MARTIAL ARTS REAL TALK! WHEN KARATE WAS "KING" IN THE GHETTO! THE HISTORY OF KARATE IN AMERICA

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

NOTE TO THE FORUM: I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE PIONEERS OF THE BLACK SPADES FOR EMBRACING KARATE AND GIVING IT THE HOME IT DESERVED. WE IN NEWARK WHO ARE FROM THE SAME ERA, SALUTE THEM.

[@mr.joedirt8583]

You should get into contact with some of the remaining members of The Karate Five from Knoxville,TN. They were black students of Harold Long. He learned Isshin Ryu Karate from Master Shimabuku while stationed in Okinawa after WW2. He returned home to Tennessee in 1959 and started teaching. The Karate Five were some of his first generation students. He was very devoted to teaching black youth in the inner city. He was responsible for turning lost young black youth into strong, confident men and women. You would probably enjoy the history there.

[@sagonige4896]

in the 1970's if you trained 1 month you could defend yourself against 1-2 attackers. We used to leave class with bruises, even dark-skinned people had bruises, because we trained so hard, and street thugs wanted no part of us. I trained in Shotokan at the PAL on 183 Street and Webster Avenue in The Bronx.

[@GolfGti-g8x]

That was toigh karate then, now it's lostt it hard edge.

[@slash270]

Peace 😊

[@devenchi043]

I used go to mma gym with a lot of contact and the only reason I don't go no more because of financial issues. But karate in 70s was no joke

[@azlaroc12]

Truth. These cats could draw blood from a rock. Karate was the art to beat. It was how you tested your stuff. The 80’s came and then America became the land of litigation and air conditioned dojos. Our teachers gave back to the culture and the neighborhood no matter your color. All you had to do was show up and put out. Thanks for this. 🙏

[@NicholasGreen-b6e]

Amazing video Im from the UK... Same ovee here KARATE WAS KING... Same time period As usa Even now Karate.. kung fu etc in the UK...isnt a joke Especially Ninjitsu Martial arts got watered down ... Back in the day it was hardcore

[@georgeafutujr.9369]

Great Urban History lesson! Even in The 80s & 90s Karate was Hardcore, much more than Today, save for Kyokushin Karate.

[@tahseti1113]

Not only do I know you are speaking truth, you're bringing back memories.

[@ainako255]

sounds exactly like my dad's (rip) experience in Manila back in the 70s. As traditional and as toughened as my first school was, my pops flat out told me his school would've slaughtered mine. He told me about how he had to walk down the middle of two lines of his peers with everyone trying to tag him with good shots for each belt best. White, green, brown, 1st kyu brown, then black (he left by then due to work.) And yep, they had tournaments and dojo storms

[@StoogesTheTwo]

Whoa so he came from the real legit karate kid era where people used their fists more than weapons, the 60s-early 80s era. Your dad sounds awesome. What was the craziest dojo storm he told you? My grandpa did karate in the 70s-80s and it saved him a few times when people tried to mug him or his girlfriend. It’s crazy shit was like a movie you had bullies walking around and if you knew a martial art you would basically be good. Nowadays a gun is needed

[@ainako255]

@@StoogesTheTwo Pops like to keep a lot of his stories under wraps. According to him, if you talked too much about or showed too much of your karate in 70s Manila, people would keep trying to get at you til they get their licks in. That's the biggest reason he got annoyed at the demos of my older brother's (decade age gap), then my generation. But apparently, someone got kicked so hard they had to be dragged off the ring.

[@mr.xavierrises]

You are one of the few youtubers i would like to sit down and talk to. Just to pick you brain not only about the martial arts but about history in general. This aspect of our history is seldom talked about.

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

yes, there is much that I loved about those days.

[@tonyslaughter4285]

I started learning Kempo karate because I was working late nights in DC and Baltimore. They don’t allow guns in Uber. My goal is to come back home alive. Although I am no longer a driver I stuck with it. I’m always learning something new. Thanks for the video!

[@Djudo-q9x]

I did kempo in high school got my yellow belt. I only remember how to do the dragon punch. Now I'm do judo and about to get my purple belt in jiu jitsu in spring

[@Johneditz165]

This awesome….i was just telling my wife I want to write a book about the old school black karate fighters in NYC….i love it

[@demetriusmay3496]

He’s correct I learned this in Chicago west side, Holy City, from the OG’s!!!

[@dieselpunkpowerlifter7667]

I trained Shotokan Karate in the early-mid 2000s. Unfortunately when I was training it was starting to get watered down, but there was a cadre of senior students at the dojo who were bona fide fighters. A couple of them competed and did very well in MMA without much training other than what they got at the dojo.

[@AviBel333]

Everything you said is 100% the truth. I trained from four years old to 16 years old with The Avengers in Baltimore, under Master Riley Hawkins first (from 1972-1976), and then under Sensei Arnold Mitchell from 1976-1984. As you said, full contact, no gloves, no head gear, no holds barred - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Kumite almost every practice. There was a lot more grappling in karate back then compared to what I see now. They allowed choke holds and I've seen many a dude get choked out. I don't remember any tapping out, though. You either broke the hold or the instructor intervened or you went night night.

[@RoderickBrown-x6i]

I trained with Grand Master Riley Hawkins in the 70s . Grand Master Riley Hawkins taught Shorin Ryu Karate in Cherry Hill and other black neighborhoods for free. The Avengers, Shogun and Eddy Butchers Dojo were the best Karate Dojos in Baltimore.

[@ZorroinArkham]

Favorite channel on this stuff. Favorite subject. The Karate Man of the 1970s

[@tonyjones1560]

Baltimore was one of those places. My teacher was a "descendant" of Grand Master Eddie Butcher and taught his "Death Ki Do" on the west side. A good word to describe just about anybody who reached green belt in that system was "predator," because messing with one was a good way to get eaten LOL.

[@RoderickBrown-x6i]

I saw Grand Master Eddy Butcher lie on a bed of nails. His uncle smashed a stack of cinder blocks on Eddy Butchers abdomen. The nails didn't pierce Eddy Butchers body. Grand Master Eddy Butcher was knocking out a lot of people in the day.

[@toddianuzzi9296]

Interesting video. Had no idea about this history

[@samhaine8912]

I highly appreciate all the knowledge you've given on this channel over the years

[@knockout123]

Very interesting and informative. Thank you for putting this together.

[@MathewClips]

I have to thank you Sayf, for showing me how effective Karate should be, and teaching so much about Martial Arts and real violence. I see I have a lot to improve on. Thanks to you, names like Elwyn Hall, Frank Brennan, and Geoff Thompson are now inspirations for me. I would gladly train under you if I was in the area. The training would probably be hell, but hell is what Karate is designed for.

[@luisvelazquez5420]

Fantastic Video and well said. Being from that era was no joke. Now karate has been watered down. Thanks for posting this and for always keeping real.

[@raincannon8547]

Karate was King in the streets of Chicago as well in the 80’s

[@jamesmarsh2430]

I love hearing this kind of history, thank you

[@anonymousthreatmusic2962]

Great video. I'm thankful to have found a decent karate school in my early middle age which has an emphasis on the kind of training you mention here, there's not very many of us in the adult classes, in fact I'm the only non black belt, people quit too easily it seems in the UK these days.

[@Jason-E-M]

Thank you sir. I have a thought. A documentary years ago how "KUNG FU" was influential in the ghettos during the 70's. Kids would watch Shaw Brothers movies from Hong Kong, seeing how downtrodden Chinese were fighting the system. Maybe, this was mostly entertainment, but it appeared to be a big influence. Any comments on that?

[@jasonmorris5896]

Thank you for this i lived right around the corner from those projects and heard from my uncle about karate but didn't listen at the time due to me training mainly bjj and some striking believing that to be the way to go. This definitely makes me want to consider taking on karate as well.

[@thebrownbaldy]

I personally know someone from Harlem and everything said here is on point.

[@primitivojdavis]

Would love to see you make a video on breaking techniques for wood, concrete etc, always been super interested in that karate topic

[@aboulding]

This is an amazing video. Crucial history to know. Me and my cousins just knew we were gonna be martial arts masters when we were kids in the late 70s. It was a lifestyle that was deeply culturally appealing. Then we had to start growing up. Which email are you responding to these days Sayf Carman

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

LOL! I have been so busy. You can reach me at [e-mail]. I am one person, so.....

[@ekklesialifeapplicationbib7352]

❤ the content 👌

[@Docinaplane]

I stated my karate training in 1968 under a man who was ex-military police in Korea. It was intense. I trained five days a week and the training scared me every day. I loved it like nothing I had ever loved before. No protective equipment other than a cup. Still train.

[@blacklove79]

No lies told.

[@KING0420]

Had to tune in wit Uncle Umar..

[@joekarate9424]

Great channel!

[@ArizonaTengu]

You sound like my former Grand Master Nay Meadows. I’m the first man to get a black belt from him in 20yrs. The older generations definitely were/are a different breed. It’s extremely difficult to find anybody willing to do real karate anymore.

[@Island_Ninja]

Sir, we would love to hear your thoughts on the history of 52 Blocks💪🏾

[@robertnewell4054]

Sensei Steve Saunders/GM Muhammad, one of the Founders of Black Karate Federation in SouthCentral Los Angeles , has the Legendary Cameo in “Enter the Dragon” as Williams Sensei & Home Dojo.

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@robertnewell4054: Yes, I go out there every year. The school was in the Crenshaw area.

[@theremoteinfluencer]

Good video. You've got bit mitts - hands. I bet you pack power punches. What's your take on MJW Michael Jai White?

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

Micheal Jai White is good as far as celebrities go. And won a few tournaments, but do not think he would beat people like Jon Jones just because he plays around with them. The cage is NOT the same.

[@theremoteinfluencer]

@@TheUmmahFightCamp I agree with you. MJW does light sparring or no contact sparring as far as what I have seen online. Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou would KO MJW. Ngannou punches really hard.

[@wintermute1]

In the '70's when I started TaeKwonDo the boxers were afraid of us. It was no joke we fought bare knuckles and regularly wore combat boots.

[@bboichirok661]

I was not raised in the hood , but when I use to visit Newark New Jersey for the summer , I used to see just what this man talking about when he is mentioning how deadly those karate fighters were in the hood . 💯

[@warriorklan8444]

Brother this is very important 🙏 on what your doing we need to document this history 😊 what's your cash app good brother?

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@warriorklan8444: Great to hear from you Ahk.

[@Lovellyoungwolf]

How ironic that you made this video. I was just speaking about learning karate when I was young vs now. ( 37yr. I think my generation was the last of it.) I was trained in Philly by an old black man that served in the military in Okinawa. Even as a 13-15 year old we were pushed. Form was tested with hard and firm blows. Everyday was sparring bare knuckle with each other and then the adult students so we could feel what a thunderous blow felt like. We were quiet, silent during training. Training was meant to break you down and then build you stronger. You didn't speak unless spoken too. We got smack with the boken ( not the light bamboo one, but the hard wooden one. The ones who know, know what I'm talking about). I still box but I owe a lot of my hardness and my ability to trade and get the knock-down shot from karate. When I explained this to the people I was around they looked at me like I was crazy and said "what!? Yeah I'll not putting my child in that. He can stick up jujitsu, that sounds like abuse". 😂

[@lannelbishop3668]

I remember the Tong dojo in Brooklyn. George Coefield was a heart attack. As a Seido Juku student, Shihan William Oliver was a Martial arts God. I was very proud to study under many of the fighting Blacks kings. At 60 years of age I’ve seen many Black pioneers of karate fight and compete.

[@georgeafutujr.9369]

Ninjutsu is an Outstanding Art too, if you can find it & find someone willing to Teach you!

[@mjp-bi3re]

Not many people would train as hard as we did way back when. My instructor told me 30 years ago that if he taught like his teacher had taught, then he would have maybe 5 students instead of 150. Pat Johnson taught my instructor. Best wishes.

[@sirlawrence2125]

Yes sir, om 62, and alot of people don't know that back then it was only Asians teaching, and Asian instructors all there first students were black, because they said we were the only one strong enough to handle the training, by the 80ties you has alot of Americans teaching. I'm from Newark and yea it was different we did Budo Karate, the warriors way, not tournament Karate. You had K.A. System, Ninja Karate, Goshi Shun, Kenka Karate, Tong Dojo, Sanuces ryu jujitsu. train and hit HARD!!!!!

[@thunderkatz4219]

W i do okinawan karate mixed with western boxing and other martial arts karate is no joke

[@sirlawrence2125]

Two toughest Karate school on the New York Metro area was Tong Dojo, K.A. System of Karate. Documentary

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@sirlawrence2125: I am the last advanced student of the founder of the K.A. System. The ONLY female black belt from the system is also my wife.

[@mzeeali8840]

New Brunswick NJ was Tony sensei. Mylo Thomas ect..

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

Mylo Thompson

[@russellmanley5502]

Sometime you need to here this...

[@Jack_Tisson83]

Please please please get one of these underground fighters on your channel, but if the man doesn’t want to know it’s up to him of course; it’s just so sad people may never get to hear their stories, From them karate days we have plenty of footage by brilliant guys like Joe Lewis, but we know nothing about these guys from the ghettos -- literally nothing. Outside of what Sayf says we don’t know anything. It’s sad these types of karate schools have died out, they’d probably be a major feeding system for the UFC too. I think some people would still train in them, the types who do mma would do it for sure, Them older dudes in the projects look tough as hell to me. Literally training bare knuckle, were wiling to swing with anybody: nightmare! They’d also have tons of practical experience too combined with this training-

[@MrKeepnit100]

What are your thoughts on the BKF on the Westcoast?

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

Much respect for them!

[@MrKeepnit100]

@TheUmmahFightCamp yeah word is they kept the Crips in check in the early days

[@alvinwashington1253]

Man... To bad u not in LA but if I live in New York I would be at ur gym asap

[@GolfGti-g8x]

60s 70s karate could fight.

[@teofeo333]

Funny thing: Because nobody knew what Kung Fu or any other style were in the 70s, many Instructors would call their art KARATE because it was a more familiar word. In example, KFSS or Kung Fu San Soo was called San Soo Karate by Jimmy H Woo when he first came to the US. He eventually changed it to KFSS once Kung Fu became a more popularized term that the public understood.

[@TheInvincibleArmour]

Vietnam vets, Fruit of Islam and Five Percenters brought Karate to the hood in the 70s and 80s. Executed effectively!

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@TheInvincibleArmour: Slow up! Relax! I see you are ready to feel some kind of way about something already! That is usually the case with my people now. The facts are as follows: From George Cofield to others, they did NOT learn their martial arts in Vietnam! They brought them from OKINAWA and JAPAN! Next, since I was in the NOI, I KNOW that many of them ALSO were stationed in OKINAWA and JAPAN and brought that to the NOI. Next, martial arts was in the hood before Clarence 13x. I am speaking from BEING THERE! Anyone who says different does not know.

[@lsporter88]

I know that's right. Sounds like it was the same on both coasts.

[@Pan.USA.Dojang]

........... Brick 👊 Fist Karate 🥋 style

[@KevinBMaxi]

Sensei shu fu professor Whatever you like to call yourself you are the real deal I know because I was a practitioner of shotokan and Shaolin Kung Fu in San Francisco and then shotokan I was under the tutelage of Sheehan Jim Larkin Henry Larkin and it was like that green belts were able to get it with you even with the black belts thank you for ordering the truth of a time of a more spirited generation real Jedi

[@sirlawrence2125]

Right dig the body, control to the head, we put knee pad on our feet for the roundhouse kick. Those was the days. And they were call Karate Clubs

[@toddianuzzi9296]

Yea were sll soft today. Agree with that

[@devenchi043]

The karate training from the 70s was intense not hard. Intense

[@sirlawrence2125]

Sure was, you had to know your stuff

[@victormarshall9765]

Yes that is correct..Hard fighters many broken bones. I trained in NY..Shotokan.. train with some of those folks. Vee jutsu...ryu..know joke.

[@dominantpersona4750]

What are your thoughts on Dennis Alexio?

[@slash270]

My karate instructor was dangerous men in the hood

[@kryptonianblack7769]

How do you deal with a much larger and/or more skilled opponent in a self defense situation where losing isn't an option? Gun? Knife? Improvised weapon?

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@kryptonianbalck7769: Martial arts that are only dealing with hand to hand and relatively the same size will have limitations. It is just one part of an entire self defense plan that all people should have. If a person can arm themselves, they should IMOP.

[@kryptonianblack7769]

@TheUmmahFightCamp Thank you, sir

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@@kryptonianblack7769 Thank you! lol. I try to answer as many people as possible and at times my spelling suffers. No one points that out and I appreciate that. lol. BTW, I will be having much on my new website that I could not put up on KZbin. It will be info for adults like yourself.

[@turbopowergt]

I studied Tae Kwon Do in a black community in Chicago in the 80s. It was all Karate, Boxing, and a few kung fu schools. We all fought each other. Sanctioned or not.

[@turbopowergt]

You’re so right, in the 80s were poor and working class people of all colors sorting out what worked and what didn’t. We were doing MMA out of necessity.

[@steveco.1234]

Wasn't Kenpo big in these areas during those years?

[@dstevenson100]

I train kyokushin for 13 years

[@slash270]

Asbury park had mad martial arts system family

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@slash270: One of the baddest men walking this earth was Bad Billy Burnam!!!! I saw him fight one time and I still think about how many police it would have taken to subdue him lol. A legend. All praise is due to Allah.

[@forrestmalcom8351]

The early UFC somewhat smeared karate and everyone wanted to learn jujitsu 😂

[@Romanyephim]

First Comment, Uechi Ryu? Good or overrated?

[@MatthewSmithA2K]

👍

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

I like it. Have to train it like Okinawa though.

[@Romanyephim]

@ where does it rank compare to Kyokushin or Goju Ryu

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@@Romanyephim All 3 are good, much in common with Goju though.

[@thecollector6746]

What's good Coach?

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

It is always great to be alive Ahki. :)

[@elhajjzafeermuhammad1530]

From dens of danger to dojo daycare. Sad.

[@ZorroinArkham]

Please talk about how martial arts was used to unify people against tyranny. What got me into martial arts was researching people who rescued people from cults and how they used Karate to fight off groups of brainwashed freaks in order to rescue people.

[@slash270]

BKG Karate Academy in the 70s and the 80s😊

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@slash270: Master Issac Henry! James Henry! Fred Henry! Bruce Mcleod, Danny Romero LOL

[@Bawi559]

What's your opinion on Nation of Islam and black nationalism?

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@Bawi559: I owe a great deal to the Nation and Black Nationalism.

[@thinkordie7292]

🙇🏾‍♂️

[@dstevenson100]

A long time ago but black men are no longer interested

[@dougpierre1458]

Brother please keep a constant thought you are all over the place poor communication

[@TheUmmahFightCamp]

@dougpierre1458: LOL! I mean this in as nice a way as possible. Have you ever talked to people who are considered to be very intelligent? They cannot help but to talk in a way that ties things together. I am not trying to sound deep, but several members of my family are the same way. We look up at the sky to collect our thoughts and make them simple to understand but obviously it does not always work. You may be surprised, but after 13 years on YT, you are the only one that said I was all over the place lol. The only other comments that come even close were from white racists who did not like an "uppity N" putting them in their place.

[@jasonmorris5896]

Thank you for this i lived right around the corner from those projects and heard from my uncle about karate but didn't listen at the time due to me training mainly bjj and some striking believing that to be the way to go. This definitely makes me want to consider taking on karate as well.

[@jasonmorris5896]

Thank you for this i lived right around the corner from those projects and heard from my uncle about karate but didn't listen at the time due to me training mainly bjj and some striking believing that to be the way to go. This definitely makes me want to consider taking on karate as well.