The life of Fumio Demura, the greatest karate master of a generation.
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John Guilbert Avildsen (December 21, 1935 – June 16, 2017) was an American film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1977 for Rocky. Other films he directed include Joe, Save the Tiger, Fore Play, The Formula, Neighbors, For Keeps, Lean on Me, The Power of One, 8 Seconds, Inferno, Rocky V and the first three The Karate Kid films. Avildsen was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Ivy (née Guilbert) and Clarence John Avildsen. He was educated at The Hotchkiss School and New York University. After starting out as an assistant director on films by Arthur Penn and Otto Preminger, John Avildsen received his first success with the low budget feature Joe (1970) which received critical acclaim for star Peter Boyle and moderate box office business. This was followed by another critical success, Save the Tiger (1973), that was nominated for three Oscars, winning Best Actor for star Jack Lemmon. Avildsen's greatest success was Rocky (1976), garnering ten Academy Award nominations and winning three, including Best Picture and Best Director. He later directed what was expected to be the series' final installment, Rocky V (1990). His other films include Cry Uncle! (1971), Neighbors (1981), The Karate Kid (1984), The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), Lean on Me (1989) and 8 Seconds (1994). Avildsen was the original director for both Serpico (1973) and Saturday Night Fever (1977), but was fired over disputes with producers Martin Bregman and Robert Stigwood, respectively.
Muscular African American sports star, actor, media identity and inventor of the phenomenally popular "Tae Bo" fitness system, derived from his extensive martial arts training. Blanks was born in Eerie, Pennsylvania in 1955 amongst humble backgrounds and grew up as one of 15 children, battling dyslexia and tendon problems. However that didn't stop him from starting his martial arts training at age 14 and eventually achieving black belts in tae kwon do & several other arts, and winning numerous US martial arts tournaments. Blanks first popped up on movie screens in the mid 1980s in tough guy parts utilizing his athletic background and grim faced looks. Films roles included Tango & Cash (1989), Driving Force (1989) and A.W.O.L.: Absent Without Leave (1990). Things looked up in 1991, when Blanks scored the minor role of drug addicted running back "Billy Cole" in the explosive The Last Boy Scout (1991)....and further work followed often sharing lead billing in low budget - high action fare such as Talons of the Eagle (1992), TC 2000 (1993) and Expect No Mercy (1995). In the late 1990s, Billy's innovative and exciting "Tae Bo" workout routine swept around the world like wildfire, and propelled him into the position of one of the world's most recognizable and biggest selling fitness trainers. The remarkable Blanks continues to refine and promote his unique "Tae Bo" fitness system, and he operates the Billy Blanks World Training Center in Sherman Oaks, California. 7th Degree Black Belt Billy Blanks had one of the greatest karate fight records in the sport's long history. Blanks was a 7-time world karate champion, the first Amateur Athletic Union Champ in 1975, the 1984 Massachusetts Golden Gloves Boxing Champion, and the Tri-State Golden Gloves Champion of Champions. He was the captain of the United States Karate Team and won over 30 gold medals in international competition. He was the number 1 or number 2 rated full-contact karate fighter in the United States for almost seven straight years. His epic battles with "Nasty" Anderson are legends among martial arts fans. He posted over 300 career victories. In 1982, Billy Blanks was honored by being inducted into the Karate Hall of Fame.
Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (/ˈlʌndɡrən/, Swedish: [ˈdɔlːf ˈlɵ̌nːdɡreːn]; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish-American actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Born in Spånga, a community in Stockholm County, Sweden, Lundgren became interested in martial arts at a young age. This would lead him to hold the rank of 4th dan black belt in Kyokushin karate and become European champion in 1980 and 1981. In 1982, while studying to get a master's degree, he became the boyfriend of singer Grace Jones. He moved to New York City with her and started taking acting classes. In 1985, Lundgren had a breakthrough role playing the lead villain as an imposing Soviet boxer named Ivan Drago in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky IV. Lundgren went on to play lead roles in over 80 action-orientated films, including Masters of the Universe (1987), Red Scorpion (1988), The Punisher (1989), I Come in Peace (1990), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), Joshua Tree (1993), Men of War (1994), Silent Trigger (1996), and Blackjack (1998). He continued playing lead villains in Universal Soldier (1992) against Jean-Claude Van Damme and Johnny Mnemonic (1995) against Keanu Reeves. Moving into the 2000s, Lundgren mostly appeared in direct-to-video films. During this time, Lundgren started directing and starring in his own films; these are The Defender (2004), The Mechanik (2005), Missionary Man (2007), Command Performance (2009), Icarus (2010), Castle Falls ((2021),and Wanted Man (2024). Lundgren returned to prominence in 2010 with the role of Gunner Jensen in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables alongside an all-action star cast. He reprised his role in its sequels. He returned to the role of Ivan Drago in Creed II (2018). He also had notable roles in the fifth season of Arrow (2017), James Wan's Aquaman (2018), and Kyle Balda's Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022). Description above from the Wikipedia article Dolph Lundgren, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005) was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the role of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and as Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, in which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.
William Louis Wallace (born December 1, 1945) is an American karateka and former professional kickboxer. He is known for his adept use of high-speed leg kicks, earning him the nickname "Superfoot." He was the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Full-Contact Champion, and the Middleweight Kickboxing Champion for six years, retiring with a 23-0-0 record. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bill Wallace (martial artist), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Isaac Florentine is an Israeli-born movie director and martial arts expert. Florentine earned a degree in Film & Television from Tel Aviv University. Description above from the Wikipedia article Isaac Florentine, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Lauro Chartrand is an American actor.
Togo Igawa, born in Tokyo on 26 September 1946, is a Japanese actor who works primarily in British films and television. In recent years he has had roles in major motion pictures such as Revolver, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Last Samurai, and Sunshine. He has also appeared in the Israeli movie A Matter of Size and the Thomas and Friends movies Hero of the Rails and Misty Island Rescue in 2009 and 2010. Additionally Igawa provides the voice for the character Professor Moshimo on the cartoon series Robotboy and the voice for the character Hiro, who first appeared in Hero of the Rails, in Thomas and Friends. He will appear in 2011's Johnny English Reborn, the sequel to Johnny English. Description above from the Wikipedia article Togo Igawa, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Sean Kanan (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sean Kanan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Ralph George Macchio (born November 4, 1961) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, Billy Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. He is also known to American television audiences for his season five recurring role as Jeremy Andretti on the comedy-drama Eight Is Enough. He competed on the twelfth season of Dancing with the Stars. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ralph Macchio, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do. As a result of his "tough guy" image, an Internet phenomenon began in 2005 known as Chuck Norris facts, ascribing various implausible or even impossible feats to Norris. Norris appeared in a number of action films, such as Way of the Dragon in which he starred alongside Bruce Lee and was The Cannon Group's leading star in the 1980s.He next played the starring role in the television series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 to 2001. Norris is a devout Christian and politically conservative. He has written several books on Christianity and donated to a number of Republican candidates and causes. In 2007 and 2008, he campaigned for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who was running for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. Norris also writes a column for the conservative website WorldNetDaily. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chuck Norris, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gerald Okamura (born 1940) is an American theatrical martial artist. Gerald started martial arts with judo in 1953. He has practiced kendo, aikido, taekwondo, and he is currently a 5th degree black belt in Kung Fu San Soo (his sensei was Jimmy H. Woo). Gerald is a designer of various types of weaponry that have been featured in dozens of movies and publications across the world. Okamura began doing stunts in 1975, getting his first credited role in 1980. Since then he has appeared in 39 feature films, notably Big Trouble in Little China, Samurai Cop, Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance, Ninja Academy, 9½ Ninjas!, Ring of Fire, Blade, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Other roles he's played are Kai-Ogi in Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, a sensei in Power Rangers Wild Force, and Chao Chong in VR Troopers.
Steven Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist, and a reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, he began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan. He became the first foreigner to operate an Aikido Dojo in Japan. He later moved to the Los Angeles, California, area where he made his film debut in 1988 in Above the Law. By 1991, he had starred in three successful films, and would go on to achieve greater fame in Under Siege (1992), where he played Navy SEALs counter-terrorist expert Casey Ryback. However, his image became tarnished when both On Deadly Ground (1994, which he directed) and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) did poorly in theaters. During the later half of the 90s, he starred in three more theatrical films and a direct-to-video The Patriot. Aside from Exit Wounds (2001) and Half Past Dead (2002), his career shifted almost entirely to direct-to-video films (often low budget productions and shot in Europe or Asia). Between 1998 to 2009, he appeared in a total of 22 of these. At the age of 59, he finally returned to the big screen as Torrez in the 2010 film Machete. He is also a recording artist and guitarist and the founder of Steven Seagal Enterprises. In addition to his professional achievements, he is also known as an environmentalist, an animal rights activist and a supporter of the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, and the Tibetan independence movement.
Robert Alan "Bob" Wall (born August 22, 1939) is an American actor and martial artist. Wall is a former karate champion. He is featured in a number of films, most notably three appearances with martial arts master Bruce Lee. Bob Wall appeared in the film Way of the Dragon with Lee, along with Chuck Norris. Among the martial arts Bob Wall has studied Okinawa-te karate under Gordon Doversola. In 1966, Wall along with karate champion Joe Lewis opened the famous Sherman Oaks Karate Studio in Sherman Oaks, California. In 1968 Lewis sold his share of the studio to Chuck Norris. He also had a supporting role in Lee's most famous film (in the western world) Enter the Dragon.He later appeared in Game of Death, Bruce Lee's incomplete film re-cut in 1978. More recently, in 2009, Wall starred as a bodyguard in the film Blood and Bone. An urban legend surrounding the making of Enter The Dragon claims that he never quite got along with Bruce Lee and that the fight on the parade ground where he smashed the bottles was more than just a managed fight. However, Wall and others present at the time deny this story, stating the tale was blown out of proportion and that Wall and Lee were actually good friends.Wall has studied several arts under many notable masters. They include Judo under "Judo" Gene LeBell, Okinawan Shorin-Ryu under Joe Lewis, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the Machado Brothers From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Juan Ricardo Ojeda, better known as T.J. Storm, is an American actor, stuntman, dancer, and martial artist. He is best known for his role as Bayu in Conan the Adventurer and for his motion capture performances in Tron: Legacy, Captain America: Civil War, Deadpool, and as Godzilla in the MonsterVerse series. Description above from the Wikipedia article T.J. Storm, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese American actress. She's best known for her roles as Kumiko in The Karate Kid Part II and Waverly Jong in The Joy Lucky Club, as well as Commodore Oh on the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard, Allegra Aoki on ABC's The Good Doctor, Sandra Abe on the Epix series Berlin Station, Tamiko Watanabe on Amazon Prime's The Man in the High Castle, Noshiko Yukimura on the MTV series Teen Wolf, Jun Kazama in Tekken, Janet Tokada in The Day After Tomorrow, and Kimberly Shiroma on UPN's The Burning Zone.
An American actor and professional martial artist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, having starred as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Spawn. White was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved as a teen to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he graduated from Central High School in 1988. White started martial arts training at the age of seven and is now an accomplished martial artist, holding seven legitimate black belts in Shotokan, Tae Kwon Do, Kobudo, Goju Ryu, Tang Soo Do, Wushu and Kyokushin, with a specific focus in Kyokushin (although his style incorporates aspects of many different martial arts forms). His first major starring role and breakout performance was in the 1995 HBO film Tyson, as heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. In 1997, he portrayed the eponymous character in the 1997 movie Spawn. His work in Spawn earned him a nomination for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Male Newcomer. White starred opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in Universal Soldier: The Return. In 2001, he also starred opposite fellow martial artist Steven Seagal in Exit Wounds. In 2003, he starred in Busta Rhymes' and Mariah Carey's music video "I Know What You Want". Since 2003, in addition to his on screen roles, White has been doing voice work, including Static Shock, Justice League, and the Spawn animated series. White showcases his martial arts skills in the direct-to-DVD film Undisputed II: Last Man Standing. He also appears in Michelle Yeoh's Silver Hawk in 2004. His film, Why Did I Get Married? opened at number one at the box office on October 12, 2007. White played the role of the mob boss Gambol in the 2008 film The Dark Knight. He also starred in the film Blood and Bone and the Blaxploitation homage Black Dynamite, both released in 2009. White wrote the scripts for both Black Dynamite and his upcoming 3 Bullets in which he stars with Bokeem Woodbine. White will make his directorial debut and star in Never Back Down 2, which is slated for a 2011 release. In August 2005 he wed his girlfriend of two years, Courtenay Chatman. The couple have a daughter named Morgan Michelle who was born on December 24, 2008. Michael has two sons from a previous relationship. He is an avid chess player, as seen in his movie Blood and Bone.
