The Super Weapon (1976) - full transcript

(dramatic music)

(suspenseful music)

(wind whistling)

(yells echoing)

- [Narrator] Kara empty,

te, the hand,

karate the empty hand,
the weaponless weapon,

a fighting system of
almost supernatural power,

of superhuman capability.

Its origins lost in
the abyss of time

are lit by the dim
light of legend.



(suspenseful music)

3,000 years before
the birth of Christ

in the land of the
Western Heaven, India,

a great and powerful prince

makes the first
crude beginnings.

He wanders through the forests

and jungles of his native land

observing the ways
of the animals,

the still breathless
stalk of the tiger

and his sudden flashing spring,

the life and deadly
quickness of the serpent

flickering in the deep grass,

the determined almost
thoughtful moves

of the vicious mantis, the
most deadly of insects.



(suspenseful music)

The sudden flash of the hawk

and his final murderous grip
on the pheasant's throat,

he watches them all
and learns from them.

Later in the confines
of his luxurious palace,

he performs a cruel
and bizarre experiment.

Desiring to discover the weak
points of the human body,

he inserts long needles into
the bodies of living men,

slaves, until the
puncture results in death.

Then he records the exact
spot of the fatal wound.

It is said that
over 100 men died

to satisfy the ruthless
curiosity of that cruel prince,

whose name has been
justly forgotten.

Centuries later,

history as if to atone for
the excesses of legend,

produces a truly great
and benevolent figure,

a monk named Bodhidharma,

or to give him his
Chinese name, Ta Mo.

This great man blessed
with the enlightenment

conferred by years of
Zen Buddhist practice

travels alone and on foot

across the bandit
ridden mountain vastness

between India and China,

bringing Zen to the people
of the Middle Kingdom.

In Henan Province he settles
at the Shaolin monastery,

where finding the monks
unable to meditate properly

because of their poor
physical condition,

he initiates a
series of exercises

called The Eighteen
Hands of the Lohan,

which not only
exercised the body,

but prepared the mind
for true enlightenment.

These exercises with
their twofold purpose,

the strengthening of the body,

and the enlightenment of
the mind, are the basis,

the soul of that art the
Chinese called chuan fa,

the fist art, or kungfu,

and the Okinawans and
Japanese called karate.

From the Shaolin Monastery,

the practice of chuan
fa spread like wildfire.

A great chuan fa
master named Chueh Yuen

studied Ta Mo's original
18 hand positions

and extended them to 72.

Later, in Shanxi Province,
he met a master named Li Sou,

and together they
expanded the system again

to 170 moves,

naming them after the
dragon, the crane,

the snake and the leopard.

For centuries, the
art of the fist

was extended and perfected.

The people of Siam
contributed the kicks

and the uses of the foot.

The Taiwanese perfected

the use of the ends
of the fingers.

The art spread with sailors
and traders to Okinawa,

where the idea of the
clenched fist was born.

From Okinawa, the great
master Gichin Funakoshi

brought karate to Japan,

where it has become as popular

as the great native Japanese
arts jiu-jitsu and aikido.

And from Japan karate
has traveled to America,

where even today the great art

that was born 5,000 years ago

with the insane curiosity
of a cruel prince,

and was perfected
15 centuries ago

by the benevolence of a
great and perfect master

continues its slow and
thoughtful evolution.

(fighters yelling)
(dramatic music)

- [Referee] I'm
gonna give a point.

Fighting stance.

(fighter yells echoing)

And you?

(fighters groaning and echoes)

- [Man] Right there.

- [Referee] This man, you see.

- [Man] This man down, this man.

Two, three.

- [Man] Two points?

- Only one.
- One.

- [Referee] Continue.

(fighters groaning and echoes)

Continue.

- [Narrator] Combat
between man and man,

perhaps the second oldest
form of exercise in the world.

- [Referee] That punch
is good, one point.

- [Narrator] Since
the dawn of time,

men have been forced to
fight to defend their homes,

their property, their
ideals, and their lives.

Those who fought well survived.

Those who didn't died.

- [Referee] Come.

- [Narrator] Martial arts is
that area of human science

that teaches men
how to fight well,

how to survive in a
dangerous and violent world.

In the thousands of years

during which the martial
arts have been evolving,

techniques have been developed
that are so effective,

so deadly, that their
unrestrained use in
practice fighting,

which you are watching now,

would certainly result in
death or serious injury

to one or both of
the combatants.

But, the highly
trained martial artist

has such control of his power

that he can stop
deadly techniques

an inch short of his target,

and thus practice
fighting becomes possible,

and a deadly fighting art
can be practiced as a sport.

It is because of this control
that freestyle sparring,

once thought to
be too dangerous,

has now become a
part of the training

in almost all karate styles
and many kung fu styles.

But, martial arts is
more than a sport,

more than a self-defense
system, it's a way of life.

It does not create athletes
with bulging muscles

or finely tuned
murderers, it creates men,

men like Ron van Clief.

You are watching a man,

unquestionably the most
effective empty-hand fighter

in the Western Hemisphere.

This is the most
dangerous man in America.

Seventh-degree Kiyoshi Shihong

in the American Goju
system of karate,

creator of Aiki-Jitsu,

the most revolutionary

and effective fighting
system in the world today,

and founder of the
Chinese Goju system.

This is Ron van Clief,
the Black Dragon.

The demonstration
you are watching

is a series of
exercises called apons,

in which an attack is answered

with a series of counter-attacks

until the attacker is defeated.

It is here that the
imagination, the power,

and the flow of Kiyoshi van
Clief's responses are evident,

even to the untrained eye.

To a martial artist, they
are little short of amazing.

- [Ron] I think
the understanding

that you develop
from the martial arts

enhances your whole life.

It gives you a different
sort of perspective,

a new framework of reality

that teaches you how
to deal with yourself

and the environment at one time.

My teacher told me defeat
the self first to know.

Aiki-Jitsu is a low
energy input art

where it does not take power.

Karate is speed plus time
plus focus equals power,

and Aiki-Jitsu is mind
power equals physical,

mind power equals energy.

(suspenseful music
and fighters groaning)

It's more of an
internal act, it's ...

Martial arts is 80 percent
mental and 20 percent physical.

You'll find that once
you study for a while,

all the physical
variables become nothing,

because a front kick is
just as easy as a punch,

a knife hand is just as
easy as a flying back kick,

a flying back kick is just
as easy as a new punch

or a spear hand or anything,
it's all exactly the same.

Once you've become aware
of your potentiality

and your ability
and capabilities

within your
framework of reality,

of course, you develop
fully, your full range,

your full range of human
potential is elongated.

(fighting impacts and cries)

Just the execution
of basic technique

develops a stability,

confidence,

awareness,

endurance.

That has so many benefits,

and the benefits are mental.

(fighters groaning)

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The
exercise called kata

is common to many
of the martial arts.

It's a set of
pre-arranged moves,

a sort of fighting dance
that the martial artist uses

to keep himself in
shape and to create

the correct mental
attitude for combat.

- [Ron] Black dragon kata
is most functionable.

It deals with the
basic blocking system,

basic kicking and
punching mechanisms,

basic stances, even
some advanced technique,

so that the student understands

that by the time
we reach black belt

which is the level that the
black dragon kata is taught,

you understand the basic
structural designs of technique.

Cutting the carrot, it shows
a confidence in the self

in your precision,
your accuracy.

It shows an awareness
that you understand

the full capabilities
of yourself.

The sword and the self is
a very spiritual thing.

The sword becomes an
extension of your hand.

You develop both
of the same time.

Cutting the carrot is a
test on one's fortitude.

The carrot cut, the potato cut,

they're all just as simple as
a punch, or kick, or anything.

It all comes out
for the same thing.

It's just a physical barrier.

Being able to change
energy into force,

into soft, into hard,

into just fluidity.

(dramatic music)
In breaking techniques,

which is called Tameshiwari,

it's a basic speed,
plus time, plus energy,

plus power acts of principle.

What it does,

it teaches how to use
your body like a weapon.

It teaches maximum concentration

to a small area at focus points.

(yell echoing)

(dramatic music)
(fighters groaning)

- Ay!

- [Narrator] Kiyoshi Van Clief
is not only a great fighter,

he is one of the leading
theorists of martial arts

in the world today.

The revolutionary
fighting style Aiki-Jitsu

is the product of 17 years
of exhaustive research

into all the martial arts,

karate, kung fu,
jiu-jitsu, aikido,

Pa Kua, Arnis de Mano,

fighting styles from
all over the world.

When your body is
itself a weapon,

it can be used with great effect

against other more common
weapons such as the knife.

(fighters groaning)

- [Ron] A knife becomes

just an extension
of the empty hand.

It is much more restricting
than just having the empty hand.

And, once you get into a knife,

you don't use your
other four weapons.

But don't get me wrong,

a guy that knows how
to use a knife properly

is a dangerous adversary.

I mean, I've used
techniques on the street,

in fact with knives and things.

I've even been cut, but the
other person suffered dearly.

(fighters groaning)

See martial arts is a therapy,

more so than just
a self-defense art

because it builds
better human beings,

develops the character.

That's why I study martial arts,

to give myself a more
logical and economical way

of functioning within
this environment.

(fighters groaning)

- [Narrator] Kiyoshi
Ron van Clief,

fighter, theorist, philosopher,

one of the new breed of
great martial artists

America is beginning to produce.

(fighters groaning)
(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Of the
many styles of karate

being taught in the
United States today,

most come from Japan,

but the original home of karate,

as distinct from
kung fu is Okinawa.

One of the most famous
schools of Okinawan karate

is Wado-ryu.

Sensei George Madison is
a fifth degree black belt

and a teacher of karate.

His style Wado-ryu,
is an Okinawan style,

and the oldest,

most classical karate
being taught in America.

It's a straightforward
practical fighting system

based on straight punches and
kicks and circular blocks,

and places great emphasis
on correct mental attitude.

The basic Wado-ryu
kata, sanchin,

here performed by Justin Testa,

creates that correct
attitude of the minds

of both new student
and old master,

and is the basis of
the Wado-ryu style.

- [Justin] No, I'm not
trying to kill my students.

This most unusual
set of movements

are a very ancient drill

designed to instill
confidence, develop strength,

and probably most importantly,

created to still one's mind,

enabling a person
to be able to fight

without any
preconceived thoughts.

Monks from China who
created this unusual set,

or as it's called in Okinawa,
kata, called in sanchin.

The student has complete
control over his movements,

being able to withstand
strong blows to his body,

without upsetting him or
in any way distracting him.

The newest student
learns sanchin,

and the most advanced master

continues to practice sanchin.

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] The second
kata of the Uechi-ryu system

here being performed
by Jimmy Maloney

is called Kanshiwa,

and contains actual
fighting movements.

These motions are
studied by the student

in the next exercise
in which the student,

attacked by three others
replies to these attacks

with the moves
that he has learned

and studied in the kata itself.

(suspenseful music)
(fighters groaning)

Another unique
aspect of waji-ryu

is the exercise
called dan kumite.

Dan kumite is a
pre-arranged fight

in which all the
attacks and defenses

are known to both students.

It teaches correct application
of attack and defense,

correct distance, timing,
and mental attitude.

It's performed here by Justin
Testa and Bob Campbell.

- [Man] Master Uechi
told me years ago

that our style was not one

that a shallow mind
could comprehend,

and therefore I should
not try to impress anyone

with its power.

Those that are ready to study
a system that's meaningful

will search it out.

He said, be ready to
teach those students

who search for the real karate.

- [Narrator] Along
with mental attitude,

Uechi-ryu stresses the
conditioning of the body

to absorb strong blows,

so that the equilibrium of
the fighter will not be upset

if he should be
struck by an attacker.

The effectiveness
of this training

is evident in this demonstration

in which two inch pine staves

are broken over the thigh,

(attack echoing)

forearm, and calf
of Bob Campbell,

who absorbs these
powerful attacks

with perfect equanimity,

and without sustaining
any injury whatsoever.

Along with training the
body to absorb blows,

Uechi-ryu also trains
the body to give them.

Here in slow motion, Justin
Testa puts his bare toes

through two pine boards with
the Uechi front snap kick.

(suspenseful music)
(fighters groaning)

- [Referee] Get back, get back.

Yama, go, stop.

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Though karate
has been better known

in America, the
father of karate,

and the original of all
the empty hand martial arts

is beginning to be studied in
this country more and more,

and kung-fu is taking
its rightful place

in the hierarchy
of martial arts.

One of the most famous

of the thousands of kung
fu styles is Wing Chun.

The performer is Jerry Gardner,

sifu in Wing Chun kung fu.

(suspenseful music)

Kung fu kata, as you can see,

are softer and more
flowing than karate kata,

and their emphasis is
not so much on strength

as on movement.

The moves are more
mystical, more secret,

not so obviously fighting moves,

but be warned.

Anyone fighting a kung fu
master will quickly discover

that precise and
deadly fighting moves

are hidden in the
dance-like motions

of the kung fu kata.

(suspenseful music)

- [Jerry] I used to
really be into fighting.

I, sometime I'd be, you know,

you have a lot of anger
inside, lot of emotion inside.

You go in a dojo, you
wanna hit somebody.

You wanna hit the bag so
you get that anger out.

And I find now is that
I don't wanna fight.

You know I don't feel
like I wanna fight.

If I have to defend myself
that would be something else.

Some forms deal with developing
the fluidity of motion,

so you can flow, you
can feel the flow,

you can be in the flow.

- [Narrator] The
calmness, the quiet,

the control of the kung fu kata

carry over into the
world of combat,

as Jerry Gardner spars

with Speedy Lecock
and Tony Capasso,

moving smoothly and calmly
to defend and counter attack

with perfect balance and timing.

This calmness in
the face of danger

is the true legacy of
serious kung fu training.

- [Jerry] The motions that
I was doing in karate,

they weren't me.

You know, I couldn't
feel them anymore,

so I started to search and
I guess through reading,

probably influenced by the
media and stuff like that,

I went to Wing Chun.

And, I found the Wing Chun
to be what I was looking for.

It was simple,

but yet it was, it's
not simple but subtle,

but yet it was complicated.

It required and
developed concentration,

focus, relaxation,
speed of hand,

concentrating of the eye,

very strong stance, strong legs,

and I really began to see it.

And to me, the martial arts
is, it's a learning process.

It's a process of learning
how to deal with life.

When sparring, each
time you step in there,

it's like saying this is death.

Like, you try to
say this is death,

and I don't wanna get hit.

If I get hit, I die.

But then on the other hand,
are you afraid to die?

Have you really dealt
with your consciousness

not knowing what happens
beyond the point of death?

But, can you get in there
and say okay, I can face it,

and when it's time I can let go.

Or saying, if I get hit I get
hit, that's the way it goes.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The kata is a
Shotokan cutting called MP.

The man is Little John Davis,

one of the most feared
fighters on the East Coast,

a practitioner of the murderous
Japanese art of jiu-jitsu.

(dramatic music)

- [John] I never
criticized one art,

say one art is better
than the other.

All art is work.

It's gonna be very
deadly because,

like jiu-jitsu is based on
a destruction of the bodies,

gouging eyes, nose blowing,
whatever wicked comes off.

It's a very deadly
art, you know,

and some of the
techniques you notice

the fingers probably
rakes across the eyes,

which is be gouging
out the eyes,

peeling the skin of the
face, grabbing the groin,

and we normally always
throw our man out

and try not to let him stand.

(suspenseful music)
(fighters groaning)

- [Narrator] His speed
is dazzling, legendary.

His techniques are thrown
with such profusion,

most of them are scarcely
visible to the naked eye,

but as Robert Crocin his
student will tell you,

just 'cause you can't see them

don't mean you can't feel them.

(fighters groaning)
(suspenseful music)

Little John Davis a
modest, soft spoken,

and gentle master of a
vicious art, jiu-jitsu.

(suspenseful music)

Moussa Camara is a master

of the youngest of the
martial arts, aikido.

Invented in this century
by Master Ueshiba,

aikido is a purely defensive
and humanitarian martial art.

Its ideal is not only
to defend oneself

but to also prevent
injury to the attacker.

The basic idea of
the system is that

a person who attacks
another must exert a force,

and if the defender
can deflect that force

into another direction,

then he can use the
aggressor's own strength

to defeat him.

As you watch Master Camara,

you will see that he uses very
little of his own strength,

just enough to deflect the
momentum of the attacker

and turn his own strength
back upon him to defeat him.

(suspenseful music)
(fighters groaning)

Moussa Camara, the
highest-ranking

non oriental master
of the art of aikido,

an art that proves that
the aggressor cannot win.

Louis Negley a fifth degree
black belt in Sanuces jiu-jitsu

gives a startling demonstration
of the internal force

or Chi, which to martial artist
is the source of all power

and the goal of all training.

- [Louis] One of the
feats that I've done

with this bed of nails

is something that
never thought possible

and people, learned men,
physicists, and mathematicians

said it was impossible to do,

and after coming
down and seeing it,

they said they
can't figure it out,

and calculating the
weight of the sledgehammer

and the bed of nails and
the sharpness of the nail,

they said it was physically
impossible to do,

but after seeing it,
they congratulated me,

and said that they
can't explain it,

but they do believe
and it is real.

(heavy breathing)

(impact echoing)

(yell echoing)

(heavy breathing)

(suspenseful music)

(attacks pounding)

(speaking in foreign language)

- Back,

and forth, back.

Continue.

Up, again, again.

Continue.

(attacks pounding)

Center it up.

Continue.

Continue.

(attacks pounding)

Let's center, center it back.

Go.

Stop.

This man.

(mumbling)

Not enough, continue.

(attacks pounding)

Center it, center it, center it.

One more point
and we'll replace.

Stop.

Fix it.

Ready?

Go.

Stop.

What, what did he pull?

Oh point.
- Half kick.

- [Man] Lunge.

- Punch.

- That's two points, winner.

Face each other, bow.

- [Man] Jim.

- Begin.

(attacks pounding)

- [Man] There it is now.

- I'm fine.
- Okay.

- You alright?
- I'm fine.

- Begin.

(attacks pounding)

- [Man] There it is in action.

- Stand up, thanks.

Ready, begin.

(attacks pounding)

Point won.

Ready, begin.

Hey, break, ready, back.

Point won, this.

Ready, begin.

(attacks pounding)

Break.

Back here.

Point, spinning kick.

Point, two points.

Winner, point to other man, go.

Break, break.

Right here, point won, two.

Begin.

(attacks pounding)

Break.

Take him down right
away, it's good.

In the center, begin.

(fighters groaning)

Break.

Center.

You.

Up, back in center.

Begin.

Break.

Get back in center.

Not yet, you got it.

Ready, begin.

(attacks pounding)

Hyah, hey!

- [Man] The neck,
punch to the neck.

- Begin.

(attacks pounding)

You guys break when
I tell you to break.

Go again, ready, begin.

- There it is.
- Break.

- Kyame.

- Ready, bow to each other.

Bow to me.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Karate
has katas for weapons,

such as the sai and
the nunch-, empty hand.

The kata you are watching
is a Shorin-ryu kata

called bo shodan.

Bo is the Japanese term
for a fighting stick.

Shodan is the first
rank of the black belt.

The kata is performed
by Charles Bonet

a sixth degree black belt
in the Shorin-ryu system.

(suspenseful music)

- [Charles] You
can relate the kata

to sort of what
the boxer would do

as far as shadow
boxing, more or less.

It's equivalent
to the same thing.

Of course the kata
has a deeper meaning,

a more spiritual meaning,

because what you're doing
in a kata of course,

is you're training
yourself spiritually

to perform these movements,

and each movement has of
course its own meaning.

It was meant for
a certain purpose.

I would say that
the kata is like

the dictionary of a martial
arts system or style,

but what I've done throughout my

15, 16 years of karate
study is that I've,

I've studied the kata,

and I've derived what I think
is the best things to apply.

The kata is good to develop
the fluidity that you need,

the power of concentration,

the it's good for building up,

you know, the body as far
as muscles are concerned.

A lot of martial artists
don't like to lift weights,

because it tends to
tighten the muscle,

and it doesn't really
do anything for you

as far as flexibility
is concerned.

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Sensei
Bonet believes in kata.

He does them as they
are meant to be done,

with precision and
speed, grace and power,

with utter sincerity.

When you have seen this
man perform a kata,

then you begin to know
what karate is all about.

(upbeat music)

(melancholy violin music)

- [John] All life is combat,

from the time you get up
outta bed in the morning

to the time you go
to sleep at night.

Either verbally or physically
the universal law is

positive begets a positive and
negative begets a negative,

and universal principle is
cause and effect, you know.

Life is a circle, what
goes around comes around.

I'll be careful what
I say and what I do.

To me, playing the violin
is martial artistry.

It's just another way of
communicating my spirit

to the listener, to the senses.

I think as one develops

in your higher dan level,

you begin to see
the relationship

of everything to everything.

You know I think one of the
greatest bits of philosophy

ever that was said, was a phrase

not by anyone
necessarily famous,

but just a phrase that
comes out of the ghetto,

is called everything
is everything.

And, if you really
look at that phrase,

you'll see that that
phrase is a complete

360 degree circle
of understanding.

(melancholy violin music)

- [Narrator] John
Blair, musician,
philosopher, karate man,

the Renaissance man of
the American karate world.

Ever since karate
came to America,

there has been controversy

over the place of women
in the martial arts.

Some instructors refused to
even allow them in the dojo,

while others accept them
willingly in their classes.

- Yargh!

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Elsie Roman
is a student of Frank Ruiz,

and a black belt in
the Nisei Goju system.

Sensei Ruiz has
said and we quote,

in my school we don't
have male black belts,

and female black belts,
we just have black belts.

(suspenseful music)
(groans echoing)

Watching her work out
with Wilfredo Rodan,

we had to agree.

Elsie Roman is a
true black belt.

The real future of
martial arts in America

rests with the youngsters.

It is out of the
ranks of the kids

who are starting out today

that the great karate men
of tomorrow will come.

This is Nelson Talan.

He's eight years old
and a green belt,

a student of Bob Long.

Though he's only
been studying a year,

already he possesses
the intent eye

and studied motion
of a young master.

He performs a kata
with the nunchakus,

an Okinawan weapon.

Sup Kim is a student
of Ron Van Clief,

a first degree black
belt at the age of 13.

Sensei Van Clief says of him,

I wish I'd had the moves
he has when I was his age.

He'll be one of the
best before he's 20.

(weapon swishing)

(upbeat music)

Up to now, everything you
have seen has been real.

Now let's take a look at the
fantasy world of the movies,

where the karate
man is invincible,

where children can
defeat grown men,

women can destroy
armed opponents,

where one man can defeat 50 men

without working up a sweat,

so let's go to the movies.

(fighters groaning
and attacks pounding)

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] The Street Fighter,

if you decide to
pull a gun on him,

you better be quick.

- Arghh!

- [Narrator] The Street
Fighter, one man against crime,

(upbeat music)

one man against the hard
drugs of the neighborhood,

(sirens blaring)

a man against corrupted police.

- Hai!
- Ugh!

(gun firing)

(upbeat music)

(speaking in foreign language)

(engines racing)

(men groaning)

- [Narrator] After years of
studying martial arts in school,

he gets a chance to use it on
the street, where it counts.

(upbeat music)

(attacks pounding)

This is The Street Fighter.

He looks like an ordinary guy,

but mess with him,

and it'll be the last
thing you ever do.

(upbeat music)

Rough, tough, and dirty.

(funky music)

- Arghh!

(dramatic music)
(men groaning)

- [Narrator] After the
death of The Dragon,

comes a new American superstar.

16 years in the martial arts,

seventh degree black belt,

and four times world champion,

introducing Ron Van Clief
as The Black Dragon.

We've said enough.

Now, we'll let him
do the talking.

- Why, you creep!

(attacks pounding)
(men groaning)

- [Narrator] The Black Dragon,

rougher, tougher and stronger

than anything
you've seen before.

(men groaning)

None of that jumping around
and flying through the air,

because this is the real shit.

(dramatic music)

The Black Dragon,

also starring Jason Pai Piao,

the flashiest kung fu
fighter of the Orient.

His style is smooth and deathly.

His words are few but final.

- Arghh!

- Hah!

- [Narrator] Also starring the
Latin terror, Jorge Estrada.

Watch out!

(attacks pounding)

With cat-like speed,

you know he takes care
of business real quick.

Ron Van Clief and
Jason Pai Piao,

a one two combination
that's hard to beat,

and when we say
quick we mean quick.

(dramatic music)

- Argh!
- Hey!

- [Narrator] The Black Dragon,

big mothers are his specialty.

A blockbuster of a motion--

- [Narrator] From
the work of fantasy,

let's turn to reality.

The famous Frank
Ruiz knife defense

performed for you by
the master himself

Kiyoshi Shihan Frank Ruiz.

- [Frank] I will not fight a
man for the sake of fighting.

I will fight to the
death for principle.

Even with my experience,

doing this knife fight,
I've been cut twice.

We're using a live blade and
he's really coming after me.

If I thought he
wasn't coming for me

or it was a rubber knife,
I wouldn't even try.

I wouldn't be at peak form,

and the only way you
can operate at peak form

is to have it for real.

- [Narrator] Alex
Plus One Sternberg,

fifth degree black belt performs

the empi kata of
Shotokan karate.

(suspenseful music)
(Alex grunting)

- [Alex] A man can know karate

and he can be an expert.

That doesn't mean
that he's Superman,

and it doesn't mean
that he's invincible.

And in our demonstration,

we show that a man
attacks with a knife

and you deliver a
blow to this man.

It doesn't immediately
mean that you kill the guy.

It's not so easy
to kill somebody.

Karate is not a physical art.

Not at all.

Karate is a mental art.

Karate is a system of thinking.

It's a philosophy.

It's to teach
somebody, first of all,

to control himself fully,

and to always have
master of himself.

Once you can attain
master of yourself,

it's relatively easier to master

or to control your opponent.

- [Narrator] Thomas LaPuppet,

fifth degree black belt
in Shotokan Karate,

member of the
karate Hall of Fame,

spokesman for the idea of
karate for the black man,

an American karate master.

(suspenseful music)

- [Thomas] Without karate kata,

I feel a karate 'cause
training is not fulfilled,

because there's something

that you can go into
the remotest of areas

and just train until
complete exhaustion.

When a man can go and train
where no one is watching,

then he finds a true
perfection of his dedication.

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Senseis
LaPuppet and Sternberg,

old friends--
- Hyah!

- [Narrator] Together
they perform an exacting

and dangerous demonstration

of a karate man's defense
against a knife attack.

(suspenseful music)
(fighters shouting)

In this extraordinary
demonstration,

Tom LaPuppet breaks
an unsupported

one-inch pine board in midair

(attack echoing)

with the lightning speed

and precise control
of his snap punch.

- Straight punch.

Deflected the punch,

bring it around to
the back of his head,

strike into the rib
area, make him a throw,

choking him out with
his own shoulder.

Faster.

(fighter groaning)

I got flesh--

- [Narrator] Sensei
Pete Siringano

gives us a few
lessons in jiu-jitsu.

The very sturdy fellow
he's throwing around

is his student Bob Long.

- Outside.

Wrist grab.

Grabbing the wrist,
blocking the thumb.

(Bob groans)

Give the throw.

(Bob groaning)

Striking to the jaw.
- Thank you.

- Strike an empty
shot to the solar--

(Bob groaning)

(eerie music)

Once again, throwing ...

(Bob groaning)

Collar grab.

Blocking the hand,

onto the elbow, pushing in.

(Bob groaning)

(eerie music)

Outside hand locking.

(Bob groaning)

Roundhouse kick
catching on the inside,

striking through
the throat area.

(Bob groaning)

Alright?

Once again.

Boom, back of the head.

(eerie music)
(Bob groaning)

Roundhouse kick,
stepping on the inside.

(Bob groaning)

Lapel grab,

locking in.
(Bob groaning)

Are you alright?
- Oh, yeah.

Alright, striking to
the front of the head.

Coming in,

under the groin.

Two on one, alright.

Take my hand.

Lock the thumbs in.
- Ugh!

- Alright, so then ...

♪ Woo

- Quickly throw them.

(both groaning)

I went into the service,

so I put my qualifications
of what I've done,

so I put down, you know,
a little bit of jiu-jitsu

or hand to hand combat, karate,

and they sent me to a school,

so never knowing I was gonna go.

So, I went to school
for nine months,

for nine to ten hours a day,

training.

I mean training like,

there was no such thing
as time for breathing.

You trained and
trained and trained,

and they made
killers out of you.

We were actually what you
call a professional killer,

because you press
the button, we react.

And so, that's why I speak now,

because I know what
it's all about,

because I've been there.

I know what it is
to take a life,

by using ...

I know how hard it is
to stop, once you start.

We were trained as
there's no such thing

as training as it is today.

We were trained
to kill and maim.

It's not to, just for a sport.

Now, we trained as a sport.

I've had a dojo now for
about, over 20 years,

but I had to curb myself,

because my way of teaching
was the wrong one.

It was a way of the killer.

The art is to help each other.

The black belt is
a sacred thing.

This black belt
is something that

everybody doesn't achieve,

and men that do achieve it,

must honor each other,
and help each other,

regardless of what the price is.

There's no such thing as no,

because you are a warrior.

You have to lay your life
down for the man next to you.

That's the whole thing.

(suspenseful music)

You gonna make it Joe?
- Yup.

- [Narrator] Sensei
Pete Siringano,

eighth degree black belt,

he's sometimes called the
old man of karate in America,

but nobody calls him
that to his face.

Pete Siringano, a
warrior, teacher, friend,

a man among men.

(dramatic music)

We filmed Byung Hoon
Park as he was warming up

with his student Danny Doyle,

preparatory to performing

one of the most
extraordinary exhibitions

of physical prowess
ever seen in America.

- Ugh!

- [Narrator] Sensei
Park has only recently

come to America from Thailand.

- Ugh!

- [Narrator] Where he was head

of the Taekwondo Federation.

Taekwondo is the
Korean martial art,

and sensei Park is one
of its greatest masters,

perhaps one of the
greatest of all time.

His demonstrations
grew gasps of amazement

from all the other great
masters on the set,

and these are men who
are not easily impressed.

(dramatic music)
(Danny groaning)

- Okay.

- [Narrator] Four inches
of solid pine boards,

blows like these could
crack an opponent's skull

like a watermelon.

(dramatic music)

- Yarghh!

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Sensei Park
picked up these rocks

on the side of the road on
his way to this filming.

What he does to them
needs no description.

- [Park] Yarghh!

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Now,
for the most amazing

demonstration of all.

On the ground a dozen
broken beer bottles.

The pieces of glass
are razor sharp.

Watch.

- Yarghh!

Yarghh!

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] What you are
about to see is impossible.

If anyone told you about it,

you would swear
it was impossible.

You would bet money
it was impossible.

Nevertheless, you're
going to see it here

on the screen before your eyes.

- Yarghh!

(suspenseful music)

(rocks snapping)
(Park groaning)

(suspenseful music)

Yarghh!

- [Narrator] Professor
Frank DeFelice

is a master of jiu-jitsu

and a student of the
ancient Chinese art of Chi

or internal energy.

In the world of the martial arts

where the extraordinary
is considered ordinary

and the unusual
is seen every day,

Professor DeFelice consistently
performs the impossible.

He will accept what
to any other person

would be fatal blows
to the most vulnerable

and sensitive parts of his body

and shake them off as though
he were brushing away flies.

First, let's meet the men

who will assist him
in his demonstration--

- Hiyah!

- [Narrator] And get
an idea of the power

in their fists and feet.

Ron Scott, second degree
black belt in Chinese goju.

(attack echoing)

- Hiyah!

(eerie music)

- [Narrator] Wilfredo Roldan,

second degree black
belt in Nisei goju.

- [Wilfredo] Aiy!

Aiy!

- [Narrator] Teddy Wilson,

fourth degree black
belt in Chinese Goju.

(yells echoing)

Sensei Roldan shows
you his power again.

(suspenseful music)

- Arghh!

Arghh!

- [Narrator] Moses Boon,

third degree black belt
in Nisei Goju karate.

- Arghh!

- [Narrator] Once more, the
power of Wilfredo Roldan.

- Yargh!

Aiy!

- [Narrator] And now
Professor Frank DeFelice.

Watch him.

You will never forget
what you are about to see.

- [Frank] It's called ki, chi.

It all means internal
energy, power.

You could consider it
to be a life source.

Without breath, you're dead,

so I, it's that one, it's
the breath inside you,

the air that
controls the energy.

At times you breathe heavy
to do heavier things.

- Arghh!

- [Frank] Sometimes
you breath light

when you're doing nothing,
so it's controllable.

- Arghh!

- You begin from
absolutely nothing,

learning to control your breath
just to be standing there.

I can remember getting
dizzy just breathing.

And you learn to direct it to
different areas of the body,

- Arghh!

- [Frank] Mostly to the organs.

I'd rather have a
kick in the groin,

than a good professional
hit me in the throat.

This form breathing that myself

and these other instructors
do, this intense,

should not be taught
to just anybody.

- Eegh!

I think you should be limited

to black belts who
prove their self.

(men groaning)

- [Narrator] This is Joe Hess,

six foot four
inches, 240 pounds,

and a third-degree black belt

in Goju-ryu Karate-do.

- Arghh!

Arghh!

- [Narrator] Perhaps
the most powerful man

in the martial
arts in the world.

- [Frank] To me, as is weapon,

somebody that ...

- Arghh!

- Doesn't know how
to fight at all,

that newness, could
stand right in your face

and defy you to hurt them.

- Hiya!
- Eee ...

- [Frank] I don't want people
to get the misconception that

if you do this,
you can't be hurt,

because I believe that
this form of ki energy,

there is definite levels of it.

I'm at a certain level.

My instructor is
at a certain level,

and I believe that if a
time should come where I,

I am punched by a
professional that has

in his punching ability,

more energy than I have
in my absorbing ability,

that you know where the
weakness is gonna be.

- Hiya!
- Ugh ...

It's gonna be me,

and maybe fortunately
for me due to this ...

- Hiya!
(eerie music)

- Time I have involved
with this breathing,

I won't be injured fatally,

but I recognize the possibility,

every time I do it, I'm aware,

I'm aware that I could
either be dead or not dead.

(men groaning)

Again, ready, get ready.

Again, again, we're going.

Back, go, for real.

(men groaning)

And it's,

it's nothing in between.

If you aren't up to the
standards and you try to do it,

you're as good as dead,

or you're on your
way to the hospital,

because medically,
the books I have,

state that people
that do this are dead.

- Hyaa!

- [Narrator] Once again,
watch Teddy Wilson.

Observe the power of his kick.

(suspenseful music)

(both groaning)

Now you have seen the martial
arts as they are in real life.

You've seen the speed and
power of the karate man,

the grace and fluency and
focus of the Kung Fu master,

the calm and gentle
courage of the Aikido man,

and the frightening strength

and fatal defectiveness of
the master of jiu-jitsu.

You've seen the
viciousness of combat

and the serene
contemplation of the kata.

You've seen unparalleled
demonstrations

of physical ability
and spiritual capacity.

You've seen the indescribable,

the incredible, the impossible.

But most of all,
you've seen the real,

the unbelievable world
of the martial arts,

the ultimate weapon.

(upbeat music)