Thank you for this documentary. I have made up a new term for you, a martial arts archeologist. I very little about me. I got involved in martial arts back in Sept 1965. I was attending a newly integrated High School in Atlanta. In March of 1966, I purchased my very first Black Belt Magazine. That magazine and countless others lead me to a 56 love affair, which continues to this day. When I came across your video, I thought, "OMG, that's a great idea" I remember reading about karate, and the hub of US karate was southern California. I would live for the monthly mags either in my mailbox or various magazine shops. I would have loved to visit the greater LA area tour the dojos of Karateka that I read about in the mags. I did something similar in NYC, where I was able to visit several dojos in Manhattan. But back to the subject, in the last 50 years, most if not all dojo has closed. If I had the money, I would pay someone to travel to major karate hubs in San Franciso, Dallas, Chicago, NYC, and Washington DC. Etc. and film what is there now I do have some thoughts about Atlanta and Washinton DC. Here in Atlanta, the TDK pioneer was the late Dae Shik Kim. He came to Atlanta to enroll in GA State College(now University) to study P.E around 1963. His first school was on Grandview Ave in Atlanta's Buckhead area, and his final school was on N.Highland Ave. But now that school is long gone. A few years ago, I was in the area, so I drove through the area. I remember the address. The building was there but no karate school at all. BTW Kim seeded many karatekas with a half dozen of his student gained BB status IIRC in 1966, with Joe Corley becoming a national rank point fighting player. He started a karate tourney, "Battle of Atlanta," that started in 1970, that's 50 years old. Plus, he was a major actor in PKA full-contact karate movement and fought Bill Wallace, in 1975, in Wallace's first middleweight title defense. While I was living in Washington DC, 1976, I enrolled at Jhoon Rhee's HQ in 2020 L St downtown; Jhoon Rhee had about 12 schools in the Metro DC area. My daughter and I visited DC in 2012. I looked in the DC yellow pages and noted that only one Jhoon Rhee school was left, in Falls Church, Va. It would be great to have a team of documentation to travel to karate hubs to film would is there now. That would be such a fitting arch of karate's early days to would there now. The one thing besides the time and money is finding the old locations; There are two solutions. The and very doable would to at old BB mag. There was a directory of MA schools in the back of the mag, Also, and while it was a superior karate mag, "Action Karate Magazine" was a mag IIRC produced by Ed Parker as a competitor to BB mag. At the same time, I loved this mag. They're only about 7-8 issues. This was in the late 1960s. There was an even larger school directory. The BB mag is easily accessed online via goggle. There are all issues of BB mag from the early 1960s through 2000. Therefore, the addresses can be obtained, and the "Action Karate" mags seem to be on sale on Amazon and eBay. While all this may be a pipedream, it would a historical document. If anyone needs the URL for the BB mag google back issues, add to the comments, and I can get the URL for you. So Mr. Beck, thank you for this. You have documented just a tiny portion of the history of American karate. Let's hope someone picks this up.
Great Mini Documentary & Footage Clyde. Just came across this clip while surfing RU-vid. Didn't know Mr Parker that well. I was one of the Late & Great Mr Trejo's Black Belt student. But I believe I was in the last Belt testing class they had in that Dojo on May 9, 1990. Mr Parker , Mr Trejo, Mr Chavez, Mr Gerard and other Black Belts that I can't remember were there. That Dojo really brought back memories. My time there was from mid 80's to mid 90's. Some people might remember when that very studio burnt down which was trajic But they did rebuild. After Mr Trejo left & I think Nalu took over and most of the regular guys left, the studio lost its luster. I was lucky enough to have taught classes there. Well Clyde I hope you are doing well and Thank You again for the trip down memory lane. Time sure flys looking back in the past.
Hi Kaylen, you must have known Frank. I knew him from Dennis Nackord. Did you ever come to Philly for seminars? Perhaps we met? Poor Frank...we shared many tequila shots together :(
Hello Clyde. I was wondering if the school on Walnut with the Big Karate sign was the school that Bruce Lee would come to? If so, how did you find out?
