Gary Alexander (martial art pioneer)

Last updated

Gary R. Alexander is an American martial artist, karate fighter, author and actor. He was Black Belt Magazine's Co-Instructor of the Year (1974) [1] and is known as the "First International Bare Knuckle Contact Karate Champion. [1]

Alexander began formally training in Isshin-ryu karate under Don Nagle at the Jersey City, NJ YMCA in the fall of 1959.

On November 17, 1962, as a 3rd Dan, Gary Alexander won the 1st Canadian Karate Championship sponsored by Mas Tsuruoka. [2] [3] The very next weekend, on November 24, 1962, Alexander won the North American Championship sponsored by Mas Oyama, which was held at the Madison Square Garden. [2] [3] Both events consisted of bare-knuckle full-contact matches, whereas the winner was the fighter still standing. [4]

Alexander is a 1974 inductee of the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame, the Action Martial Arts Hall of Fame, the World Karate Union Hall of Fame, and the Australasian Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

Gary Alexander is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in the Pacific with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Fleet Marine Force during the mid-to-late 1950s, and has acted in films and on television, specifically Avenging Force (1986) with Michael Dudikoff for Cannon Films and Gideon Oliver (1989) with Lou Gossett, Jr. for Universal Pictures. [5]

He is also the producer and star of a series of twenty martial arts instructional videos and is also the author of "Unarmed and Dangerous, Hand to Hand Combat and Defense Systems".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Full contact karate</span> Competition format of karate

Full contact karate is any format of karate where competitors spar full-contact and allow a knockout as winning criterion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benny Urquidez</span> American former professional kickboxer and martial artist

Benny Urquidez is an American former professional kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United States. 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. Urquidez is also known for once holding the rare achievement of six world titles in five different weight divisions, and remained largely undefeated in his 27-year career. His only loss came in a Muay Thai match which was shrouded in controversy, as Urquidez had only agreed to a no-decision exhibition, a clause which was ignored when the fight had ended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Wallace (martial artist)</span> American martial artist (born 1945)

William Louis Wallace, nicknamed "Superfoot", is an American martial artist, former professional kickboxer, and actor. Considered one of the first American superstars of kickboxing, he was the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Full-Contact Champion, and the Middleweight Kickboxing Champion for six years, retiring with an undefeated 23-0-0 record. He was elected to Black Belt magazine's Hall of Fame in 1973 as "Tournament Karate Fighter of the Year" and again in 1978 as "Man of the Year". He is currently the International Ambassador for PKA Worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Lewis (martial artist)</span> American martial artist and actor (1944–2012)

Joe Lewis was an American martial artist, professional kickboxer and actor. Originally a practitioner of Shōrin-ryū karate and champion in point sparring competitions, he became one of the fathers of full contact karate and kickboxing in the United States, and is credited with popularizing the combat sport in North America.

Ron Van Clief is an American martial artist and an actor in Hollywood and Hong Kong action films. He is best known for starring in 1970s blaxploitation and kung fu films. He is the father of poet Shihan van Clief. He also founded the "Chinese Goju System" in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mas Oyama</span> Zainichi Korean karateka (1923–1994)

Masutatsu Ōyama, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a Zainichi Korean karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate.

Hidehiko "Hidy" Ochiai is a Japanese-born martial arts instructor, author, and actor. He is credited with establishing the Washin-Ryu style of karate in the United States in 1966. He was the winner of the United States Grand National Karate Championship five consecutive times. Ochiai was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame twice—as Instructor of the Year for Japanese Arts in 1979 and as Man of the Year in 1980. He resides in Vestal, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shonie Carter</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Mearion Shonie Bickhem III, better known as Shonie Carter, is an American mixed martial artist. He is a former WEC Welterweight Champion, a UFC veteran, and a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 4 reality show. He has also competed in Pancrase, Shooto, King of the Cage, M-1 Global, KSW, and Bellator. He is known for his flashy dress, colorful vocabulary, outlandish personality and use of the spinning backfist in competition.

Dale Cook is an American former kickboxer who competed in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. With a background in karate and taekwondo, Cook debuted professionally in 1977 and spent the early part of his career as a full contact rules fighter. In the 1980s, he began fighting under Oriental and Muay Thai rules and took two world titles under the WKA banner. A short stint in shoot boxing towards the end of his career in the mid-1990s resulted in another world title in that discipline.

Mitchell Bobrow is a martial arts fighter who was trained by Ki Whang Kim in the early 1960s. Bobrow was known for his continuous attacks using a unique combination of kicks, punches, and sweeps including his Trademark Jump Back Kick that scored on his opponents with either leg.

Daniel "Tiger" Schulmann is an American Kyokushin karateka and mixed martial arts trainer.

Lewis Ray "Skipper" Mullins was an American martial arts fighter who has been described as "the greatest kicker in the history of the U.S. karate scene".

Jerry Smith is a former professional full-contact fighting coach, as well as co-founder of the Black Karate Federation (BKF) and founder of The Five-Level Method/Shorin-Ju Kenpo.

Kim Pyung-soo, also known as Kim Soo, is a South Korean taekwondo practitioner.

Joe Corley is an American karate and kickboxing competitor, instructor, broadcaster and promoter who helped achieve the success of the Professional Karate Association and the early establishment of professional kickboxing in the United States. Joe Corley is CEO of PKA Worldwide.

John Corcoran was an American non-fiction book author, magazine editor, screenwriter and martial arts historian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Keeney</span> American martial artist (1942–2021)

Glenn R. Keeney was an American martial artist. He was born to Walter Russell and Lucy Puckett Keeney in Anderson, Indiana in 1942, and began his karate training in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kūdō</span> Japanese martial art

Kūdō (空道) is a Japanese hybrid martial art. It is a full-contact combat sport that aims to achieve safety, aggression and practicality, a style of mixed martial arts practised with headgear and gloves. It features stand-up striking, with throwing and grappling techniques being also allowed in the competition, including restraint, locks and chokeholds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karate in the United States</span> Overview of American Karate in U.S.

Karate was first introduced to American service men after World War II by Japanese and Okinawan karate masters.

References

  1. 1 2 Black Belt Magazine, Dec. 1974
  2. 1 2 Black Belt magazine, Summer, 1963 issue
  3. 1 2 Asbury Park Press, December 14, 1962
  4. ↑ Black Belt magazine, Dec. 1974
  5. ↑ Gary Alexander (III), Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB), August 18, 2011


Karate icon.svg

This biographical article related to karate in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.