Lee Barden

Infobox martial artist


name = Lee Barden
birth_name = Lee Barden
birth_date = birth date|1960|9|9|mf=y
birth_place = Fort Myers, Florida, United States
height =
website = [http://www.karateartsflorida.com Karate Arts]

Lee Barden (born September 9, 1960) is an American martial artist, famous for his skills with the nunchaku. Barden is trained in Wing Chun, Chinese Kenpo, American Karate, Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Kali and Lissajous-Do Weapons System. He is the owner and head instructor of Karate Arts, a martial arts school located in Jacksonville, Florida [cite web|title=Karate Arts|url=http://www.karateartsflorida.com/] which is specialized in teaching children the positive side of martial arts. He is also the owner and Vice President of Black and Blue Productions Inc. He currently holds a seventh degree Black Belt, which has earned him the title of "Master". He is a member of the Florida Black Belt hall of fame and has won numerous awards and honors including Instructor of the Year, Master Instructor of the Year and Best Showman of the Year. [cite web|title=Superfoots|url=http://www.superfoots.com/leebarden.html]

Personal life

Lee Barden was born in Fort Myers, Florida during Hurricane Donna. When Barden was thirteen, he saw "Enter the Dragon", starring martial arts actor Bruce Lee, which inspired his training in the martial arts. He built a homemade set of nunchaku out of a broomstick and a dog's collar. As a teenager, Barden began his martial arts studies at a local dojo.

At the age of eighteen, Barden joined the United States Navy and served for four years. During this time Barden visited Europe and the Middle East and had the opportunity to continue his martial arts training along the way.

Believing in a lack of a genuine nunchaku master, Barden found his abilities were far beyond most he encountered at the timeFact|date=January 2008 and made it his goal to seek out a true master. In 1979, Barden met the founder of the Lissajous-do weapons system, which is based on physics, logic and mathematics. Barden spent the next 28 years mastering Lissajous-do, and incorporating it into his own style.

After many years of successful competition he opened his first martial arts school in 1983. Not long after that, he started Black and Blue Productions, a sports martial arts video company, with partner Walter Faulkner.

In 1984, Barden married Connie Barden, who is currently an instructor at Barden's school, Karate Arts. The couple has two daughters, Cassidy and Kailee.

Freestyle nunchaku

Barden is known worldwide for his activity with the nunchaku,Fact|date=January 2008 which consists of freestyle nunchaku, Fire Nunchaku, and Uv Nunchaku. Barden was the first nunchaku practitioner to light his nunchaku on fire, a practice that has become popular among freestyle nunchaku performers.Fact|date=January 2008 Barden also pioneered many moves that have become staples in the nunchaku community. His video production company Black and Blue video has one of the largest martial arts catalogs in the world.Fact|date=January 2008

Competition

Barden has competed internationally, always placing high in the rankings.Fact|date=January 2008 He has been the featured performer at many events including The Battle of Atlanta. Barden is famous in the martial arts world for pioneering a new brand of nunchaku called Prochux.Fact|date=January 2008 Prochux are hand made with a specific balancing point and shorter cord. These features allow martial artists to develop new moves they never thought possible with traditional nunchaku. Prochux have inspired a long list of second rate copies and imitations. The short cord nunchaku has shorter range, but is more popular in USA.Fact|date=January 2008

Media involvement

Barden is a master of the Lissajous-Do nunchaku system, which he promotes with instructional DVDs. His video company, Black and Blue Productions, also provides some of Barden's nunchaku content on YouTube. Barden has been featured on numerous national television programs including the Discovery channel's Impact:Stories of Survival, "The Maury Povich Show", "You Gotta See This", "I'm Still Alive!", "World's Most Amazing Videos", and "Now See This". He currently hosts a television show in Jacksonville, Florida called Karate Arts. In addition, he is highly involved with the local kickboxing and MMA community hosting and sanctioning events as a Florida IKF amateur kickboxing state representative.

References

reflist

External links

* [http://www.karateartsflorida.com Karate Arts]
* [http://www.precisionstrikes.bravehost.com/ ProChux]
* [http://www.blacknbluevideo.com Black and Blue Productions]