-no-punches review of the Isshin-ryu Karate book in this issue.

[baronv]

I used to subscribe to both Black Belt & Inside Kung Fu, but when it came time to renew a year ago I ditched IKF since it seemed to me that their articles were actually kinda boring. Nowadays I let my BB mag subscription expire too since they weren't covering information that I wanted anymore (ex. different systems apart from muay thai/TKD/JKD that they seem to showcase a lot). It always seemed that they just give articles away to anyone who places an ad in there. From the years I been reading them, the various martial artists they interview and recap are always the same people every year. Instead of searching out and highlighting all the different great MAs there they stick to the same old stuff.

For my opinion there aren't that many quality MA mags out there, I guess the ad spendature just isn't haigh enough from martial artists to constitute a quality publication. The Journal of Asian Martial Arts looks like a good quality read, but for someone like me who likes to see photos along with their articles, JAMA is kinda boring. The closest to a Sports Illustrated-style MA mag ou there now is Fight Sport. Fight Sport though covers mostly the Mixed Martial Arts scene such as Pride/UFC/KOTC, but the layout and style is really good. Heck just compare the cover photos between BB & FightSport, BB just uses standard studio shots and then pastes the logo in it, Fight Sport at least touches up the photos and adds some crativity to it drawing readers to pick it up.

[James Kovacich]

If you want "instructional" reading. A MA book is tops. If you want to keep up with the "state" of the arts the magazines are tops.

[Cthulhu]

Originally posted by akja
If you want "instructional" reading. A MA book is tops. If you want to keep up with the "state" of the arts the magazines are tops.

I tend to disagree on the latter, owing to the long lead times of magazines, up to and sometimes beyond 3 months. Remember how long it took some titles to announce the death of Remy Presas? This is just an unfortunate disadvantage of printed media.

If I want to keep up with the "state of the arts", I go to Web sites devoted to the arts I'm interested in. Sure, it may take me a bit more scrounging to get information on everything I'm interested in, but at least it's usually current.

Cthulhu

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by Cthulhu
I tend to disagree on the latter, owing to the long lead times of magazines, up to and sometimes beyond 3 months. Remember how long it took some titles to announce the death of Remy Presas? This is just an unfortunate disadvantage of printed media.

If I want to keep up with the "state of the arts", I go to Web sites devoted to the arts I'm interested in. Sure, it may take me a bit more scrounging to get information on everything I'm interested in, but at least it's usually current.

Cthulhu

The net is way more current but the "state of the arts" includes all the negativity and comercialism which a lot of people are complaining about. Not all issues but some will produce a couple of good techniques. I look for that. A twist that I had not considered.

But I also look for articles on the "old masters" and the sort. But to get that , I have to accept the advertisements and everything else thats between the covers.

[Chuck]

You should look into this site:

www.ejmas.com

I've enjoyed it.

[John Bishop]

After having written about 70 magazine articles for: Black Belt, Inside Kung Fu, Inside Karate, Inside Kung Fu Present's, Inside Karate's Master Series, Centeron Negro (Spain), Kick (Germany), Martial Arts Professional, Martial Arts Success. I have learned a lot about how the magazines operate.
#1. Their main purpose is to make money (what business isnt), so advertising is the most important thing.
#2. They follow fads. In the 50s it was judo. In the 60s it was karate. In the 70s it was Kung Fu. In the 80s it was Ninjitsu. In the 90's it was Gracie jujitsu. So far in the 2000s it's NHB.
#3 Editor's can make just about anybody a martial arts star. And each editor wants to have their own discovery's.
#4 Your only going to get as much of the story that they can fit in the pages left after the adds.
#5 If a technique looks bad it's probably because the writer sent them 7 pictures showing the technique, and they only had room for 5 pictures.
#6 They do reserve the right to edit your text, or even add their own material to serve their purposes.
#7 Freelance writers write 90 % of the articles.
#8 We're lucky we can get them, because stores have only so much shelf space for magazines, and there are over 6000 magazines published in the U.S. And as we all know martial artists are a very small % of the American public.

Anyway, for up to date information, nothing beats the web.

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by John Bishop
After having written about 70 magazine articles for: Black Belt, Inside Kung Fu, Inside Karate, Inside Kung Fu Present's, Inside Karate's Master Series, Centeron Negro (Spain), Kick (Germany), Martial Arts Professional, Martial Arts Success. I have learned a lot about how the magazines operate.
#1. Their main purpose is to make money (what business isnt), so advertising is the most important thing.
#2. They follow fads. In the 50s it was judo. In the 60s it was karate. In the 70s it was Kung Fu. In the 80s it was Ninjitsu. In the 90's it was Gracie jujitsu. So far in the 2000s it's NHB.
#3 Editor's can make just about anybody a martial arts star. And each editor wants to have their own discovery's.
#4 Your only going to get as much of the story that they can fit in the pages left after the adds.
#5 If a technique looks bad it's probably because the writer sent them 7 pictures showing the technique, and they only had room for 5 pictures.
#6 They do reserve the right to edit your text, or even add their own material to serve their purposes.
#7 Freelance writers write 90 % of the articles.
#8 We're lucky we can get them, because stores have only so much shelf space for magazines, and there are over 6000 magazines published in the U.S. And as we all know martial artists are a very small % of the American public.

Anyway, for up to date information, nothing beats the web.

John, I read somewhere (probably 1 of your posts) that you received 1 of your ranks directly from Sijo. Would that of been at the 50th anniversary? I wanted to go. I had quit training with my brother-in-law around that time and I was looking for my former instructor Greg Lagera. I heard he was around, but it was almost like he disapeared.

Good things do come around though.

Shortly after that I began training in Jun Fan Gung-Fu under Felix Macias Jr. of Hayward and I changed a lot as a martial artist. I hope that I will be able to introduce Greg and Felix. They both changed me as an artist in differant times of my life. Felix lives in Hayward and the last I heard Greg was "maybe" teaching in Hayward, possibly sharing a school with one of his students.

[John Bishop]

Akja:
I was promoted to 6th degree by Sijo Emperado in 1998 in San Diego, Ca. at his annual birthday tournament and luau.
As you probably know the 50 year celebration was in 1997 in Vallejo, Ca. You missed a great celebration. Never seen so many Kajukenbo people in my life, Americans, Spaniards, Germans, Puerto Ricans, Canadians, Mexicans, Austrailians, etc. Tournament started at 10am, went out to the football field at 5pm when they had to get the gym ready for the luau. Ended prematurily at 10pm when the automatic sprinklers went on.

If you haven't been able to find Greg Lagera yet you might try and post at the Kajukenbo Cafe: http://www.ohiokajukenbo.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi

Good luck with your training.

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by John Bishop
Akja:
I was promoted to 6th degree by Sijo Emperado in 1998 in San Diego, Ca. at his annual birthday tournament and luau.
As you probably know the 50 year celebration was in 1997 in Vallejo, Ca. You missed a great celebration. Never seen so many Kajukenbo people in my life, Americans, Spaniards, Germans, Puerto Ricans, Canadians, Mexicans, Austrailians, etc. Tournament started at 10am, went out to the football field at 5pm when they had to get the gym ready for the luau. Ended prematurily at 10pm when the automatic sprinklers went on.

If you haven't been able to find Greg Lagera yet you might try and post at the Kajukenbo Cafe: http://www.ohiokajukenbo.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi

Good luck with your training.

Thats where I met you at (Kajukenbo Cafe)when I inquired about Greg and Professer Gaylord and My first Kajukenbo instructor Bill Caspillo.

[arnisador]

I suppose you're right--we are lucky that bookstores carry them and we can get them. There are a lot of other magazines in other categories they could be carrying.

[arnisador]

The current (June 2003) issue of Black Belt magazine has an article on "Ultimate Jujutsu" and an ad for their videos that references their article in the same issue. The appearance of impropiety is certainly present here.