aikido martial arts Connecticut American Institute of Martial Arts

Article Archive Introduction

	Over a period of more than twenty-years, (ten of them as a well-known writer in the field of martial arts,) I have met and became friends with many of the world's best known martial artists, most of them in the field of karate. I haven't included all of the articles or columns that I've written, just some of the better known ones. I've also included a number of photos of famous martial artists. Billy Blanks, the creator of Tae-bo, I've known for more than fifteen-years. I met Billy when I started my writing career in the early eighties, I began covering local karate tournaments and events on the East Coast and met him on several of these occasions. Later, when I became a well-known writer, I was invited to cover the first professional karate tournament in history, "The Bermuda Invitational Grand Championships" held in Hamilton, Bermuda, and promoted by Skipper Ingram. Billy won the sparring division that year worth $5,000. We came to know each other over a period of time and of course I interviewed him for the magazines. Then Billy moved to California and the rest is Tae-bo history.
The great Kenpo Master Ed Parker was one of the most extraordinary martial artists I have ever came to know. So great was his influence that He became known as the "Father of American Karate." Ed Parker was a pioneer, promoter, actor, Instructor and Author. Ed had more elite Hollywood stars as his students than you can think of. His best-known student of course, was Elvis Presley. Ed also had the longest running karate tournament in history, "The Long Beach Internationals." It was at this tournament in 1964 that Ed Parker introduced Bruce Lee. Lee's demonstration of his famous one-inch punch was witnessed by thousands of people and helped Bruce develop his movie career in this country. Even through Ed Parker lived in California, I spent time with him at various East Coast events. I had interviewed the great Master Ed Parker on three occasions.	Unfortunately, the third occasion was the last interview Ed Parker ever gave. He died shortly before it was published in "Karate International magazine". Martial artists from allover the world attended his funeral. He was a remarkable man whose personality and presence is sure to be missed.
	I've also interviewed the founder of Tang Soo Do, the great Hwang Kee. The Korean Grandmaster appeared at an International Tang Soo Do tournament in California. I was covering the tournament at the time and I was invited to dine with the family and afterwards interview the Grandmaster for"Tae Kwon Do Times" magazine. Little did I know at the time that" TaeKwonDo Times" was not the magazine' I should have submitted the interview to. There is a great deal of political rivalry between the Korean arts of TaeKwonDo and Tang Soo Do. The great Grandmaster died recently and his son now runs the association.
Another Korean Grandmaster that I've had the privilege of interviewing was Hi Il Cho. As a ninth Dan, he is one of the world's top ranked martial artist in the art of TaeKwonDo. These are just a few of the great martial artists that I have met or became friends with.
	World Champion Joe Lewis I met at a karate tournament in Rhode Island where he was a special guest star. I had just started my writing career in the field of martial arts and personalities, but had not published anything. He agreed to be interviewed even through I knew he thought I was just a fan. Joe Lewis was one of the softest speaking martial artists I've ever come across and one of the toughest. A tremendously skilled fighter, Joe worked out the mechanics of fighting so well that he had a number of different seminars which would improve the skills of any student who attended. (Picture of Joe Lewis, myself and Bob Cheezic)
While many of the articles and interviews that I've written have made me many new friends, some of the others have caused a lot of controversy. One in particular, an interview with Danny Lane lasted more than a year. Danny was a student of Chuck Norris at the time. In the interview, Danny made some unfavorable comments about his former Korean instructor which lead to this former instructor organizing his friends throughout the country and banning Chuck's movies and canceling uniforms and equipment from a well-known martial art supply house of which Chuck Norris was their leading spokesperson. To end the controversy, Danny Lane had to apologize to his former instructor and Chuck Norris had to issue an apology to all Korean TaeKwonDo instructors in the country through TaeKwonDo Times Magazine to keep the peace. I was a contributing editor for the magazine at the time and I received a lot of flack from that particular article. I had to prove to the magazine's publisher that the offending comments were not given off the record. This I did, and the magazine backed me in print.
I have met Wally Jay (small circle Jujitsu), who is a friendly, skillful martial artist with a great personality and George Dillman, king of the pressure points, along with the many others with my friend Nick Cerio at the "World Martial Arts Hall Of Fame" in Akron Ohio, when we were being inducted together. (Picture of Myself, Wally Jay, Sugar Crosson and George Dillman)	(Wally Jay & Bob Liedke at World Martial Arts Hall of Fame Dinner)
Once known on the tournament circuit as "Lady Kung-Fu", Arlene Limas gave up her kung-fu training to train for the U.S. Olympic Team. Not only did Limas make the team, but she so excelled that she won the gold medal in TaeKwonDo. Her defining moment came when standing on the podium with the gold medal around her neck, the music for the national anthem had broken down and Limas sang acapella "The National Anthem" WITHOUT ACCOMPANYING MUSIC TO MORE THAN A BILLION TELEVISION VIEWERS!


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