By Jeremy Latham

The samurai were often as skilled in wielding the pen or brush as they were in wielding the sword…

Growing up as an 80’s kid in Savannah, GA artist James-Michael Smith would rush home after church to watch the amazing feats performed by flying ninjas, lethal old blind masters, and the noble Samurai clans on Kung Fu Theater every Sunday. He was fascinated by the flashy styles of pro-wrestlers like Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat too, but his biggest martial arts influences came from some of the classic movies of the day like “The Karate Kid” and “Best of the Best.” He was always an energetic kid fascinated with these themes and as a naturally gifted artist he couldn’t help but scribble scenes of karate fighters dodging ninja stars and samurai katana duels on back of his homework. These innocent doodles mark the beginning of a lifelong journey that would merge his love for the martial arts and creative talents.

“I’ve been doing some form of martial arts since I was 8 years old. I started doing karate after watching the original Karate Kid in the theater and I just never stopped” says James. After spending his youth and young adulthood studying Shotokan and Korean styles he became fixated with Bruce Lee’s concepts of Jeet Kune Do. “I read everything Bruce Lee ever wrote, studied his movements, techniques and theory with near-religious devotion.”

“The first MMA event I ever watched was UFC IV. Ron Van Clief trained my Sensei so I was rooting for the Black Dragon. I didn’t know anything about BJJ, so I couldn’t figure out how Royce ended up dominating everyone!” After attending college in Boston he moved to Charlotte, NC where he began studying BJJ and

Judo for the first time. “I was excited to finally start learning the ground game but after 25 years of traditional standup training it was very frustrating to be a total noob at a martial art once again, but it was a great way to keep any martial arts pride at bay.”

Like most fans, his love for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts skyrocketed once fights became more accessible; specifically during season one of The Ultimate Fighter. “The funny thing is, all season long I kept telling my roommate ‘That Forrest guy looks so familiar!”  It was during a promo for Fight Night that Forrest Griffen was filmed training in Athens that it clicked. “I used to see him, Adam & Rory Singer up in the wrestling room at the UGA fitness center whenever I went to use the heavy bags in the martial arts room. To this day one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t join those guys who were doing that “wrestling stuff” each week during my college days.”

Today James-Michael is using his artistic talents and pairing it with his passion for martial arts to create some of the most impressive and unique art found in the sport. “I’ve done artwork related to martial arts pretty much my entire life. More than anything, I love showing the underlying humanity, thoughtfulness and even the playful or fun side of MMA. I don’t really resonate with fighters who try to exude a tough-guy persona and I can’t stand trash talkers.”

“I’ve always loved the discipline and the physical aesthetic of the martial arts. I love the virtues that the martial arts (at their best) seek to instill and the limits to which the human body and mind are capable of being pushed. I’m particularly fascinated with the Samurai and Bushido.”

When asked about his favorite fighters, surprisingly, one name continued to come up, Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig. “I enjoy women’s MMA and I followed Felice during her Fight Girl and WCL days. In fact, she was the first fighter I ever drew multiple portraits of. Her fight persona comes across as sassy and all, but she’s actually a really sweet girl and it’s been cool to see her career take off these past few years. Plus, she has a secret crush on me that she just hasn’t come to grips with it yet!” He also sites Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Fedor Emelianenko, and the legendary Genki Sudo as particularly inspiring.

His exceptional flair at illustrating athletes’ personalities is the very root of what separates his artwork from any other in the game. “I think every fighter can make for an interesting portrait, but I try to stay away from the generic “tough guy” approaches that characterize a lot of the MMA

culture. I do like capturing the toughness and determination of the women fighters though, rather than trying to make them all sexy and pinup-style. I also like to focus on the fighters’ faces. Faces tell so many stories and my favorite pieces that I’ve done are the ones that are little more than headshots. Fighters often have incredibly diverse personalities and there is a ton of misinformation among the general public about what fighters are like. My portraits serve to showcase the personhood of these greatest of athletes, rather than the stereotypical “fighter persona” like all the skulls, foil-stamped t-shirts, gaudy designer jeans, Jersey Shore alpha male personalities we see. It’s so much more enjoyable doing pieces that show the lighter side of the sport.”

Recently, the MMA industry has been criticized for the painfully excessive use of the same old themes. In fact, it’s extremely difficult to find an MMA t-shirt that isn’t crowded with skulls, dragons, tribal art, flames, and swords. James’ work is a breath of fresh air and truly brings the art back into martial arts. “Almost all the artwork I see in MMA magazines, for instance, is either geared towards sex or violence” says James. And when asked about the artwork used by actual promotions he said “I wish the UFC and other American MMA organizations would take a nod from the Japanese when it comes to artwork and promo material. The old Pride posters were incredible! Japan had a good grasp of both terms when it comes to “martial arts.” Nothing in American MMA culture has even come close in my opinion.”

Like a modern day samurai James uses his brush to fight the good fight against these negative trends, and he’s succeeding. He recently did a portrait of Genki Sudo to help raise money for tsunami relief in Japan (which you can read more about at http://jmsmith.org/blog/genki). And when Bas Rutten heard about it he was kind enough to make a donation to the cause. James’ momentum continues to grow as other fighters like Roy Nelson express interest in his work. In fact, he’s planning on travelling to Manhattan to train with Renzo Gracie this summer and to take him a nice piece of artwork for his newly-renovated school space.

“I’d love to be a voice in the world of MMA artwork that is saying something different. I would love to provide fans of MMA with affordable artwork of their favorite fighters and I’d love to have my work hung in dojos, gyms, studios and academies around the world. I’d also love to be able to pay the rent on a regular basis.”

The work of James-Michael Smith is available through his website at http://jmsmith.org/about/art-of-the-dojo