John Corcoran was an American non-fiction book author, magazine editor,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...

historian.

Early life

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he began martial arts training in 1967 eventually writing press releases for his

Shōrin-ryū Shōrin-ryū (少林流) is one of the major modern Okinawan martial arts and is one of the oldest styles of karate. It was named by Choshin Chibana in 1933, but the system itself is much older. The characters 少林, meaning "sparse" or "scanty ...

karate instructor to pay for lessons. In 1973, as a newly promoted black belt, he compiled the first set of national Top Ten ratings for American karate

kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practise ...

competitors for '' Official Karate'' magazine.Corcoran, John and Farkas, Emil (1983). "About The Authors: John Corcoran", ''Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People'', Gallery Books, W.H. Smith Publishers, Inc., New York, inside back cover Over the next three decades, Corcoran served as editor of '' Black Belt'', and then ''Professional Karate'', '' Inside Kung Fu'', ''KICK Illustrated'', ''The Fighter International'' and ''Martial Arts Success''.''Our Founders''
STAR System website
Retrieved 30 September 2012. In September 1974, Corcoran also worked as publicist and production coordinator for Mike Anderson’s World Professional Karate Championships, the event which launched both the

Professional Karate Association The Professional Karate Association (PKA), later Professional Karate & Kickboxing Association, now--effective March 1, 2022 PKA Worldwide--was originally a martial arts sanctioning organization, now transformed into a martial arts promotion compa ...

(PKA) and the international

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

movement. He became the first PKA events coordinator where he befriended heavyweight kickboxing champion Joe Lewis who became his mentor.“Down with Politics!” (August 1980). ''KICK Illustrated'' magazine, pp. 50-53. In 1980, Corcoran co-founded the

STAR System World Kickboxing Ratings The Standardized Tournaments And Ratings System (STAR) was the premier rating service for international kickboxing, from 1980 through 1989, as syndicated in fifteen martial arts and sports magazines throughout the world. It was recognized as the ...

with

Paul Maslak Paul Maslak is an American independent movie producer, book author, newsstand magazine editor and kickboxing historian. Early life Paul Maslak was born in Washington, District of Columbia in the United States of America. He competed in high scho ...

."For Martial Arts Writer John Corcoran, the Pen Sure Is Mightier Than the Sword, Part 1," (Oct. 1995) "Inside Tae Kwon Do" magazine, CFW Enterprises, Inc., Burbank, CA., Pp. 44-49. In 1993, Corcoran wrote the screenplay for the film '' American Samurai'' starring

Mark Dacascos Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. He won numerous karate and kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. He is known for his roles as Wo Fat in '' Hawaii Five-0' ...

. He was a primary technical consultant for the A&E channel’s 1998 documentary, ''Mystic Origins of the Martial Arts,'' and worked in that same capacity in 2002 on ''Modern Warriors'', produced by documentarian Peter Spirer. In 2000, Corcoran received Gary Lee's ''"Living Legends Hall of Fame Award"'' and in 2002 he received the Battle of Atlanta's ''"Hall of Fame Award"''. In 2004, he received the Martial Arts History Museum's ''"Funakoshi Award"''.

Book Publications

Corcoran has authored eleven books relating to martial arts. He was selected by the editors of both the ''

World Book Encyclopedia The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, historical and medical subjects. ''World Book'' wa ...

'' in 1986 and '' Microsoft Encarta (Electronic) Encyclopedia''Corcoran, John, "Martial Arts" (1996). In: "Encarta (Electronic) Encyclopedia," Microsoft Corporation, Seattle, Washington. in 1996 to write entries relating to martial arts. * ''The Complete Martial Arts Catalogue'' (with Emil Farkas, Simon & Schuster, 1977) * ''Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People '' (with Emil Farkas, Gallery Books, W.H. Smith Publishers, Inc., 1983) * ''The Overlook Martial Arts Dictionary '' (with Emil Farkas, Overlook Press, 1985) * ''The Martial Arts Companion: Culture, History and Enlightenment'' (Millard Press, BDD Promotional Books, 1992) * ''The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition, History, Pioneers '' (with Emil Farkas and Stuart Sobel, Pro-Action Publications, 1993) * ''The Martial Arts Sourcebook'' (Harper Collins Publishers, 1994) * ''ACMA Instructor Certification Manual '' (with John Graden, Graden Communications, 1998) * ''The Ultimate Martial Arts Q&A Book '' (with John Graden, McGraw-Hill, 2001) * ''The Unauthorized Jackie Chan Encyclopedia'' (McGraw-Hill, 2002) * ''Martial Arts Encyclopedia: The New and Revised Edition of the Original'' (with Emil Farkas, CreateSpace Publishing, 2012)

Footnotes

External links

STAR archival site.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corcoran, John Living people American male karateka Shōrin-ryū practitioners Year of birth missing (living people)