Our Martial Arts Legacy - Then, Today, Tomorrow - II

Last Saturday, we were definitely at the feet of the masters of the marital arts. Two dedicated practitioners with a combined experience of nearly 80 years, laying out to us, not only their personal journeys, but how martial arts has been, and continues to be a stabilizing and balancing force in our community.By the way, we ended the show on a very powerful and moving note, specifically dealing with a very tragic situation with whom we are all familiar - Be sure to listen to the archives for that show.

Now, Critical Discourse will continue this discussion with Hanshi Ali Abdul-Karim and Master Yusuf Rahman. We will also add two more experts to the forum, brothers Saleem Shareef and Chike Nwabukuw.

Brother Saleem has been in the martial arts fold since 1969, starting with karate and judo. Since then, he’s studied Bando with Mfundisi Maasi, boxing with Caryln Kelly and Pinklin Thomas, as well as Brazilian Ju-Jitsu with the Machado Brothers. Never one to stop learning, Saleem is presently studying Kente-Ryu Ju-Jitsu with Grandmaster Sharif Wali and kung-fu with Master Eric Lee.

Brother Chike Nwabukuw is a practitioner and teacher of the African-Brazilian martial art, Capoeira, more specifically, Capoeira-Angola, not to be confused with the more popular and faster-paced Capoeira-Regional’.  Capoeira has a rich and fascinating history as a critical tool of survival and cultural preservation, and I personally am looking forward to learning more about it, as well as listening to feedback from our other experts, who have come from the Asian perspective of martial arts.