Jimmy Edge, shown here in a black gi top, red pants, and purple belt is the son of Genny “Cougar” Edge (Kiado-Ryu Black Belt #13) as he bows in before performing his kata at a martial arts tournament in 1985.

Pictured with his handsome young sons is Kiado-Ryu Black Belt #14 Greg “Maddog” Bendel. His youngest son, Marcus, just started the 3rd grade; elder son Hunter, the 6th grade. Maddog works for Hewlett Packard as a Business Continuity Consultant. He also serves as a reserve sergeant for Orange County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue division. During the 1980s and 1990s, Greg exercised his black belt acumen as an instructor for the Karate Institute of America.

Dr. Milton “Super Zedha” Jacobson is the 3rd Black Belt of the Karate Institute of America. During his journey he paused for a moment to pose with his nunchucks—a standard Kiado-Ryu weapon. Milt began his martial arts journey at age 54 and achieved his 1st Dan Black Belt rating at age 60! What an inspiration!

This is a wonderful “Then and Now” photo of Dr. Milt “Super Zedha” Jacobson, the 3rd Black Belt of the Karate Institute of America, receiving his 1st Dan on 20 September 1985, as the collage reveals. Thanks to computer technology, not available to the average person in 1985, Dr. Jacobson poses with his wife, Gloria, in a recent photo taken in September 2013. “Then,” Dr. J was 60 years old, having begun his Kiado-Ryu martial arts journey at the tender age of 54!

The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master shares valuable principles of life to enable people of all ages to live a more substantive life, whether they’re involved in the martial arts or not. The Black Belt Book of Life has been reformatted and is available in both Kindle and paperback (find the link in the sidebar). THE BLACK BELT BOOK OF LIFE by Richard Andrew King should be called ‘The Book of Life’.

This Blast from the Past features a group test in 1986. These were wonderful times, times before cell phones, computers, and video games; times in which individuals engaged in the challenging work of improving themselves, of becoming substantive within the martial arts environment. Where is such a scene visible in today’s society? Where are those individuals who invest in themselves, their health and well-being? Indeed, where has all the substance gone?