MAGAZINE REVIEW: BLACK BELT MAGAZINE

Title: Black Belt Magazine: World's Leading Magazine of Self-Defense
Description: Monthly magazine covering a wide variety of self-defense and martial arts systems, techniques, and prominent practitioners.
Comments: Beginners will benefit as well as more advanced practitioners.
Overall Rating:

Review

Black Belt Magazine just celebrated 45 years of publishing. No wonder. It is the undisputed leader of the mainstream self-defense and martial arts periodicals.

Other magazines cover only one aspect of fighting or martial arts, such as grappling, kung fu, karate, sport fighting, combatives. Black Belt covers all those and more.

Several prominent columnists include Jim Wagner, who popularized "reality-based personal protection" and author of a book and video series by the same name. Gear-heads will appreciate the highlights of the latest videos, books, training equipment, apparel, and weapons. Traditional martial artists will enjoy coverage of several different types of styles.

Topics include reality-based self-defense, various martial and fighting arts, specific women's and children's issues, weapons (both for martial arts performance and practical defense), equipment use, training techniques and drills, and buyer guides.

A sample of articles and topics covered in the last few years include:

• 20 Experts on Teen Safety
• Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do Relaunched
• 20 Experts on How to Protect Your Kids
• Military Martial Arts
• Survive a Knife Attack
• The Truth About Dim Mak's Death Touch
• 4 Drills to Power Up Your Punches
• Fight Back! 7 Self-Defense Tips for Women
• Buyer's Guide to Videos and DVDs
• 9 Knife Drills for Self-Defense
• How to Choose the Right Art
• 4 Ways to Build Better Balance
• Self-Defense for the Real World
• Hapkido Protection Techniques
• Heavy Bag Training
• Wushu Training in China
• Gun-Attack Defenses
• Self-Defense Mind-Set
• Beware: Martial Arts Scams
• How to Become a Federal Air Marshal
• Sword Training at Home
• First Aid for Training Injuries

Articles are well written and detailed, with full-color pictures to show proper stances and movement. Letters to the editor are fun to read, as Black Belt Magazine certainly doesn't shy away from publishing dissenting opinions.

An annual Buyer's Guide is published and included in the subscription.

I anticipate receiving each month's issue, as I can always learn something new, reinforce something I already know, or get a new perspective. I may not be interested in a specific topic for several months, then it catches my eye in a new article. I read the article, totally enjoy it, want to learn more, and go back through my back issues to find more information about it.

The magazine is a resource that should be kept and referred to in the future. Not thrown away after you read it. It covers both the mental and physical side of self-defense and fighting. I like the different viewpoints on self-defense and martial arts.

The only criticism I have is that the magazine should be more critical of the arts and products it covers. I suppose that as a publication serving a niche, it needs to maintain good relationships with advertisers, authors, columnists, and manufacturers. Just do your due diligence and research before spending money on the latest products being advertised.

The advantage of having a subscription to a magazine is that you get continual reinforcement over time. Repetition is the key to learning. A book you can read once and then put down or away, only to forget about it. A magazine that comes every month keeps you aware of the topic.

Summary

Black Belt Magazine is a great well-rounded magazine covering a wide range of self-defense and martial arts topics. Subscribe today at the lowest rate available, even lower than direct from the publisher.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Books Reality-based self-defense books. Includes recommended books.
• Videos Reality-based self-defense DVDs and videos serve as excellent supplemental learning tools. Learn at your own pace in the comfort of your home.
• Training Live reality-based self-defense training from qualified instructors allows more personalized training, technique correction, and practice with partners.
• Information Additional websites that provide reality-based self-defense information.
• More Articles Read more reality-based self-defense articles from our library.