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JOHN CORCORAN
Martial Arts Historian
Recognized as one of the world’s premier martial arts authors and journalists, John Corcoran has been a prime force in taking modern martial arts literature into the major-league arena. In his 29-year literary career, he has written millions of words about the subject in an acclaimed body of work encompassing books, magazines and screenplays. Overall, he has used the power of the media to bring thousands of martial artists to public attention, and a select handful -- including superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme -- to stardom.
Mr. Corcoran has authored ten books to date, all but one with major New York publishers, which have collectively sold over 350,000 copies worldwide. He is perhaps best known for his 1983 masterwork, “The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia,” the definitive reference of the genre, which took ten years from concept to completion and has sold over 130,000 copies to date. His most recent release (august 2001) is “The Ultimate Martial Arts Question and Answer Book: 750 Expert Answers to Essential Questions” (McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books). He has just completed “The Unauthorized Jackie Chan Encyclopedia” (McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books), due for a July 2002 release in national book chainstores.
In addition, over the past 28 years, Mr. Corcoran has served as an editor or founding editor of almost every influential martial arts magazine in the industry, starting with Los Angeles-based “Black Belt” in 1973. In 1977, he pioneered multi-language article syndication in his field and his stories have since appeared in six languages in over 70 countries. Corcoran is currently the editor of “Martial Arts Success,” the industry’s foremost trade publication.
Mr. Corcoran’s writings on the subject have also extended into academia, motion pictures, and the mainstream media.
He was selected by the editors of both “The World Book Encyclopedia” in 1986 and Microsoft’s "Encarta (Electronic) Encyclopedia" in 1996 to write their inaugural entries for martial arts. His mainstream articles have appeared in “Parade,” the Sunday newspaper supplement, and “Daily Variety,” Hollywood's leading trade paper.
In 1993, he wrote the screenplay for “American Samurai,” the film in which Mark Dacascos (“Brotherhood of the Wolf; “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven” TV series) made his starring debut. He was a primary technical consultant for A&E’s 1998 landmark TV documentary, “The Martial Arts,” and worked in that same capacity for “Modern Gladiators” (2001), produced by Oscar-nominated documentarian Peter Spirer. He has also appeared as a stuntfighter in over a dozen martial arts films.
In 1995, Mr. Corcoran launched a national public-speaking sideline, teaching martial arts school owners publicity-procurement techniques, for the National Association of Professional Martial Artists.
In 1998, he co-edited with John Graden “The ACMA Instructor Certification Manual.” Based on the contents of the book, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the "Father of Fitness," and his world-renowned Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, agreed to administrate the ACMA Instructor Certification Program. This endorsement provides unprecedented credibility for the martial arts with both the academic/scientific community and the health and fitness industry. Essentially, it elevates the martial arts from a "fringe" pastime to a mainstream fitness activity.
Mr. Corcoran’s literary mentors are the late great Academy Award-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (“In the Heat of the Night”), who was Bruce Lee’s main Hollywood mentor, and best-selling author Joe Hyams (“Bogie”; “Zen in the Martial Arts”). Legendary Heavyweight Karate Champion Joe Lewis has been his chief martial arts mentor since 1977. A veteran black belt in karate, he began his training in 1967. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA.
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