Richmond.com Interview with Fred Corritone

Richmond.com (as in Virginia) has an interview with Fred Corritone, founder of New York Karate Boxing Athletic League. Here's a sample:

Mixed martial arts, believe it or not and I hate to say this, is the wave of the future. It's mayhem. It's blood, it's guts... it's smoke and fire. Guys are coming in there tattooed, pierced up, pick them up and throw them down. But that is the way society is. Everything today is pretty aggressive whether you want it to be or not. All of the video games, the music, the dress. And fighting is the same way. MMA will never replace boxing because boxing has been here hundreds of years…but in 10 to 15 years that is going to be most of the fighting that you see.

Mercer County Karate Championships This Weekend

A message from Sensei Ivan Mendes, Tournament Director...

We would like to take this opportunity to invite each and everyone of you to come out and support our 11th annual Mercer County National Karate Championship.

For one whole exiting day on Saturday, March 25, 2006, at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ, over 450 kids and adults will be participating at our national karate championship. This tournament of Champions will feature excellent martial arts competitions in over 120 divisions, from events such as Weapons Kata, Empty-hand kata, Self-defense, Point Sparring and Continuous Sparring. This event continuously has attracted top rated competition, including international competitors as far away as Romania, Germany, Nepal, Ecuador, Haiti and Puerto Rico. As of to date, we already have 23 registered participants from the island of Puerto Rico & 2 participants
from Nepal.

Every year, we organize and host this martial arts tournament with tremendous success. We make every effort to promote professionalism, health & fitness, good sportsmanship, as well as allowing our youths to unfold the hidden gems of each and everyone of their communities and expose them on a national level. We take pride in knowing that this event has improved the lives of many children. We have accomplished this task by donating a portion of the tournament proceeds to other organizations which help children overcome obstacles and help maximize their opportunities for an improved quality of life. To date, this karate tournament has raised over $5,000. Many of the organizations that have benefited from the Mercer County Nationals are, Sunshine Foundation, Y.W.C.A., CYO, P.A.L., Home Front, Special Olympics and many
more..!

Again, we continue to thank you for supporting this event and hope that we can see You at the Mercer County National Karate Championships. We encourage adult red/brown belts and Black Belts to come out and assist with the judging. Without your help and expertise our event will not be successful. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Utz...........SEE YOU SOON!

Sincerely,

Sensei Ivan Mendes, 4th Dan
(American Freestyle Karate / Joe Lewis Fighting System)
Tournament Director
(609) 540-3039
(609) 396-6071 fax
Karatetour@msn.com

Kung fu master's grandson sues over Jet Li movie

The grandson of a late Chinese kung fu master has sued the producers and distributors of the Jet Li film, Huo Yuanjia, called Fearless in English.

Huo Shoujin, the grandson of deceased kung fu expert Huo Yuanjia, says the movie misrepresents and dishonours his grandfather.

He filed a lawsuit in Beijing Haidian District People's Court on Tuesday demanding a public apology and a stop to the worldwide release of the film, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Hou claims the filmmakers have fabricated stories and incidents from the kung fu master's life.

The family is unhappy that he is portrayed as a rich man with servants, when he actually had a working class background. Media reports also say the film shows Hou as childless, while he actually had seven grandsons and 11 great-grandchildren.

The real Huo Yuanjia was the founder of a martial arts school in Shanghai and one of the most famous martial arts leaders in modern Chinese history. Trained by his father, he fought a series of foreign challengers in the early 1900s.

The movie shows him evolving from a vain fighter to one who uses fighting to improve himself and help his country.

The lawsuit does not name Li, who plays the kung fu master, nor Wang Bin, who wrote the script.

Huo Yuanjia has already been released in China, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand. It is scheduled to come out later this year in North America and Europe.