On this day, and also this coming weekend, in our industry’s history: March 14, 1970 — The Battle of Atlanta in Georgia, produced by Joe Corley and one of America’s oldest major karate tournaments, debuts as the Southeast U.S. Open. Heavyweight king Joe Lewis wins the point-fighting grand championship. March 14, 2008 — “Never Back Down,” one of the first films with an MMA (mixed martial arts) theme, debuts in theaters and ultimately grosses $41.6 million worldwide. March 15, 1954 — Master Toddy (a.k.a., Thohsaphon Sitiwatjana), Thai-American muay thai/kickboxing master, is born. March 16, 1939 — Allen Steen, American karate pioneer and national point-fighting champion, is born. March 16, 2001 — “Exit Wounds,” starring Steven Seagal, debuts in theaters and ultimately grosses $79.9 million worldwide. It cost $50 million to make. Correction. Martial arts journalist David Barcena of Spain submitted a clarification about the first kickboxing event to be held in Vegas: March 13, 1976 — Event: Kickboxing World Title Fight. Site: Las Vegas, NV. Promoter: Don and Judy Quine. Sanction: PKA. Television: 90-minute syndication. Distinction: This was the first event of the new sport of American kickboxing to be held in Las Vegas. (A 1971 Japanese kickboxing event was the very first to be conducted in Vegas.) Division: Middle. Winner: Bill Wallace. TKO-2. Loser: Jem Echollas. Please click “Like” if you enjoy this post, and/or please spread the word on our rich history by sharing each of these regular posts with your Facebook friends. This information is compliments of “The Martial Arts Encyclopedia,” the internationally-acclaimed book with over 1-million facts by John Corcoran and Emil Farkas. The new 477-page paperback version, featuring a new 40-page supplement, has just been published and is available in the U.S. at Century or Amazon, and in the rest of the world at Amazon in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 15:32:18 +0000
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