Forgotten Fury: Racism and discrimination in martial arts - Part 4

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

Sijo Steve (Sanders) Muhammad is regarded as one of the greatest martial artists in the United States, making valuable contributions spiritually, physically, and athletically.

Speaking on media distortion, he says, “That’s how they hurt us so badly in the past. I won the Internationals nine times, but on record, they have me as winning only three times.” Despite being a successful competitor during the 60s and 70s, he had no knowledge of Black fighters on the East Coast. He did not learn about other great Black martial artists until he visited the East Coast.

In 1969, along with several others Muhammad would form the Black Karate Federation. Muhammad explained the innovations they made, saying “Martial arts was predominantly defense, we changed it to primarily offense. We showed them offensive movements with hands and feet.  They said that you couldn’t get power off the front hand unless you bring it back towards the shoulder… we showed them that even though the hand is close to the face, you can generate the same power. “

I explained to Muhammad that I had heard similar concepts from Bruce Lee’s system Jeet Kune Do. Muhammad explained that Bruce Lee got much of his styling from him, saying “Bruce actually studied me…the way he placed his hands, he got that from me.”

“The reason why Bruce was the best martial artist of all time, he was able to show his art on film, but that wasn’t real. But when it came to fighting, there were a lot of fighters that could out fight Bruce, he had good knowledge and he had good understanding of that knowledge, but as far as actualizing that knowledge in the way in which would make him the kind of fighter you saw on film, that’s not true. Bruce was my friend; I would never lie on him.”

Korean Taekwondo expert Henry Cho weighed in on the matter, saying, “Bruce Lee is an actor who used his martial arts techniques for his movies and TV series...Chuck Norris became an actor later, but he was a martial artist, he was a champion—there is no comparison between the two. Chuck Norris is a fighter in martial arts, and Bruce Lee was a good demonstrator for movies, but many more people watch the movies than the tournaments…He was a good martial artist, but he used it for his profession, which is acting.”

For too long, film and censorship have suppressed the accomplishments and contributions of many Black and Hispanic martial artists. It’s time for the United States to take a closer look at the martial artists from the 60s and 70s—these individuals who competed during what is considered the golden age of martial arts in the United States.

These are the Forgotten Fury.