Martial Arts Interviews

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A personal interview with the international film star and martial artist. His surprising successes as a school owner and his suggestions for your continuing success in the Martial Arts School Industry.

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We interview the martial arts legends together during the filming of “Forbidden Kingdom.” Learn the behind the scenes and the “family message” of this Block Buster labor of love for these superstars.

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Former undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield brings a quiet dignity to a sport that is sometimes preoccupied with empty flash and false bravado. Heart, courage and toughness have always been words affiliated with great boxing champions, but no one in the history of the sport has possessed these traits in greater measure than The Real Deal. 42 wins - 8 Losses - 2 Draws, 27 KOs First and Only Four-Time Heavyweight Champion 1984 Olympic Medallist.

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Joe Lewis, is a legendary fighter. Pioneer of kickboxing and national point fighting champion before turning professional. He was the First Heavyweight World Kickboxing Champion and has been voted by the top fighters of his era as the best fighter ever. He’s a frequent NAPMA contributor and contributes his “Science of Sparring” to our instructor training series.

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She is the most recognized woman in kickboxing today and is an active and frequent NAPMA contributor. During her career she won 5 World Kickboxing Titles. Her work in the movie industry includes stunt work and fight choreography: She was Michelle Pfeiffer's stunt double in Batman Returns(1992) and fight choreographer for the Death Becomes Her (1992). She has appeared on several television shows, including Walker, Texas Ranger with Chuck Norris has also appeared in movies such as Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), Under the Gun (1995), The Stranger (1995) Natural Born Killers (1994), Knights (1993), Rage and Honor (1992)

In 1985, he was elected to the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame, for his years of pioneering work introducing the Japanese ninja martial arts to the Western world. In 1993, Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi of Chiba-ken, Japan, awarded him the extremely rare honor of ju-dan 10th degree Black Belt in the nine historical traditions of the Bujinkan Dojo martial arts. In 1997, exactly 30 years after beginning his formal training in the martial arts, Stephen K. Hayes founded the martial art of To-Shin Do. Stephen K. Hayes has been featured in publications ranging from Black Belt to Playboy to Tricycle Buddhist Review. He is the author of nineteen books which translate the timeless knowledge of the East into pragmatic lessons for contemporary Western life. His books have sold over 1.3 million copies, and many of his volumes are published in a variety of different languages around the world.

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In this very exclusive interview, movie icon, business mogul and humanitarian Jackie Chan talks about leadership, charity, maintaining tradition in the martial arts, his crusade against waste, the benefits of martial arts for children, the importance of teaching discipline to our youth and his evolution into the man that he is today. Prepare yourself for a glimpse into a side of Jackie Chan that you probably have never experienced before.

A teenager’s passion for the martial arts has become a professional’s quest to raise the standards of the industry, help instructors integrate tradition with innovation and drive the industry into the 21st century. Rob Colasanti has emerged as the leader of the next generation of martial arts professionals and is poised to become one of the primary forces to propel the industry to an even greater position of public prominence and respect. Mr. Colasanti’s professionalism and leadership skills developed, as NAPMA quickly became the world’s largest professional martial arts association. He is the author of the book, What I’ve Learned and its 2006, updated version, How To Build the Martial Arts School of Your Dreams. He is an American Council on Martial Arts (ACMA) certified instructor.

Jeff Smoth is one of a handful of legendary fighters who did it all and is a frequent NAPMA contributor. He was the top rated point fighter in the United States before turning professional and becoming the first World Light-Heavy Weight Champion. He won the Heavyweight title on the Ali-Frazer undercard in front of over 50,000,000 spectators then went on to a hugely successful career as a school owner. Now he’s the chief of instruction for Mile High Karate and an internationally recognized instructor and business consultant.

Martial Artists, Serial entrepreneur and ultravagabond Timothy Ferriss has been featured by dozens of media, including The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, NBC, and MAXIM. He speaks six languages, runs a multinational firm from wireless locations worldwide, and has been a popular guest lecturer at Princeton University since 2003, where he presents entrepreneurship as a tool for ideal lifestyle design and world change. As a Martial Artist he’s also been aCage fighter in Japan, vanquisher of four world champions (MMA) National Chinese kickboxing champion Tim has been invited to speak at some of the most innovative companies and universities in the world, ranging from Google and PayPal to Princeton University, the Wharton School, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He shared the stage with figures like Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board of Google, and Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.

World-renowned 10th Degree Black Belt, Known as the Father of American Tae Kwon Do Appointed to National Council on Vocational Education (1984 To 1988) by President Ronald Regan Appointed as Special Advisor to the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports (1988-1991) by President George H. W. Bush Martial Arts instructor for Muhammad Ali, Jack Anderson, George Allen Sr., Bob Livingston, Tony Robbins, Jack Valenti and over 300 U. S. Senators and House Representatives Creator of The National Teacher Appreciation Day, American Immigrants Achievement Award on March 19, 1999 Received NAPMA's Life Time Achievement Award on June 10, 1999 A member of the Steering Committee of the George Allen for US Senator in the year 2000 In January 2000, only Korean American who made one of 203 most recognized American immigrants by the National Immigrant Forum and the U.S. I.N.S. The list included Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell and 200 others.

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In a 50+ year career of high falls and fist fights, Judo Gene LeBell has crashed cars, jumped motorcycles, wrestled bears, incited riots and fought some of the toughest men in the world. He was an AAU National Judo Champion and a Professional Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion at a time when wrestling was more about survival than show business. He was there during the Golden Years of martial arts growth in the U.S. and shares intimate experiences with legends like Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, Ed Parker, Bruce Lee, Andre The Giant, Lou Thesz, Hulk Hogan, George Superman Reeves, Burt Reynolds, Chuck Norris and many others.

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Billy Blanks began his study of the martial arts at the age of eleven[1]. He quickly excelled, winning several local, state, and national championships. He emerged as a seven-time world Karate champion, and holds a seventh-degree black belt in tae kwon do. In the 1980s Blanks was a member of the United States MNAAU karate team.[2] Blanks was athlete of the year in the USA Karate Hall of Fame.[3] Blanks invented the Tae Bo workout, while running a karate studio in Quincy, Massachusetts. He used components of his martial arts and boxing training. Blanks opened a fitness center in Los Angeles to teach his new workout. He later attracted some celebrity clients such as Paula Abdul and the popularity of the workout quickly grew, becoming a pop culture phenomenon after Blanks began releasing mass-marketed videos.

Benny Urquidez is an American kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed The Jet, Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the USA. He made the transition from point to full-contact karate in 1974 – the year of its inception in the US – frequently fighting in bouts where the rules were ambiguous and contrasts in styles were dramatic. Between 1974 and 1993, he amassed a record of 58-0-0 (win-loss-draw) with 49 knockouts and three controversial no-contests. Black Belt Magazine voted Urquidez Fighter of the Year in 1978.

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A talented author and speaker, Zig Ziglar has an appeal that transcends barriers of age, culture and occupation. Since 1970, he has traveled over five million miles across the world delivering powerful life improvement messages, cultivating the energy of change. He has shared the platform with such distinguished Americans as Presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Paul Harvey, Dr. Robert Schuller, plus numerous U.S. congressmen and governors. A well-known authority on complete and balanced success, Zig Ziglar has been recognized three times in the Congressional Record of the United States - for his work with youth in the drug war, and for his dedication to America and the free enterprise system.

As the founder and CEO of Abraham Group, Inc. in Los Angeles, California, Jay has spent the last 25 years solving problems and significantly increasing the bottom lines of over 10,000 clients in more than 400 industries worldwide. Jay has seen and dealt with every type of business you can imagine. And he’s studied and solved every kind of business question, problem, challenge and opportunity. Jay’s uncanny ability to increase business income, wealth and success by uncovering hidden assets, overlooked opportunities and undervalued possibilities has captured the attention and respect of CEOs, best-selling authors, entrepreneurs and marketing experts. Jay’s clients range from business royalty to small business owners. But they all have one thing in common — virtually all have profited greatly from Jay’s expertise. A number of clients each acknowledge that Jay’s efforts and ideas have lead to a profit increase of millions of dollars.

For the past three decades, Jhoon Rhee Black Belt, Anthony Robbins has served as an advisor to leaders around the world. A recognized authority on the psychology of leadership, negotiations, organizational turnaround, and peak performance, he has been honored consistently for his strategic intellect and humanitarian endeavors. Attributing much of his AMAZING success to the skills he honed while studying for his Black Belt, Robbins has directly impacted the lives of more than 50 million people from over 100 countries with his best-selling books, multimedia and health products, public speaking engagements, and live events.

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Black Belt and Success Teacher: Brian Tracy, Success Principles for the Martial Arts Executive.

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Tom Hopkins is a sales legend. Many believe that natural ability is enough to make you successful in a selling career. The truth of the matter is that natural skill, combined with "how to" training is the real secret to high level productivity. Having learned this lesson the hard way, Tom is quick to admit that his early sales career was not successful. After benefiting from professional training, he became a dedicated student, internalizing and refining sales techniques which enabled him to become the sales leader in his industry.

Jim Thomas put himself through law school at William & Mary by teaching karate, working as a bouncer and a dorm manager, and earning academic scholarships. He was elected editor-inchief of the William & Mary Law Review and was named the Outstanding Law Graduate of the Class of 1976. Thomas served Evander Holyfield’s attorney, boxing management adviser, and close friend. Jim Thomas was at Evander Holyfield's side on a daily basis as his attorney, adviser, close friend, and confidant. The Holyfield Way is an eyewitness account, along with Holyfield's own personal reflections, of one of the most successful, relentless, and sometimes controversial athletes of his era. Experience life behind the scenes of boxing as a firsthand observer inside the Holyfield camp and watch the story of Holyfield's perseverance unfold as the "Humble Warrior" fights on. He is the only man to have won the Heavyweight Championship of the World four times, and he has won more than $200 million in the ring, more than any other boxer and almost any other athlete in history.

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is a Performance and Productivity Coach, Author and Human Potential Speaker. She is the founder of the Millionaire SmartsTM Coaching program and Profit and Productivity Coaching Program for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs. Lee also works with Rob Colasanti, Stephen Oliver, and Toby Milroy with the NAPMA Inner Circle Peak Performers as well as the Stephen Oliver Coaching Group. Her presentations are so effective that such organizations as Walt Disney, AT&T, XEROX, IBM, Ford Motor Co., NASA, Federal Express, 3 M, Sales & Marketing Executive International, plus hundreds of government agencies and scores of conventions, associations meetings and Niche Market Events repeatedly retain her to inspire and motivate their audiences with up-to-date wisdom.

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How to Pack Your School Using the Stadium Pitch!

A karate master (Chet studied and taught karate for 23 years) has worked with over 60 of the Fortune 500 companies as America’s top marketing executive, trainer, strategic consultant and motivation expert. Chet is the author of the best selling book, The Ultimate Sales Machine (#1 business book on Amazon, #1 Sales and Marketing book on Amazon, and also on NY Times best seller list). Chet also authored the Business Growth Masters Series (with Jay Abraham), Mega Marketing and Sales and Guerrilla Marketing Meets Karate Master (with Jay Levinson). Chet says, “Becoming a master is not about doing 4000 different things, it’s about doing 12 things, 4000 times each.” A strategic sharp shooter, Chet consistently catapults his clients beyond the competition.

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Is a Black Belt Martial Artist and has been Chief Executive Officer and President of Lenovo Group Ltd. since December 20, 2005. Mr. Amelio served as President of Asia Pacific Japan Operations of Dell Inc. until December 2005. Mr. Amelio served as Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific-Japan of Dell Inc. (Formerly Dell Computer Corp). since May 2001. In this position, Mr. Amelio was responsible for Dell's operations in all markets in the Asia Pacific-Japan region, including Dell's manufacturing and customer service centers in that region. Mr. Amelio joined Dell Computer Corp. in March 2001 as Senior Vice President of Relationship Group. Prior to joining Dell Computer Corp.,. Under Mr. Amelio, the turbocharging-systems business doubled in revenues to more than $1 billion, implemented Six Sigma and SAP, and successfully integrated acquisitions. His career also includes 18 years with IBM in a variety of senior-management positions, including general manager of operations for IBM’s personal computer company. He has been Executive Director of Lenovo Group Ltd. since December 20, 2005. He serves as Member of the Board of Directors at Singapore Infocomm Development Authority. Mr. Amelio holds a Master’s Degree in Management from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University.

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Stephen Oliver is an 8th Degree Black Belt who began training in 1969 and opened his first school in 1974. He worked his way through Georgetown University teaching for the Jhoon Rhee Institute then he founded his Mile High Karate organization over 25 years ago in 1983. In a rather gutsy move he then moved across the country to Denver, Colorado and with $10,000 opened 5 schools in 18 months - and grew to over 1,500 active students and over a $1,000,000 in revenue by 1985. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) and was a National Tournament Promoter for 10 years and a founding member of the EFC Board of Directors from inception until 2001. He’s now CEO and majority owner of NAPMA and CEO of Mile High Karate.