Orca

It will ALWAYs be hard to tell how much of Lee's reputation was based on cinematics and how much on actual martial arts accomplishments. There are so many wild stories about him going around all the time... It's just a tragedy he died so young before he could turn into a true master, since true mastery generally comes with a little more age than 33 ( I think he was on his way to becoming one, though).

I make my students sit in seisa (as I do) for my longish post-training pep/philosophical talks or while others are demonstrating kata. I admit I do it on purpose ot build their character and spirit. I tell them what my teachers told me, if you fight it it hurts, if you let go it stops hurting. some sit there and take it with a stone face and some others squirm like worms all through it. I havent noticed that their weight or shape is really an issue. Maybe their knee stability or ability to let go? I'm 32 and never had an issue with it, so i dont think age is the factor either.

Hi all, Frank Shamrock has some pretty impressive videos on avoiding takedowns. Based on the few years of judo that I did, they seem pretty realistic.

I would be willing to bet it's goju-ryu or a similar form. What Daniel -San was learning was similar to my first few classes in Goju-ryu, back in the day.

I'm enjoying the physics discussion above, but I have to say that they are mostly based on Newtonian mechanics, which are outdated (kind of). With something so complex as the human body (and mind), the application of the momentum, power, work, etc., equations is kind of tricky. For example, different body types will have a different optimum power generation strategy. A lean, long-legs body type will probably be able to use pendulum motions more effectively, while a stocky body type might use rotation and vibration better. The same goes for punching and the final rotation of the punch. I would think a long, light-limbed person would benefit more from going full-rotation than a short, heavy-armed person. Of course, there are many combinations of body types and people need to find their optimum trayectory. Taking into account where you are starting from is called "sensistivity to initial conditions", a characteristic of complex systems, studied by non-linear physics ( the more cutting-edge stuff taught at universities nowadays). The good thing about well-developed traditional MA systems is that they have enough collective experience/wisdom in them to accomodate most combinations of characteristics. In a sense, their historical depth makes them well-suited to deal with the complexity of human body characteristics in a population.

Your knowledge of Japanese terms is imprtessive, but I still see a gyakutzuki, not a left cross. (and I was a boxer, a leftie at that)

In terms of experimental design, Fight Science fails miserably. They not only use only ONE practicioner as example for each "type" of art (never mind that each 'style' has many schools within. They also use people of different ages and different size, weight, height and body type. Probably they have different levels of proficiency. For example the Muay Thai guy, Melchor, is pretty well-known, while the other guys are pretty obscure. So there is no way to tell if it is fair to compare them. The Karate dude I never heard of in my life, and his technique didnt seem to good to me according to traditonal karate standards. And so on. Another example, They use a strong, heavy person to represent boxing and a small, athletic person for kung-fu. Based on what these representatives do, they conclude that boxing punches the hardest while kung-fu punches the fastest. Obviously, they have rigged the results from the beggining, based on their preconceptions about the art, and because they use a sample size of ONE!? for each style. Conclusion? "Fight Science" was in fact not scientific at all, statistically speaking. Fancy technology doth not science make.

Drag'n, What you say is an important and very true fact. When going barenuckle the importance of distance and zabaki (evasion) becomes very apparent, becasue you dont have the gloves to help you protect agians incoming punches.

Very well put.

I subscribe to the 'never start the attack' philosophy. However, If I am pushed, shoved, tackled, or grabbed, I would consider the 'attack' started. The same if I see a potential opponent loading up for a strike or assuming an 'on guard' (fists up, squared away, getting on my face and yelling) position. If there is an argument I just look to create space between me and the opponent, while keeping my eyes on the opponent and trying to prevent the attack verbally. (I am primarily a striker, so that would be an advantageous position for me). If there were multiple opponents, being surrounded and/or pursued would be enpough for me to consider the attack started. Being insulted, slighted, ot challenged to a fight wouldnt constitute an 'attack started', either for me or for the law where I live. Of course, all this is theoretical, my actual reactions would also be determined by context and on what my instincts tell me. respectfully, Gero

A punch done with hikite is WAY more powerful done without it. In traditional karate, hikite should always be use din tzuki (punch) techniques.

Jiffy, Yep, sorry. I was responding to some earlier posts (like that of Rickson fan) which stated that chambering had no real purpose and that it left people vulnerable. thanks!

Yep, Lidell seems very well-rounded, I definitely buy that he was a great competitive wrestler. However, his striking is excellent and that takes time and training...many other excellent wrestlers are unable to knock people out like Lidell. He also has a beautiful roundhouse kick. Oh yeah, I forgot about Pedro Rizzo and Silva. thanks!

It seems people here are forgetting that the chambered fist should never be a static position. It is a intermediate point between positions, or a finishing point after a technique. For example, in free kumite one only has the fist chambered during fleeting moments, after having done hikite to add power to a technique. If you get caught too long with the fist chambered you are liable to receive a punch in the face. However if you understand the purpose and the srategy behind chambering it DOES add power and body dynamics. I did boxing before I did karate, and I coming back to visit the gym I have sparred with boxers and kickboxers (who made fun of the chambering of the fist), using traditional karate sparring and they were very surprised, not only because they were unable to catch me between techniques, but also because of the power that I generated (which was much greater than when I used to do only boxing, and I was pretty powerful as a boxer). My point is that well used, chambering of the fist (ribs, hips, or in between) can be a very useful move.

Hello all, Lately I've been watching some of Chuck Liddell's fights and I'm impressed. He's a great example of how a striker can do well in top MMA. Now, I know the guy used to be a top collegiate wrestler and all that, but he is an obviously trained striker. Striking is what he does best. I heard before that his punching technique was bad and that he got by on heavy hands, but that is not true. He turns his punches, uses his hips to punch, keeps balance, doesnt swing for the fences, and most of all he is very relaxed in there. I hear Chuck's style of fighting is called sprawl-and-brawl, which basically means avoiding takedowns (not necessarily by sprawling) and striking the opponent. Who are other sprawl-and-brawlers in today's MMA and what are their striking styles? My list: Cro-Cop (kickboxing or Muay Thai) David Loiseau (kickboxing) Ryoto Machida (Shotokan (some people say Kyokushin but they are wrong, I know this one for a fact, he was ITKF's Shotokan Panamerican Champ in 2000) Tim Sylvia (kickboxing?) Forrest Griffin (maybe boxing?) Is Fedor a sprawl-and-brawler? Look forward to people's comments.

Elbows, Great analysis, to which I would like to add that many of these crimes are probably redundant in terms fo victims. That is, that people that are prone to be victims of one kind of violent crime, are, for structural sociological (like class segregation and concentration of poverty in inner cities) or lifestyle reasons, more likely than the rest of the population to be involved in or victims of the other categories of violent crime. So, the actual number of victimized individuals is probably smaller than that. Which means that, ther is no reason to be involved in streetfights unless you want to or are very unlucky!

Man, what's with all the fight stories? Do adult people actually streefight nowadays? I think most fights between adults, when they happen, are drunken confrontations between siblings or cousins in family picnics. And of course, you wouldnt wanna take ol' cousin Dan's head off with that maewashi geri or uraken-uke you've been practicing, right? so all you do is push, shove, and yell....and then (after grandma steps in) say you're sorry and how much you really love each other. Streetfights between strangers are liable to end up in shootings or stabbings, either at the moment of the fight, or later, when you least expect it (yes, they can find out where the cocky black belt who beat their * lives, and revenge is a meal best served cold). I grew up in a tough neighborhood, where adults dont fight each other, just becasue they know the loser will be sore and it will only end in an escalating cycle of revenge. So, the best streetfight combination is to not start the fight at all, and avoid places where streetfights can begin. If there is any confrontation, leave then and there.

To paraphrase what somebody said in another thread: What's this about grown-ups fighting in the street? I grew up in a very tough neighborhood and let me tell, you, fighting to see who beats up who it's a thing of children and preadolescents. Once people are adults, even in a tough neighborhood (or maybe specially so), they generally dont want to fight each other. I have trained in martial arts for many years, and I never get into any fights. Specially in bars, people tend to be peaceful they dont wanna mess with the wrong drunk person and get shot. Maybe things in the suburbs are different and people duke it out in their front lawns? Growing up the story about street fighters was usually the same: the 'guapos de barrio' (Puerto Rican for 'street toughs') that had lifted some weights or took some boxing or martial arts and who liked to beat other adults up would almost always turn up dead in some alley, stabbed, shot or their heads bashed in by baseball bats, because they would inevitably end up messing up the wrong person. If they were very lucky, they would get jailed for asssault before that happened. I'm willing to bet the same happens almost everywhere.

Hi all, I want to share something with the list and get opinions on the subject. I'm a Nidan in shotokan from a very traditional, basics, bunkai, and kumite-oriented dojo. Our kumite was strong, controlled, combination-oriented (not points), but by no means full-contact, although the mroe advanced one gets the heavier the contact gets. When I lived near my dojo and trained there consistenly, we would sometimes arrange workouts with other dojos, mostly goju-ryu, shorin-ryu, kyokushin, and once in while jiujitsu dojos. We all got along pretty well and visited each others' clasess. (ah, the friendly martial arts community of the early 1990's!) My experience was this: the more full-contact the dojos did on a consistent basis -that is, the more violent their training, the more conditioning, but less technique the students (even advanced ones, balck blets, etc) had. When we did full-contact kumite (usually with finger gloves and hand techniques to face allowed) between advanced students, actually, the knockdown dojos did not do that well against us! Our emphasis on footwork and strategy generally overcame their conditioning and agressiveness. anyone out ther who ahs ahd different (or similar) experiences?. Osu!

We do a lot of bunkai. We need to explain at least two potential applications of each move in each kata in order to pass exams. We are also encouraged to come up with our own aplications, present them to the class, and defend them, after we reach advanced levels.