Joe Lewis Is Coming To Town

On June 17, 2010, In Fitness, Jim Graden, Martial Arts, Self Defense, UBC, By admin

My instructor, Joe Lewis, is one of only two men to have won both a World Karate and World Kickboxing Championship. He was voted by his peers, including Chuck Norris, as the greatest martial arts fighter of the 20th century as well as the only man to be inducted into Black Belt Magazine’s Hall of Fame as both a competitor and a teacher.
Mr. Lewis will be teaching a martial arts and kickboxing seminar this Saturday, June 19th, at noon at my school, the Cardio Karate Center in Seminole, Florida (call 727-392-3198). He will also be conducting a bonus Q&A health and fitness discussion at 2 p.m. following the seminar. Mr. Lewis, who trained with Bruce Lee, will be discussing his relationship with Bruce Lee and talking about how to stay healthy and fit as you age.
Mr. Lewis at 64 years old is a living example of what it means to stay healthy and fit your entire life. Don’t miss this opportunity to train with, and learn from, a true legend in the martial arts and fitness world.
Joe Lewis is not only an analytical giant who can teach anyone how to use kickboxing and martial arts techniques in the most effective manner, but he also represents what it is to be a true martial arts teacher.

What do I mean? I have known Joe Lewis for over 25 years. I have known him as a martial arts icon, a teacher, a coach and I am proud to say, a close friend.
I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone in the martial arts arena, or in any business arena for that matter, who has put his integrity and what he believes in above and beyond personal gain.
I’ll give you just one example that I personally experienced, even though, anyone who knows Joe Lewis for any length of time, has similar stories.
When I first started training with Joe Lewis, I was just a 21 year old kid. My brother John had just started working for Mr. Lewis, who had recently moved into the area, helping set up martial arts seminars in Florida.
Having The Joe Lewis in town was very exciting and I really wanted to train with this living legend. So I convinced a business partner of mine, who helped me open my first martial arts school, to pay Mr. Lewis so I could take private lessons from him. Believe me when I say the lessons were not cheap!
After just a few lessons, Mr. Lewis must have seen something in me that he liked, because he wanted to work with me more and more and when my business partner started to balk about the money, Mr. Lewis said, and I quote, “Forget about the money and let’s just work out.” I will never forget him saying, “Let’s just work out”, and from that point on I worked out with Mr. Lewis every chance I got.
Now you need to realize who Joe Lewis was to the martial arts world at the time. He had just stopped competing and was in his early forties. The only parallel I can draw would be if Joe Montana retired from football and said to an aspiring quarterback, “Lets work out together.”
The man was unbelievably generous with his time and knowledge. I can truly say I am only a martial artist champion because of Joe Lewis.

After working with him for just a short period of time, I became so far ahead of my peers that I had to start traveling with Joe to get enough quality sparring partners. When he moved to North Carolina I would go visit him for a week and stay at his house. We would go to the local boxing club during the day and then train into the wee hours of the night in his garage.
Those were special times I will never forget. Joe Lewis made me believe in myself and gave me the confidence and the forward thinking mindset that allowed me to win a world title, run a successful martial arts school, develop Cardio Karate and create the Ultimate Body Challenge (UBC).
None of that would have happened if it weren’t for Joe Lewis. Thank you Sir for everything you’ve done for me and I sure look forward to working with you again this Saturday.
Jim Graden

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Ben McBride Tests For 3rd Degree Black Belt

On June 11, 2010, In Fitness, Jim Graden, Martial Arts, Self Defense, UBC, By admin

Ben McBride Tests For 3rd Degree Black Belt

Congratulations Ben McBride on your 3rd Degree Black Belt test. Mr. McBride demonstrated why he is such a tremendous asset to our Elite Martial Arts program.

I have known Ben McBride for over 30 years. Ben and I came up together under the same instructor, Walt Bone, in the late 70’s. Ben and I were in the same kids class, taught by an instructor who worked for Mr. Bone, Hank Farrah. Mr. Farrah was a flamboyant instructor to say the least. He liked to give kids’ nicknames; my nickname was Big Jim and Ben’s was Gentle Ben, plus there was Tarzan and a not so good-looking kid nicknamed Face. Mr. Farrah used to say that Big Jim and Gentle Ben kicked Face’s face. That was in the late seventies so there wasn’t any political correctness in those days.

The point is, the name Mr. Farrah gave Ben still describes him to this day. You will not find a kinder, gentler person than Ben McBride. You would never know that he is a 25-year police veteran and worked as undercover narcotics agent in some of the worst parts of the Tampa Bay area. Mr. McBride has wrestled guns away from criminals, won shoot -outs (something you can’t lose) and has dealt with the worst of our society for over 25 years. He has been named Police Officer of the Year and has won the National and International Martial Arts Police Olympics multiple times.

Yet you would never know it when you meet this gentle man. Ben is a true hero in the most celebrated use of the word. He works to protect our families and then comes home to his own.

On his 3rd degree Black Belt test, Ben demonstrated the cutting edge, self-defense techniques that he brings into our Elite Martial Arts program. Plus he demonstrates some of the old Chung Da Kwon Tae Kwon Do Kata’s (forms) that he and I learned when we trained with Mr. Bone. His test was truly a demonstration o the old and the new.

Congratulations again Ben on your achievement and we are proud to have you as an instructor in the Elite Martial Arts System.

Jim Graden

Take a look at these film clips of Bens Test.

Don’t miss the Joe Lewis Seminar, June 19th at Jim Graden’s Cardio Karate Center                                                                                                Call 727-392-3198 for more information

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I Am My Fathers Son

On December 18, 2009, In Fitness, Jim Graden, Martial Arts, Self Defense, By admin

I Am My Father’s Son

My father passed last week and it has made me look back and reflect on my dad and on the influence he had on my life. My father was a military man, Sergeant 1st class, 22 years Army, and I think that influence on his life had a lot of influence on how he raised my brothers and me.

Some might think that means he was overly disciplined, he was not; my mom was more of the disciplinarian in the Graden household. No, what my father instilled in us was much more, he gave us a since of dignity and pride.

I distinctly remember going over to a friends house when I was maybe 9 or 10 and being embarrassed about the way they treated there parents or have friends come over to my house and not show the same respect that my father instilled in us when visiting someone’s home. My father did not scare us into showing respect for others it was something that we all took pride in.

I think this is one of the reasons that we gravitated towards martial arts. Most kids who go into the martial arts are not used to the disciplined structure. It’s usually a new experience, for most kids, to answer questions with a yes sir or no sir; this was just expected in the Graden household.

Just like when I see a child start to gain the pride and confidence of a martial artist because of the discipline and self-respect martial arts instills in a person. I know in my heart that my father gave my brothers and myself a real jump on life because that was just the way he raised us.

My father had a rough childhood growing up on the tough streets of Chester PA. He came a long way in his 82 years and I can only hope that I can instill in my son the same pride and dignity in which my father instilled in me. I will miss you dad!

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Please Stop Calling Traditional Martial Arts Self Defense

On November 28, 2009, In Jim Graden, Martial Arts, Self Defense, By admin

 
In my last blog I talked about how I have a love/hate relationship with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). On one hand, I hate the fact that MMA is seen by the public as a barbaric sport that only tattooed thugs participate in.  On the other hand, I love the fact that MMA has exposed much of the BS that is taught in many martial arts schools.
 
The more I think about it, the more I appreciate MMA for educating the public who watch it on what actually works in a real fight. Now, I know that many reality-based martial arts instructors will say that MMA is not a real fight because there are rules.  They may have a point, but I will dare anyone to go up to Anderson Silva and tell him that he cannot defend himself.
 
The point is, MMA may not have made it completely clear what works in a street fight, but they have made it clear what does not and that is traditional martial arts or what some people call authentic, old-styled martial arts. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against people doing the traditional-styled martial arts as an art form.  Believe me, I come from a traditional background and I know all about the skill it takes to perform a good Kata and I have a lot of respect for it.  Just please don’t tell me it has anything to do with defending yourself.
 
Why would anyone wanting to learn how to defend themselves study a system of martial arts that would have them throwing punches in flat footed, immobile balances, while bringing their hands back to their hip?
 
I am so tired of seeing an 11-year black belt who can perform a cartwheel kick having the false sense of security that the martial arts he/she learned will help him/her defend themselves.
 
I know many martial arts schools try to teach both; traditional martial arts and modern self defense. They’ll teach the traditional Katas, or forms, so they have enough curriculum to teach students as they advance through the ranks. Then in the last 10 minutes of class, when the students spar, they’ll finally talk about keeping their hands up, moving, and developing a good fighting stance.
 
The truth is, most children who train in the martial arts only participate twice a week for 45 minutes to an hour. Just how much real self-defense can you teach when you dedicate so little time to it?  Plus, most traditional martial arts contradict what it takes to teach a child what they really need to know when it comes to defending against a bully.
 
After taking a 5 year break, I’ve started teaching children martial arts again because I have a 5 year old son and I want to make sure he can defend himself.  I only teach him and my other Elite martial arts students what I believe will work in the ring or in the street; that’s it. This doesn’t mean that our class is undisciplined. I still strongly believe in the traditional structure of the martial arts, with the student’s social behavior tied to their progress. I just don’t believe in the traditional techniques.
 
People will think that I’m ‘anti-tradition’ but in reality, all systems of martial arts were first created to improve a person’s ability to defend themselves. But, like everything else, times change and things evolve – everything that is except most traditional martial arts systems.
 

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Jim Graden’s Martial Arts Fitness Blog

On October 14, 2009, In Fitness, Jim Graden, Martial Arts, Self Defense, UBC, By admin

Hello World,

Jim Graden here, and I’m sending out my very first blog. You may be wondering, why is Jim Graden blogging? That’s a good question, so let me explain. My first and foremost goal, with this blog, is to cut through the BS that is so rampant in both the martial arts and fitness industries.  Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t pull any punches when it comes to what works and what doesn’t work in martial arts, fitness, real-life self defense, and nutrition. I plan on covering all those subjects, and much more, in upcoming blogs. I’ll tell you what I believe to be the truth, whether it’s popular or not.

Who am I to tell you? Another good question so please indulge me as I tell you a little about myself and give you a short bio. I have been teaching martial arts for over thirty years and martial arts fitness for over twenty. I have had the pleasure of being a member of the true inner circle when it comes to martial arts in America.  I was trained and promoted to a 7th degree master level by a true legend and one of the founding fathers of martial arts in America, Joe Lewis.  I’ve also been a featured speaker at all the major martial arts shows and have appeared on the cover of all the major magazines, including Black Belt and Martial Arts Professional. I’ve also been a part of the fitness industry, presenting and performing at all the major fitness shows. Plus, I created two major fitness programs; Cardio Karate and the Ultimate Body Challenge (UBC).

The second reason for creating this blog is because there are thousands of people and families I have had the privilege to meet and share my talents with. The only challenge is this- depending on when you met me, you only know about what I represented at that time. If  you trained with me in the 80’s, you knew me as Mr. Graden, a fighter in his 20′s who was a five time member of the World Champion US karate team, a World Kickboxing Champion and an owner of one of the largest martial arts schools in the Southeast United States. If you knew me in the 90′s, it’s probably because you took a really challenging fitness kickboxing class called Cardio Karate. You may have even been certified by me through the National Association of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA) Cardio Karate Certification Tour.  I ended up certifying over 6,000 instructors.  Since 2000, I have helped thousands of people lose weight and get in great shape with my martial arts fitness course, the Ultimate Body Challenge (UBC), a program I created and am currently licensing in over 100 martial arts and fitness studios worldwide.

So, my goal with this blog is to try and s
tay in touch with all the people I have had the pleasure of meeting over the last thirty years.  I also want to share my perspective when it comes to martial arts and fitness and to help people know what is real and what is not. I feel these two industries (martial arts and fitness) are in a major transitional stage. I mean, come on, where  did mixed martial arts come from and what does it mean to the future of martial arts in America?  Oh wait, sorry, that’s for a future blog!

Jim Graden



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