As late as the mid-1950s the Art of Karate
and even the word itself was totally unknown in America.
Then in 1957, a young man from Honolulu named Ed Parker,
opened the first commercial Karate School in the United States.
Within a short period of time other practitioners, mostly Asian, follow suit.
And with the discovery of this mysterious exotic Asian art,
by the American Motion Picture and Television communities,
its popularity soared among middle-class Americans.
By the mid-1960s the Art spread like wildfire
Growing from a small handful of practitioners to thousands.
It turned into a spectacular and exciting sport.
Because it was only offered in private schools being operated for profit,
it took several years for the art to find its way into the lower economic levels
of the American population.
Then in 1964,
Ed Parker created the largest and most prestigious Karate Tournament worldwide.
He named it the International Karate Championship.
And it became the Tournament to win above all others.
Producing notables such as Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris.
The internationals were so popular that the very first championships invited over 5 000 competitors.
Making it the largest of its kind in history.
And at that tournament, the African American participation was less than one percent.
The mid-1960s was a period of heavy political and racial upheaval.
When the African American population began making their numbers felt
in the martial arts community, they were not truly greeted with open arms.
Many African Americans felt the judging was biased to say the least.
If a point of contention was raised,
the Black competitor had little or NO representation to plead his case.
It was around this time that two African American Black Belts met,
became friends, and decided to work together to change the way
the African American competitors were treated in Tournament Karate.
Their names are Steve Sanders and Donnie Williams.
and this is the story of how they led the way for the African American martial artists
into the world of Competition Karate.
The Chinese population had its martial arts icon in Bruce Lee.
The Europeans in Jean-Claude Van Damme.
The Japanese in Samurai Film Cinema.
And the Americans had icon Chuck Norris.
While the vast African American community has had incredibly talented martial artists,
they have never really been marketed by the Entertainment Industry.
Steve and Donnie hatched a plan.
They would open the first African American Karate School in the United States.
Joined by five other Black Belts,
They leased a boarded up commercial building in riot torn South Central, Los Angeles.
They tapped into the ghetto streets to recruit the school's raw talent.
It was NOT smooth sailing.
And soon, they found out that street tough is NOT enough in the martial arts.
What they ended up with was a bunch of loose cannons.
What they needed to make their mark, was a disciplined fighting team
That could win the team trophy at the International Karate Championships.
Their personal story lines bring compelling drama to the picture.
For Steve, it is the resolution of being estranged from his father
because of a problem with the law as a young man that changed the course of his life.
For Donnie, the martial arts proved to be the vehicle that helped resolve his deep-seated hatred
and bring him to peace with his white brothers and himself.
Although this is more a people story than an action film,
There will be a lot of action.
The kind of action that packed the Long Beach Sports Arena
for THREE decades and kept the spectators on the edge of their seats.
At the film's conclusion -
The Black Karate Federation wins the coveted International Team Trophy.
For the African American martial artists, was a long overdue Breakthrough.
And they have never looked back!
The Epilogue will tell the audience that it was only the beginning.
They repeated that victory for the next eight consecutive years.