Hey Sensei Ichi, i studied under Jim Kelly for seven years. I started in April, 1984 to 1991 in Los Angeles. In 1986, i began taking private lessons in his apartments recreation center.
@@SenseiIchi Mr Sensei Ichi, it was really amazing and a great experience! I went to many martial arts instructors before Jim however, Jim was the only one that gave me real confidence as to protect myself!
@@yhideit4427 Sensei Ichi, the best advice Jim gave me was to be humble, avoid the fight if you can and work hard and focus on your best techniques. He said, "YOU DO NOT NEED A 100 TECHNIQUES, BUT JUST MASTER THE SIMPLEST AND EFFECTIVE ONES THAT YOU ONLY NEED".
Perhaps cheesy by today's standards, but this was a very entertaining movie in its day! Like Norris, Kelly was both a great competitor and a wooden actor, but unlike Norris, a lot of Kelly's real life physical dynamism did transfer to the big screen which shouldn't be discounted. Really enjoyable to watch your clip. Thanks for posting
My mother was actually in the movie Black Belt Jones, the funeral scene at the church on the corner of 42nd Street and Main, in LA California, we lived on the Block, she sang in the choir at BBJ's funeral in the movie. The church is still there to this day,
Awesome story! I watched Jim Kelly and Ron Van Clief movies day in and out as a kid (during the 80's). While I wasn't a big fan of his movies and wasn't a personal influence it was clear that Jim Kelly was an amazing martial artist. He inspired people in my area (mostly the older ones since I was born in 1980) to train.
The shoot he's describing turned out be one of my favorite intro scenes to any movie. #BlackBeltJones. Shout out to #DennisCoffey for the music in that scene and the entire cast especially the leading lady #GloriaHendry 🔥 #RIPJimKelly 🙏🏾🤜🏿💥🤛🏿🐉🥋
Jim Kelly and Bruce Lee really inspired me to do martial arts. If he and Bruce were going to do the movie together, he could have been a household name helping to break barriers. They're my heroes.
I *PAID* to see that movie in the 70s!! And me n your Dad had the same hair length back then. I dont mention the flared trousers anymore..oh the humanity ! 😔
Late to this vid, but thanks for sharing these stories. My buddies and I discovered BBJ in high school from our local Blockbuster. BBJ is pretty much our Citizen Kane.
Fantastic story, and thank you very much for sharing your professional experience. By the same token, if there were more individuals such as yourself that communicated their respective positive experience with Jim Kelly, it would be an added value as to "who" he really was a "true martial artist and human being" to our society. However, thank you again....
Black Belt Jones is the first Kung Fu action movie I ever saw. I watched it in 1978 in Rawalpindi , Pakistan in a cinema . They had a great big hand painted poster outside Bollywood style . I was blown away .
I love your story and sharing this with us. You took those shots the best. However, I hate that Kelly blatantly tried to duplicate Lee and sucked at it. No originality at all. Come on Jim! There's just no need brotha. Then again it reflects his short time with Bruce and his admiration for him. I'm a fan of Kelly's since the 70's. Always thought he was a cool dude and he's one of the few humble people who could talk honestly about how awesome Bruce was without his ego getting in the way. This was a cool story. Again, thank you for sharing that with us.
Thanks for the story. I was 16 in 1974 and I use to watch all Jim Kelly's movies. At that time the Karate looked legit but by today's standards it does look cheesy.😬 I wonder did Jim tell any Bruce Lee stories we haven't heard? Thanks for the memories!❤
Wow Grandmaster Dennis Ichikawa was in Black Belt Jones, with the legendary Jim Kelly from Enter the Dragon? Thank you Sensei Ichi, for bringing us this wonderful interview, witn your father. I truly like hearing his stories from the good old days. I am glad to see that your father is still keeping strong, fit, healthy and active, until this day. One can only ponder, what it would have been like for the legendary Bruce Lee, if he was still here today with us! Jim Kelly was definitely a phenomenal athlete and an amazing, charismatic, cool individual. Definitely a great role model for young African American people, to look up to, as well as aspire to be like. What Sensei Dennis Ichikawa said, about the fights being improvised on the set, during the filming process of the movie, is reminiscent of Hong Kong action films of that era, as well as today. Martial arts films in Hong Kong, get choreographed by sporadic and instant improvisation, as the film is getting filmed and the action sequence comes up to be filmed. The stunt or martial arts director will tell the stunt performers roughly what he wants each person to do and away they go and just wing it lol. Awesome films nonetheless. Have a wonderful week ahead Sensei Ichi, Osu!🥋✌👍😊🇦🇺👊Juan!
Thank you for your input and watching the film. He works out twice a week with an old school buddy of his. He's in very good shape for a 73 year old dude!
@@SenseiIchi definitely a perfect example for us all, to aspire to emulate and also try to age gracefully, as he has. Please if you may, kindly convey my best regards to Grandmaster Dennis Ichikawa, from Sensei Juan of Melbourne, Australia, of Kyokushin Karate, Osu! 🥋I really like interview segments with your father Sensei Ichi, he is so full of wisdom.
There's a video online with Jim Kelly talking about Bruce Lee and his instructor Gordon Doversola of the Okinawa The Organization... Apparently Bruce Lee took private lessons from Gordon Doversola...
@@SenseiIchi Ha. I taught at a Christian school a few years back and we made some student movies. I did a fight scene in one of them. We pretty much just went out into the field and made up some stuff. I was way bigger than the kid, so I couldn't do too much or else I would have hurt him. The original scene had some good choreography, but it didn't have the suspense element. We came back a few days later and filmed it in the rain. The only regret is that we had better camera angles and the original choreography. If you want to watch them they are on my channel.
I think people really get hard of themselves when they talk about the past. Back then hollywood just barely got into martial and so was usa. Meaning choreography wasn't to par with china who had been doing it for generations upon generations. I think the film still holds up to date. Its not going to be fast flashy just like the times and thats how I see it. It was how americans actually fought in those times. Now with ufc mma kickboxing and boxing all gotten more professional the films reflect this. But whats best about the past is that you can actually recognize each move. Which kinda teaches you. I feel like now in days its too fast and it becomes one quick blur. You go wow what happened and have to rewind over and over again. When films back then you recognized it and could go to movies and your eyes and mind relax and just focus on the story. Thats my take on it anyways. To put it this movie was the Karate Kid of its time. Notice how that movie as well is not fast paced or has the best actions scenes. But the story the characters made it a great movie. Just like this one. Jim Kelly beats up the villains in a safe way and instead of killing the guy he shots him in the butt. Punishing him but letting him live, but also showing his character that hes a slight joker. And then Jim Kelly walks cool and smooth. Tell me if movies today do that? pssh no, Its a great film!!!!!!
A red belt is a masters belt. I wish the korean arts would not do this. Most kyokushin schools have replaced it with orange as well. Being that tang soo do is actually a karate style... the belt system as their art came from the Japanese, I don’t understand this?
Having different belts is what makes us unique. Japanese Karate is Japanese Karate and American Tang Soo Do is American Tang Soo Do. It's kind of like the different religions have different bibles. Our belts are our bibles... in a manner of speaking.
Sensei Ichi I see your point. However, I don’t see it that way. Tang so doo (from what I understand) considers itself karate. Like most things in Korea it was stolen from the Japanese. I have no problem with that! It’s good.. you just kind of insult masters wearing a red belt! Kyokushin used to have it as the second belt! Out of respect they changed the color. Even BJJ which comes from Japanese martial arts uses the red belt for a master. I understand it’s different... being that they consider themselves karate... I just think it would be more respectful....
Practically unrehearsed, it is the reason why the fights in this type of movies look so fake, it was the way to film in this type of production. And without a choreography director to practice the fights, the stunts, just a bunch of guys, very talented, waiting around doing nothing. Today even actors with no martial arts experience look decently good thanks to the choreography director and multiple rehearsals for weeks or months.
Jim Kelly was so Athletic and Charismatic. Great Story :)
He definitely had a certain charisma to him, that made him unique. Thank you for watching!
Hey Sensei Ichi, i studied under Jim Kelly for seven years. I started in April, 1984 to 1991 in Los Angeles. In 1986, i began taking private lessons in his apartments recreation center.
Wow that is amazing! How was that?
@@SenseiIchi It was quite an experience. I still have some footage from some of our private sessions as well.
I never met him but he along with Bruce were my hero when I was a kid. What is the best bit of advice he gave you when you trained by him ?
@@SenseiIchi Mr Sensei Ichi, it was really amazing and a great experience! I went to many martial arts instructors before Jim however, Jim was the only one that gave me real confidence as to protect myself!
@@yhideit4427 Sensei Ichi, the best advice Jim gave me was to be humble, avoid the fight if you can and work hard and focus on your best techniques. He said, "YOU DO NOT NEED A 100 TECHNIQUES, BUT JUST MASTER THE SIMPLEST AND EFFECTIVE ONES THAT YOU ONLY NEED".
Jim Kelly was a very smart fighter.
As a huge Jim Kelly fan, thanks for this!!! This is great!!!!!
New subscriber!
Thanks for the sub!
I was a Jim Kelly fan myself when I was a little boy
Perhaps cheesy by today's standards, but this was a very entertaining movie in its day! Like Norris, Kelly was both a great competitor and a wooden actor, but unlike Norris, a lot of Kelly's real life physical dynamism did transfer to the big screen which shouldn't be discounted. Really enjoyable to watch your clip. Thanks for posting
My mother was actually in the movie Black Belt Jones, the funeral scene at the church on the corner of 42nd Street and Main, in LA California, we lived on the Block, she sang in the choir at BBJ's funeral in the movie. The church is still there to this day,
Awesome story! I watched Jim Kelly and Ron Van Clief movies day in and out as a kid (during the 80's). While I wasn't a big fan of his movies and wasn't a personal influence it was clear that Jim Kelly was an amazing martial artist. He inspired people in my area (mostly the older ones since I was born in 1980) to train.
Thank you for watching! He was indeed an influence on many martial artists back in the day.
Incredible I love Jim Kelly kudos and man I remember the afro and bell bottom days LOL
Haha thank you ! I heard those were quite the days, wish I was alive to see them!
With all due respect that movie is great.
Seeing it from that perspective, you was pretty good 👍
😊
The movie is legendary, and one of the best of it's time. 💯
The shoot he's describing turned out be one of my favorite intro scenes to any movie. #BlackBeltJones. Shout out to #DennisCoffey for the music in that scene and the entire cast especially the leading lady #GloriaHendry 🔥 #RIPJimKelly 🙏🏾🤜🏿💥🤛🏿🐉🥋
Thank you sensi lchi great memories
Love these stories..these stories are legendarily passed down only by shared experience..brings back great feelings of my childhood in Torrance.
That's great! I'm glad we can be of assistance to you!
Love the stories, keep them coming :)
Thank you so much! I will...
Jim Kelly was a great martial artist for young Black kids to look up to in the 70's.
Jim Kelly and Bruce Lee really inspired me to do martial arts. If he and Bruce were going to do the movie together, he could have been a household name helping to break barriers. They're my heroes.
Another great story! Keep 'em coming sir!!!
Thank you. Can't stop, won't stop!
Respect and salute to your father, Sensei Ichi!
He is an excellent stuntman/martial artist!👍💖
I *PAID* to see that movie in the 70s!! And me n your Dad had the same hair length back then. I dont mention the flared trousers anymore..oh the humanity ! 😔
Hahaha my dad say " I'm sorry you had to pay for that " . Thank you for sharing, that 70's were an interesting time for fashion.
Thank you for sharing! 🙏🏽
Thank you for the post!
Awesome story I was huge fan of Jim Kelly although he wasn't the greatest actor he was a tremendous fighter on screen and a legitimate martial artist.
stilleven doe he didnt get to many parts in the movies he still the greatestest im gonna miss you
Late to this vid, but thanks for sharing these stories. My buddies and I discovered BBJ in high school from our local Blockbuster. BBJ is pretty much our Citizen Kane.
This is an amazing great story experience. Just subscribed, notification bell!!!
That’s cool!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!💯👌🏽🙏🏽👊🏽
This was awesome.
Ultimate respect to your Father. Kwan Soo Dude.
It might be cheesy but it's awesome! Especially the nut shot guy
Fantastic story, and thank you very much for sharing your professional experience. By the same token, if there were more individuals such as yourself that communicated their respective positive experience with Jim Kelly, it would be an added value as to "who" he really was a "true martial artist and human being" to our society.
However, thank you again....
Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome 👌🏾🏁
Black Belt Jones is the first Kung Fu action movie I ever saw. I watched it in 1978 in Rawalpindi , Pakistan in a cinema . They had a great big hand painted poster outside Bollywood style . I was blown away .
I like listen to ur dad stories
That's good to hear. I have more to come, get ready for more!
Man you came right of the comic book
If you could star in your own Martial Arts movie... What would it be called?
That's easy one sensei " Fatal Deviation 2 " 😄 love these old stories 👊
Kuro musha shugyosei aka Warrior's Quest Of A Samurai Student
"El Tigre del Norte" (The Tiger of the North)
@@johnnysticks772 Hahah I just watched the Fatal Deviation trailer, damnnn son that was intense. I can see why you'd want to star in pt. 2
@@tokenstandpoint93 Wooo, that is an epic title!
I love your story and sharing this with us. You took those shots the best. However, I hate that Kelly blatantly tried to duplicate Lee and sucked at it. No originality at all. Come on Jim! There's just no need brotha. Then again it reflects his short time with Bruce and his admiration for him. I'm a fan of Kelly's since the 70's. Always thought he was a cool dude and he's one of the few humble people who could talk honestly about how awesome Bruce was without his ego getting in the way. This was a cool story. Again, thank you for sharing that with us.
Thanks for the story. I was 16 in 1974 and I use to watch all Jim Kelly's movies. At that time the Karate looked legit but by today's standards it does look cheesy.😬 I wonder did Jim tell any Bruce Lee stories we haven't heard? Thanks for the memories!❤
Wow Grandmaster Dennis Ichikawa was in Black Belt Jones, with the legendary Jim Kelly from Enter the Dragon? Thank you Sensei Ichi, for bringing us this wonderful interview, witn your father. I truly like hearing his stories from the good old days. I am glad to see that your father is still keeping strong, fit, healthy and active, until this day. One can only ponder, what it would have been like for the legendary Bruce Lee, if he was still here today with us!
Jim Kelly was definitely a phenomenal athlete and an amazing, charismatic, cool individual. Definitely a great role model for young African American people, to look up to, as well as aspire to be like. What Sensei Dennis Ichikawa said, about the fights being improvised on the set, during the filming process of the movie, is reminiscent of Hong Kong action films of that era, as well as today. Martial arts films in Hong Kong, get choreographed by sporadic and instant improvisation, as the film is getting filmed and the action sequence comes up to be filmed. The stunt or martial arts director will tell the stunt performers roughly what he wants each person to do and away they go and just wing it lol. Awesome films nonetheless. Have a wonderful week ahead Sensei Ichi, Osu!🥋✌👍😊🇦🇺👊Juan!
As a kid during the 80's I only had Jim Kelly and Ron Van Clief to look up to. Nice to see you on this channel as well man. OSU!
Thank you for your input and watching the film. He works out twice a week with an old school buddy of his. He's in very good shape for a 73 year old dude!
@@SenseiIchi definitely a perfect example for us all, to aspire to emulate and also try to age gracefully, as he has. Please if you may, kindly convey my best regards to Grandmaster Dennis Ichikawa, from Sensei Juan of Melbourne, Australia, of Kyokushin Karate, Osu! 🥋I really like interview segments with your father Sensei Ichi, he is so full of wisdom.
Awesome Sensei Ichi!
Thank you for watching and commenting !
There's a video online with Jim Kelly talking about Bruce Lee and his instructor Gordon Doversola of the Okinawa The Organization... Apparently Bruce Lee took private lessons from Gordon Doversola...
Awesome.
You're awesome!
@@SenseiIchi Ha. I taught at a Christian school a few years back and we made some student movies. I did a fight scene in one of them. We pretty much just went out into the field and made up some stuff. I was way bigger than the kid, so I couldn't do too much or else I would have hurt him. The original scene had some good choreography, but it didn't have the suspense element. We came back a few days later and filmed it in the rain. The only regret is that we had better camera angles and the original choreography. If you want to watch them they are on my channel.
I think people really get hard of themselves when they talk about the past. Back then hollywood just barely got into martial and so was usa. Meaning choreography wasn't to par with china who had been doing it for generations upon generations. I think the film still holds up to date. Its not going to be fast flashy just like the times and thats how I see it. It was how americans actually fought in those times. Now with ufc mma kickboxing and boxing all gotten more professional the films reflect this. But whats best about the past is that you can actually recognize each move. Which kinda teaches you. I feel like now in days its too fast and it becomes one quick blur. You go wow what happened and have to rewind over and over again. When films back then you recognized it and could go to movies and your eyes and mind relax and just focus on the story. Thats my take on it anyways.
To put it this movie was the Karate Kid of its time. Notice how that movie as well is not fast paced or has the best actions scenes. But the story the characters made it a great movie. Just like this one. Jim Kelly beats up the villains in a safe way and instead of killing the guy he shots him in the butt. Punishing him but letting him live, but also showing his character that hes a slight joker. And then Jim Kelly walks cool and smooth. Tell me if movies today do that? pssh no, Its a great film!!!!!!
I love the cheesey movies, they are what they are
Dig these!!!
I love this style of the B=slap
A red belt is a masters belt. I wish the korean arts would not do this. Most kyokushin schools have replaced it with orange as well. Being that tang soo do is actually a karate style... the belt system as their art came from the Japanese, I don’t understand this?
Having different belts is what makes us unique. Japanese Karate is Japanese Karate and American Tang Soo Do is American Tang Soo Do.
It's kind of like the different religions have different bibles. Our belts are our bibles... in a manner of speaking.
Sensei Ichi I see your point. However, I don’t see it that way. Tang so doo (from what I understand) considers itself karate. Like most things in Korea it was stolen from the Japanese. I have no problem with that! It’s good.. you just kind of insult masters wearing a red belt! Kyokushin used to have it as the second belt! Out of respect they changed the color. Even BJJ which comes from Japanese martial arts uses the red belt for a master. I understand it’s different... being that they consider themselves karate... I just think it would be more respectful....
CARLO BELLA Some people say cucumbers taste better pickled.
Sensei Ichi not a good comparison.
CARLO BELLA what?
Hello Sensei Ichi, here is part three of one of my training sessions with Jim Kelly...th-cam.com/video/DVZWWFZ819A/w-d-xo.html
I disagree with dude. I loved watching the entire movie. It also did damn good at the box office.
Now I know it is you. Thank you.
You got it! Thank you for watching!
Thanks...What did Jim Kelley die of?Thanks again man 👨😑
Cancer
Practically unrehearsed, it is the reason why the fights in this type of movies look so fake, it was the way to film in this type of production. And without a choreography director to practice the fights, the stunts, just a bunch of guys, very talented, waiting around doing nothing. Today even actors with no martial arts experience look decently good thanks to the choreography director and multiple rehearsals for weeks or months.