Gumbi

I doubt the champions of UFC and Pride do any katas, yet they're the best fighters in the world at the moment. You're quite right, however, there are many different types of sparring. Point sparring will prepare you for point sparring Full contact will prepare you for full contact. Training in one for the other will not yield good results.

So, without BJJ we have no UFC? UFC is mixed martial arts. With no boxing or muay thai, its just a grappling match. As far as them being upper level "amateur" strikers, go take a look at the likes of Robbie Lawler, Vitor Belfort, and Jens Pulver. Throwing punches in a MMA match is MUCH different than throwing punches in a boxing/kickboxing match. As far as Bruce is concerned, I think the UFC is what he eventually had in mind. Before his death, Bruce was intrigued by groundfighting and was working extensively in Judo. Would he have done well against guys similar to his weight? Absolutely- you could call Bruce the first real mixed martial artist- he could punch, kick, execute takedowns, and use submission holds. He even stated what the UFC eventually proved- you only need to know wrestling and boxing to be a formidable opponent for any martial artist. Bear in mind though, the first UFC's had no weight classes, and Bruce was 135lbs. A great fighter, but do not underestimate the great advantage that size gives a person in a fight.

MuayThaiBoxer: Elbows are illegal when thrown leading with the point of the elbow. Fighters still get away with throwing elbows in the guard, so long as they dont lead with the elbow. They call them forearm strikes and are able to get around the rules that way. As far as TKD kicks being too slow or telegraphing, I think its the opposite. The kicks may be fast, but lack any real power behind them to do significant damage. Roundhouse kicks are the workhorse of MMA as they have been very successfull. Side kicks have not been very successfull, not to mention that fighting with a side stance, commonly seen in karate point sparring competitions, is not a good idea in MMA. Spin kicks simply take too long to be relied on.

its true. No its not. That was a myth that originated out of Okinowa or something like that when Karate was introduced to the US. My memory is a little hazy, but it was something along the lines of each karate guy in okinowa had to register himself on okinowa, so that they knew who was teaching what. The whole idea of "you have to register your hands as a lethal weapon when you're a black belt" is just a bad hangover from this period and a story made up of people who were full of themselves.

Depends what you mean by best kickers. The best kickers I believe you'll see are Kyokushin/Muay Thai fighters and K-1 fighters (though, K-1 isnt neccessarily a style, but a venue). Im judging that in terms of the number of people that represent that style and the success they've had.. It should be noted though that a style doesnt always indicate every fighters strength and weakness. There are BJJ fighters who dont have good guards, there are muay thai fighters who dont have good knees, and there are also wrestlers who dont have good takedowns.

Like what? Each school has an annual secret undergroud kumite in which participants fight to the death

So its agreed that rules are the big difference between a street fight and a cage fight. The often most argued rules are biting and eye gouging, so lets address those first- do you think they would play a critical role in the determination of a winner of a fight?

Well, lets discuss here. What do we think the striking differences are between a cage fight and a street fight that makes competition and street fighting on such different levels?

Ignore these two statements. Champ, Im going to ask politely that you not make generalizations about mixed martial arts fighting competitions that you obviously dont know enough about. Mixed Martial Arts in its current state favors strikers, not grapplers. No elbows, rounds, time limits, frequent standups, no headbutts, and kneeing the head of a downed opponent are the restrictions against grapplers. Kicking a downed opponent is the only thing that particularly hurts strikers more than grapplers. Just because the top fighters in the world happen to be grapplers does not mean that the tournaments favor grapplers- fighting in its natrual state favors grappling. Say what you want about Belfort, hes a striker first, grappler second. He was a blue belt when he entered his first UFC, and there was nothing Jiu Jitsu like about his left right combinations that knocked opponents senseless. As to why the better strikers fight in Pride, its not because the rules are in their favor, or because they're the top dog- its because these fighters are often coming out of K-1 which is the most popular sporting event in Japan. K-1 in Japan is the equivalent of Basketball or Football in the USA. More fans over there The last UFC I was at had somewhere around 5,000 in attendence at the Taj Mahal. The last Pride I saw on PPV has somewhere around 50,000. This means Pride has more money to go after the top K-1 fighters- a good investment, since being a K-1 champ has already elevated your status in Japan. Would you rather make $80,000 fighting in the UFC or $150,000 fighting in Japan? Oh and if you want to see the best Front kick ever, I suggest you watch UFC 6 Pat Smith vs Rudyard Moncayo Let me finish this off by saying that its really not right to limit guys into "striker" or "grappler" categories in modern MMA. Very few fighters match that pure desciption (Cro Cop and Hunt are definately strikers, Yoshida and Coleman are definately grapplers). So many people now are cross training and are quite adept at all areas of fighting. Nogueira, known for his great ground game, has won fights by knockouts. Fedor, known for his great takedowns and ground and pound, has won many fights with his often overlooked submission skills Cro Cop recently defeated Kevin Randleman with a guillotine choke. Alistair Overeem recently defeated Vitor Belfort with a guillotine choke as well.

For not being the best they can be, some of those MMA fighters are really tearing some things up. These people practice theoretical deadly techniques and best the best they can be, but are nothing more than warm up matches for a practical/mixed fighter.

A simple answer for a simple question: The quickest submissions you'll often see are footlocks, because they dont require the positional dominance that other submissions, such as chokes and armlocks do. Standing locks would obviously be much quicker, but have a much lesser chance of working because of the amount of mobility your opponent has to twist and fight out of it.

Fair enough, but practicing something in the gym and actually using in a competition are two different things. If you can do it in a competition, thats the ultimate test for your technique. Now, Kyokushin may in fact teach strikes to the face, but I (and many others) still hold Muay Thai in higher respect if not for punches to the face, then for the clinchwork, knee, and elbows taught.

I guess the big question is: You become a black belt in.... what? The price was said to be dropped to @$270 from $400 a month- thats a hell of a price to pay. There is also an initial deposit of $500, which I have no idea what its purpose is. It does require active training in Boxing/ Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Escrima/Kali, and has heavy emphasis on sparring (3 2 minute rounds a day for 2 years). The BJJ teachers listed in their curriculum are phenominal ones at that. Doesnt look too bad, provided you have the money. I feel paying upwards of $300 a month is quite extreme (some of the most expensive BJJ gyms arent even that high) but better to pay $300 a month and actually learn how to fight than to spend $50 a month and have a false sense of confidence with no practical fighting skill evident.

My conclusions came from what I already posted- the lack of punches to the head is what I believe hold Kyokushin back. I believe learning how to throw your hands is a much more important skill than learning how to kick. Dont get me wrong, Im not saying Kyokushin wont or cant do that, but the fact is that punching is the name of the game in boxing, and Muay Thai incorporates that with kicks along with added knees, elbows, and clinchwork. Competition Records speak for themselves.

I think its the best striking style you can take, after Muay Thai and Boxing of course. My only gripe with it is the lack of punches to the head, as I feel that strikes to the head are the most common attack one is going to see in an actual fight.