Forgotten Fury: Racism and discrimination in martial arts-Part 1

Originally published in the Amsterdam News, 2010 by Nigel Clarke (Clarke Illmatical)

For the first time ever, collectively, Black and Hispanic martial arts experts have stepped forward and shared their frustration and outrage regarding racism and discrimination within their sport. All of these individuals have identified agendas, schemes, and conspiracy theories to diminish and ignore the accomplishments of Black and Hispanic martial arts masters.

The term "martial arts" was actually coined by Europeans, a reference to Mars, the Roman god of war. Despite the common association with Asian culture, all cultures have their own form of fighting art systems and rituals. According to dozens of people presently or recently involved in martial arts in America, Black and Hispanic practitioners dominated the organized tournaments and competitions in the 1960s and 1970s.

The sport developed in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, but did not follow in conjunction with it. By way of a number of in-person and telephone interviews, I would learn about martial arts masters who had not only been successful participants, but were innovators and creators who made contributions that would have lasting effects within their arts. These individuals would share experiences of discrimination and lack of acknowledgment from the media within the American martial arts culture. Others would discuss and share firsthand experiences of being cheated at organized tournaments and not being allowed to participate in events due to their race—the end result being heartache, depression, anger, and the neglect of an entire generation of fighting masters.

The motivating factor for discrimination within martial arts is finance. Martial arts is a lucrative and thriving business in the United States. This includes clothing, schools, literature, equipment, weapons, and movies. At the top of the financial food chain are Asians. They have set in place a system in which there is an appearance of Asian dominance in martial arts, of which many believe they are the originators.

Unfortunately, all of this points toward the most recognizable figure in American martial arts: Bruce Lee. Lee has been identified as being part of a marketing program, or propaganda, to promote Asian superiority in martial arts. His imagery has eclipsed an entire generation of martial artists who were not Asian. He is constantly recognized as the greatest martial artist of all time, but he did not compete as a player in any organized tournaments during what is considered the golden age of martial arts in the United States, the 1960s and 1970s.

The goal of the "Forgotten Fury" series is to give acknowledgment to Black and Hispanic martial artists who have been pioneers in their respective sports and arts and, due to discrimination, received little or no acknowledgment.