fighting
Should Ken Shamrock Retire From Professional Fighting?
Just recently living MMA legend Ken Shamrock lost another fight in the cage. This time against veteran cage fighter and extremely effective kicker, Pedro Rizzo from Brazil, who himself is not even close to current World Championship status, but who can still cause some serious damage.
46-year old Ken Shamrock, who at the peak of his professional fighting career was also known as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, is still in incredible shape, but unfortunately he doesn’t implement the way he was known for or better feared of.
Together with legendary Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock was the first MMA fighter to be inducted into UFC’s Hall of Fame just 5 years ago.
The vast majority of his recent fights, Ken Shamrock has lost during the first round, which just has to be to frustrating to say the least.
With his name recognition he still can get crowds excited to show up in throes to watch him step into the cage.
With his vast experience and extraordinary fighting skills that encompass some of the best submission grappling prowess the world has ever witnessed, I firmly believe that Ken Shamrock could easily become a highly sought champion trainer/instructor, fight commentator/analyst and so much more that would even pay some serious dinero.
So, again I ask you “Should MMA Legend Ken Shamrock retire from professional fighting?’
While you contemplate, enter “The Lion’s Den” and meet one of the best MMA fighters ever, Ken Shamrock:
Bruce Lee Lives On, Even After His Untimely Death In 1973
Man, on this day exactly 37 years ago in Hong Kong, the most influential martial artist and martial arts movie star died at the young age of only 32.
The world knew him as Bruce Lee, aka Little Dragon. He was born in San Francisco in 1940, but he and his family moved (back) to Hong Kong while he was still very young.
And even though it’s been almost four decades since he passed on, Bruce Lee still lives on in so many ways, because he has been able to touch millions of people through his acting and teachings.
I for myself can honestly say that it was Bruce Lee on the big screen that got me hooked on martial arts (in my case Shotokan karate for starters).
This post is not intended to be about me or even to re-hash Bruce Lee’s biography, but what I would love to hear your stories and experience about getting started in martial arts, self-defense training and how Bruce Lee affected your life.
I will leave you with this video clip as a tribute to honor Bruce Lee’s life and accomplishments:
Who Else Remembers Grandmaster Allen Steen, The Father Of Texas ‘Blood And Guts’ Taekwondo Karate?
Just a week ago I spent time with friends in the Lone Star State.
For those of you not familiar with the term, I’m talking about Texas.
What comes to mind for a lot of people when referring to Texas might be cowboys, longhorns, oil, football (American, of course!), BBQ, …..
I have to admit that I thought of some of that, too.
But visiting Dallas this time somehow got me thinking of the first American to receive his Black Belt from the founder of Taekwondo in the U.S., Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, who had come to Austin, Texas, way back in the late 50s to pursue his college studies. The year was 1957 to be exact.
In 1959, Allen Steen started his karate training under Jhoon Rhee and just 3 years later as brown belt he opened up the first storefront dojo in Dallas.
In 1962, he was promoted and became Jhoon Rhee’s first American Black Belt.
What followed, is nothing short of shock and awe in Texas, the U.S. Southwest and beyond.
Grandmaster Allen Steen is remembered for creating a very aggressive fighting style that was very rough and tough. We’re talking about bare knuckle fighting competition, years before Jhoon Rhee launched his Safe-T protective gear.
In 1966, Allen Steen left a path of destruction at Ed Parker’s International Karate Championships in Long Beach, California, by beating even Joe Lewis and Chuck Norris both on the same day.
I found a video clip of his fight against Chuck Norris that I would like to share with you at the bottom of this post. Hope you like it.
Besides being an extremely successful competitor himself, Allen Steen trained together with his first Black Belt student J. Pat Burleson and surrounded himself with other very dedicated students who went on to become champions in their own right.
Some of the names that I still remember from devouring martial arts magazines way back in the day are Skipper Mullins, Fred Wren, Demetrius “The Greek” Havanas, Roy Kurban, just to list a few.
Allen Steen further impacted American and Texas Karate by opening countless dojos and promoting tournaments of which one has truly stood out over the years.
Originally known as the Southwest Karate Championships, the tournament name was later changed to the United States Karate Championships and became THE karate tournament on the second weekend in February.
I will add that Allen Steen handed over the karate business affairs to his trusted aides and friends years ago to move on to other business ventures, but his impact is felt even today.
I also stumbled across something that might interest you which is what it took to get a Black Belt from Grandmaster Allen Steen:
He expected technical perfection with a “No Quit” attitude.
After a grueling performance of basic techniques, katas and heavy warm-up fights, the student had to go up against one tough Black Belt fighter after another. Many of these guys were accomplished National Champions!
Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse: You were then challenged by 2, then 4, and finally even 8 fighters, all at the same time.
But we did say “No Quit” attitude, right?!
And even if one survived the “punishment”, Allen Steen would only put his signature on the certificate if one met his technical standards.
Let that sink in for a while.
Anyway, here’s the clip I promised. Enjoy!
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Cung Le And The Chinese Fighting Art Of Sanshou
Just recently I heard about a Chinese fighting art ….. on the tennis court!
As I was talking with a team mate, I learned from him that he had been a practitioner of a style I had briefly heard about years back, but I never really looked into any deeper.
Until today.
Originated in China the style is called Sanshou (free hand) and at times Sanda (free fighting).
It is both a self-defense system and a combat sport.
Sanshou combines a number of extremely vital and effective elements such as kicking, punching, throwing, grappling and applying joint locks.
One of Sanshou’s special emphasis is the so-called kick-catch, whereby one person throws a kick and the other person catches the kick and then trips the other person’s leg they are standing on.
Thinking about it, that’s what we even practiced way back in my Shotokan karate days. I just made that connection while writing this.
Sanshou as a sport is regulated by a bunch of different rules depending on amateur or professional status and also on the location of where the fights take place like China or the U.S.
Among all the successful and very skilled Sanshou fighters, one practitioner has really stood out for me during the years and he has without a doubt made a name for himself. He is the Vietnamese American kickboxer, mixed martial artist and actor, simply known as Cung Le from San Jose, California.
Cung Le has won too many titles and championships to list here, but I will mention that he won the Strikeforce Middleweight World Championship by beating legendary mixed martial arts champion Frank Shamrock about 2 years ago. Cung Le actually broke his opponent’s arm by executing devasting kicks during their fight.
Cung Le has been actively pursuing his career on the Big Screen and was awarded a role in Bodyguards And Assassins starring Donnie Yen which was released last December.
I found a video clip that I think you will enjoy if you like action-filled fight scenes. Warning: It can be a little rough and tough at times.
A Different Kind Of Rumble In The Jungle
Who else has vivid memories of that absolutely unforgettable boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) on October 30, 1974?
This fight was promoted as and even today it is simply known as “Rumble In The Jungle”.
Ali won in the 8th round by KO after fighting a very clever bout by wearing Foreman out or better letting Big George wear himself out.
But there is a different kind of “Rumble In The Jungle” that I want to introduce to you today.
Several years ago I was watching “The Rundown” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Christopher Walken and Seann William Scott.
There is one fight scene that takes place in the Brazilian jungle that always gets my attention, especially because one of the jungle fighters is played by Erne Reyes Jr. and he does an incredible job.
But I will let you be the judge:
Seann William Scott has a point when he refers to these fierce jungle fighters as “Speedy little bastards.”
Agree or disagree?
Do You Think And Act Like WEC-Champion Jose Aldo?
I will be honest with you: I didn’t get to watch yesterday’s World Championship bout between these two great featherweight mixed martial artists, who both fight for WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting):
Urijah “The California Kid” Faber vs. Jose “The Phenom” Aldo
Let’s not forget that the bout took place in Faber’s hometown of Sacramento and I am guessing the overwhelming majority of the 15,000 screaming spectators was probably screaming for Faber.
But that did not deter the reigning world champ from Brazil, Jose Aldo, from dominating the match and inflicting serious pain to former title holder, Urijah Faber, who was in charge of this weight division for some time before losing to Mike Brown.
Jose Aldo has now 17 wins and only 1 loss to his record and Urijah Faber’s record 0f 23-4 is nothing to sneeze about either.
Anyway, I found a statement by Jose Aldo that I really think are true words by a true champion:
“My dream of winning the belt came true. I’ve worked my butt off to get here.
But now every time I have a match, I don’t look at it like I’m defending the belt, I’m going out there like this is a brand new fight and I’m going to win a brand new belt.
It’s like I have a brand new dream and that is to get another belt. So even though I am the champion, when I go to the gym I’m still very humble, always wanting to learn and wanting to get better.”
That’s the kind of attitude I can appreciate.
Kudos, Jose “The Phenom” Aldo!
USMC Teaches UFC Combat Outside The Octagon
I guess you can say that UFC fighters are somewhat like modern-day gladiators.
Just a couple of days ago I stumbled across something I think you’re going to like.
Several UFC fighters and UFC President, Dana White, travelled to the United States Marine Corps’ MACE (Martial Arts Center of Excellence) and they couldn’t have been more impressed with what they saw and experienced first-hand.
The U.S. Marines at Quantico, who are true warriors in the true sense, put their amazing skills on display.
It sure was an adventure for the UFC guys and I pull my hat that they got out of their comfort zone and tried some stuff they don’t normally do on a daily basis. Kudos!
“One mind, any weapon.”
A Very Unusual Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
I Really Hope Thiago Alves …. - 26 Year Old Brazilian MMA Fighter And Superb UFC-Welterweight FacingThe Biggest Challenge Of His Life.
Do You Punch Like A 7 Year Old? I wish I could punch like this kid. Find out what I mean.
Inglourious Basterds And Infamous Choke On The Ground Got Me Thinking About A way Out.
Move Over, Jackie Chan And Jet Li, Because Here Comes Donnie Yen Who Stars Again As Wing Chun Legend, Ip Man
The Kid From Beaufort Who Became Heavyweight Boxing Olympic Gold Medalist And World Champion And I Had No Idea Until Last Week.
Erin Go Bragh! And Don’t Forget The Shamrocks! Ireland Forever And Boy, Did I Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day In Savannah.
I would apppreciate your feedback to any of my previous posts and even topics that I haven’t touched on yet.
Talk soon.
I Really Hope Thiago Alves ….
… gets well and everything works out for him.
Just in case you don’t know what and who I’m talking about:
Thiago Alves is the 26 year old Brazilian MMA fighter who was supposed to fight tonight in UFC 111 against fellow welterweight fighter, Jon Fitch.
Both fighters are considered among the very best this weight class has to offer.
And just today I heard the shocking announcement that Thiago Alves was taken off the fight card because of a so-called brain irregularity found in a CAT scan.
Tonight’s UFC 111 events take place in New Jersey and from what I learned their State Athletic Commission did not give their O.K. to Dana White’s team to let Thiago fight and show off his superb Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills in The Octagon.
Of course, Thiago will undergo further tests next week to determine what the next steps will be. This is a real bummer.
I really hope Thiago Alves gets well and everything works out for him whatever a successful future has in store for him.
In the meantime, check out Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves’ story:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCDkfvEEVBI[/youtube]
Erin Go Bragh! And Don’t Forget The Shamrocks!
Hey guys,
Got back from the second largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade and festivities in the United States.
After New York City, Savannah is a close second when it comes to the best that St. Patty’s has to offer.
On a quick side note, St. Patrick’s Day is an official holiday in Ireland, but not necessarily the official drinking day it is here in the U.S. of A.
But back to Savannah, Georgia: This city of somewhere around 200,000 population has a long tradition celebrating everything Irish.
This year’s parade was its 187th and there are quite a number of citizens of Irish heritage.
On the Eve of St. Patrick’s Day I was able to witness several bands of bag-pipers face off. It was absolutely mesmerizing.
These guys come from as far away as NYC, Boston and even the Emerald Isle, aka Ireland!
We didn’t celebrate into the wee hours, because we had to be at Calhoun Square by 5:30 a.m. and that meant getting up at 4:15 a.m.!
Why so early if the parade doesn’t start until 10 in the morning?
Traditions are strong here, which means securing your curbside spot at 6 a.m. to set up your chairs, gazebos and all your goodies. And that means a lot of food and drinks with friends and family.
The parade was amazing and went for around 4 1/2 hours. What a great experience thanks to our newly found friends and life-long Savannahians.
I guess everybody makes the connection between Irish and their national symbol, the three-leaf clover or shamrock.
The shamrocks I want to remember today are former UFC fighters and brothers, Ken and Frank, who are legendary in their own right.
Let’s start with Ken Shamrock (UFC Hall of Famer), who was the first Superfight Ultimate Champion before the title was renamed to Heavyweight Champion.
During his reign this one-time professional wrestler was considered the world’s best mixed martial artist and even today he is still considered one of the best fighters of all time.
Ken Shamrock is the older adopted brother of former UFC champion, Frank Shamrock.
At one time known as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, Ken Shamrock is also the founder of one of the most successful MMA camps, “The Lion’s Den”.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x916quqsRAE[/youtube]
And then there was his younger adopted brother and fellow UFC champion, Frank Shamrock.
Nicknamed “The Legend”, Frank has also been called the best competitor in UFC history.
He held the UFC Middleweight title, before it was renamed Light Heavyweight.
Like his brother, Ken, he is also an expert at submission fighting.
Nowadays, Frank is in great demand as a fight commentator and coach.
Here some great tips from the author of “Mixed Martial Arts For Dummies”:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLs4ifdjLYg[/youtube]
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