On this day, and also this coming weekend, in our industry’s history: Aug. 15, 1945-Sept. 15, 1950 — With the end of World War II in August 1945, Japan’s Ministry of Education regains control of the country’s physical-education curriculum, thus ending the bayonet and grenade-throwing instruction in the Japanese public schools. Simultaneously, judo, kendo, kyudo and karate teachers began returning their instruction to prewar standards. Consequently, most martial arts practitioners expect that it wouldn’t be long before tournaments and promotions resumed, similar to what they had been before the war. Then, on October 22, 1945, the Supreme Commander Allied Powers (SCAP), U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, notifies the Ministry of Education that dissemination of militaristic and ultranationalistic ideology will be prohibited and all military education and drill will be discontinued. Two months later, on January 4, 1946, SCAP issues Directive 550, which, with its companion, Directive 548, required the removal and exclusion from public life of militaristic and ultranationalistic persons. One result of these orders is that the Ministry of Education eliminates martial arts from school curricula and another that the Dai Nippon Butokukai is closed. (The Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (Greater Japan Martial Virtue Society), originally established in 1895, was the first official martial arts institution sanctioned by the government of Japan.) It is estimated that there are about 5,000 martial arts instructors at the time of the abolition of martial arts education, 800 of whom were graduates of Butokukai technical colleges. Because of the postwar confusion, there has since arisen the perception that SCAP Ban imposed a “Budo Ban” on Japan. In reality, however, the budo banned was not traditional martial arts such as kendo and judo, but instead the products of state fascism that operated under the same name during the 1930s and ‘40s. Judo is officially reinstated as a physical-education and sports activity in all educational institutions on Sept. 15, 1950. The San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed on September 8, 1951, marked the end of the Allied occupation, and subsequent to its coming into force on April 28, 1952, Japan was once again an independent country. Aug. 16, 1980 — Event: Kickboxing World Title Fight. Site: Tijuana, Mexico. Sanction: WKA. Division: Bantam. Winner: Graciela Casillas. Dec-7. Loser: Darlena Valdez. Aug. 17, 1974-75 — Released at the height of the first martial arts movie boom, the song “Kung Fu Fighting” by Jamaican-born Carl Douglas enters the UK Singles Chart at #42. It reaches the top on September 21 and remains there for three weeks. On October 12, the song is released in the U.S., where, on December 7, it reaches the #1 position on both the Pop and the Soul Singles charts. The single would eventually go on to sell 11-million records worldwide and win the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Selling Single. Aug. 17, 2012 — “The Expendables 2,” Sylvester Stallone’s sequel to his 2010 box-office hit, debuts in theaters and ultimately earns $312.5 million worldwide. It cost $100 million to make. The mega-action movie features an ensemble cast, with more martial arts stars in one film—six of them—than ever before. Reprising their roles from the first film are Jason Statham, Randy Couture, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren, with Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme added to the sequel’s cast. Reportedly, at Norris’ urging, the script was purged of all foul language and the film consequently received a PG rating, making it viewable to a much larger audience. 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, was recently 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, 15 Aug 2014 11:52:15 +0000
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