ImageTable of Contents
March 2011/Vol. 39, No. 3

About the Cover: Choy lay fut master Shane Lacey proves that muscle has a place in Chinese martial arts. Cover photo by Jaimee Itagaki. Cover design by Paul Graff.

Cover Story
New Shape of Kung-Fu
Shane Lacey’s body-conditioning program is taking the martial arts world by storm. By Dave Cater

Features
50 Kickin’ Kung-Fu Classics
No martial arts action library would be complete without adding these 50 kung-fu action DVD’s. By Ric Meyers

A Chen Family Tradition
Chen Ziqiang is preserving his family’s storied past while working to guarantee its future. By Bill and Allison Helm

Kung-Fu Superfoods
Vitamins don’t always cut it for today’s demanding martial arts lifestyle. Super performance calls for Superfoods.
By Eric Hunstad

Life of Riley
Bridgett “Baby Doll” Riley discovered her purpose in boxing and her life in front of the camera. Interview by Chris Watson

5 Minutes, 5 Forms, 5 Exercises

Jonathan Wang, the only person to win 500 medals in competition history, shows you want it takes to be a champion. Compiled by Dave Cater

1-2-3 Kung-Fu
Once you’ve mastered the basics, eagle claw is a devastating art with punishing options.
By Tav Byerhoff

Stars of Tomorrow
The future of kung-fu rests in the hands of these young champions. By John Buckley

 

Departments

Lion’s Roar
Main Events
Traditions
36th Chamber
ICMAC
K I Fighting
Furey
Insiders
Giveaway
Gracie Legacy

Also!
5 Alive
5 Degrees of Separation
Ninja Gamer
Dead Rising 2
Bruce Forever
Bruce’s Summer of ‘63
IKF on the Web
A Secret Service Gaff

 

A Nancy-Pants World-----------------------------------------------------Editorial

While refereeing a youth basketball game last year, a young player collided with another player and both fell to the floor. Nothing serious—more of a Keystone Cops collision than a NASCAR pile-up.

But before I could blow my whistle, parents for both athletes rushed to the court and cradled their fallen warriors liked they’d dropped head first from the monkey bars. Now, I don’t claim to be a child psychologist, but my guess is that every time the kid stumbles, mom will be there to pick him up; every time the kid thinks the world is unfair, dad will appear to wipe away the tears.

The Wrong Lesson
While it may make parents feel all warm and fuzzy, they are doing a disservice to their children. Kids need to know what it feels like to fall, but more importantly they need to know what it feels like to get up on their own.

The subject of bullying has been on the front burner of every school board in this country. They say if you are being bullied you should tell your teacher or your principal. How about telling your parents that this is one fight you want to win on your own? How about telling them that you’re tired of being a target?

Feeding the Beast
Bullies feed on fear and intimidation. The more fear they sense, the hungrier they get. There’s only one way to take care of the problem, and it’s not whining to your geometry teacher.

The answer is martial arts, where you not only learn self-defense but also self-esteem. You are taught self-control, but if push comes to shove and your life is in danger, you have the skills to defend yourself.

You are saying, “Hey, if I’m going down I’m going down swinging, not with my tail between my legs. If you’re going to beat me, you have to look me in the eye.”
If you give children the tools to fight their own battles, then sooner or later they will get tired of falling down. They will pick themselves up, dust themselves off and say, “I dare you to do that again.”

--Dave Cater