Rockford Tyson

6 years to go from white black in Taekwondo(started at 13)

15 years in BJJ - it takes very long because belts are given, and only when you are consistently "tapping" those of equal belt in training.

That was not karate. That was a modified Muay Thai front push kick made higher to hit the jaw.

Maybe there is an identical kick in some karate style, but what Anderson did he did noit learn from karate. He is a black belt in BJJ, Judo and Taekwondo, but he never studied karate to my knowledge.

Wouldn't that mean it was TKD, since there is no mention of him learning Muay Thai?

At any rate, it was a high front kick. Hardly exclusive to any style.

"Muay Thai is what brought me to where I am today."

- Anderson Silva

Anderson trained Muay Thai in his native Curitiba, and then trained at the famous "ChuteBoxe" academy. He has the most fluid, technical and precise Muay Thai in MMA. He has stated numerous times that Taekwondo is too restrictive to be used as the striking base for MMA. The best striing bases for full-contact striking are Muay Thai and Western boxing. Boxing, although restrictive, is highly useful because humans can use their arms better than the legs, and the punch is the simplest and most biomechanically sound of all hand strikes.

And I already said that other martial arts probably have some very similar technique, but in the case of the UFC 126 kick from Anderson that was a modified MuayThai front push kick.

Anderson Silva will represent Brazil in Taekwondo at the next Olympics. He is a very high level black belt.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this as I am obviously new to this forum, but I would like to just get people's opinions on Anderson Silva doing high front kicks to knock his more recent foes out (ex. Vitor Belfort). I believe he's been practicing Aikido (if I spelt that right) with Steven Seagal, so do you guys think Anderson is bringing attention to Karate and helping it or do you think people are ignoring it and accrediting his KOs to Muay Thai or just himself in general?

So basically, are Silva + Seagal doing good for Karate or is this kick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxXQxGvI-iY watch at 3:07 that's the replay) just not helping our community at all?

As far as I know many appreciate Machida so maybe Silva is helping now too.

That was not karate. That was a modified Muay Thai front push kick made higher to hit the jaw.

Maybe there is an identical kick in some karate style, but what Anderson did he did noit learn from karate. He is a black belt in BJJ, Judo and Taekwondo, but he never studied karate to my knowledge.

And no one can pull that off besides Anderson Silva. The guy has a lankiness and nimbleness that is uncanny. Greatest pure striker in MMA history, although the best ever was Fedor.

disagree with your assessment of the blocking in Goju-Ryu,

I am a fighter. You disagree with me based on what? From my experience, the blocks of Goju-ryu wouldn't work in a real fight. You stand in front of a great boxer or Muay Thai expert and try to block his strikes with that, and he is going to throw a bomb at your chin and knock you out cold. The katas in Goju-ryu are beautiful choreographies, and there are many aspects of the style that work in real fights. But those blocks are impractical. Too slow and based on mechanics that are inadequate for the human body.

but I will also point out that many "blocking" movements are not actually intended to be used as blocks.

How can a block not be used for blocking? That is an oxymoron. Look, I think Goju-ryu is awesome and one of the best styles of karate for real fights, but it is not perfect. It's defense has some serious deficiencies.

Regardless of that fact, however, you said you didn't mind some "impractical" techniques,

I was refering more to training in the use of medieval weapons that no one uses today, and which all traditional styles have, as the "impractical" things I don't mind. I actually think that training with these weapons add charm and mystique to the martial art.

and the fact that they pressure test their system through close-range contact sparring should weed out what is practical and what is not, anyway.

But you got to admit that the "sparring" is extremely choreographed and limited. It is not like in Muay Thai, where you can use whatever techniques to knock out your opponents. In karate, you are limited to using the movements that agree with the style. For instance, in many styles you have to use the cork-screw punch, which is a lot more awkward and, contrary to popular belief, actually slower than a normal punch. In the sparring of many styles, you have to use this punch. You go to sparr against a boxer using that punch, and he knocks you out. I have seen sparing sessions of kyokushin-shinkai, and they don't throw elbows at each other even though elbows are much harder than fists, nor do they do a kick such as the roundhouse kick, which is simple and powerful, prefering awkward high kicks that actually have a lot less power. The only reason they survive these "sparing" sessions is because they are fighting against guys who are also limited by "approved" techniques that agree with that style. Go do that in MMA, that is no-holds-barred and full-contact, and you will lose 9 out of 10 times against boxers and kickboxers. Simple as that.

The thing that you have to remember about traditional Okinawan styles like that, though, is that they were designed for self defense purposes, not sport fighting, so they were never intended for fighting at long-range or moving around an attacker--it was meant for dealing with short, brutal altercations from medium- to close-range because that's where self defense situations occur.

What you need to understand is that fighting from mid-range is stupid because that's where your oponent is in perfect position to strike you. You should either get close and clinch or stay on the outside using ranged strikes, moving around him to get openings. Boxers fight mostly in mid-range, and they are the fighters who take the most brain damage in all combat sports. Boxing is highly effective offensively, but it is stupid defensively.

I agree that most altercations occur in mid to close range. But that is because most people don't know how to fight. You should always try to put yourself in a position where your oponent cannot hurt you back. This is why Thai kickboxers clinch and use knees, and why jiu-jitsu masters take the fight to the ground and use leverage on their opponents joints to break their limbs. Staying in front of your oponent and banging is stupid. That is what brawlers do, and it is a style of fighting that demands enormous physicality for your to prevail. The fighter with the most power and toughest chin wins.

Okinawan karate styles are more practical than Japanese ones. I agree with you. The problem is the lack of ranged strikes and full-contact sparring. Kyokushin-Shinkai has full-contact sparring, but a lot of it's techniques only work within a sports contest and not really in real fights.

This is how most Okinawan styles are, although they go about it different ways. You can find people who do Okinawan styles that also teach sport fighting at long range, but you are going to have to look at individual instructors to find that, not styles. My instructor teaches a traditional Okinawan style, and also happens to be a very good long-range striker

Thanks for the tip.

I'm with MP--there is a vast difference between untrained brawling and an MMA fight between trained fighters.

Lots of martial artists don't like MMA because they don't like the brutal reality of seeing that a lot of the stuff they learned is useless in a fight. They don't like that they wasted 5-10 years of their life earning a black belt that makes them only marginally more dangerous than an untrained individual.

But all martial arts have valuable aspects that work in real fights. For instance, Lyoto Machida is a Shotokan master who was good enough to earn the UFC's light-heavyweight title. A lot of the stuff he knows didn't work, but enough worked for him to go 15-0 before finally losing. He had to adapt his karate to MMA, but when he did it worked beautifully. Interestingly, though, he uses a lot more the simple jab than any karate strike. But at UFC 129 he had that moment when he knoked out Randy Couture with a crane kick straight out of a movie. That was one of the most beautiful martial arts moments in history.

Goju-Ryu, particularly any branch that practices iri kumi, will give you the in-close fighting and hard contact that you want, but you will also get a strong tradition and history, powerful technique and effective self defense applications for your forms. Traditional Okinawan karate really only has low-level kicks, and those are largely limited to stomps, toe-kicks, front kicks, side kicks and heel kicks, so you aren't likely to get much new kicking material after already receiving a black belt in Taekwondo. That said, a lot of traditional Okinawan styles have been "modernized" a bit so that they include more kicks (still nothing you wouldn't have already picked up in Taekwondo, though) and some of that modernization has also led to the exclusive use of non-contact point sparring. You will really just have to look around your area, see what is available, watch a class, try a class and research it.

Thank you!!! Yes, Goju-Ryu is awesome. It is the most realistic style besides Kyokushin-shinkai, but the fundamental problem with Goju is that it's blocks are not very practical for the in-the-pocket style of striking it advocates, and it's ranged striking is seriously limited.

I need a style that "suffocates" my oponent in the pocket, but also has great ranged striking and a more evasive counter-striking style rather than an aggressive striking style that emphasizes going for the kill in mid-range and using powerful blocks as defense, with a heavy emphasis on physicality to absorb the blows.

I have fought in amateur MMA, and I can tell you from personal experience that staying in mid range is the most stupid thing you can do in a fight, as you are basically putting yourself in position for your oponent to knock you out. I have done Muay Thai for MMA, and I don't like the emphasis on mid range fighting and blocking your opponents strikes rather than evading them, as it demands sheer physicality. Kyokushin is also like that. In defense of Muay Thai, it also puts emphasis on clinching, which is awesome. I don't like brawling styles like Muay Thai and Kyokushin. I like to smother my opponent in the pocket with a flurry of strikes or wearing/KOing them with ranged strikes. I am looking for a style that has these characteristics.

I'm a Shotokan guy for many years, but I've also trained in TSD and judo. So, my experience with Okinawan systems is slight, but I've had good friends in Okinawan karate. Given your criteria I'd look at Okinawa Kempo as a full-contact, traditional Okinawan style. I've seen their kata and kumite and have always wanted to try it. You might also have good luck with Isshin-ryu and Uechi-ryu schools although some Uechi-ryu I've seen has been "lighter" than others. Good luck.

Thank you for this answer. Very useful!

I was really interested in Isshin-Ryu as it seemed to fit my criteria of being a traditional Okinawan and mostly hard style, but I was disppointed when I realized that it's ranged striking repertoire is pretty limited.

Okinawan Kempo, huh? I though Kempo was a Chinese martial art and that Kenpo with an "n" was an American style of no-contact karate. I had no idea there was an Okinawan Kempo.

I will do my research on it.

Hey, guys!! I am a martial artist. I have two black belts, one in Taekwondo and another in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I am in my early thirties and have been practicing martial arts since I was a kid.

Recently, I have decided to study karate, as I don't intend to pursue Dan rankings in Taekwondo, and I find Karate one of the biggest and most beautiful martial arts with a great tradition.

I want to study a style that fits certain characteristics, and I have been unable to find much information around me or on the web. Can any of you guys elucidate to me the differences between styles, both betwen Okinawan and Japanese, as well the differences between them all as far as stances, footwork, if they have a blocking or evasive philosophy of defending against the opponents attacks, what styles are aggressive or instead counter-striking, if they emphasize ranged attacks or in the pocket strikes, etcetera.

I am looking for a style with the following characteristics:

- Okinawan rather than Japanese, as I prefer the traditional arts always.

- Full-contact sparring and effective techniques for real combat. That is, I want a style that allows me to kick butt if needed, and not one that only has beautiful choreographies.

- Not Kyokushin! It strikes me as being more similar to Muay Thai than karate, and I don't like that.

- Needs to have wicked kicks, as I am looking to increase my kicking repertoire.

-Emphasizes ranged attacks or close ones, as striking in the mid-ranged is one of the most stupid things you can do - speaking from personal experience here.

- I don't mind it having some traditional techniques that are not suitable for today's combat.

Does any style fit the bill? I was reading about Shorinji-Ryu and it stried me as being what I am looking for, but Shorinji-Ryu is not a pure Okinawan style.

I am really sorry guys, I don't know much karate besides the very basic Shotokan that we all took as kids for a couple months before quitting. If you find my questions too noobie, then ignore them. If you wish to help by answering these questions, I greatly appreciate.