kumite
Who Else Remembers Grandmaster Allen Steen, The Father Of Texas ‘Blood And Guts’ Taekwondo Karate?
Just a week ago I spent time with friends in the Lone Star State.
For those of you not familiar with the term, I’m talking about Texas.
What comes to mind for a lot of people when referring to Texas might be cowboys, longhorns, oil, football (American, of course!), BBQ, …..
I have to admit that I thought of some of that, too.
But visiting Dallas this time somehow got me thinking of the first American to receive his Black Belt from the founder of Taekwondo in the U.S., Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, who had come to Austin, Texas, way back in the late 50s to pursue his college studies. The year was 1957 to be exact.
In 1959, Allen Steen started his karate training under Jhoon Rhee and just 3 years later as brown belt he opened up the first storefront dojo in Dallas.
In 1962, he was promoted and became Jhoon Rhee’s first American Black Belt.
What followed, is nothing short of shock and awe in Texas, the U.S. Southwest and beyond.
Grandmaster Allen Steen is remembered for creating a very aggressive fighting style that was very rough and tough. We’re talking about bare knuckle fighting competition, years before Jhoon Rhee launched his Safe-T protective gear.
In 1966, Allen Steen left a path of destruction at Ed Parker’s International Karate Championships in Long Beach, California, by beating even Joe Lewis and Chuck Norris both on the same day.
I found a video clip of his fight against Chuck Norris that I would like to share with you at the bottom of this post. Hope you like it.
Besides being an extremely successful competitor himself, Allen Steen trained together with his first Black Belt student J. Pat Burleson and surrounded himself with other very dedicated students who went on to become champions in their own right.
Some of the names that I still remember from devouring martial arts magazines way back in the day are Skipper Mullins, Fred Wren, Demetrius “The Greek” Havanas, Roy Kurban, just to list a few.
Allen Steen further impacted American and Texas Karate by opening countless dojos and promoting tournaments of which one has truly stood out over the years.
Originally known as the Southwest Karate Championships, the tournament name was later changed to the United States Karate Championships and became THE karate tournament on the second weekend in February.
I will add that Allen Steen handed over the karate business affairs to his trusted aides and friends years ago to move on to other business ventures, but his impact is felt even today.
I also stumbled across something that might interest you which is what it took to get a Black Belt from Grandmaster Allen Steen:
He expected technical perfection with a “No Quit” attitude.
After a grueling performance of basic techniques, katas and heavy warm-up fights, the student had to go up against one tough Black Belt fighter after another. Many of these guys were accomplished National Champions!
Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse: You were then challenged by 2, then 4, and finally even 8 fighters, all at the same time.
But we did say “No Quit” attitude, right?!
And even if one survived the “punishment”, Allen Steen would only put his signature on the certificate if one met his technical standards.
Let that sink in for a while.
Anyway, here’s the clip I promised. Enjoy!
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Linda Denley, Karate Superwoman From Houston, Texas
I am really excited to talk about today’s featured martial artist!
During the 70s and 80s while living in Germany, it was a real challenge to get my hands on American karate magazines. But whenever I did, it sure felt like Christmas and I devoured every page of information and inspiration. Especially articles and reports on Linda Denley.
For those of you who have never heard of her, let me warn you in advance. After this post you will be impressed. Very impressed, with this true living martial arts legend.
A native of Houston, Texas, Linda Denley grew up one of 12 children and as a teenager she excelled at just about any sport she took up, such as track and field, in which she even qualified for the Olympics in 5 events!! She couldn’t go to the Olympic Games simply because of her professional karate winnings.
Basketball was another example of her natural athleticism, in which she could have played semi-professional for the Houston Angels, but didn’t because of her karate career.
Linda Denley was THE female competitor to beat for many years.
Her aggressive fighting style earned her the nickname “Texas Terror” and boy, did she back that up with a record that is unheard of.
Starting with Tang Soo Do karate in 1973 under Master Robert Torres, she earned her black belt within 5 years, all while collecting trophies at tournaments.
Get this: Linda Denley was the top rated female kumite competitor from 1973 until 1996. That’s right, for 23 years. I am in awe!
She fought for nine years and did not lose a match. That’s just crazy stuff.
If you’re at all familiar with prestigious karate tournaments in the U.S., then you will appreciate this piece of information, too:
Linda Denley won the Battle of Atlanta not once or twice, but eleven times. Yes, that’s right, eleven times!
The other big-time tournament on the West Coast, simply known as the Long Beach Internationals, she won an impressive four times.
She really left “a path of destruction” in countless other tournaments. At least that’s what it probably felt like for her competitors in those days.
For all her accomplishments on the karate circuit, Linda Denley has been acknowledged in so many remarkable ways such as “Competitor of the Year” and not surprisingly “Instructor of the Year 1999″.
In 1980, she was the very first female to be inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame!
Her fighting skills did not go unnoticed by the TV and movie industry either:
Linda Denley worked with Jackie Chan in “The Armour of God” and Chuck Norris in an episode of “Walker, Texas Ranger”.
Today, 6th dan Linda Denley owns the Texas Black Belt Academy in Houston and has dedicated her time and energy to helping kids reach their full potential not only inside the dojo, but in whatever they do in life.
And here, I believe Linda Denley, Karate Superwoman from Houston, Texas, is paving “a path of inspiration” for many.
The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
“Time keeps on moving into the future.”
But that shouldn’t stop us from having a look at this past Week In Review. Enjoy!
This has to be my personal favorite technique ever. Don’t miss “Back To Basics: Karate Middle Punch (Chudan Zuki)“
“Chewing on” an injury myself, I thought you might benefit from “Should Injured Martial Artists Still Work Out?”
At times underrated and underestimated “Judo: No Kicking And Punching, But It Can Still Hurt Like Hell!“
Do you know who ‘The Greatest Sports Figure Of The State of Iowa’ Is? Dan Gable, Olympic Wrestling Icon From The U.S. American Heartland
Yeah, it’s that time of the year again: “Jack Bauer/Kiefer Sutherland Of “24″ And The Art Of Fighting“
Congratulations To Fellow Martial Artist, Robert Downey Jr.! Wing Chun Practitioner Wins A Golden Globe Award for Sherlock Holmes!
Take it from the Little Dragon, Bruce Lee And The Power Of Goal Setting
Enjoy your Sunday!
I’ll be back here tomorrow. You, too?
Back To Basics: Karate Middle Punch (Chudan Zuki)
Hey y’all!
Hope you had a great week and you enjoyed some of my posts.
As you might know, my martials arts journey started in the late 70s by taking Shotokan karate lessons.
I am seriously considering returning to my roots and “rekindling” my love for my first martial art style. It’s just a matter of getting all my ducks in a row and juggling a very packed schedule and, as we all know, prioritizing. You guys will be the first to know when it happens.
I just remembered that song with Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, “My First Love”. Sorry, I’m dating myself again.
Even if it doesn’t happen in the next couple of weeks, I honestly believe that striving to perfect the basic techniques is a absolute Must not only in Shotokan karate and other martial arts, but in just about every skill and activity. And I thank UrbanSamurai for re-visiting this extremely pivotal issue.
Let me ask you a question:
Do you think professional golf players ever stop practicing their swing?! Nope.
Well, I personally always enjoyed seriously working on my basic karate techniques and one of my absolute favorites had/has to be the middle punch or chudan zuki performed as a reverse punch.
I don’t intend to brag, but my reverse punch executed to the solar plexus was effective enough in several fights to actually knock out my opponents. In several cases, this was the first and only technique executed!
The first time it happened in kumite competition, I must admit, I was totally shocked, but in a very good way. This basic technique, that is most probably the most applied technique in karate competition, really works! Besides being effective, it also extremely efficient.
To make my point a bit more illustrative, I would like to share a video clip featuring Bart Scovill, who has been an active karateka for over 30 years.
I really think he does a pretty thorough job in explaining the intricacies of …. yes, I admit it: My favorite basic karate technique, chudan zuki.
In my humble opinion, mastering the basics will give you a very strong foundation in your martial arts and even non-martial arts training.
Is Yildiz Aras The World’s Best Female Karate Kumite Competitor?
You all know by now that my life-long martial arts experience started with Shotokan karate and even though I haven’t taken official classes in a very long time, I don’t consider having stopped, I simply look at the hiatus as having taken a break.
But be assured or as Arnold “The Terminator” Schwarzenegger would say, “I’ll be baaack!”
All of that being said, you will appreciate my never-ending interest in Shotokan karate and who can blame me, right?
I have been thinking about Girl Power on the karate circuit and a female competitor who immediately got my attention is from Istanbul, Turkey.
Her name is Yıldız Aras and she is considered to be the world’s best in karate kumite open division.
She just recently celebrated her 32nd birthday (are we even allowed to mention a woman’s age here?).
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Yildiz began studying karate at the tender age of 10 under Yüksel Baltay, a former national karateka.
Yildiz was admitted to the national team in 1994. So let me think. At the age of seventeen!
Foreign sportspeople gave her the nickname the “Strong Girl”. She holds three world champion titles, seven European champion titles, and three Mediterranean Games champion titles.
Now get this:
Yildiz is the most successful Turkish athlete ever, but without any Olympic medal, because karate is not an official discipline at the Olympic Games.
I was researching her achievements in competition since 1997 and believe me when I tell you I almost fell off my chair.
So instead of listing all of them, because that would have made this post the longest in Internet history, I will just show you an excerpt of what Yildiz Aras has accomplished. I repeat: This is only an excerpt.
Are you ready to be amazed? Hajime!
World Championships
Gold 2006 Tampere Kumite open
Gold 2004 Monterrey Kumite team
Gold 2002 Madrid Kumite team
Gold 2000 Munich Kumite open
Bronze 1998 Rio de Janeiro Kumite open
Gold 1998 Rio de Janeiro Kumite team
World Games
Gold 2005 Duisburg Kumite open
World Cup
Bronze 1997 Manila Kumite open
European Championships
Gold 2009 Zagreb Kumite +68kg
Bronze 2008 Tallinn Kumite +60kg
Bronze 2008 Tallinn Kumite open
Gold 2007 Bratislava Kumite +60kg
Bronze 2007 Bratislava Kumite open
Silver 2006 Stavanger Kumite +60kg
Silver 2006 Stavanger Kumite open
Gold 2005 Tenerife Kumite +60kg
Bronze 2005 Tenerife Kumite open
Gold 2004 Moscow Kumite open
Gold 2004 Moscow Kumite team
Gold 2003 Bremen Kumite +60kg
Bronze 2003 Bremen Kumite open
Gold 2002 Tallinn Kumite open
Gold 2001 Sofia Kumite team
Gold 2000 Istanbul Kumite open
Bronze 2000 Istanbul Kumite team
Gold 1999 Euboea Kumite team
Bronze 1998 Belgrade Kumite team
Bronze 1997 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Kumite team
Bronze 1996 Paris Kumite open
Mediterranean Games
Silver 2005 Almeria Kumite +65kg
Gold 2005 Almeria Kumite open
Gold 2001 Tunis Kumite open
Gold 1997 Bari Kumite open
World University Karate Championships
Silver 2000 Kyoto Kumite +60kg
Bronze 2000 Kyoto Kumite team
European Cadet & Junior Championships
Gold 1997 Greece Kumite +60kg
Are you still there?
Is Yildiz Aras amazing or what?
Check out this short, but action-packed video with Yildiz Aras, aka The Strong Girl, aka The Turkish Rose, aka The Golden Girl:
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