Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 23 | Issue 3

COVER STORY
Building the Foundation
The success of the world’s
first and only Martial Arts History
Museum has been a tough and
winding road filled with countless
roadblocks, broken promises, and
at times, financial hardship before
enjoying the notoriety it has today.
“I always knew that was not going
to be an easy road,” confesses
Matsuda. “I knew I would face so
much disappointment and heartache,
but I always knew it would
succeed. I have never had one
doubt in my mind, since day one,
that it would not succeed. I could
always see the light at the end of
the tunnel and knew it would be a
success. I knew this would work!”
Matsuda was a contributing editor
for Black Belt and Inside Kung
Fu magazine for 20 years and started
his own publication in 1983 called Martial Art Magazine. In 1988,
he sold the magazine and set his sights on creating something that
would keep the martial arts history alive. Although now in his 60s,
he personally witnessed the evolution of the martial arts, so for
him, it’s a little personal. “Hey, I was there to see most of this happen,”
remarks Matsuda.
“The beauty of growing up in the 1960s is that you got to meet
or experience this amazing time in history, when martial arts got
on the map. Being there to see Eric Lee perform and meeting Ed
The Mast from the 1983 Film “Revenge of the Ninja” on Display
Martial Arts Celebrity Sightings are an Every Day Affair: Here The Lady Dragon Cynthia Rothrock Visits
Parker and doing a few moves with Brendan Lai or shaking hands
with Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis was overwhelming.”
Today, however, our iconic generation is slowly passing away,
and in the martial arts community, there are no resource libraries,
there are no governing bodies, there are no more magazines,
and there is nothing to keep the history of the martial arts alive for
generations to read about.
“When I had the magazine, I wanted to focus on history. But, I
got so many ads for tournaments, so that’s what I covered. When
someone made me an offer to purchase
the magazine, I jumped at the chance
because I wanted to do something more,
something that would keep our history
alive,” says Matsuda. “I thought the best
thing we could all do for the martial
arts is to create a place, a museum that
would house the history of the arts, how
it began and how it made its way across
the world.”
The creation of the museum was not
going to be an easy road, and at the time,
Matsuda did not have the education or
experience to begin such a huge task.
“In 1988, when I sold my magazine, I
knew nothing about creating a museum.
So, I went back to school to learn. I did
not want to be one of those guys who because
he’s done the martial arts for over
20, 30 years, decides he’s going to be a
museum curator. I’ve seen this a lot. Just
because you know martial arts history
doesn’t mean you know how to create,
continued on page 42
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