Martial Arts Past and Present

Sensei Ed Brizz, taught Karate & Jujitsu for many years. His podcast aims to learn from others about their philosophies and techniques and how they can be applied today. martialartspastandpresent.substack.com

Martial Arts Past and Present is a sports podcast hosted by Ed Brizzolara, with 19 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Ed Brizzolara hosts Martial Arts Past and Present, a sports show with 19 episodes published.

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  Martial Arts Past and Present

  S2 E7: Chris Harris - From Homelessness to Mastery: How Martial Arts Built a Leadership Revolution

  May 26, 20261h 11mS0

  <p>Rarely does a single conversation contain this many hard-won lessons packed into one sitting. Chris Harris, sixth Dan martial artist and founder of Roku Jitsu, built a system combining six martial arts disciplines after a childhood that could have broken anyone. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, with his mother incarcerated, Harris found himself homeless around age twelve, living on the streets by choice rather than returning to foster care. That moment of raw determination, sitting alone eating found donuts, became the spark for everything that followed.</p><p>What does it actually take to rewire your mind for lasting...

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  Episode #6

  S2 E6: The Queen of Martial Arts, Cynthia Rothrock

  May 12, 20261h 7mS2

  <p>Rarely does a martial artist's story span five black belts, seventy films, and a groundbreaking role alongside Michelle Yeoh, but Cynthia Rothrock's journey does exactly that and more. Starting martial arts at age thirteen after watching friends practice in an exercise room, she went on to become an undefeated forms champion over one hundred times and one of the first Caucasian women to perform martial arts on film in Hong Kong cinema.What does it actually take to jump six stories between scaffolds with zero safety equipment?Cynthia shares how a tough instructor's philosophy, "quitters are losers," shaped her...

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  Martial Arts Past and Present

  S2 E5: From Yellow Pages to Hall of Fame: Don Mathews on Martial Arts Legacy

  Apr 28, 202658 minS0

  <p>Rarely does a single phone book advertisement change the entire course of a life. Yet that is exactly what happened when Hanshi Don Mathews began his martial arts journey in 1983 after spotting a yellow pages listing. What followed was over forty years of training, teaching, and eventually founding the Warriors Legacy Hall of Fame to honor those who truly earned their place.</p><p>Don holds a ninth-degree black belt (which alone tells you the depth of his commitment). He trained initially in Tongshudo under a former Korean Green Beret, spending two and a half hours daily in cramped...

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  Episode #4

  S2 E4: From Kung Fu to Ministry: Building Authentic Martial Arts Leadership with Jef Naayers

  Apr 14, 202652 minS2

  <p>Rarely does a conversation about martial arts cut this deep. Jef Naayers, who first fell in love with Kung Fu at age eleven after watching David Carradine in the original Kung Fu pilot, has spent decades training at Shaolin Temple, traveling to China yearly, and wrestling with questions that go far beyond fighting technique.</p><p>The overuse of titles like “Grandmaster” and “Sifu” is actively damaging martial arts culture. Jef argues passionately that these titles should reflect earned relationships built through longevity and character, not certificates handed out to young practitioners who haven’t put in the work. It’s a pro...

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  Episode #3

  S2 E3: Family Comes First, Even for "Hollywood", Kwan Jang Nim Jose Luis Torres II

  Mar 31, 20261h 5mS2

  <p>What does it take to transform childhood bullying into a lifetime of martial arts mastery? Jose Luis Torres II started training at age five after his mother enrolled him in karate, inspired by Chuck Norris films. Fast forward four decades, and Torres, who is now a ninth Dan in Tang Soo Do, actually met his childhood hero at a charitable gala in Texas. (Talk about a full-circle moment.)</p><p>Interestingly, Torres' first instructor, Master William Hamilton, trained under Jae-chul Shin, who also trained Chuck Norris himself, creating an unexpected lineage connection. Through his 44-year journey, Torres studied under...

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