I hear breakdancing comes from a martial art. Is that true? Breakdancing started as a gimmick in the Bronx in the late 1960’s when disk jockeys paused records in mid song (by pressing them against the turntable), thereby cuing dancers to freeze in whatever position they were caught in. This “break” in rhythm was meant to test the dancers and was initially just a gag, though later, it gained popularity and evolved into competitions. In 1969, recording artist Afrika Bambaataa Aasim founded the first hip-hop crew, the Zulu Kings. Though most members belonged to street gangs, Bambaataa had a strong connection with them and was able to convince them to settle their disputes with break battles rather than with knife fights. Participants of these battles were called breakers, break boys and B-boys. Winners were made by crowd applause. Breaking didn't gain national attention until the early 70's when the Rock Steady Crew mixed gymnastics moves into their routine.
Jelon Vieira and Loremil Mechado (deceased) came to the Bronx in 1975 and began teaching their ancestral martial art of Capoeira (kah-poe-ay-rrah) that was developed by African slaves who disguised kicking techniques in song and dance. The kicks were effectively illusive since, at the time of their creation, Brazilian captors were familiar only with hand-to-hand combat and the slaves, being shackled hand-to-hand, were left only with their feet for fighting. Some of the sneakier kicks were Bensao, in which sand was pinched up between the toes and "thrown" in an enemy's eyes, and Meia Lua de Compasso, in which a stolen straight razor was carried in the toes ready to swing open for a "slash". Vieira and Mechado of course omitted these dangerous aspects of Capoeira for their American students. Though largely unpopular at first, Capoeira gained eventual notoriety when breakers at the Bronx Boys Club found that it integrated well with their breaking. Capoeira did came about first (300 years earlier), but it didn't spawn breakdancing. If anything, it influenced and helped evolve it. Interestingly, both contributed to urban rap music.
Most Capoeira enthusiasts have seen the movie Only The Strong, but there is an earlier movie, choreographed by Jelon, that cameos Capoeira in 1989 New York. It's called Rooftops and is worth checking out.
Who started using colored belts and why did they pick the colors that they did? Early belts were all white. As gi wearers trained over the years, their belts frayed and soiled. These soiled belts were refered to as "black belts" as an in-joke by people in martial art circles, and incidentally gave outsiders a way to tell the experts from the novices. This trick materialized when, in 1883, Jigoro Kano (Judo's founder) divided his class into two groups: kyu (white belt students) and dan (black belt instructors). He soon realized that the students (children inparticular) lost interest on the long road to instructor, so he established a series of short term goals the students could achieve as they progressed. These "save points" were assigned colors and formed the Judo chain of command. There was no reason for the choice of colors, except that they were basic and easy to distinguish from a distance, but the black belt remained the staple of the accomplished martial artist.
What is a Judo Chop? A "Judo Chop" actually doesn't exist. It was popularized by the Hollywood comedy icon Austin Powers, but really is something people everywhere say basically to make fun of martial arts. It's like saying "Haiya!". The term you would actually run into in Judo is "atemi", which translates from Japanese to strike (ateru) the body (mi). Atemi are blows to vital points.
The original use of the term "Judo chop" was in a Flintstones episode titled “Dr. Sinister” (ABC Television cartoon, Nov 05, 1964, Season 5) in which Fred Flintsone is mistaken for an international spy by agents of Dr. Yes while out shopping for brontosaurus burgers and buns. He and his best friend Barney Rubble are kidnapped and brought to an island hideaway where they eventually make their big escape, racing down hallways, subduing henchmen with a martial art maneuver learned from watching James Bondrock flicks and announcing, "A Judo, A Chop Chop Chop!". Judo Chops frequented the Flintstones in following episodes until the show’s cancellation in 1966.
Modern Judo is a streamlined form of its Japanes jujitsu predecessors, and as such originally included various punches and kicks. Since becoming an Olympic sport in 1964, most Judo taught around the world has concentrated on the Olympic standard Judo, such that the other techniques are rarely taught.
In the movie Princess Bride, during the Cliffs of Insanity duel, were Inigo and the pirate quoting real Fencing techniques? Techniques, no. PB's Swordfight choreographer and stunt double Bob Anderson, a Fencing expert, was alluding to early Fencing masters, and, more specifically, to their personal styles of offense/defense. In case you're wondering exactly what the heck it is that Inigo and the pirate are saying to begin with, the dialog goes like this:
MAN IN BLACK
I thought it fitting, considering the rocky terrain.
INIGO
Naturally, you must expect me to attack with Capo Ferro.
MAN IN BLACK
Naturally. But I find that Thibault cancels Capo Ferro, don't you?
INIGO
Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa... which I have!
You can view the complete screenplay here.
Rocco Bonetti opened the first School of Rapier Fence, or Colledge, at Blackfriars in London in 1576. He prefered to deflect jabs and wait for mistakes to be made rather than rush into attack. Ridolfo Capo Ferro taught a linear style of Fence, saying "The cut has little place in rapier play". He published his work Gran Simulacro dell' Arte e dell' uso della Scherma in 1610. Girard Thibault taught the Spanish Style of Fence in which parrying maneuvers ruined jabbing attacks. He published his book Academie de l'Espee in 1630. Camillo Agrippa was regarded as the man who defined the rapier as a thrusting weapon as well as one to be used for cutting. He published his book Trattato di Scienza d'Arme in 1568.
Is it true that Elvis was a black belt in Karate? This is a tough one. Yes, he was a black belt, but, depending on your source, (and with Elvis there are MANY) the facts concerning his martial arts history change from version to version. There are some facts that I have found to be consistant across the board... He trained under Hank Slemansky, a Chito Ryu stylist, and was certified a black belt in 1960. That same year, Elvis befriended Ed Parker, who would teach Elvis Kenpo Karate on and off for the rest of Elvis' life.
"Elvis was a damn good black belt" - Ed Parker
According to Elvis, he was awarded the 2nd degree for Kenpo in 1963, skipped the third degree, was awarded 4th sometime in the 60s, 5th in 1971, 6th in early 1973, and eighth in August 1974 (Ed Parker insisted it was an honorary degree). For some interesting photos chronicling Elvis' martial arts obsession, click here.
In the movie Kickboxer, why did Tong Po's boxing look different from the other Thais? Actor Michel Qissi was depicting Thailand's deadliest fighter. He took liberties with Tong Po's demeanor, giving him a normally frowned upon open stance to suggest extreme arrogance, which, of course, he could back up with badassery. It made sense that no one else would, or could, fight like him. Hero Kurt Sloane (Jean-Claude Van Damme) tried and got beat up for it. This mirrored a scene in the Bruce Lee film The Way of the Dragon where villain Colt (Chuck Norris) tried to fight like the hero Tang Lung (Lee) and got beat up for it.
