Inside Kung-Fu Magazine

[ironclaw1981]

see I like some stories, maybe one an issue!!! I like to see....
diet ideas
qigong techniques
self-defence
weapons info and history
traditional chinese medicine
solo training ideas........
I could give a crap less about stars and which stunt person taught them two moves of wing chun for an upvoming flick!!!!!!!!

[mooyingmantis]

Agree! If I can't learn anything from a MA magazine, it will be waste of money and time for me. I would like to see the following subjects in any MA magazine:

How to:

- enter safely.
- finish effectively.
- develop combat strategies.
- counter a certain attack.
- counter those counters.
- train combos.
- train solo at home.
- develop, maintain, and enhance a certain skill.
- ...

Very interesting ideas!

I could give a crap less about stars and which stunt person taught them two moves of wing chun for an upcoming flick!!!!!!!!

Agreed! Wasted space to me.

More stuff, less fluff!

Fluff may appeal to novices and pimply-faced teens, but substance would make me require all my students to subscribe to a magazine.

I wonder what the demographics is for KFM?

[David Jamieson]

I wonder what the demographics is for KFM?

Bitter men over 35 who gather on the forum of said magazine and complain about how it isn't the past and what an asshat so and so was or is.

[mooyingmantis]

Bitter men over 35 who gather on the forum of said magazine and complain about how it isn't the past and what an asshat so and so was or is.

LOL!
I have no complaints. But I am curious regarding the demographics/target audience of KFM. Apparently IKF developed into a magazine that's readership grew out of it and they were not able to inform/inspire another generation.

[Northwind]

Bitter men over 35 who gather on the forum of said magazine and complain about how it isn't the past and what an asshat so and so was or is.

lol pure poetry of truth
That's all me

The 'less fluff & more stuff' issue is a good one, and the enterprising money-backed folks should simply note the two distinct differences and capitalize on it, IMO. "Okay, we'll let these guys do the history, technique and whatnot, and we will do the myths, hot chicks in wushu-silks, the karate guys who throw wushu-like-crap into their forms and call it kung fu, and a healthy dose of new age"...

Believe it or not - I think that would actually work :P

[Syn7]

...BEP is really all about Will.I.Am and Fergie obviously.

when i first heard BEP i loved it... back in like 96 when they dropped joints and jam... and as a BBoy i loved that video too... but that BEP and todays BEP arent even on the same planet... alot of us oldskoolers have been watching that whole scene with silent horror... and then fergie came along... now im not trying to hate on her, i like a few songs from early on... but now i see any BEP song and im left standing there scratching my head like "WTF happened and WTF are these people smokin"...

[David Jamieson]

when i first heard BEP i loved it... back in like 96 when they dropped joints and jam... and as a BBoy i loved that video too... but that BEP and todays BEP arent even on the same planet... alot of us oldskoolers have been watching that whole scene with silent horror... and then fergie came along... now im not trying to hate on her, i like a few songs from early on... but now i see any BEP song and im left standing there scratching my head like "WTF happened and WTF are these people smokin"...

the fugees. wyclef and lauryn are superior in everyway to the sell out peas.

[Syn7]

the fugees. wyclef and lauryn are superior in everyway to the sell out peas.

agreed... well, up until the score... then its commercial bull****... in some ways its even more shiney and flashy than the peas... today, they aint sh!t... wyclef is the only one doing anything and he sold his soul, so, yeah... but i loved them in like 94...

and pras pretty much sunk himself with that ghetto superstar junk...

[SPJ]

I always thought that IKF is People mag for Kung Fu circles including cinema, wushu, old school Kung Fu etc.

So people mag for hollywood and TV land

Why not people mag for Kung Fu circle?

[SPJ]

Now that we have face book and tweeter to follow people and event around.

Anoucement etc

Then people mag for Kung Fu land is out of action unless picked up by big sponsors or ad dollars.

[Northwind]

...and tweeter...

I have no idea why, but that word sent me rolling on the floor.

[YMAA_com]

Inside Kung Fu magazine last issue is coming Feb 2011. Out of business forever.

Focusing on their Mixed Martial Arts audience instead.

DS

[GeneChing]

Despite all of your criticism, I have a lot of respect for Dave Cater. I worked for him when I was freelance and never encountered any of the problems so many other writers claimed. My only complaint was that one of my articles was published in a compilation book and I wasn't notified, but truth be told, I don't remember what I signed on for with the contract for that article, so it may have been within the publisher's right. Or not. It's all water under the bridge now.

However, my respect for Dave increased exponentially after I took the position here. We only crossed paths once after that and had a good talk about the biz. No one - and I mean NONE OF YOU - have any idea what it takes to run a newsstand martial arts mag. I thought I knew the biz from nearly a decade of freelance work. I wrote for all the major mags before taking on this position, as well as did a direct mail periodical/catalog for WLE. The newsstand biz, especially over the last decade (ironically my watch here) has been extremely challenging. People are talking about the death of print publishing. It's an insane biz to be in right now.

When SPJ says "IKF is People mag for Kung Fu circles", you have to realize that celeb mags are one of the only genres that were thriving on the newsstands. In my heart of hearts, I agree with YouKnowWho in saying "If I can't learn anything from a MA magazine, it will be waste of money and time for me". But frankly, fluff sells on the newsstands. We have to cater (no pun intended) to all types to get someone to pick up on the newsstands. Whenever we could get a pop star on the cover, we'd grab the chance. A recognizable face sells. That's why you still see so many Bruce Lee covers, now nearly four decades after his death.

I often wonder if we would have put Taboo on the cover, if I had the chance. We put Lou Reed on our cover. That issue did well for us. We still get an occasional fan requesting the back issue.

I would have put Fergie on the cover in a heartbeat. I still would. Fergie, call me.

[mickey]

Greetings,

It is true that I do not know how to run a newstand martial arts magazine. But I most definitely do know how to run Inside Kung Fu (into the ground): CONTROVERSY!!!


mickey

[Northwind]

...snip...
I would have put Fergie on the cover in a heartbeat.

Fergie could be on my cover any day. :P