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World Professional Karate Championships 1974

Kickboxing World champions
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Once protective gear was introduced this huge event created a new fighting sport with fullcontact fighting. The history of American kickboxing started.

Professional Karate Magazine

Mardi Gras Nationals 1974

National Championships 1974
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Fred Wren showed his superiority in point fighting. The Mardi Gras Open 1974 were one of the first tournaments using Jhoon Rhee”s Safe-T protective gear for semicontact competition.

Professional Karate Magazine

Ronnie van Clief

Ron van Clief
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New York’s martial arts great Ron Van Clief presented in an early feature in Professional Karate magazine.

Professional Karate Magazine

The STAR System

STAR System
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American Paul Maslak created the first independent world kickboxing ranking system based on a computer algorithm. Here is the story behind STAR.

History of Martial ArtsSTAR System

U.S. Open Professional Black Belt Championships

Grandchampion Jeff Smith
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As tributes were paid to the deceased Bruce Lee one of the greatest point fighting karate tournaments unfolded in Ocean City.

Professional Karate Magazine

Steve Shepherd

Steve Sheperd
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Steve was one of the most iconic champions of American kickboxing. He won countless titles while promoting his own events out of West Palm Beach.

Great Champions

Four Seasons Nationals 1973

Howard Jackson
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Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. The first time the greats of American tournament karate meet to mourn the death of friend and idol Bruce Lee.

Professional Karate Magazine

AKA NATIONALS 1973

American Karate
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Hundreds of spectators and competitors alike packed into the grand ballroom of Chicago’s luxurious Hyatt Regency Hotel to […]

Professional Karate Magazine

Paul Maslak

Paul Maslak
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The first national newsstand editor of Inside Kung-Fu magazine, Paul Maslak created the STAR (Standardized Tournaments And Ratings) […]

STAR System

NASKA National Ratings 1987

Steve Anderson
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The dominant fighter in American point fighting places first again and again. Ever wonder why they call Steve Anderson “Nasty”?

Point Fighters

1973 Mardi Gras National Karate Championships

Al Dacascos
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Months of pre-tournament publicity, professional planning, and carnival festivities attract nationwide field of competitors. New Orleans black belt […]

Professional Karate Magazine

Dutch Kickboxing 1998

Dutch kickboxing
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Sporthal Zuid in Amsterdam hosts another top notch pro Muay Thai event. This time their star is upset by a Greek super fighter.

News

The Bruce Lee Letters

young Bruce Lee
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THE BRUCE LEE LETTERS By Linda Lee The Fighter is proud to introduce a new column on Bruce […]

Fighter International

PMA – Professional Martial Arts Association

PMA
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When Fighter International magazine was launched in 1986 (USA) publisher Mike Anderson created an commercial association for professional […]

Fighter InternationalOrganizations

Top 10 Nationals 1972

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ST. LOUIS : TOP 10 NATIONALS Knudson Wins The Gold Cup, Chicago Dominates National Competition Chicago’s Ken Knudson […]

Professional Karate Magazine

Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson
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Simpsonville, South Carolina’s Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, who just recently turned 20 years old, is regarded by insiders as […]

Martial Arts Digest

Troy Dorsey Interview

Troy Dorsey
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Texan Troy Dorsey has not received the accolades he deserves. Although few fighters in the history of the […]

Great ChampionsMartial Arts Digest

Black Belt Grand Championships 1973

Bill Wallace vs Fred Wren
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ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 1973 NATIONAL BLACK BELT GRAND CHAMPIONSHIPS By TERRY SMITH DESPITE RAIN, FOG, SLEET, snow, hail […]

Professional Karate Magazine
Paul Vunak
Paul Vunak with Rickson Gracie and Rorion Gracie
Masters and Personalities
Bill Superfoot Wallace
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Bill “Superfoot” Wallace

Howard Jackson

Howard Jackson
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JACKSON, HOWARD (1951-2006) American karate champion. Jackson began martial arts in 1968 under Harold Williams of Detroit, Mich. […]

Martial Artists

Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do
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The way of the intercepting fist as described by founder Bruce Lee.

Organizations

Andy Hug

Andy Hug
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Andy Hug was a karate and kickboxing champion from Switzerland who rose to fame in Japan by winning […]

Great Champions

Lorenzo Lamas Martial Arts

Lorenzo Lamas
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Renegade Star Is The Real Deal By Terry Wilson Lorenzo Lamas is the handsome long haired hunk who […]

Action Movies

Candid Interview with Bill Wallace (1975)

Bill Wallace
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ABOUT A YEAR or so ago, Fast Billy Wallace and his lightning left leg went the way of […]

Professional Karate Magazine

Cynthia Rothrock (1990)

Cynthia Rothrock
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Actress and former forms champion Cynthia Rothrock speaks almost made a action movie with Sylvester Stallone.

Fighter International

Chuck Norris – A very special champion

Chuck Norris
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A VERY SPECIAL CHAMPION (from 1969) AMERICAN KARATE’S PACESETTER, CARLOS NORRIS by Roger Newhall A substantial number of […]

Masters and Personalities

Who was the first athlete from Switzerland to become a world champion kickboxer?
It was Jean-Marc Tonus of Geneva.

Continue reading →
Great Champions

Greatest MMA Seminar

Marco Ruas, Andre Lima (our reporter), Peter Aerts, and Bas Rutten during the seminar
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The best of all worlds in one spectacular MMA seminar in Los Angeles.

MMASeminars - Listen and Learn

Jack Hwang

Jack Hwang
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A tae kwon do grand master that stands above the crowd. By Mark van Schuyver.

Fighter International

Lori Lantrip

Lori Lantrip
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Here’s a champion whose techniques are as smashing as her looks. So don’t let her beauty fool you. […]

Fighter International

Milana Bjelogrlic

Milana Bjelogrlic
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Serbia’s pride of K-1 fighting and international MMA competitor. She is a WAKO world champion.

WAKO Champions

Sugar Ray Leonard – Bruce Lee’s Soul Beneficiary (1987)

Bruce Lee vs Sugar Ray Leonard
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“I wanted to do in boxing what Bruce Lee did in films,” says Sugar Ray Leonard, one of […]

Fighter International

Walt Bone

Walt Bone
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Although he spent the last ten years of his life in Florida, transplanted Texan Walt Bone, like all […]

Fighter International

Krister Bergenhall

Krister Bergenhall
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THE SWEDISH SUPERMAN IN CLARK KENT DISGUISE
By Benny Hedlund and Mark Wells

Fighter International

Richard Reed

Richard Reed
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Richard Reed is one of the first American-born tae kwon do black belts to have taught the art […]

Fighter International

American Kenpo Karate

American Kenpo Karate
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KENPO Kenpo, as spelled is a more modern term describing one of the more innovative systems practiced on […]

Organizations

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley
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The King of Rock’n’Roll promoted karate and was himself karate blackbelt.

Masters and Personalities

Western Pro/Am 1975 in Oakland

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Upstart Comin (left) fooling one the People’s one of the times.

Professional Karate Magazine

Kodokan

Kodokan
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The worlds leading training authority for Japanese martial arts.

Dojos and Gyms

Focus Breaking Boards

focus boards
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At a time when timber prices skyrocketed an inventor had the spiffy idea to design re-usable boards for breaking.

Fight Gear

Gordon Franks

Gordon Franks
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The World’s first super lightweight champion in fullcontact kickboxing (aka PKA karate).

Great Champions

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