black belt under Kubota, Heggstad
came to realize that all the tough-
est karateka he met were also black
belts in judo. So he began working
out with the legendary “Judo” Gene
LeBell. When Heggstad showed an
aptitude for competition, LeBell sug-
gested he begin training at Tenri
Dojo, known for producing some of
the best tournament competitors in
the country.
Competing nationally and then
internationally, Heggstad eventually
encountered some Brazilian jiu-jitsu
practitioners on the judo circuit and
began training in that art, as well. His
fondness for travel — in particular,
motorcycling around the globe — also
gave him the chance to learn various
arts in their homeland. He’s studied
muay Thai in Thailand, silat in Indo-
nesia and kung fu in Hong Kong.
“When you do martial arts, you’ve
got something in common with a lot
of people around the world,” he said.
“Between martial arts and motor-
cycles, there’s an instant connection
with everyone I meet.”
Although most of Heggstad’s
motorcycle journeys have been
pleasant, it’s the one he took in 2001,
later documented on the National
Geographic channel and in his book
Two Wheels Through Terror, that
remains the most memorable and
the most daunting.
HE WAS ATTEMPTING to ride from
California to the tip of South America
when things went horrifyingly wrong
in Colombia. There, on a lonely
highway, Heggstad was stopped by
members of an armed rebel army
and taken prisoner. For the next five
weeks, he was marched up and down
it would be more expedient to let him
go, so they turned him over to the
Red Cross. But Heggstad’s journey
didn’t end there. On being released
from the hospital in Colombia, he
informed officials that rather than
go back to the United States imme-
diately, he’d be continuing his trip
through South America.
“I figured if I get on the plane to go
home, they win,” he said. “If I keep
going, I win,” he said.SURPRISINGLY, the biggest lesson
Heggstad learned from his captivity
was forgiveness. He realized that if
he allowed thoughts of revenge to
fill his mind, he might end up going
down a dark path he’d never come
back from. That doesn’t quite mean
he’s turned into a complete pacifist,
however — as one unfortunate crimi-
nal recently learned.
“About a year ago, someone bur-
glarized my cabin in the mountain,”
Heggstad said. “A few days later, I
drove home and saw him parked in
front, trying to rob me again. He had
all my stuff in the back of his truck.
He came flying out of his truck at
me, so I cross-gripped his jacket and
threw him down. He had a buck knife
and tried to stab me, but I got the
knife away from him and said, ‘OK,
now we’re going to play.’”
The end result was the burglar
ended up with broken hands, a bro-
ken nose and a broken wrist. When
the police asked Heggstad to testify
against the man, he refused, though.
“I got my point across,” the martial
artist said.Glen Heggstad’s website is
strikingviking.net.mountain terrain, threatened with
death and subject to various abuses.
“I heard stories about them holding
prisoners for years,” he said. “They
would ask for $5 million in ransom
and wait a year, and when they didn’t
get it, they’d ask for $4 million. And
this drags on and on.”
But rather than surrender to this
fate, Heggstad decided to take mat-
ters into his own hands. After already
being reduced to eating nothing but
one bowl of rice a day, he decided
to go on a hunger strike to force his
captors to make a decision on what to
do with him.
Heggstad had already lied to the
rebels about his health, telling them
he suffered from prostate cancer.
Now, to up the ante, he began draw-
ing blood from himself by ramming a
key up his nose at night, allowing the
blood to drip down onto his lap so
that in the morning, the guards would
find him covered in it and believe he
was urinating blood as a result of the
prostate cancer.
As his captors debated what to do
with him, Heggstad continued to
fast. He went from 220 pounds to 170
pounds. To help him get through the
ordeal, he called on his past martial
arts training, spending long periods
in deep meditation.
“It’s weird because when you go on
a fast, you get into a state of mind
where there are no negatives,” he
said. “There’s no anger or jealousy
or fear. That’s why you see religious
leaders do it. Even while your body
is becoming physically weak, it gives
you absolute clarity of mind.”
When the rebels saw that Heggstad
was serious about carrying his fast to
its ultimate conclusion, they decidedThe biggest lesson Heggstad learned from his captivity
was forgiveness. He realized that if he allowed thoughts
of revenge to fill his mind, he might end up going
down a dark path he’d never come back from.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 § BLACKBELTMAG.COM 25