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To Master the Supreme Philosophy of Enshin Karate, Look to Musashi's Book of Five Rings for Guidance!
In the martial arts, we voluntarily subject ourselves to conflict in a training environment so we can transcend conflict in the real world. After all, we wouldn't knowingly train in a style that makes us weaker or worsens our position. The irony of all this is that we don't want to fight our opponent. We prefer to work with what an opponent gives us to turn the tide in our favor, to resolve the situation effectively and efficiently.The Japanese have a word for this: sabaki. It means to work with energy efficiently. When we train with the sabaki mindset, we receive our opponent's attack, almost as a gift. Doing so requires less physical effort and frees up our mental operating system so it can determine the most efficient solution to the conflict.In this essay, I will present a brief history of sabaki, as well as break down the sabaki method using Miyamoto Musashi's five elements
Brief History
<p>Musashi was a samurai who lived during the 17th century. In feudal Japan, he was regarded as a kensei, or sword saint. Toward the end of his life, he wrote The Book of Five Rings, a classic on strategy and philosophy. It delineates the elements of air, water, fire, earth and the void. The timeless beauty of this text lies in the way it can help us understand those elements in a way that improves our skill in combat, as well as our ability to comprehend human nature.</p><p>For most of us nowadays, the martial arts are not needed for survival on a daily basis. We have laws and firearms to protect us. This fact makes the mindset and spirit of the martial arts even more important because they are what help us combat stress, handle people with opposing views and endure conditions that otherwise might threaten our well-being.</p><p>In the 1970s, my father Joko Ninomiya had a huge impact on the world of full contact — specifically, on kyokushin, the style of karate developed by Mas Oyama. In Japan, my father is known as the prince of karate and a modern-day Miyamoto Musashi. Why? Because when he fought, he used angles, leverage, positioning, timing and sensitivity to overcome bigger opponents. He didn't rely on brute strength; he relied on sabaki.</p><p>In 1988 he created his own style of full contact called enshin karate. The name means "heart of the circle." Enshin signifies not only the spiraling nature of sabaki techniques but also the authentic connection between ourselves and others, as well as the community at large.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://blackbeltmag.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDM5MTU5Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTA4NTQzMH0.nKyZ1q09J9Q-FcYShSSwL4-uu3-7z7O2v2JoYhVXj_Y/image.jpg?width=980" id="baa95" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c7d394fc91ee8fc834b16fb81f7c1b19" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Mike Ninomiya (left) faces his opponent (1)</p>
Book of Air: Discernment
<p>When we work with energy, a fundamental idea is that we can consciously give direction only to something we're aware of. To effect change, it's essential to be aware of that thing. Take, for example, a tire that's slowly leaking. It requires us to discern that something is wrong and then devise a strategy to change or repair the tire before it bursts on the highway.</p><p>In the martial arts, we don't just get hit out of nowhere; something happens, and we pick up on it. My father likes to say, "Your hands are like antennae." Our mental space must be bigger than our opponent's, and our hands should project that power with sensitivity. In sabaki, we want to be in an ideal position in which we know everything about our opponent and his movement potential is limited.</p><p>Air is also responsible for our ability to develop and use strategy in combat. If we cannot follow directions pertaining to strategy, usually we are very earthy. This is because the element that's in opposition to air is earth. If we are earthy, we're grounded. That can make us more susceptible to sustaining continuous damage. On the flip side, if we have too much of the air element, we're more susceptible to getting swept.</p><p>Another important role of air is its influence on our mental space. Ideally, we won't get hit, but if we do and our mental space collapses, we become more vulnerable.<br></p><p> <strong>How to enhance the air element:</strong> Eat foods that are less dense. Take a course in public speaking to learn how the mind is used to project what you feel. Simulate defending against multiple attackers. Keep a structured journal.<br></p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://blackbeltmag.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDM5MjExOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDY2Njk4M30.IpdZam4Krs4u_zQbMMpwQcQ1_cnGHvJoRAq68cY8wyk/image.jpg?width=980" id="bc8d9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="909dbd88e0dafd218222ac982bc2eb63" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Enshin karate instructor Mike Ninomiya (left) and his opponent square off (1). </p>
Book of Water: Attachment
<p>Water relates to feeling, fluidity, timing and rhythm. As my father always says, "Put your mind into what you're doing." When we put our mind into our opponent, we can feel his rhythms and interrupt them. In sabaki, we use the concept of kyushu to connect with the force of our opponent. Kyushu means "to absorb and cushion an incoming attack." It's the tool that bridges awareness and lets us feel what's actually happening, which is superior to being forced to simply react. Kyushu and the water element in general represent a movement that's in opposition to the fire element. It expands out and away from us.</p><p>Kyushu, on a more social level, refers to putting ourselves in another person's shoes. Many courses on conflict resolution involve being the person we have a problem with, all in an effort to make us realize the trigger is a barrier we set up to isolate and protect ourselves. The name of my father's karate is enshin, which refers to the heart of the circle. It's not only the physical heart that circulates blood in our bodies but also the energy that allows us to feel and have empathy. This empathy is an attachment and harmonization to another person's feeling or intention.</p><p>Musashi wrote a poem titled Senki (War Spirit) that explains the water element: "The moon, in a cold stream like a mirror." The mind is calm and unaffected like the cold stream that keeps moving while reflecting the emotions (the moon) of the opponent. So even though we're separate from our opponent, we're calm and can feel everything he's thinking.</p><p>When we use kyushu to respond to an attack, we absorb it through a solid structure that has elasticity embedded within it like a trampoline. This trampoline-like strength relies on opening and closing the joints and the fascia, the web of connective tissue that has a strength and sensitivity greater than muscle. While a muscle requires oxygen, the fascia is avascular, which means it doesn't have blood vessels because it doesn't need oxygen. This frees up the oxygen in our bodies so it can be used by the brain and vital organs. When our operating system has freed up some of its resources, we can feel what's happening more accurately.</p><p>To do kyushu with proficiency requires a mind shift from that of fight or flight, which is encoded in our DNA, to that of releasing muscular tension and using the body's natural intelligence of the fascia and bone alignment. Something interesting to note in the kihon (basics) of enshin karate: The blocks are technically not blocks according to that word's conventions, which conjure an immovable and hard structure. The blocks of traditional karate are rigid and linear, with a start and a stop. The blocks of enshin use spirals, which are the language of how energy is transferred along fascia. A spiral has no start or stop, which results in a continuous stream of connected power.</p><p>Once kyushu has been established with an incoming attack, we can move toward a position that's more advantageous. In this position, our movement potential is amplified, and our opponent's movement potential is limited. As soon as position has been established, another critical concept enters the picture: kuzushi. Often referenced in the grappling arts of judo and jujitsu, kuzushi means "to borrow the opponent's balance." When we have to stabilize our balance, it's very hard to simultaneously defend against a strike. Using kuzushi, however, we can choose how to respond — with a strike or a takedown. The sabaki method uses both options.</p><p> <strong>How to enhance the water element: </strong>Take up yin yoga, a gentle form of yoga that uses relaxation to create space. Practice giving and receiving. Play and interact with music, song and dance. Hit a heavy bag while moving in and out in sync with the bag's swinging. Volunteer to do something that resonates with your higher purpose, such as teaching a skill or donating money without expecting anything in return.<br></p>Book of Fire: Will
<p>The fire element is expansive in nature and deals with any percussive strike. On a personal level, it calls on the will to materialize an action. Someone who has a strong fire element has a strong will. When things get tough, we can harness this element to dig deeper — this is called fighting spirit. The person with the fiery personality is often the life of the party. Fire is spiritual, rules philosophy and connects to intuition.</p><p>Fire is the only element that doesn't exist in nature without the application of an external force. It requires a balance of other elements to ignite it. When fire is in excess, we can be irritable, moving and attacking with a lack of focus and purpose. When it's in harmony, we can maternalize our reason for fighting (water), discern when to do it (wind) and be grounded enough to not get carried away throwing wild punches (earth).</p><p>A pivotal point in Musashi's career occurred when he learned that the reckless actions and duels in which he'd participated had no direction or purpose in life. Legend says that a Zen priest named Takuan Soho taught him to cherish his life first so he would know what's worth fighting for. When we care enough about something, he learned, we will fight for it.</p><p>In Musashi's fire book, he spoke about how different movements and strikes embody different kiai. Essentially, he said the kiai should match the action. He also highlighted the gaze, which should be focused and composed.</p><p>In sabaki, once we discern an attack or detect an opening, we use the water element to connect to the opponent. Then we can choose to strike depending on the circumstances. In kihon, we use correct form to learn how the bones and connective tissue transmit striking power. The traditional stance known as sanchin dachi, a pigeon-toed position that relies on the stability of the triangle to connect the hands to the feet, is hard-wired energetically. When the stance is freed up in free fighting, we learn how to connect all the moving parts.<br></p><p><strong>How to enhance the fire element: </strong>Learn to strike and kiai properly. Develop single-pointed focus in standing meditation with your eyes open to prolong the time you can act before reaching the threshold at which you want to quit. Engage in resistance training with light weights and explosiveness. Do high-intensity interval training that focuses on body mechanics and breathing.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://blackbeltmag.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDM5MjM5Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MTYwMzAxNH0.alpXNlIlY1uJoYABcHL-ANcIws08y74SKHPE-Exn7-E/image.jpg?width=980" id="12195" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2c6040652eb40fec3343b1f65d9af405" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>FIRE ELEMENT: The opponent unleashes a body punch (1). </p>
Book of Earth: Persistence
<p>In a nutshell, the earth element teaches that how we do one thing is how we do everything. On a deeper level, this means connecting to the rituals that underlie our daily habits. It's really the earthly persistence of how the other three elements interact to embody a skill while maintaining integrity on all levels.</p><p>Many skilled martial artists can tell just by sight if they come across someone who trains in the arts — and often they will know which art the person practices. This level of embodiment in a person and the ability to detect it cannot be forged overnight. It takes years of doing the one thing until it becomes part of you.</p><p>In a practical sense, the earth element keeps us grounded and gives us the ability to use the techniques we've practiced without having to think. One of my father's favorite quotes, one that he often renders in Chinese calligraphy, is "A drop of water repeated over time makes a hole in stone." This is the secret to success that we must remember: Just keep training.While the rootedness of earth can make it challenging to throw or sweep someone who has too much of the earth element, it's often easier to strike such a person and then use kuzushi to borrow his or her balance before throwing or sweeping.</p><p>While this element may seem like the most mundane, it also is a reflection of the divine. This means that the rituals and care we see in the dojo remind us not to take our practice for granted. If we follow an empty ritual or do something only because it seems fun, in the future, we may become bored and never grow deep roots. The source of the bow in Japanese culture represents grounded humility. Reference the rice plant: As it matures, its head drops toward the ground so others can eat it and grow strong. The reverence that arises from an authentic bow instills a sense that there's always more to learn. As the Japanese say, "With true strength comes humility."</p><p><strong>How to enhance the earth element: </strong>Learn to stand on a stability ball. This is one of the most direct ways to develop a real root, as opposed to a physical root. (A real root is an energetic connection that runs deep into the ground and takes advantage of intention. A physical root involves widening one's stance and dropping one's center of mass.) Develop a daily schedule and create a routine to document your progress. Eat foods that are denser in nature.<br></p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://blackbeltmag.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDM5MzM3MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMjMxNzkzNH0.IYKHfqkIoeGcIZWxe-WOkYjRzXaaaaXsnUyYAKD6luQ/image.jpg?width=980" id="6807a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="19b5b828375ac60973f059b96280bcf9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>EARTH ELEMENT: Pinned against the wall with his right arm immobilized (1), </p>
Book of the Void: Emptiness
<p><br>This is the most mysterious element in that it represents the mind itself. In the martial arts, mushin refers to the state of "no mind" — in other words, a mind that's empty. The mind has two parts: the active mind, which has one pointed focus, and the passive mind, which is voluminous and wide.</p><p><strong>How to enhance the void element:</strong> In the spirit of Musashi, train your mind to be like a sword: extremely sharp yet so polished that you can lose yourself in its reflective nature. Meditate in your quest to attain mushin, striving to have your active mind focus on emptiness and your passive mind gently observe. Such a goal can be difficult to attain on your own. It's best achieved through participation in retreats that teach meditation. </p><p><em>Mike Ninomiya is a four-time Sabaki Challenge world champion. He has an eighth-degree black belt in enshin karate, a black belt in judo and a brown belt in jujitsu. In addition to martial arts, he teaches meditation, energy work and yin yoga. For information about his retreats that use The Book of Five Rings, visit <a href="http://mikeninomiya.com" target="_blank">mikeninomiya.com</a>. For information about enshin karate, visit <a href="http://enshinacademy.com" target="_blank">enshinacademy.com</a>.</em><br></p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://blackbeltmag.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDM5MzU1MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODY0MTY2MH0.Yz-mQCPuWy7rywvtId7s7fBI3XyJElQdIVSe4cbvIm8/image.jpg?width=980" id="ea0aa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c93d6af22c03f104b9405be7eba60044" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>ROOT: Mike Ninomiya uses a stability ball to practice the enshin karate concept of a real root to the earth.</p>
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Interested in learning more about marketing your martial arts school from someone who's "been there, done that?" David Church is a longtime martial arts school owner and instructor who has used modern marketing best practices for his school, to incredible success!
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The King of Cool may have died in 1980, but even four decades later, Steve McQueen's tough-guy persona continues to loom large over Hollywood. Example: Chase scenes are a staple in today's action flicks, and inevitably every chase is rated against either McQueen's 1968 Mustang chase in the crime drama Bullitt or his motorcycle jump in The Great Escape.
<p>In addition to the lasting impression he left with vehicles, his presence still resounds in Tinseltown in other ways. In the 2016 remake of the 1960 classic Western The Magnificent Seven (which featured McQueen), Chris Pratt's character Faraday wields a cutdown Winchester rifle in homage to the one McQueen carried for three years in his 1950s bounty-hunter TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive. Younger movie viewers may be interested to know that the American Westerns were remakes of the original Japanese film Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa. More recently in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio's character was based in part on McQueen.</p><p>What escapes most martial arts and action-movie fans, however, is the accurate portrayal of violence in McQueen's film fights. These scenes are flavored with McQueen's own knowledge of street fighting, his military training and his martial arts study with world-renowned masters.</p>
<p><br/></p><p><em>Perry William Kelly has a sixth-degree black belt in jiu-jitsu and is an instructor in four other martial arts. He's the former national coordinator for use of force for the Correctional Service of Canada. In 2017 he was a karate gold medalist at the World Police and Fire Games, and in 2018 he received the Joe Lewis Eternal Warrior Award. His website is <a href="http://perrywkelly.com" target="_blank">perrywkelly.com</a>.</em><br/></p>
Street Fighter
<p>In Hollywood, there are actors who "play" a role and actors who actually "live" the role. McQueen was a legitimate tough guy, both on and off-screen.</p><p>That chip you saw on his shoulder even as he portrayed various characters was based on the violence he endured while growing up. Abandoned periodically by an alcoholic mother and abused by a stepfather who had him sent to reform school at age 14, he was hardened from a lump of coal into a diamond.</p><p>As a member of a New York street gang, a young McQueen once was struck in the mouth with a bottle, which resulted in a 2-inch-long gash in his lower lip. As a teenager, he hit the road and found work as a logger in Canada, a deckhand on a tramp steamer and even a towel boy in a brothel. At 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he learned to handle some of the weapons he would wield in his films. He also received a few lessons in the realities of street fighting.</p><p>In boot camp, McQueen was bullied by a fellow Marine who always seemed to be backed up by his bigger buddy. Knowing that one guy fighting multiple opponents without a weapon was a grim prospect, McQueen evened the odds by catching the bully alone one day in the latrine. He tapped the guy on the shoulder while he was using the urinal, then pounded him when he turned his head. Needless to say, he wasn't bullied again.</p><p>Soldier in the Rain, a 1963 comedy with comedian Jackie Gleason, featured a scene in which McQueen is jumped by a pair of soldiers. While the scene strains credulity with Gleason pressing one attacker overhead when rescuing McQueen, the fracas offers some legitimate reality-based techniques rarely seen in films 60 years ago. McQueen throws beer in the face of one soldier before landing a pre-emptive punch. When grabbed by one guy, McQueen uses kicks to keep the other one away. Finally, in the climax of the fight — using a move that would have made the Gracies proud — McQueen sinks in a chokehold, putting the man out of action.</p><p>McQueen's most realistic depiction of fighting multiple opponents, however, came in his 1965 movie Baby, the Rain Must Fall. Playing a country music singer just out of the penitentiary, he's heckled by a couple of drunks at a gig. After the show, McQueen bashes one of them with a groin kick and hammerfist. When he's jumped by the other man and thrown to the ground, McQueen uses kicks to keep him at bay and throws sand in his face. Seeing that he's outmatched, McQueen pulls a switchblade to back them off.</p>Blade Runner
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://blackbeltmag.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQyMTU1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDY2NTE4OH0.6zNMvtyUDjt4_ryAve00WiEXbT51hThD6wE0afNENtM/image.jpg?width=980" id="341c3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c1b8147ffeb2493b703f089df811ecc9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>From the late '50s through the '60s, it seemed that every one of McQueen's movies featured a knife fight. His first big-screen film was 1956's Somebody Up There Likes Me, a Rocky Graziano biopic that stars Paul Newman as the former middleweight champ. McQueen, as his gang mate Fidel, is in only half a dozen scenes, but two of them feature him using a gravity-blade knife. In the first scene at the pool hall, the blade is flicked out and ready for action in a heartbeat. In the second scene, McQueen wraps a coat around his non-blade hand to protect it during a knife battle.</p><p>In 1959's Never So Few, a World War II epic, McQueen draws a switchblade to thwart a pair of MPs trying to arrest him. In 1965's Cincinnati Kid, a movie about poker players, the director removed some love scenes and replaced them with a fight scene in a bathroom — predating the Jason Bourne toilet skirmish by 50 years. Here, McQueen uses a safety razor against a knife-wielding sore loser who wants his poker money back. In 1962's Hell Is for Heroes, McQueen uses a butcher knife in combat, and in 1966's Sand Pebbles, he uses an ax to dispatch an opponent.</p><p>McQueen's real-life military training with the knife, however, was best illustrated in Nevada Smith (1966). In a classic blade battle with Martin Landau, you can see McQueen twist the knife after stabbing Landau, a move that creates a blood channel that produces a quicker bleed-out. Pat Johnson, a former Hollywood fight choreographer and McQueen's martial arts instructor, confirmed that the technique was a product of McQueen's Marine Corps training before the Korean War.</p><p>After a brief hiatus, McQueen returned to blade play in 1973 in the Devil's Island prison movie Papillon. In it, he carves up the face of a fellow inmate who tries to kill Dustin Hoffman's character.</p>The Dragon
<p>Many die-hard Bruce Lee fans know that for many years, McQueen studied with the founder of jeet kune do. The two met at the famous Whiskey a Go Go nightclub through another of Lee's students: hairstylist Jay Sebring, who later was murdered by Charles Manson's cult.</p><p>This same murderous group had placed McQueen's name on its hit list for rejecting a script that was penned by Manson and submitted to McQueen's production company. Manson's plan was to force McQueen at gunpoint to overdose on drugs. McQueen was supposed to be at a dinner party at actress Sharon Tate's house the night she, Sebring and others were slaughtered. It was only a chance encounter — running into a friend at a nightclub — that kept McQueen from being killed, too. After learning of his close call and the cult's plans for him, the reality-based fighter always made sure to have a firearm close by wherever he went.</p><p>At the time of their meeting, Lee was waiting to begin his breakout TV role in The Green Hornet and was teaching private lessons to stars like James Coburn, James Garner and Lee Marvin. Lee and McQueen started working out in August 1976 and continued until Lee's TV career took off. McQueen even brought Lee to his movie locations in San Francisco (Bullitt) and rural Mississippi (The Reivers) to continue his martial studies.</p><p>Despite all they shared, Lee found that McQueen was suspicious of him at the beginning, and it took time for them to bond. According to Lee's widow Linda Lee Cadwell, when they did become friends, they really connected.</p><p>Bruce Lee biographer Matthew Poly says that Lee was impressed by McQueen's determination and resilience. In his book Bruce Lee: A Life, Polly quotes Lee telling a friend:</p><p>"That guy doesn't know the meaning of quitting. He just keeps pushing himself for hours — punching and kicking for hours without a break — until he is completely exhausted."</p><p>In a television interview with Canadian broadcaster Pierre Berton, Lee describes his student:</p><p>"Now, as a fighter, Steve McQueen … now, he is good in that department because that son of a gun got the toughness in him, you know."</p><p>A more descriptive depiction of McQueen's fighting style is given by Hollywood super-agent Marvin Josephson, who along with McQueen studied under Johnson:</p><p>"Steve adopted street-fighter tactics even in the gym. His idea of a gradual, full-length contest was to go ballistic in the first 10 seconds, swinging at you like a threshing machine. You could be his best friend in the world, but the instant you squared off with him, you were the enemy. Let's just say he didn't pull a punch very well."</p><p> During their time together, Lee and McQueen pushed each other in a friendly — and sometimes not so friendly — rivalry. McQueen wanted to be a great fighter like Lee, and "The Dragon" wanted to be a movie star like "The King of Cool." Polly believes that the charisma, energy and swagger that Lee brought to the screen in his movies was pure McQueen.</p><p>Polly also writes that Lee learned from McQueen how to be a movie star. McQueen replaced directors he didn't like, and so did Lee. McQueen counseled Lee that he'd develop his own acting style over time but said it was just as important to "meet the right people in the industry and impress them" and to dress the part of a star.</p><p>However, it was an incident involving the two men that may have served as the key motivator for Lee's success. He was developing The Silent Flute with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. Silliphant, who already had won an Academy Award, was a Lee student and wrote some episodes of the TV show Longstreet, which showcased Lee. They approached McQueen to star in the picture but were turned down summarily, reportedly with the curt phrase, "I'm in the business of being a star, not making them!"</p><p>This is said to have infuriated Lee, who told Silliphant that one day he would be a bigger star than McQueen. Silliphant scoffed at the statement but admitted that Lee later proved it true.</p><p> Despite their rivalry, the pair continued to be friends, with Lee sending a letter to McQueen after he made it big in Hong Kong, claiming to be a bigger star worldwide. McQueen, tongue in cheek, sent Lee an 8-inch-by-10-inch photo on which he'd written, "To Bruce Lee, my biggest fan." Their friendship continued until Lee died in 1973. McQueen, along with Lee protégé Dan Inosanto and actor James Coburn, served as pallbearers at Lee's funeral.</p>Lone Wolf
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://blackbeltmag.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQyMTU1NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjIyNjY5OX0.5OC0mrZUqV3-BpkmRd5HylNxsdIXDjp-7rnMyZ_WYLk/image.jpg?width=980" id="14857" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ffdaa575f24c51ff9188f7376f9ed574" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>According to Polly, after Lee ended their private lessons, McQueen asked whom he should study with. Lee advised his friend to contact Chuck Norris. The two had previously met when Lee brought McQueen to Ed Parker's International Karate Championships and introduced him to the karate fighter shortly before Norris took on Skipper Mullins.</p><p>Initially, McQueen called Norris at his Sherman Oaks, California, school to set up karate lessons for his son Chad (who would later star as Dutch in The Karate Kid). Chad had gotten into a fight at school, and McQueen wanted him to start martial arts. However, Norris and McQueen soon began a training relationship that would blossom into a friendship over the years.</p><p>Richard Norton, an actor and fight choreographer as well as a good friend of Norris, provided another great story about the influence McQueen had on the champ. When Norris was shifting out of teaching and wondering what new field to move into, McQueen suggested he try acting. Never having acted except for a small cameo (set up by fight choreographer Lee) in the Dean Martin spy spoof The Wrecking Crew, Norris burst out laughing and said McQueen must be kidding. McQueen explained that in addition to learning the craft of acting, one needed a certain presence to come across on-screen and Norris had it.</p><p>A short time later, Norris mentioned to McQueen that with all the actors in Hollywood, his chance of success seemed slim. Norris writes in his biography Against All Odds that McQueen took him to task for the comment:</p><p>"Remember that philosophy of yours that you always stress to students: Set goals, visualize the results of those goals, and then be determined to succeed by overcoming any obstacles in the way. You've been preaching that to me for two years, and now you're saying there's something you can't do?"</p><p>Norris agreed to give it his best shot and began taking acting lessons under the GI Bill. Fast-forward a few years: Norris tore up the big screen as the bad guy in Return of the Dragon.</p><p>According to Norton, after Norris played the heavy so well, it was McQueen who suggested that he look for good-guy roles so he wouldn't be typecast. Norris did so, but after his first movie Good Guys Wear Black, he was somewhat disappointed in his performance on-screen. He went to McQueen for advice on how to portray the John Wayne type of character that he wanted to play. Norris recalls in Against All Odds that McQueen provided him with sound advice:</p><p>"You are verbalizing things on the screen that we have already seen. Movies are visual, so don't reiterate something verbally that the audience already knows. Next time, let the other actors fill in the plot. When there's something important to say, you be the one to say it."</p><p>As an example, McQueen pointed out that in Bullitt, he tore up pages of dialogue that he was supposed to use in a scene with Robert Vaughn and used but one line that everyone who's seen the movie still remembers: "You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine."</p><p>Norris obviously took the advice to heart and began portraying the strong, silent type in his movies. Soon, steely-eyed characters like those in Lone Wolf McQuade and Walker, Texas Ranger would carry him to superstardom in the action-film genre.</p>The Referee
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://blackbeltmag.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQyMTU1Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTk5MDU0OH0.Om-fzruT2rW2IBo8vFfaIi2-AK2OzN7HqwagWe3RGkk/image.jpg?width=980" id="fc951" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0c29d681d8df9568ebebcb2694b7515c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>When Norris' career prevented him from teaching McQueen, the chief instructor at his schools, one Pat Johnson, took over the task. Displaying once again the initial suspicion he had with Lee, McQueen took a dozen lessons with Johnson before their first conversation. Gradually, McQueen opened up a bit, and a friendship developed that would continue for the final eight years of McQueen's life.</p><p>Johnson is perhaps best-known to martial arts movie fans as the referee in The Karate Kid, but he also portrayed the thug who threatens John Saxon's character in the opening scenes of Enter the Dragon. It's Johnson who utters the famous line, "It's the dough, Roper, or we have to break something!"</p><p>A legend in competitive karate with 300 wins and just one loss, Johnson was Black Belt's Instructor of the Year in 1995. In addition, he trained Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi), Ralph Macchio (Daniel-san), Chad McQueen (a karate student) and all the other actors in the Karate Kid films. He summarizes McQueen the fighter in the following manner:</p><p>"Steve was the most aggressive person I ever met. He fought like he behaved, generally — fast, furious, with lethal opening moves, intense and incredibly focused. In eight years, I never once saw him have a lapse in concentration."</p>The Star
<p>During his career, McQueen was one of the top-grossing box-office stars in the world. In addition, many of his movies have scenes or dialogue that are iconic and constantly referred to in popular culture. In fact, Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood includes both a scene from The Great Escape with DiCaprio playing McQueen's character and, at the end, a remake of the cigarette commercial McQueen did while starring in Wanted: Dead or Alive.</p><p>It's apparent that Steve McQueen's knowledge of street fighting and his rigorous study of martial arts blazed the trail for modern action stars like Jason Statham, Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise. These new leading men train constantly in the arts to ensure that their on-screen performances are believable and exciting. That influence, coupled with McQueen's relationship with two martial arts movie icons, are proof positive that he's left a unique and lasting martial arts legacy. </p>From Your Site Articles
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