Virgil Davis Karate Studio

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Much thought was put into selecting information for our About Chun Kuk Do section. The best explanation of the history of our Chun Kuk Do is outlined in a 1983 publication from Chuck Norris and the U.F.A.F. System entitled: The article below has been reprinted with permission from Mr. Chuck Norris. It all began when Chuck Norris returned from Osan, Korea, to March Air Force Base in March, 1961, as a first degree black belt in Moo Duk Kwan, Tang Soo Do and a brown belt in Judo. While stationed at March Air Force Base, Mr. Norris started a Tang Soo Do club. He studied Tae Kwan Do under Mr. Kim, a Korean black belt, and received his black belt in eight months. He also competed in Judo for the March A.F.B. Judo Team. These activities continued until his discharge in August of 1962. Mr. Norris began his civilian life working days at Northrop Aircraft and teaching Tang Soo Do in his parents' backyard in the evenings. By August of 1963 he had enough students to open his first studio in Torrance, California. In October 1964, Kenny Osborne became Mr. Norris' first student to be promoted to black belt. Mr. Norris also opened his second studio in nearby Redondo Beach, California. In 1965, Mr. Norris began his competitive career by entering his first tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah. He and three of his students drove to Salt Lake in an old Ford Falcon that just barely made it there after 16 hours and a snowstorm. All four of them competed. Mr. Norris' three students won and he lost, so he drove back while the students held their trophies. Upon returning home, Mr. Norris began working on the mistakes he had made and realized "that the only time we ever lose is when we do not learn from our experiences". After losing in the Internationals and two or three other tournaments, Mr. Norris turned the tide and finished 1965 by winning the Los Angeles All-Star Championships, the Winter Nationals, and California State. 1966 was the year when Chuck Norris and his students became recognized on the tournament circuit. In the Internationals that year, Mr. Norris won the Middleweight Division, but lost to Alan Steen of Dallas, Texas, for Grand Champion. Mr. Steen also beat Joe Lewis for the Heavyweight Division. 1967 was a big year for Mr. Norris. Pat Johnson moved to California to join with Mr. Norris in establishing his Federation as one of the best in the world. Because Mr. Johnson had made his black belt in Korea in 1963, he became Mr. Norris' senior black belt, and, as we all know, Vice-President of UFAF. Mr. Johnson was not only Chief of Instruction, but Captain of the Chuck Norris Black Belt Team that went undefeated in 26 matches. One of the best decisions of Mr. Norris' life was to go into partnership with Bob Wall in the Karate business. Through Mr. Wall's ingenuity, Karate finally became a profit-making venture. Mr. Wall's system was copied by Karate schools throughout the country, and new schools began opening as never before. Mr. Norris was rated the No. 1 Fighter by Black Belt Magazine for going undefeated in 1967 and winning several major Karate championships including the Internationals, the All-American, and the National Tournament of Champions. In 1968 Mr. Norris again went undefeated, winning all the major tournaments a second time. In November of 1968 he fought for the World Middleweight Championship at Madison Square Garden and defeated his good friend, Louie Delgado, for the title. Mr. Norris was also named Black Belt Hall of Fame's "Fighter of the Year." In 1972 Bruce Lee, a friend of Mr. Norris' asked him to be in a movie called "Return of the Dragon". Mr. Norris at the time had no desire to be an actor, but thought it would be fun. So he talked his partner Bob Wall into going with him to Rome, Italy, to do the big fight scene with Bruce Lee. While there Mr. Wall was also asked to play a part in the film and he agreed to do so. Now, ten years later, "Return of the Dragon" is a classic and has grossed over eighty million dollars. In 1974 Mr. Norris formally retired as the World Middleweight Champion and decided to pursue an acting career. Unfortunately for Mr. Norris, the producers were not beating down his door to make him a star. Mr. Norris racked his brain trying to figure out how he was going to break into the movie business. One night while working out with his black belts, Mr. Norris mentioned to them that he had to come up with an idea for a movie. John Robertson spoke up and said that he had an idea. Mr. Robertson proceeded to tell a story about the Black Tigers in Viet Nam who start getting killed off when they get back to the United States. You guessed it, the movie was "Good Guys Wear Black". Mr. Robertson created the story, and Pat Johnson helped write the screenplay. For two years Mr. Norris took the script to every producer in Hollywood that would talk to him, and they all rejected it. But Mr. Norris wouldn't give up. His determination to make it in films was as strong as his determination had been to be a Karate Champion. Finally his persistence paid off, and Mr. Norris met a young producer who was willing to gamble on him. In 1977 "Good Guys Wear Black" became a reality. Then another obstacle confronted Mr. Norris. No one in Hollywood wanted to distribute "Good Guys", and theater owners were opposed to it because they had never heard of Chuck Norris and, therefore, didn't think the movie would make money. So the producer formed his own distribution company and Mr. Norris took the film on the road, city by city, most of the time renting theaters himself to show "Good Guys". Mr. Norris was on the road for nine months doing ten to fifteen promotional interviews a day. Consequently, he once wound up in the hospital suffering from exhaustion, but "Good Guys Wear Black" was a huge success. With this realization, Mr. Norris called Mr. Johnson to tell him just how great "Good Guys" was doing, and asked Mr. Johnson to write another screenplay In response, Mr. Johnson wrote "Force of One". Mr. Norris ended his touring to film "Force of One". Unfortunately, the distributors and theater owners thought "Good Guys" was a fluke and that "Force of One" could not possibly do the same business. So Mr. Norris had to start all over again and retrace the path he had taken with "Good Guys" city by city. Because "Good Guys" was still being shown, Mr. Norris would fly into one city and promote "Good Guys" then on to another city for "Force of One". The final outcome was that "Force of One" out-grossed "Good Guys" at the box-office, and Mr. Norris' movie career had begun. The movies that followed were "Octagon", "An Eye For An Eye", "Silent Rage", "Forced Vengeance" and "Lone Wolf McQuade". In 1976, prior to "Good Guys", Mr. Norris did a very low budget film called "Breaker, Breaker". However, because Mr. Norris was not advertised, he in return received no recognition from the film. The moral of this story is the same philosophy we teach our students: our lives are built around goals. First we must set a goal and get it worked out vividly in our minds. Then we must be determined to overcome all obstacles that may come between us and our goal. Study and/or train until you achieve your desired goal, and then set another one. Mr. Norris did - first as a Karate fighter and then as an actor. Its a sure bet that when he accomplishes what he wants in the film industry, Mr. Norris will be setting new goals for himself. One of the greatest accomplishments in Mr. Norris' martial arts career is the quality and dedication of the black belts promoted into the Chuck Norris System by the Board of Examiners. In 1970, of the top ten karate fighters rated by Black Belt Magazine, five were students of Mr. Norris. His students have consistently excelled in competition, whether in "fighting" or "kata". In fact, Mr. Norris himself won the Korean Kata competition at the International Championships three years in a row. Mr. Norris was finally recognized for his contribution as an instructor in 1975 by being presented the Black Belt Hall of Fame "Instructor of the Year" award. With the accumulation of his accomplishments as a fighter and instructor, the final award had to come. In 1979 it did. Mr. Norris was presented the Black Belt Hall of Fame "Man of the Year" award. It is now 1983 and UFAF is growing by leaps and bounds. Dick Douglas has computerized UFAF, which will expedite processing of all material; Dick Tirschel is doing a great job as National Director; Skeet Chambers is doing a remarkable job as Editor of The Kicker newsletter; and the other Officers and Regional Directors are also doing a tremendous job. Our numbers have grown from four black belts promoted in 1966 to 76 black belts promoted in 1982. You, the black belt members, through your dedication, have made UFAF an organization of which we can all be proud. The future of UFAF is in your hands.

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