Secondly, my nephew has two black belts and has often remarked about the Russian system and Putin.
Well, I can't put anyone down for holding any belt. It takes dedication and hard work.
I know a few guys with black belts myself. A few different styles. I have a niece with black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Taekwondo.
I don't have any belts and have never had any formal training but I spar with black belts whenever I can and these guys are quite a bit younger than me. Two of my nephews hold no belts but are practicing MMA fighters. I'm around a few MMA fighters quite a bit, some of them are pretty good friends. Some of them are idiots. Some of the black belts can't hold their own with me, and I'm 50. I hate sparring with the Muay Thai fighters. It takes me a week to recover.
Our sparring sessions are quite a bit more strenuous than those judo throws and trips that I saw Putin doing. Three of us have lost teeth in sparring. Including me. LOL!
But it was really more in the way he moved and carried himself. He just didn't look like a threat. He looked slow, stiff and lethargic. But I've been surprised before.
I don't have any belts and have never had any formal training but I spar with black belts whenever I can and these guys are quite a bit younger than me. Two of my nephews hold no belts but are practicing MMA fighters. I'm around a few MMA fighters quite a bit, some of them are pretty good friends. Some of them are idiots. Some of the black belts can't hold their own with me, and I'm 50. I hate sparring with the Muay Thai fighters. It takes me a week to recover.
I'm 67 and have Parkinson's. That said, you probably have heard of the Dirty Dozen.
Most of the so called "dirty dozen" are friends of Bob Wall, and all of them were, or still are, outstanding karate competitors. In addition to Wall, the dirty dozen consists of current kickboxing chsmpions Dennis Alexio and Benny Urquidez; former full-contact The Magnificent Seven: Seven of the "Dirty Dozen" show off their favorite fighting techniques for their nemesis, actor and aikido stylist Steven Seagal. They are: Bob Wall, Allen Steen, Jim Harrison, Howard Jackson, Roger Carpenter, Bill Wallace, and Blinky Rodriguez. karate champions Bill Wallace, Howard Jackson, and Blinky Rodriguez; and former tournament fighters Richard Norton, Pat Burleson, Jim Harrison, Allen Steen, Roger Carpenter, and Billy Robertson.
I trained under Jim Harrison in the late sixties and early seventies.
But it was really more in the way he moved and carried himself. He just didn't look like a threat. He looked slow, stiff and lethargic. But I've been surprised before.
I talked to my nephew who has a 5th degree black belt in Taekwondo and a 1st in Judo. He stated Putin has a 7th degree black belt in Judo and he woulld not want to go up against him.