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Sijo Saabir Quwi Muhammad (born Steve Sanders; July 2, 1939) is an American martial artist and police officer.
| The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies .(March 2015) |
Sijo Saabir Quwi Muhammad (born Steve Sanders; July 2, 1939) is an American martial artist and police officer.
Sanders was born in Indianola, Mississippi on July 2, 1939. He was the youngest of several siblings. [1] As a youth, he learned tai chi. [2] He attended Kansas State University on a Football Scholarship. [3] Sanders joined the Marines, where he was exposed to Gōjū-ryū karate. [3] He served in the Vietnam War while in the Marines. [2] Afterwards, he worked as a security officer for Los Angeles County, California. [4]
Despite racism during the era, Sanders became a champion fighter. [3] He won many state and national titles. [5] Sanders is said to have had the fastest hands in karate. [6] Sanders earned his black belt from Dan Inosanto and Chuck Sullivan. [7] Sanders faced Chuck Norris [8] and holds wins in Ed Parkers Long Beach Internationals . [9] Sanders developed the five speed theory and the 12 basic moves of kenpō. [5] Sanders founded the Black Karate Federation. [3]
In 1982, Sanders joined the Nation of Islam and changed his last name to Muhammad. [3] He would as a result convert to Islam. [10] Sanders played the instructor of Jim Kelly in Enter the Dragon . [3] [6] Sanders received the Battle of Atlanta Hall of Fame award in 2012. [11] Sanders was nominated to the Black Belt magazine hall of fame. [12] Sanders holds a 10th degree black belt. [13] He is the author of Bkf Kenpo: History and Advanced Strategic Principles. [14] Sanders appeared in the 1982 training video World Of Martial Arts with Benny Urquidez, Chuck Norris and John Saxon. [15] His student Ray Wizard fought in UFC 2. [16]
Kyokushin (極真) is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to martial arts:
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 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.
Robert Alan Wall was an American actor and martial artist.
Alexander James Gong was an American Muay Thai kickboxer.
The Long Beach International Karate Championships is an International karate and martial arts tournament in Long Beach, California that was first held in August 1964 by Kenpo Grandmaster Ed Parker. The tournament is still in existence. Many great tournament fighters earned their stripes at this tournament, including Chuck Norris, Tony Martinez Sr., Mike Stone, Joe Lewis, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Billy Blanks, Jerry Piddington, and "Superfoot" Bill Wallace. The Long Beach Internationals is also where Bruce Lee was first introduced to the martial arts community in August 1964, with Lee making another appearance in 1967.
Joseph Henry Lewis was an American karateka, kickboxer, and actor. As a fighter, Lewis gained fame for his matches in the 1960s and 1970s, and was nicknamed "the Muhammad Ali of karate." He has twice been voted the greatest fighter in karate history, having won innumerable karate tournaments, and has attained the titles of "United States Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion," "World Heavyweight Full Contact Karate Champion," and "United States National Black Belt Kata Champion."
Richard Norton is an Australian martial artist, stuntman and actor. After high school, Norton worked as a bodyguard in the entertainment business before pursuing an acting career. He has attained a 10th Degree in Zen Do Kai, Australia. His first screen appearance was in the 1980 Chuck Norris film The Octagon, and he has worked on over 80 feature films and television programs. He appeared in a number of martial arts films, facing off against stars such as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yasuaki Kurata, Benny Urquidez, Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock.
John Will is a notable martial artist from Australia. Will won the Best Exponent Award in the first World Silat Championships held in Jakarta in 1981. Will also completed his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Rigan Machado and Jean Jacques Machado in 1998, making him one of the first twelve foreign nationals to have earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham is a retired Canadian 7-time World Champion Hall of Fame kickboxer, boxer, martial artist, actor and author. Rated by experts as one of the greatest full contact fighters of all time, Sugarfoot was a superb technician who possessed high fighting I.Q. and lightning speed. He retired from kickboxing in 1996 with a record of 50-1-1, having avenged the only draw of his career but only one defeated Peter, the undefeated Richard Sylla at the WKA World Title in Paris. Cunningham's skills in the ring have been praised by many martial arts legends, including Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, Chuck Norris, Dan Inosanto, Rigan Machado, Don "The Dragon" Wilson and many others. Cunningham maintained a high level competition throughout his career as most of his opponents were either current or former champions. In 1998 in San Jose, California, Peter was honored as the inaugural inductee in the I.S.K.A. Hall of Fame.
Mitchell Bobrow is a former martial arts fighter who was trained by Ki Whang Kim in the early 1960s. Bobrow was known for his continuous attacks using a unique combinations of kicks, punches and sweeps including his Trademark Jump Back Kick that scored on his opponents with either leg.
Allen R. Steen is an American martial arts practitioner, teacher, and promoter. He was taught by Jhoon Rhee, the "Father of American Taekwondo", and was the first of Rhee's American students to reach black belt standing.
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.
Takayuki Kubota is a Japanese American master of karate. He founded the Gosoku-ryu style of karate, and is the founder and president of the International Karate Association. Kubota holds the title of Sōke for his development of the Gosoku-ryū style of karate. He is also the inventor and holder of the trademark of the Kubotan self-defense key chain.
Anthony Young is an American martial artist, teacher, and practitioner of the Goju Ryu Karate style and founder of the Tony Young All-Star Karate Academy. He is also a sport karate competitor.
Mutsuto "Bill" Ryusaki was a pioneer of Kenpo in the United States.
Johnny 'Gyro' Potter is an American martial arts instructor, and former competitive karate fighter. He holds black belts in Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Hapkido, Karate, Aikido, and Judo. He started training under Chuck Norris in the art of Taekwondo at the Sherman Oaks Karate School in Los Angeles, California; and earned his first Black Belt in 1978.
Simeone George Pesare was an American martial artist born in Providence, Rhode Island. He was a 10th-degree black belt and had high-degree black belts in additional martial arts including judo, taewkondo, eskrima, and aikido. Pesare was a successful karate and judo competitor. He was a member of the New England Black Belt Hall of Fame.
Racism in martial arts has been a common allegation.
American Karate was first introduced to American service men after World War II by Japanese and Okinawan karate masters.
