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My First Decade Writing For Black Belt Magazine – Part 2

6/14/2017

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Sensei Burk here continuing to share my journey writing for Black Belt Magazine.  When I sent in that first query to the magazine, I wasn’t that busy since I was in the middle of a year long sabbatical.  By publication of that article, we’d relocated to Santee, California and were running two dojos and a community services karate program.  We were super busy.  Fortunately, my wife Martha did lots of the teaching which afforded me time to work on the writing. I have to thank her for that along with assisting me with the writing early on.  I’ve learned that good things happen with teamwork.  (Appearing with me in the photo is martial arts pioneer, the late Shihan Ted Tabura.) – FB
 
When I left off, I was at a crossroads with the writing.  I was receiving rejection letters from the magazine.  I must have gotten a half dozen of them.  Looking back, the problem was my ideas were too abstract and confusing – they were bad.  I began to know what it was like to be a one-hit-wonder.  I thought I would never get published again.  Then one day one of my ideas caught the attention of the magazine.  The idea was about creating your own martial arts system.  I knew a lot about this subject matter and I started working on the article right away.
 
The working title was Planning To Create Your Own Martial Arts System – “Think Again”.  The theme wasn’t so much to tell people not to create their own system; rather how to avoid the many pitfalls associated with going down that road.  This time I didn’t do a photo shoot.  I just submitted the manuscript with a note asking if something appropriate could be found in Black Belt’s archives.  The article was still on speculation with no guarantees to be published – luckily, a few weeks later I got the acceptance for publication letter.  Shortly thereafter came the letter stating it would be published in the September 1995 issue of Black Belt.  That was cool.
 
The actual title turned out to be “The Dangers of Creating Your Own Fighting System”, and the lead photo was a shot of Bruce Lee.  The magazine found other photos in their archives to help illustrate the story too.  Something funny about the pictures - your family and friends won’t give you much reaction if they don’t see you in them.  Most won’t read much of it.  A person has to get his satisfaction knowing his content is out there for the benefit of the magazine enthusiasts – many of whom are seekers trying to better themselves or their dojo.  I did get some reaction that I wasn’t expecting.  It was a letter to the editor (published in a subsequent issue) sent in by a gentleman objecting to my article.  I didn’t like it so much but I had no control over it.  I had to learn to accept some criticism.
 
After sending in the next query, I received a letter suggesting I change the training camp angle that I’d pitched - to a more straight forward “outdoor training” concept.  I’d done an outdoor style training camp for ten years and a lot of karate and kickboxing work in the mountains too, so of course I was IN.  The material was right there in my brain, nevertheless, I sought out some quotes from the late Shihan Ted Tabura, an artist who became a kupuna to me.  (A kupuna is a wise person who will lead you out of danger into the light.)  It was a good move because it really helped beef up the article.  I also went on a photo shoot rampage, shooting at four California outdoor locations.  Turns out that it’s a bit cooler to take the time to do the photos.  The manuscript and photo package was completed much more quickly this time and publication came quicker too.  The article titled “Training In The Great Outdoors” was published in Black Belt’s July 1996 issue.  To cap things off, every model/student who took part in the photo shoots had their pictures published in the magazine.  The article and all the work it entailed was extremely rewarding.
 
Next, I turned in a tournament article which was accepted.  While waiting for the publication date, I received an unexpected surprise.  The magazine called me on the phone and asked me if I’d be willing to take on an assignment to write a story about (the now late) great Joe Lewis.  I said yes, then went on a journey learning everything I could from the former World Champion.  The article titled “Joe Lewis Speaks His Mind” was published in the July 1997 issue of Black Belt.  Things were going great.  I was on top of the world…for now anyway.  A few months later that world would crash and burn.  Stay tuned.

​- Floyd Burk

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My First Decade Writing For Black Belt Magazine – Part 1

5/20/2017

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​Sensei Burk here writing my first blog. I decided to begin with a history of my writing career with Black Belt Magazine. I first learned of the existence of the magazine in 1980. While serving an internship at a dojo in Antelope Valley, CA, a co-owner of that dojo and I attended a PKA kickboxing event in Santa Monica, CA. There are two things I recall from that event: Chuck Norris was sitting not far from where we were, and someone handing me a copy of Black Belt Magazine. I truly loved that magazine and I started buying it occasionally and on a regular basis when I had the funds. A few years later while teaching seminars at schools around the United States, it occurred to me that the magazine could assist me in teaching my methods to people beyond my own dojo and the organization that I represented. There began my inspiration to write for Black Belt Magazine. – FB

In January 1991 I submitted my first query letter to Black Belt Magazine inquiring if they were interested in publishing a training story about sparring and self-defense. I got a letter back saying the article idea had been accepted on speculation. Speculation meant Black Belt would take a look at the finished article but would not guarantee to use it. It took about two months to write the article, do a photo-shoot (a group of students did the shooting and appeared with me in the photos) and submit the manuscript with the photos to Black Belt. Shortly thereafter, I receive a letter saying the article had been accepted and would be published in an issue to be determined later. I was thrilled to say the least, and started looking in my mailbox for the publication letter.

I continued looking, and a year later, I had come to a cross roads. It was determined that my two part article was too bulky to publish as is. Unless I agreed to take out the self-defense aspect, I would have to seek publication elsewhere. Consequently, I re-wrote the article, then arranged for a re-shoot of some of the photos. In fall of 1994 I received that publication letter I was waiting for. The article would be published in Black Belt Magazine's December 1994 issue.

Despite all the time and work, it was one of the coolest moments for me. The same when the magazine arrived in my mailbox. I was surprised to see a couple of tournament fighters appearing in the lead photo instead of me and one of the others from the shoots. However, I was so jazzed to have the project done, it didn’t bother me at all. I went from reader of Black Belt to a published freelance writer for Black Belt. I was on a natural high for several months.

As that high started to wane, I sent in another query. I was surprised to get a letter stating that my article idea didn’t meet their editorial needs. I sent in more queries and received those same letters. With all of the headaches with the first article, then the non-acceptance letters, I could have become discouraged enough to give up on my writing career. I was at another cross roads. Do I throw in the towel, or keep steady with a philosophy I always tell the students, “Success usually comes at the end of an endeavor”? – Floyd Burk



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