The Origins of Sho’Nuff (Forgotten Fury: The Masters of The Red Glow) - Part 1
- Clarke Illmatical
- 5 days ago
- 40 min read
This article was originally published on the Medium publication CROWNS ON TOP, in 2018, by Clarke Illmatical
A Harlem prodigy, on a quest for revenge and the powers of the Red Glow. His journey led him to some of the best martial arts masters in American history. Karate killers, Kung fu warriors, African American female wrestlers, Olympic Judokas, Prison pugilists, Vampire boxers, Indomitable fighting clans and The Most Dangerous Man Alive.
This is how Sho’nuff became the Shogun of Harlem. On the real, this is how I became, Sho’nuff’s Red Glow.
Intro: My Brother’s Keeper
Before dragons, niggas lived above the rim. When Brown Sugar fell in the streets, Harlem birthed corner MVPs. Rucker produced another hopeful. The barbershop still has sessions about Tommy Sheppard’s jump shot. That nigga Tommy didn’t live, he soared above the rim. Those who knew him felt grateful to receive his shine.
There was that night when Nutso tried to get a glimpse of Tommy’s vision. When Nutso flew too close to the sun and singed his wings. When he tried to clap back, when he lost control and caught real air with his Converses, falling to his death.
Beautiful Tommy Sheppard, my pretty nigga, broke down and got lost.
Nutso’s family poured out a little liquor. While Sho, armed with his fallen brother’s Converses, set his heart on revenge. Word to Harlem, word to Nutso, and the dreams that keep falling.
Despite carrying a thug’s tear, Harlem still lived by the way of the gun. Someone wanted to deprive the young brother of his precious Converses. They surrounded him. A beating commenced.
Through the darkness, through the beatdown, there were fists, kicks and the sight of an older God who saved him, using the powers of the Red Glow. A time after the hospital, and the stitches that were removed, Sho found the older God, and thanked him, asking for his name.
The older God told him that he was Supreme, the ruler of the universe. One who wielded the powers of the Red Glow. Sho was determined to obtain this power.
Supreme explained that the Red Glow could only be obtained after ten levels of mastery, that it should not, it could not, it must not ever be used for evil. As Sho set out on his journey, it was explained that each master would be revealed at the designated time and place.
With revenge in his heart, Sho set out on his quest, for the powers of the Red Glow.
This is the story of his journey, how he set out to avenge his brother’s death, and become a master. Armed with Nutso’s sacred Converses, this is how he became the Shogun of Harlem.
This is when I gave him the power, this is when I became Sho’nuff’s Red Glow.
Knowledge: I’m Sho’nuff’s Red Glow. I first came to Chaka in the motherland, guiding him to create a mighty military force, and years later, I returned to Zulu in Harlem guiding a concrete warrior to forge a style through the rhythm of death.
This is the knowledge, in the form of Zujitsu.
In the late 1940s, like every other young Black man who lived in dreams, Chaka knew he’d be the next Brown Bomber or Cincinnati Cobra, slipping, dipping, and giving his opponents canvasback. The rhythm of the ring enlightened him, but the powers of the Red Glow led him on another course.
He trained with Grandmaster Dr. Charles Elmore, who blessed him with a brown belt in Judo.
By the mid-50s, for whatever reason, he had visions of being Semper Fi and joined the Marine Corps. Word to Harlem, Chaka warred on niggas. Whoever got the necessary. Despite how thorough he was, how much he repped the colors, the Marines were racist to the core.
Chaka reminisced on some foul shit, an incident with a notable American martial artist and it went like this “I was gung-ho, I was pro Marine when I went in there. After being in the Marine Corps, that length of time (six years) the realization hit me, this is not for me. I couldn’t deal with the racism and the bullshit. One of the first things that happened that started my getting out of there, happened with a martial artist, Don Nagle.
He had a school outside of the Marine Corps base where I was stationed at, and when I went to try and join his school. There were no Blacks allowed. Some years later, at a function in Jersey, I had gotten an award and this same guy came up to shake my hand and congratulate me and I forgot where I was, I exploded. I called him every motherfucker I could think of… I was a Marine just like him and he’s telling me I can’t train at his school because of the color of my skin? Now he wants to shake my hand? That ain’t how I work brother.”
Fast forward to 1962. Chaka has returned to the streets of Harlem. He’s armed with knowledge in unarmed combat, weapons, a black belt in Taekwondo and all kinds of kill-a-motherfucker-shit.
The streets were heaven and hell. At times, Chaka ran with Bumpy Johnsonand, other times he did work for Malcolm X. Somehow, he maintained his distance from the Nation of Islam, who tried on more than one occasion to recruit him — excuse me, try to strong arm a brother into the fold. But whatever. Word to Harlem, that ain’t how Chaka rolled.
While Chaka was a manager at the Truth Coffee Shop, he recalled how the Nation tried to force him into the fold, saying “Some years ago, Farrakhan and some other brothers came in there and tried to recruit me and some other brothers into their organization and we weren’t having it. Things started getting a little heavy. We had to show them that we were ready to put bullets in their ass and they stopped coming. We resolved that problem.”
Word to Harlem, while riots and Black activism was in the air, Chaka got up with his own crew of brothers to ensure that the communities leaders, kept things on the Black hand side saying “Years ago, I was running around with some brothers who were activist, and we didn’t like some of the things that were going on in our community, in Harlem. We decided to get together and started roughing up some people, telling people like Adam Clayton Powell, that if they didn’t straighten their shit up, we were going to do things to them…
All of them, not just him, all of the people who claimed to be politicians who were suppose to be covering our asses and weren’t. We decided to take action against them and if they didn’t act accordingly, we were going to put them in the hospital… About 30 guys and we wore black suits, and we went to every function that these people [Civil Rights leaders] had and we told them that we were there. We told them that if they fuck up we were going to break their bones.”
Heroin flooded the streets. The robberies and the stick-up kids increased. After getting jacked in his apartment several times, Chaka moved to the village, where he opened a school, and still couldn’t half step. Just like your favorite Kung fu flick, rival schools and rebellious mothasuckas came to the spot and tried to test.
Chaka recalled an incident, saying:
“His name was John Blair, he was a 4th-degree black belt under master Peter Urban. He was a famous Jazz violinist. The guy was off his rocker. I was teaching a class one evening and he walked into the school. My students gave him courtesy.
He came up to me and said: ‘You can leave now.’
I said: ‘Excuse me?’
He said: ‘You can leave now, I’m taking over.’
All my students stopped moving. It got real quiet.
I said: ‘Brother, don’t make me put some nunchakus on your ass. You better leave while you got the opportunity.’
John Blair thought it over and realized that he didn’t want any smoke with the powers of the Red Glow. Afterward and always, there were those who wanted to test Chaka because of his great name. They didn’t realize that Chaka didn’t do that challenge shit.
Word to Harlem, Chaka desired to end conflicts in death.
With the Red Glow in hand, he enforced the mentality of killing when engaging in warfare. “If I start out from a weak premise, and you’re stronger than me, you’re going to overwhelm me. But if I start out with the attitude that I’m going to fucking kill you, and if I see that you can’t handle what I got, then I’ll de-escalate.”
Word to Harlem, in 1992, Chaka was ranked 10th degree by Grandmaster Peter Urban and after years of study, obtaining high ranks in Taekwondo, Jujitsu, Aikido, Kung fu, he came up with his own style. Word to Harlem, and word to Zulu in the motherland, he put all of his knowledge together and created Zujitsu Ryu.
A style, that not only fuses his fighting knowledge but in addition blends, dance, and rhythm, enabling the warrior to adapt to various people and situations. Chaka broke it down, saying “I use all kinds of music because what I’m trying to do is develop my feelings for different kinds of rhythms. Everybody on this planet including the planet itself moves at a different rhythm. In a fight with multiple opponents, if I can’t adapt and adjust to those different rhythms, then I’m going to lose.”
Word to Harlem, in 94 he received the title of Soke when the world recognized that he was the father of his own style. Word to Harlem, don’t sleep on Chaka or you’ll be dancing to the rhythm of death.
Word to Harlem. Word to Dr. Ernest Hyman’s Iron Palm technique, we need a new team of black suit wearing brothers who put our new so-called leaders in check. Word to Harlem, if you so-called woke niggas, you hoteps — if you don’t represent, we’re gonna break your fucking bones too!
Word to Harlem. Word to Major Leon Wallace, me and some other brothers are in the back of the room with black suits on, we're watching you so-called Black politicians, making sure you stay on point. Word to Harlem, word to you so-called black authorities, we see you.
If you fuck up, word to Fred Hamilton, we’re going to take action. Word to Harlem.
Sho got knowledge of the rhythm of death. He was directed to a master in the Bronx. Word to the BX. This is where Sho received wisdom.
Wisdom: I’m Sho’nuff’s Red Glow. I came to the Bronx when it was burning. When revolution was in the air. When America killed the dreamers.
Amidst the rubble kings, the concrete jungle produced an unlikely warrior, one of the greatest fighters in American martial arts history.
This is how Louis Delgado became, a superweapon, and Karate’s most unknown.
During the 60s, Robert Moses put his plan in motion. His vision, it played on the radio, it made its debut on the charts, as ‘Urban Renewal.’ To most, it sounded like, Negro removal. His master plan ultimately contributed to the destruction of thriving Bronx communities. Buildings burned. Hope deteriorated. The borough rebelled. Warrior tribes and clans grew. Kings and queens got up, and their words went all city.
In the midst of the chaos, I came to Louis Delgado in the South Bronx, back when his friends call him ‘Louie.’ When he was a teen, the streets said he had a nameplate with the word “sucka” written on it and back then, Louie believed it.
Louie had a friend named Hector who used Karate to break shit and pull broads on the street. Hector told Louie, that Karate would give him cred and that the streets would no longer call him a ‘sucka.’
Louie was like ‘Yeah son, whatever,’ until the streets tried to eat him and tattoo the word ‘sucka’ on him permanently. That’s when Louie dug in his soul, found Puerto Rican power, and decided to become a superweapon. That’s when Louie decided to take respect.
Louie’s brother Felix, remembers when the streets tested his brother saying “A girl named Sugar was talking with Louie. Her boyfriend, named ‘Salty,’ got jealous, so he had his boys jump Louie at St.Marys Projects playground across the street from our house.
After that incident, Louie started studying Karate with Hector Sanchez. Everyday breaking boards, punching a Makiwara board, to toughen up his knuckles. After one or two months later he walked through St. Mary’s projects playground again.
Salty and his boys were there. They tried to give Louie another lesson on who was boss of their turf. After beating Salty and his four boys up in front of Sugar, Louie got his reputation for knowing Karate and everyone on the block knew not to fuck with him again. That’s how you got respect in those days.”
Niggas in the hood stayed salty after Louie took respect. But whatever. Louie was catapulted towards his destiny and continued training with his friend Hector at St. Mary’s Community Center, where he eventually came under the direction of Grandmaster Moses Powell. Louie got more cred, got nasty with Jujitsu, took more respect. Got nice with open hand combat, found more respect. Louie mastered knife techniques and the word on the street — Louie had a new nameplate, and it said ‘Don’t fuck with me!’
War was very necessary as the Bronx and New York City hardened for the worse. As the gangs cliqued, Puerto Ricans realized that they needed to form an organization that would protect them, their hoods, their fine ass women, and provide social justice. The Young Lords were born and Louie got politically minded.
“Street gangs that developed were powerful in the 50s and 60s… We could not survive without gangs. They were our defense organizations…”explained influential activist and Young Lord member, Felipe Luciano, who was friends with Louie.
“Fred Hampton was in jail with the presidents of the Young Lords, Cha Cha Jimenez.
He said ‘Why are you killing each other and fighting against Black gangs? Don’t you know we’re being oppressed?’ He really gave Cha Cha Jimenez a political lesson, a lesson in political science. When Cha Cha came back, he was transformed. I thank God for Fred Hampton, I really do.
To convince a Puerto Rican not to fight another Puerto Rican gang or a Black gang… That code was so strong, Cha Cha went to the gangs. Understand the transformation, from unruly impulsive behavior to a political strategy… And Louie is mixed in all of this stuff. He’s reading about it. He knows about it. So while he was affected, he didn’t join the Young Lords, but he knew about us and we knew that he had that spirit in him. Always respected us and said that to me.”
Martial arts was the theme of the day, even in the ghettos. While gang members like Charlie Karate Suarez were using the arts to take respect, the Young Lords were training to stay alive. Facing the looming threat of police brutality, they trained in Shotokan Karate and Kung fu, specifically Fu Jow Pai.
“We learned that you needed just two moves to get out of the grips of the police. Sidekick. Reverse punch. And then run… Our group gained respect because we fought it out with the cops. In those days, there weren’t as willing to kill you as they are today” explained Luciano.
Beyond the Bronx, America was in the midst of revolution and real change. “You had the Vietnam war, the free speech student movement. You had the Black Panther Party, you had the Young Lords, you had a groundswell of young people, looking for answers, and trying to achieve their highest…
This collective movement, a groundswell of young people getting involved in all of these various actives included martial arts. You had senseis coming back from the Korean War or they were coming back from Vietnam.
That was all apart of the milieu of that time… You had these young men who were disciplining their minds and bodies. In that cultural matrix, Louie was one of those guys. He came out of all of that” explained martial artists Abdul Mussawir, formerly known as Monroe Marrow.
Although Louie received a black belt from Moses Powell, it was another master who led him towards the powers of the Red Glow. Grandmaster Frank Ruiz, the ex-Marine and the founder of the Nisei Dojo, a man whose disposition would develop Louis’s fighting ability and ferocity.
Speaking on the Ruiz’s impact, Sanchez said “He was one of the biggest influences Louie had as far as his aggressiveness… I think that was the biggest development, under Frank Ruiz. The training sessions were a little more disciplined and apparently, that discipline woke something up in Louie. He started to see that he had the potential to become a champion.”
Speaking of Ruiz’s personality, Sanchez continued “He was a rough person. You came to workout. No bullshit. You going to work out — you workout, up to the point where you have a heart attack! He had a reputation. All the fighters who came from the school were rough fighters and there was a lot of camaraderie. Louie needed that and that’s one of the reasons we became such good friends.”
During the late 60s and early 70s, Frank Ruiz was known in the martial arts community, for his gruff demeanor, and for his ability to create fighters. He found a way to reach the warrior within Louie, and sculpt a diamond.
“Frank Ruiz was one of the few Puerto Rican senseis of that era. He was probably the most prominent. His philosophy was ‘Win at all cost and if you lose, make sure they pay for it!’ The Nisei Dojo, they were known as headhunters. They were fierce in battle! They were not cavalier, they were not polite in defeat! They would break a guy’s tooth, break an arm… Everyone would know that when you fight these guy’s you have to take them down hard… I trained for a while there [Nisei] it was too brutal… In one sparring session, I lost a crown that I had… If I say that Nisei was not important in the annals of Puerto Rican and Black martial arts, I’d be wrong. Somebody had to be the seal team” explained Luciano.
The seal team, the Nisei Dojo, the ‘University of the Streets,’ was full of Karate gangsters, and martial arts hoodlums. Louie routinely held his own and amongst Chaka Zulu, Earl Monroe, Malachi Lee, Wilfredo Rodan, Owen Watson, and American martial arts legend, Ron Van Clief, who was a sparring partner for several years.
Speaking of Sensei Ruiz and the intense fighting at the school, Van Clief said “Ruiz ruled with an iron fist, there were no exceptions…It was a rough dojo. Sensei Ruiz was the roughest teacher that I’ve ever trained with… He didn’t start Karate until he was like 40. Sensei Urban told me ‘He’s too old to start!’ But he became one of the best. I think Sensei Ruiz was the best fighter to come out of Sensei Urban’s school.
Toughest man I ever met. Knocked me out a few times with a spinning back kick to the head. Wake you up with a wet towel, whipping it across your face… He gave us beatings I would not accept from anyone else. He kicked me in the leg one time, I was on crutches for a year… Then he broke my jaw. He knocked out four teeth, broken fingers, broke ten ribs altogether. He was one of the only grandmasters that I met that sparred with students. Most grandmasters teach from the chair. He was too awesome! He was not just violent, he was ultra violent!
He would beat you up in front of your wife, your kid… Sensei Ruiz would spin back kick you in the face, and not think about it. Go sit down, have a cigarette and rum and coke and you’re on your way to the hospital. I went to the emergency room several times because of Sensei Ruiz. At least five concussions.”
Louie not only survived in the Nisei, but he became one of the dojo’s best fighters. Hector recalls seeing his friend develop into a champion, saying “I started noticing Louie was becoming more accurate with his techniques. We’d go to the tournaments. I would come in second or third, but Louie always first. I practiced Karate, but Louie was an artist… Total domination”explained Sanchez.
America experienced its golden era in the martial arts from the mid-60s to 70s. Chuck Norris emerged from this period as its icon and a champion. Before Norris became a Texas Ranger, when he was a big man on the martial arts campus, when he was knocking people out, he suffered a memorable loss to Louis Delgado. The ‘L’ came from a kick, that is remembered to this day.
“Chuck Norris was the man. He was the fanfare. Louie was a quiet guy. Nobody knew who Louie Delgado was at that particular time. Chuck Norris was super, super overconfident. Louie did a spinning back kick, caught him on the jaw and knocked him right on his ass” explained Sanchez, who continued speaking on Norris saying “He was super surprised that anyone would try that technique… Louie kind of introduced that as a viable technique…. ”
Former USKA Karate fighter Vic Moore reminisced on the kick saying “Louis Delgado was a great fighter. I saw him fighting Chuck Norris, once. I had beaten Chuck Norris once, but the way Lou Delgado beat him with that spinning back kick, we thought he killed him! He was laid out. He [Delgado] didn’t get the recognition that he was due!”
Keep in mind, back when they fought, Louie was a light middleweight, while Chuck Norris leaned towards the light heavyweight. Despite the size differential, Louie still found a way to get the win.
While the martial arts community was in awe of Norris, and his star, Louie wasn’t. Louie was still determined to take respect “Louie gave no quarter and ask no quarter…. Louie was a warrior… He was a warrior and he didn’t believe in protocol. ‘I don’t give a fuck who you are!’ He was a Puerto Rican raised on the streets of New York” explained Luciano.
Even when there wasn’t a Norris to Chuck, Louie found other ways to move the crowd
“Whenever he went to a tournament, everybody would form rings around where Louie was fighting. He had honed his technique so much, it was beautiful. It was like watching a prima ballerina of Karate” explained Hector.
Louie continued to show and prove. Even the great dragon, Bruce Lee was impressed by his style. There is a video floating about the net, showing Louie practicing with Dan Inosanto, while Bruce Lee repeatedly asks Louie to perform his kicks again.
But whatever, don’t believe me, suck your teeth with denial if you want. Ron Van Clief, he will tell you “As a martial artist, he [Delgado] was one of the greats. He was definitely one of the greats… Bruce gave Louie a lot of credit for his sidekick… Bruce said, ‘I want my sidekick to be like Louie’s!’”
Louie eventually moved to Cali, even did the cover of Black Belt Magazine, but the martial arts entertainment world may not have been ready for his luminance that shined before any Latin explosion.
“Black folks were getting their due in Karate. Puerto Ricans were still a minority… When it came to exploitation, in the advertising sense, not in the political sense, when it came to pushing people, it was always those who were Black or White… Louie did not have the kind of commercial management to push him to the top. If on the right track, I knew that this guy would be a monster hit” explained Luciano.
Despite his martial skill, those who pour out a little liquor when his name is mentioned, they remember him being an extremely respectable person. “If there is anyone who embodied the term ‘Bushido,’ it was Louis Delgado. Humble, respectful. Reverential of the tradition… He had a core of love and compassion that bellied all of his strengths and all of his exploits and all of his tournament championships and I loved him for that. He admired me and I admired him” said Luciano.
Over the years, while Illmatical has worked on the Forgotten Fury series, refining his Red Glow flow, several martial artists of repute have suggested that Louie, who died at an early age, was intentionally thwarted off his path when he moved to Cali. These were late night calls and confessions, discreet builds that suggested that people were afraid of Louis Delgado, and the powers that be, they wanted and needed his star to fall.
But fuck that, Louie established himself as a champion, and one of the golden era’s best fighters, even if he remains, Karate’s most unknown.
“Louie was one of the best in his era” explained Van Clief, “Bruce said it. I said it, Chuck will tell you the same thing. One of the best of his era.”
By now, I’m sure you feel me, this is the wisdom. I’m Sho’nuff’s Red Glow. I came to Louis Delgado in the Bronx, the same way, I came to Eddie Torres, leading him to the clave. The same way I came to Colon and made him El Malo, the hustler. The same way my mastery took hold of Christopher Rios when he composed forbidden scriptures.
Sho realized that he too, he could become a superweapon. Like Delgado, who conquered before him, he was determined to take respect, and soon, he was directed to the borough of Brooklyn, to study with a master who’d provide understanding.
Understanding — I’m Sho’nuff’s Red Glow, back when Brooklyn warriors came out to play, I was embraced by a master who made an indelible mark on the martial arts community that despised him.
He forged a powerful warrior clan and a fighter whom the martial arts world tried to forget. This is how George Cofield discarded tradition and taught survival.
This is how the Tong Dojo and its Gunners ran New York.
More hood, bigger and Blacker. That’s the way the racist 1964, New Yorker article portrayed Bedford Stuyvesant during the 1964 riots that simultaneously took place uptown. Rightly so, Black folks were collectively furious as they should have been, in the wake of a shooting, that happened to a much earlier Trayvon.
Beyond Bedstuy, the entire borough was Do or Die. A 1974 New York Times article, points out that much like the Bronx, Brooklyn was comprised of gangs, the crime in the city.
In the midst of this chaos, a man who was hood, bigger and Blacker than the rest of the borough took traditional Shotokan Karate, remixed it, and created his own gang. For the record, George Cofield was the first Black man on the planet to have a wallet that said Bad Mutherfucker. His spot was the infamous Tong Dojo, located on St. Marks and Flatbush.
The ex-military man placed a “G” on the gis of his best fighters, which stood for ‘Gunners.’ They went to war, and shot opponents down, decorating the Tong with plenty of bling.
The Gunners, their names ring bells in the martial arts world, people like Hall of Famer, Thomas Lapuppet, Speedy Leacock, Speedy Wilson, The Wilder Twins, Alex “Plus One” Sternberg, Bill Swift and a fighter, the martial arts community turned its back on, Dwight “Hawk” Frazier.
After returning from the military, Cofield sought out the legendary martial artist Maynard Miner to refine his Shotokan Karate skills. Miner noticed his enthusiasm, saying “He really wanted to do it.”
Miner would eventually grade Cofield at brown belt after four years of study. Miner and his loquacious student eventually parted ways. The teacher noticed that Cofield, who was teaching at a community center at the time, continued to deviate away from tradition “He was teaching a whole new different thing” explained Miner.
The newness, the fresh, it was Karate for the world that was Brooklyn. Harsh and violent. Cofield was also a streetwise hustler who imparted the realness to his students. An ingenious teacher who understood how to push his fighters to their potential, and beyond.
“Brooklyn was considered tough, but Bedstuy was one of the toughest neighborhoods in all of Brooklyn. There were gangs, it was a tough area. It was one of those areas, you had to be careful. There were the Chaplains and the Corsair Lords” explained black belt, Bill Swift.
Speaking on Cofield’s personality, Swift said “He was a street guy. He grew up on the street, a hustler type guy. And viewed by most as being very, very mean… His street savvy, his sense of people, was incredible. His understanding of people. This is how he became one of the best instructors in the martial arts. He had a way of knowing what he could get out of you. Which direction to push you to the highest level you were capable of… A cadre of excellence, many people from the Tong became exceptional.”
Beyond the gangster lean, was a man who many young men developed a strong relationship with, some even relating to him as a father figure.
“He was a very no-nonsense instructor, and he was very educational… He was a very streetwise person. To my brother and I, he was a father figure… He taught us not only Karate but how to survive in the street” explained Calvin Wilder, of the Wilder Twins.
A November 1968 Black Belt magazine article entitled George Cofield’s Way of Life describes him saying “He is a tough man to work under, a tough man to know, and a tough man to learn from… He doesn’t care whether his students love him or hate him. All he wants is that they learn from him.”
Despite being pro-black, believing in power to the people, he did not reverse discriminate, opening his doors to people who already had the complexion connection.
“Sensei Cofield was an extremely interesting person. I looked at him like a second father…” explained Alex “Plus One” Sternberg “What was different about him, is number one, he was very intense, he came out of the military before I met him. He was a soldier, he was stationed in Japan.
He trained in Japan and he came back and he trained with another legendary martial artist, Maynard Miner. Miner, as much as the great Karate man he is, he wasn’t a great motivator… Cofield’s style was, to not let you breathe until you did the technique the best you could… Cofield was a tremendous motivator. He pushed you beyond the limit… He was like a drill sergeant.”
There was a time when all roads in Black martial arts ran through Brooklyn, and in the martial arts sense, Tong Dojo and its Gunners ran New York. Coinciding with what is considered the golden age of American martial arts, the dojo’s peak years were from the mid-60s to the 70s.
Although Cofield was a Karateman, all of the Black martial arts masters in the city, regardless of their disciplines or specialties, due to the relationship they had with Cofield, came through the school to teach or share with his students.
“This dojo [Tong] was the headquarters for Black Karate in Brooklyn. All of the Black senseis made their trip down to Sensei Cofield’s one time or another…The senseis that use to come and speak with Mr. Cofield were people like Moses Powell, Ronald Duncan. Duncan use to teach us Ninjitsu…” explained Sternberg.
While walking through East New York with his Karate gi in his hand, Alex Sternberg recalls getting some harassed by some Karate hoodlums, and accepting a challenge, that would change his life.
“I was surrounded by guys who asked where I trained.
I said: ‘Richard Chun.’
One guy said: ‘Richard Chun, that guy’s a fucking faggot! He ain’t nobody!’
That was George Cofield, that’s how I met him.
He said:’You think you’re good in Karate, come take a look at my dojo! Why don’t you train with us?’
I looked at him and said: ‘Yea sure, I’ll train with you.’
I went into the dojo and we worked out. It was a 3-hour class. I used to an hour class. I thought I was going to be dead by the time class was over…
Cofield said to me during the class: ‘Sit yo ass down man, you ain’t no good! You ain’t gonna last! You’re not as good as those Black kids!’
The more he told me to sit down, the more I was going to stand up!”
Reflecting on the level of training he received at the Tong, Sternberg continued saying “I thought they were the best I had ever seen in my life in Karate. They trained harder than anybody else.”
“The training was very intense. It was very focused. I was fascinated by it. To see a collective of men and women training in unison. I could tell it was tough… Back then, the training was very exact, it was very hard. He [Cofield] took no prisoners. Your hand had to be closed, your knee had to be bent. You had to be in form…
He’d walk around with a bamboo stick and hit those parts. Your hands had to be closed. It was conditioning. If you know anything about traditional martial arts, the training is designed for every aspect, every body part. It has to be done right! If you’re out in the street, you’re not going to have a chance and try and correct anything” explained former student Darryl Acosta, who further elaborated on how strenuous the classes were, saying “The intensity of his training program, grown men would cry.”
While white belts shed tears, the Tong Dojo mob got deeper, and their reputation grew. The students dominated tournaments and were equally prepared for the streets.
“Cofield didn’t drive us to be really good for competition. He believed that if you’re gonna spend this much time and work, you need to good if some stuff happens, in the street, you need to be ready. You need to be able to handle it. He didn’t like some of the training that was done by some of the instructors. He felt that they were training mills for money” explained Swift, who shared a core element of Cofield’s fighting mentality saying “‘A thinking man is a dead man!’ A part of that training was, if you have to think about how you’re going to respond to that kick or that punch, you’re too late.”
The Tong even developed a reputation in the street, recalls Khashon Allah, a former Tomahawks gang member, turned Soke “Tong Dojo was the most vicious dojo in Medina (Brooklyn), there was not another school that had a name more vicious than the Tong Dojo… If you wanted to learn the real shit, you go to Tong Dojo!”
That real shit was for niggas who did real things. Cofield created soldiers and when he went to the tournaments with his crew, in many instances instructors would withdraw their students. “Cofield called his top fighters, ‘Gunners.’ You were a ‘G’ on the bottom of your gi… Cofield would not let you compete unless you were a gunner… He would only take his gunners to the tournament.” explained Wilder.
“We had two ‘Speedies,’ Speedy Leacock and Speedy Wilson. Speedy Leacock was older but Speedy Wilson was technically better… He [Cofield] was highly respected… The respect from some of them was admiration for what he had done. He had more of the top fighters in competition than any of them. We won more trophies and the other part was envy…”
The dojo was known for their fierce fighting, which was also due to a style of coaching that Cofield introduced at tournaments. Ron Van Clief recalled Cofield’s genius, saying “He was the first guy that used the coaching system… The art of sideline coaching, he would say “Stepladder!” It just meant double jump kick. They [Tong] organized everything.”
“The Brooklyn Karate scene meant all Black martial artist,” said Sternberg “Our dojo, for sure, was the toughest dojo. The number one name in Tong Dojo was Tom LaPuppet. But even more intense than LaPuppet was a guy named Hawk Frazier. ”
In the late 60s and early 70s, Black Belt magazine would repeatedly report that Dwight “Hawk” Frazier was Tong’s up and coming champion, and discuss his fierce competitiveness.
“He had natural sense, flexibility, and power and was also a good size. He was powerful and he was young… He was good” explained Swift.
The rumor is that he was called Hawk because of his vertical, but I honestly, no homo, it was his physique. Wilder clarified saying “He got that name when Hawk would take his shirt off. The muscles in the back, he could make them jump up like wings…To me, and a lot of people will agree, Hawk Frazier was the best fighter Cofield ever had. He put fear in men. I saw him when he got in the ring, and someone drew his name, they were like ‘Oh my God, not this guy!’
As the Hawk’s power grew, he felt stifled and would eventually leave Cofield. “Frazier wanted to be recognized more and Cofield did not let go of the reigns” explained Sternberg.
“This was the classic tale of the master and the student who did not see eye to eye at one point. Hawk Frazier was dominating tournament play… Hawk Frazier was a prodigy”
explained Acosta.
The March 1973 Black Belt Magazine article Hawk Frazier’s Bitter Taste of Glory points out that Frazier won 73 trophies in tournament competition, and would eventually be ranked 9th in the country during the 1969–70 season.
During 69, when the Hawk was soaring, the powers that be imported a French fighter by the name of Dominique Valera to shoot him down. Hawk would lose a controversial match that many believe he won. Without Cofield’s backing, the Hawk was on his own in a world of martial arts that didn’t want him — or his teacher.
After the match, on some pre-hip-hop shit, he grabbed the microphone and addressed the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, without prejudice, you know I won!”
Legendary martial artist, Karriem Abdallah saw the fight. The wounded Hawk was on his own and Cofield did not intervene, and protest for his former student.
“Hawk won the fight, but you have to remember, back then and even now, they didn’t want to give Black fighters the credit… Cofield didn’t speak up for him, even when the match was going. I was there… He didn’t, may have won the fight — He won the fight!” said Karriem.
Hawk’s controversial loss to Valera was similar to defeats from Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis (the Caucasian one). Racism, in the martial arts community, clipped his wings. Frazier would open up a dojo in the Bronx and eventually leave the martial arts community altogether. The split between Cofield and Frazier might have been a reflection of the struggles that Cofield had with the Japanese Karate Association.
“In the 60, the JKA was run by all Japanese teachers. Philadelphia was the headquarters for the East Coast… Sensei Okazaki was in charge of everything we did. All the JKA dojos under his umbrella. The problem was, Sensei Okazaki, coming from a Japanese background didn’t have sympathy for Black people.
He was a bit prejudice and a lot of the Japanese were a bit prejudiced. Our dojo was an all Black dojo. Cofield was a troublemaker. He opened his mouth, and he didn’t take no shit from anybody. When we would show up and take a test. Okazaki would slow down our progress…
He made up new ranks to slow us down. Cofield was causing him problems. He didn’t want to put up with the Japanese — Black prejudice. Cofield was an exceptionally proud Black person, who was proud before it was fashionable to be proud” explained Sternberg.
When Illmatical sat with Miner, he mentioned that Cofield’s style and personality did not sit well with Okazaki, who emphatically told Miner to get rid of Cofield.
The 1968 Black Belt article spoke of the JKA split saying “He [Cofield] felt the pomposity of the organization overwhelming for his purposes. He broke away and began calling his own shots… Cofield believes that a good Karateman in the contemporary American scene must not be a purist of one form or another, but use an amalgamation of styles”
Still though, aside from breaking from tradition, racism was in the air, and the martial arts world was not ready for a pro-black sensei, speaking on the positives of the hustler teacher Van Clief said “He was a rebel. He had Black power symbols in the dojo… I enjoyed that afro-centric thing about George… Despite his criminality, he was a testament to what a Black man could do in the community. He was a very socially active person… He had lots of kids who started out as junkies and turned out to be lawyers, doctors, dentists.”
A number of the Tong Dojo gunners would translate their fighting skills for success in academics, eventually prospering in business ventures and careers.
“A lot of people came out of that school and are doing different things,” said black belt Irving Boyce-EL “We got the discipline from that place, to live our dreams. We got the discipline from the dojo to live our dreams.”
Although Cofield was known in the martial arts community for being criminal minded, he wanted his students to do better and not follow in his path. Acosta recalled saying “If you look at all of the people that left from the school and how they turned out, how they became successful in their own endeavors… Sensei, one particular day, he actually told us ‘Don’t follow in my footsteps. I want you to become more!’ He wanted you to be something different… What he gave us was the discipline to believe in ourselves. He helped us find our personal best.”
George Cofield created Gunners for the tournaments. Gunners who could survive in the streets and Gunners who used their martial discipline to win in life.
With discipline in hand and the taste of victory, Shonuff would encounter a wandering ronin, a Kung fu master who rented a space at the Tong dojo. While the rest of the martial arts world was caught up with a dragon, Sho’nuff turned his attention towards a man who embraced the Mantis, a man who killed ghosts. You don’t practice Kung fu, you live the culture.
Culture — I’m Sho’nuff’s Red Glow, when chopsocky had America all in their feelings over studio dragons, I came to a Brooklyn Kung fu master in the form of a Mantis.
Away from the movies, Sifu Carl Albright was getting busy in tournaments and on the streets. This is the culture, Kung fu is a way of life and the Subway Master lives this.
Let me tell you about that time Illmatical saw Sifu Carl fighting ghosts. In the galaxy of Queens, Cobra Kais and Myagis gathered to see who was the best of the best, or some shit. Skinny little lizards did their demos, so-called masters demonstrated forms.
When Sifu Carl grabbed the mic, he moved the crowd with a drunken style. However, he wasn’t doing a demo. He was fighting ghosts. Sifu Carl had death on his shoulders and with each move, his Mantis stabbed, his Mantis killed. Sifu Carl was fighting ghosts.
This ain’t nothing new. Sifu Carl been killing shit for over 60 years. Whether it was in open tournaments, disarming thugs on the New York City subway, or dodging blades in Korea — Sifu Carl lives the Black Kung fu experience.
Speaking of his background, veteran Kung fu practitioner and filmmaker Warrington Hudlin said “His lineage is in a traditional Kung Fu style, not a hybrid or a “made up style.” He has also been a Chinese martial arts practitioner, not a convert from Karate. Furthermore, I am aware of only one American more senior than him in Chinese martial arts and he has already passed away.”
Sifu Carl recalled, that is was his father, who decided his son would become a master killer. “My father was a colonel. His friend was William Fairbairn, a British soldier, he spent time in Chinatown… He told my father: ‘I was a captain of the Shanghai riot squads. I would see the people use the stuff [Kung fu]!”
Sifu Carl’s father decided that his son, at six years of age, should study the mysterious fighting arts of the so-called Orient. The question was whether or not a Chinese school in New York City would actually accept him. Beyond Blackness, Sifu Carl explains that Kung fu was initially only taught to specific clans, referencing a film called Legend of a Fighter, in which a father only teaches his son. Despite his initial difficulties as an outsider to the culture, he eventually made it in.
“Kung fu was never supposed to be exposed to the public. It was taught from father to son. It was taught in the military. Chinese community held it. It took me forever, to try and get into the schools that I was trying to get into… I was in class and Chinese people spitting in the back of my head. Hit me, trying to hurt me, try to sweep and break my leg, because I was American. They didn’t want me there, but the teachers, they saw something” explained Sifu Carl.
Following his father, he was able to travel and continue his passion for the arts at an early age. It was Kung Fu that actually kept him on the strait and narrow while growing up in Brooklyn. From the streets, Sifu Carl took his style to the military.
While stationed in Korea, Sifu Carl continued his training and taught others. His Kung fu school was not received well in Korea, where Taekwondo reigned supreme. He recalls that the Koreans would often throw bricks into the window of his dojo.
Undeterred, the soul on ice continued to rep that Chinese Kung fu. Fortunate for him, his street savvy, and awareness would play a role in keeping him alive during a well-documented incident, which cost several U.S officers their lives. The Korean Ax Murder aka The Paul Bunyan Incident.
“I was there. I was an enlisted man, we fought. They don’t mention the enlisted men, they only mention the guys who got killed. We were supposed to chop the tree down because we couldn’t see across the DMZ. We had to keep an eye on the North Koreans. The tree was in the way, that is supposed to be a buffer zone. They told us to go and chop the tree down. We had the two officers with us to supervise” said Sifu Carl.
Two officers, Captain Arthur Bonifas and Lieutenant Mark Barrett set out to get their Paul Bunyan on, and chop the interfering DMZ tree down. Ostensibly, Captain Bonifas had no idea that two weeks prior, there had been a failed attempt by the South Koreans, to cut down the same tree.
However, the stakes were already high, considering that there was a fight between a U.S. officer and North Korean soldier, which started when a Korean was in his feelings and decided to touch a U.S. officer’s hair.
Sifu Carl continued saying “We’re chopping the tree down and like back in the old days when they had the old pickup truck came, it comes up and these guys jump out with pitchforks, axes, and machetes.
We were like: ‘It’s on!’ We had axes because we were going to chop the tree down. Three of those guys were my students, they trained with me in Korea… They came and the captain was like ‘You can’t be doing this!’
They just chopped him and killed him. Killed the lieutenant. We took the ax, fork, hit one guy in the leg, another guy in the shoulder. They could see that we were fighting. They got back in the truck and drove off.”
The tree was eventually cut down, but it was near-death experiences like this, which fortified Sifu Carl for future trials, including foreign organized competition. Like other servicemen, while stationed in Korea he was able to frequently continue his training in neighboring countries and engage in bare-knuckle competition.
Asia would be the training ground for the perilous subways of New York City, where Sifu Carl would have plenty of opportunities to use his martial skills while working as a motorman for the New York City Transit Authority.
During the 70s, the majority of crime in New York City took place in the subway, where Sifu Carl worked as an overnight motorman. During this time, the New York City subway was the definition of danger, a Vintage News article, noted that there were as many as 250 felonies a week in 1979. The NYC subway was also noted as having the highest rate of crime than any other transit system in the world.
While working the graveyard shift, Sifu Carl showed and proved, taking well over 100 weapons from wannabe warriors.
His lifestyle differs from so-called Kung fu masters who only perform demos. His hands on fighting style has been imparted to his students who’ve competed in local martial arts tournaments. “Most people aren’t really Kung fu. I don’t care what they say! One thing you say it and one thing you do it. How you know it is in the actions. Kung fu is not all about fighting, but I expect to see certain things if you do fight!’
Traditional martial arts and Kung fu need Sifu Carl more than ever. In China, traditional Kung fu has been under attack since MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong, has been on the hunt for tradition Kung fu masters in China, saying that they got cubic zirconia skills.
“Why do people need to go out and beating up everybody to prove something to themselves. It works both ways. The immature person sees someone walking around beating up everyone. The mature person looks at him and says, ‘What war are you in? What are you fighting?’
He [Xu Xiaodong], got jumped outside in the street. He said ‘That’s not a contest!’ He’s doing the exact thing that he’s accusing people of doing. He’s creating the parameters of his world, and as far as he’s concerned, this is what a fight should be.
No. I’m from Brooklyn! When he got his ass kicked in the street by those two guys — that’s the fight! That’s it right there. You want to prove something, that’s where you prove it at… Now you found out that you’re not God… I’m from the streets. As far as I’m concerned you expect somebody to hit you in the head with a brick, or expect somebody to come and sneak up behind you or get jumped, all those things that you don’t have in the ring.
Those people who are doing all that mystical stuff, that’s their world! You’re trying to put them in your world. On top of all of that, those people doing Tai Chi will live to be one hundred. That MMA guy, he’s lucky if he lives to his 70s.”
Away from the subway, the Bed Stuy Sifu showed and proved regularly in New York City open competitions.
In regards to MMA, from 2008–2016, Sifu Carl recalled touring at schools, engaging in grabbling exchanges with Jujitsu students. Many of whom thought he was a paper tiger, not realizing that Kung fu is one of the original forms of mixed martial arts.
Sifu points out that the Shaolin monks discussed mixed martial arts years ago saying “The Shaolin Temple, the original monks, they put out theories about fighting, the first thing they say, fighting is four basic principles, all fighting, no matter what you do. No matter where you go if you don’t have these four fighting principles, you cannot consider yourself to be a true fighter!
If you find yourself lacking in any one of them, you’re going to have problems. The first one is hitting, kicking, throwing and grappling. So if you’re Kung fu man, it’s already telling you grappling. It’s already telling you throwing. For you not to know that it means that your training is not complete.”
Sifu Carl is an 8th generation, 7th Star Praying Mantis. The Mantis, combined styles years ago. Sifu explained saying “Praying Mantis combines 18 different styles… That was before Bruce Lee started combing ins styles. Mantis already did that. Mantis is considered the original mixed martial art. Everybody contributed to the mantis styles. There are 18 styles altogether, 17, plus the Mantis itself.”
Although an advocate of full contact fighting, he doesn’t believe that MMA has any longevity associated with it, not like Kung fu, which has benefits beyond its combative nature. “There’s no longevity aspect of MMA…You want to extend your brainpower… True martial arts is supposed to be about longevity” explained Sifu Carl.
Although he was not a Karate student, he would eventually rent space from George Cofield at the Tong Dojo, from 1984–94, where he had a chance to get to know Karate’s baddest sensei.
During this time, there were plenty of challenges and occasionally, he’d have to smack the shit out of some people, but it was Cofield who actually advised him to walk away from fights. “He’d [Cofield] say look, just let it go. Everyone wants you to show them and you with your ego, will show your best stuff. Don’t tip your hand to anybody, let them think whatever they will think. And when you throw down, you do what you need to do. Don’t be in such a rush to try and show off.”
Staying in line with tradition, Sifu Carl is still very active in the arts, only teaching a handful of students. Those who are serious, and who want to dedicate themselves to the culture of Kung fu.
Sifu Carl explained saying “The road for real martial arts is the road that is less traveled. You look at a bunch of roads and you see all these footprints everywhere and you see the one with the least footprints, that’s the traditional way, that’s the road that is least traveled.”
Sho realized that martial arts was a way of life. If he was going to obtain the powers of the Red Glow, he’d have to live the life. He was sent to the borough north of Brooklyn — from Queens comes the power.
Power — I’m Sho’nuff’s Red Glow. Know this, from the borough of Queens, comes the power. I came to the borough as I came to rhyme-spitters in Hollis and a rhymeslayer in Queensbridge.
The wrestling world knows Bad News Brown, but before he body slammed in the squared circle, throwing up his black fist, he was raised in Queens, and he would make his mark as one of the best Judo players in American history.
For a moment, let me be Illmatical.
Years before I found Sho’nuff’s Red Glow, I would visit my cousin’s house in Laurelton, Queens.
There, an uncle had an assortment of martial arts films. It was there, where I received my first lessons on Bruce Lee and the mastery of a white beard villain called the White Lotus. The movies set it off, and when we weren’t reenacting scenes or making up our own styles, we were watching wrestling.
Like the Black boys of that day, my cousin and I rooted for and idolized men who for the most part didn’t look anything like us and based on recent comments, probably didn’t care for us or our people.
When I first saw Bad News Brown, I didn’t take him seriously. Most Black wrestlers who were in the league, they were comical and I didn’t think of Brown any differently. One day, while deriding Harlem’s bald villain, an uncle suggested that we should be pulling or at least rooting for Brown.
He made some comment about Brown being an Olympian back in the day. I didn’t take him seriously, nor did I like Brown’s signature move, “The Ghetto Blaster.”
He didn’t have any paint on his face, or muscles that were sculpted by steroids. However, he was big, bald and when he won, he raised a black fist.
All though it was over 30 years ago, I now realize that what my uncle was trying to tell me, what he was trying to suggest, was that beyond the theatrics of the ring, beneath Bad News Brown, there was someone with tremendous power.
His name was Allen Coage and he was raised in St. Albans, Queens. I had no idea that we went to the same high school, nor did I realize the extent of his martial skill, but amidst the 85 snowfall, and even a dissolved relationship with my uncle, the reference to Coage’s Olympic bling stayed with me.
Although born in a Manhattan hospital, at the age of six, Coage’s father had a GI bill which allowed the family to join the influx of African Americans who moved to Queens in the 1950s, ostensibly seeking a better life and home than what was offered in Brooklyn and Harlem.
Coage would eventually graduate from Thomas Edison High School and soon after, following in his father’s footsteps, he moved to Chicago to pursue a career in the baking industry. The trade was calling him, but a poster from Jerome Mackey’s Judo School, spoke to him:
‘DON’T LET THE HOOD BEAT YOU UP AND TAKE YOUR MONEY’
The hood didn’t get his money, but Jerome Mackey’s Judo school did. After seven months of intensive training, Coage took first place at a Chicago invitation tournament.
Colored belts followed. A 1969 Black Belt Magazine article noted that he was extremely clumsy when he began his journey. Despite this, he was attracted to the discipline of the sport. Coaches and instructors took a special interest in the humble giant.
He’d return to New York City, were two instructors played an instrumental role in developing’s his skill, seasoned Olympic Judo instructor Sensei Yoshisada Yonezuka, and legendary Judo player Rena Kanokogi, who actually recommended that Coage study in Japan, at the legendary Kodokan Judo Institute.
The 1969 Black Belt magazine article played a pivotal role in assisting Allen with obtaining funds so that he could study in abroad. Coage noted that his year in Japan was instrumental in developing and making him one of America’s best.
Clyde Worthen, a 6th-degree black belt and former USA Judo Coach, met Coage while training in New Jersey. He followed Coage to Japan in 1970.
In a video interview, Coage noted that that the time the spent in Japan was pivotal for his professional development, despite the intense training he had already obtained in the states.
“He was the best heavyweight in the country at the time… Allen was the U.S. Grand Champion, I was a National Champion, we were some of the highest levels from the U.S. We held our own quite well. We both improved a lot, but he gained a lot of ground. In the U.S. even is the case today, we don’t have the number of players that’s over there, so you get to play with high-level players every single day. Over there, five days in a row… No question, it elevated both of our Judo levels” explained Worthen.
The two became good friends because they were both foreigners and at times, the Japanese didn’t take kindly to strangers.
“At the time, Japan was a pretty tough place as far as fighting for Judo. We kind of had to have each other’s back” explained Worthen “The Japanese at that time, they were very clannish, very protective. It was almost like a macho thing. There were times we would throw one of their good players, it was kind of like, war was on.
They would get kind of angry… You knew it was basically on. That intensity, it would make us more determined to go back and fight harder. We also knew that we had each other’s back. Other foreigners could be there on their own and they would be kind of intimidated if they were by themselves. They would cave in. We didn’t go for that.”
Coage and Worthen had each other’s back and adapted elements of the Japanese style. “We improved being able to play their style… We also learned to defend against that high speed, high-intensity Judo that the Japanese had. At the time, they dominated Judo and they would come at you fast and they had beautiful technique” recalled Worthen.
Allen continued to be a success in Judo, and despite the racial tension in the country, he continued to develop relationships and encouraging younger players.
Former Olympian Steve Cohen spoke on just how great Coage was and his relationship with him saying “He was the best in the country. He had great technique. Allen was a great athlete… For me, he was bigger than life. His intensity level was through the roof. I don’t know if I have ever met anyone who was more intense than Allen… If we were training, he full cylinders all of the time. There’s Allen’s way and you’re going 110% all of the time… Allen could have been a tremendous coach by the way he got people to respond to him… He had a personal touch. It wasn’t adversarial. You knew that Allen cared about you and you weren’t going to let him down. He was this big tough guy, but he was also your big brother.”
Coage’s resume contains plenty of shine. Olympic Bronze medal. Bling. First African American to win an Olympic award in Judo and the 2nd American to medal in the sport. Bling. National championships. Bling. Gold medals at the Pan Am Games. Bling. First American to win two consecutive Pan Am games. Bling, bling. Black Belt magazine would recognize him as the premier Judo player in 1969, 70 and 77. Bling, bling.
After a stellar career, he’d leave the sport because of politics. He’d transition his skills into the wrestling world, performing in Japan and America.
Before he passed, Coage reached out to young Africans in America who had lost their divinity, those who never saw the powers of the Red Glow. He encouraged and implored his young brother and sisters to change.
An excerpt from his website reads “I’ve been fortunate in my life, the real sport of Judo and pro-wrestling entertainment, enabled me to travel all over the world many times. I saw how other people in different cultures live. What strikes me the most is how our young brothers and sisters of African descent, in the USA have lost their way and are living day to day in a fog of self-hatred and disregard. They have no respect for who they are…
The real cool dudes and the real tough guys are the ones who get an education and help to build a better life, not destroy it. What does it take for you fools to wake up? Are you waiting until there’s no one left to kill? Look at the damage you've done to yourselves and your neighborhoods, wake up my young broters and sisters, the gangster life is a dead end. The most powerful thing on your body is not big guns or arms or chests, it’s your brain and how you develop it.”
Armed with the power to change, after going all city, Sho’nuff was directed to Ohio. It was there, where he’d learn about a great adversary — the Silent Warrior. An enemy of every black woman and man on the planet, an enemy that fought his fought his ancestors and continues to loom in the shadows of deceit.
In Ohio, four women took on the Silent Warrior and triumphed. He sought them out, their strength, their struggle, their story of becoming the best.
