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Another Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Here’s your week in review at TheMartialArtsReporter.com and two great quotes, just because it’s that season again!
Gegard Mousasi, MMA Fighter With A 27-2-1 Record And Only 24 Years Old
From Leiden,The Netherlands, referred to by many as “Europe’s Best-Kept Secret”.
Is Yildiz Aras The World’s Best Female Karate Kumite Competitor?
From Istanbul, Turkey, meet the “Strong Girl”.
New Zealand’s Maori Haka Get Warriors For Battle
From ‘Lord of the Rings’ country comes a ritual that will get any opponent’s attention.
Bruce Lee And Albrecht Pflueger. Albrecht Who?
Find out who this karate pioneer is and what role he played in my life.
Yoga And Martial Artists
If it helps Rickson Gracie in his workout regimen, could you possibly benefit from yoga?
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu – Behind The Scenes In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Rio is more than just the ‘Girl from Ipanema’.
And here are the two quotes as promised. I hope you like them.
“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.”
Lord Byron
But wait, there’s more!
“Nurture your mind with great thought, for you will never go any higher than you think.” Benjamin Disraeli
Thanks again for following me at TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Unfair Karate Fight – Let’s All Lighten Up, Shall We?!
I have no idea where you are and what you’re up to today, but I am taking a day off.
That’s why I thought it might be a good idea to chill and just look at martial arts from a not so serious perspective.
Are you with me? What say you?
Hope you enjoy this clip. I sure do every time I watch it.
The Greatly Feared And Highly Effective “Rear Naked Choke”
Greatly feared and highly effective, the “Rear Naked Choke” is the chokehold you do not want to be in.
Your opponent’s got you from behind and that is just not a good thing.
It’s never a good thing not being able to see what’s going on, right?!
The term “Rear Naked Choke” most likely originated from Jujutsu and Judo, in which it is also better known as the “Hadaka Jime”, or “Naked Strangle.”
Why “naked”? Well, first of all it has nothing to do with “clothing optional”. Just kidding.
Rather, unlike with some other Jujustu and Judo choking techniques, you do not have to employ a “gi” or training uniform.
When it comes to the “Rear Naked Choke”, the attacker’s arm encircles the opponent’s neck and then grabs his own biceps of the other arm and the hand of said arm presses against the back of the opponent’s head.
There you have it: The “Rear Naked Choke (Sleeper Hold)”.
To make it all more comprehensible I have added the following visuals.
Warning: Kids, do not try this at home or anywhere else without professional supervision!
Here is 2-time World Submission Grappling Champion, Dean Lister:
And, 9-time UFC Champion, Matt “Country Boy” Hughes:
Low Muay Thai Kick Can End A Fight Within Seconds
Muay Thai, which was developed on the battlefields during the 15th century, is known for using punches, elbow strikes, clinches, knee thrusts and of course devastating kicks.
Now, even if one cannot kick above the waistline there is a kick at your disposal that can end a fight real fast and I am thinking of the one you could employ in a self-defense situation.
It is the Low Muay Thai kick aimed at the thigh of your opponent.
Yours truly was once at the receiving end of one of these powerful kicks and let me tell you that I couldn’t use the hit leg for about an hour. Seriously!
Coming from a totally different martial art I wasn’t accustomed to pulling up my knee to avoid described predicament. Sometimes you learn the hard way.
As always, to learn a specific technique correctly, please seek advice from trusted and knowledgable instructors.
The following video shows you legendary Dutchman Rob Kaman, who years ago was an incredible fighter and feared even by his Thai opponents.
And another short clip shows you the kick applied in a real MMA/UFC fight:
Mark Dacascos Still Kicking Strong On “Dancing With The Stars”
Mark Dacascos, the accomplished martial artist and actor is still kicking strong on this year’s “Dancing With Stars”.
Some of you might have heard that he won several Kung Fu and Karate championships between the ages of 9 and 18.
This should come as no surprise as Mark’s dad, Al Dacascos, is a legendary martial arts instructor who exposed Mark to martial arts at a very early age.
His step mother, Malia Bernal, is also a martial artist. Mark’s ancestry is diverse. His father is of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese decent and his mother, Moriko McVey, is of Irish and Japanese decent.
Mark Dacascos has had roles in a number of movies and made numerous television appearances.
He played the lead role of Eric Draven in the TV series entitled The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, which is based on the James O’Barr’s comic book entitled The Crow.
He also stars as The Chairman on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America series.
Currently, Mark Dacascos is doing extremely well in this year’s “Dancing With Stars” and promoting the agility of an open-minded martial artist.
Two thumbs up!
Shotokan Karate According To Gichin Funakoshi
Today I would like to share with you something about the style that got me so excited about martial arts in the first place.
The style is called Shotokan Karate and who could really describe it better than the actual founder of the style himself: Gichin Funakoshi, an Okinawan who introduced karate to Japan in 1917 and later again 1922.
Shotokan Karate is currently enjoying somewhat of a second wind of attention and popularity especially with UFC top competitors such as Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort applying some of its typical elements.
Here are some excerpts of Funakoshi-Sensei’s descriptions and observations:
“In Okinawa, a miraculous and mysterious martial art has come down to us from the past.
It is said that one who masters its techniques can defend himself readily without resort to weapons and can perform remarkable feats: the breaking of several thick boards with his fist or ceiling panels of a room with a kick.
With his shuto (“sword hand”) he can kill a bull with a single stroke; he can pierce the flank of a horse with his open hand; he can cross a room grasping the beams of the ceiling with his fingers, crush a green bamboo stalk with his bare hand, shear a hemp rope with a twist, or gouge soft rock with his hands.
Some consider these aspects of this miraculous and mysterious martial art to be the essence of Karate-do.
But such feats are a small part of karate, playing a role analogous to the straw-cutting test of kendo [Japanese fencing], and it is erroneous to think that there is no more to Karate-do than this.
In fact, true Karate-do places weight upon spiritual rather than physical matters.
True Karate-do is this: that in daily life, one’s mind and body be trained and developed in a spirit of humility; and that in critical times, one be devoted utterly to the cause of justice.
Karate-do is a martial art peculiar to Okinawa in its origins. Although it has in the past tended to be confused with Chinese boxing because of the use of the chinese “kara” character in its earlier name, in fact for the past thousand years, the study and practice of masters and experts, through which it was nurtured and perfected and formed into the unified martial art that it is today, took place in Okinawa.
It is, therefore, not a distortion to represent it as an Okinawan martial art.
One may ask why the chinese “kara” character has been retained for so long.
As I discuss in the section “The Development of Karate-do,” I believe that at the time the influence of Chinese culture was at its peak in Japan, many experts in the martial arts traveled to China to practice Chinese boxing.
With their new knowledge, they altered the existing martial art, called Okinawa-te, weeding out its bad points and adding good points to it, thus working it into an elegant art.
It may be speculated that they considered “kara” (with the chinese character) an appropriate new name.
Since, even in contemporary Japan, there are many people who are impressed by anything that is foreign, it is not difficult to imagine the high regard for anything Chinese that prevailed during that period in Okinawa.
Even at the time of the present writer’s youth, lack of a full set of Chinese furniture and furnishings in one’s home was a serious impediment to the social influence of any leading family.
With this background, the reason for the choice of the Chinese “kara” character, meaning “Chinese,” as a simple case of exoticism is apparent.
Following tradition, the writer has in the past continued to use the Chinese character.
However, because of the frequent confusion with Chinese boxing, and the fact that the Okinawan martial art may now be considered a Japanese martial art, it is inappropriate, and in a sense degrading, to continue use of the old “kara” in the name.
For this reason, in spite of many protests, we have abandoned the use of it to replace it with the new character KARA.
The first connotation of kara indicates that karate is a technique that permits one to defend himself with his bare hands and fists without weapons.
Second, just as it is the clear mirror that reflects without distortion, or the quiet valley that echoes a sound, so must one who would study Karate-do purge himself of selfish and evil thoughts, for only with a clear mind and conscience can he understand that which he receives.
This is another meaning of the element kara in Karate-do.
Next, he who would study Karate-do must always strive to be inwardly humble and outwardly gentle.
However, once he has decided to stand up for the cause of justice, then he must have the courage expressed in the saying, “Even if it must be ten million foes, I go!”
Thus, he is like the green bamboo stalk: hollow (kara) inside, straight, and with knots, that is, unselfish, gentle, and moderate. This meaning is also contained in the element kara of Karate-do.
Finally, in a fundamental way, the form of the universe is emptiness (kara), and, thus, emptiness is form itself.
There are many kinds of martial arts, judo, kendo, sojitsu (“spear techniques”), bojitsu (“stick techniques”), and others, but at a fundamental level all these arts rest on the same basis as Karate-do.
It is no exaggeration to say that the original sense of Karate-do is at one with the basis of all martial arts. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form itself. The kara of Karate-do has this meaning.”
Or as Paul Harvey always said, “Now you know the rest of the story.”
Happy Birthday To Muay Thai Icon, Ajarn Suruchai Sirisute!
Especially on a day like today, Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) enthusiasts and practitioners express their respects to the teacher (wai kru) to the Founder and President of the Thai Boxing Association of the USA, Ajarn Suruchai Sirisute and we all wish him from every corner of the Muay Thai world a very, very Happy Birthday!
His students simply refer to him as “Ajarn Chai” (Ajarn means master, head instructor).
Master Chai grew up as the son of a prominent Bangkok lawyer. Obviously he did not follow his dad to become an attorney. Something quite different, to say the least, happened.
Master Chai admits that as a kid, he must have have been a real handful and so his father sent him to kick his heavy bag after dinner to, in his own words, “wear me out”.
Now, that’s an idea: We replace TV sets with heavy bags. I’m just sayin’.
Back to Master Chai, who already at the age of 6 was challenging and beating 8 and 10 year old boys at a local karate school.
The karate teacher immediately saw his potential, but he had to infuse some discipline and respect into the youngster.
He must have left such an impression with young Chai that no time this teacher was able to get him lined up with the other kids throwing kicks and punches.
This led Master Chai to study as a boy both Muay Thai and Shorin Karate, in which he attained his black belt at the age of only 12!
At the same time he began his Muay Thai fighting career and went on to compete in over 72 fights in Thailand.
If you’re not that familiar with Muay Thai, let me tell you that it is THE national sport in Thailand.
The Thai people take Muay Thai very seriously and there is a seemingly never-ending source of incredibly talented fighters in Thailand.
The fights are nationally televised very frequently. The fight venues are packed up to the hilt.
It is no small feat to fight on a national level in this kind of environment.
Master Chai retired from a very successful fighting career in 1968 to teach Muay Thai in the U.S. and thus starting his life’s work of spreading Muay Thai.
The following excerpts derive from Master Chai’s profile that was impressively compiled by Terry Tippie, who met Master Chai in the late 1970s:
“As he would soon find out American 1960s culture was very different than the Thailand fighting circuit. With hair mid-way down his back and in rock-solid shape he stepped off the plane and shortly thereafter wound up at the Woodstock rock concert.
Recalling the wild behavior he saw Sirisute mused, “Man, I thought Americans were completely crazy.”
Sirisute by this time had a well-developed penchant for mischief and somehow managed to befriend and train a notorious motorcycle gang called The Hell’s Angels. “I had no idea who they were,” shrugs Sirisute.
That is, until the FBI explained it to him. Grimacing embarrassedly Sirisute continued, “So, then I trained the FBI.” [You could see both in the same class during the 1970s. --TT]
Nonetheless, Sirisute had a vision of spreading Muay Thai that he was determined to pursue.
The early years were lean ones during a time in which public knowledge of Muay Thai was non-existent and hostility from other martial arts was fierce.
He defended almost weekly challenges from Karate and Kung Fu experts who soon found, to their surprise, that Sirisute wasn’t an easy man to run out of town.
In the days before personal injury lawsuits were common in the U.S. it was standard practice to smile politely, close the door and beat the tar out of the challenger.
And that was precisely what Ajarn Chai did. [Those challenges were still happening in the late 1970s when I met him.--TT]
During the 1970s and early 1980s Ajarn Chai taught at several Southern California colleges:
Chaffey College, Claremont Men’s College and Cal. State San Bernardino.
Also during those years Ajarn Chai trained students at his home, the backyard of which was converted into a Thai-style camp.
Many of Ajarn Chai’s early fighters, such as Mike Goldbach, Reggie Jackson, Glen Hernandez and Don Boyd, came out of a backyard training environment.
It was this core of fighters who Ajarn Chai lead to Thailand in 1982 to enter the first American team to compete in the Muay Thai World Championships.
Sirisute also fought battles with the martial arts establishment over fighting procedure, specifically the Wai Kru ["respects to the teacher" dance before a fight], uniform and use of knees & elbows. “They told me that my fighters couldn’t wear the short pants to fight but had to wear a Gi,” growled Sirisute. Shaking his head, quot;They used to laugh and ridicule Thai Boxing [fighters] when they would do the Wai Kru. But they don’t laugh any more because we always knock ‘em out.”
Thanks in part to the early efforts of Sirisute, Muay Thai fighters no longer have to struggle against this kind of indifference.
In 1978, Sirisute met a young Filipino-American high school teacher named Dan Inosanto.
Inosanto trained as a student in Ajarn Chai’s backyard during these years and they soon became close friends.
Once Ajarn Chai gave Inosanto the task of kicking the leaves on a tree, then forgot about him and went shopping, leaving Inosanto to swelter in the LA summer heat.
When Ajarn Chai returned several hours later Inosanto was so exhausted and dehydrated that he could barely stand up. But he still had his hands up and was still kicking.
Sirisute exclaimed, “Oh my God…I forgot all about you,” and held his sides and let out a piercing falsetto cackle.
Actually Sirisute had not forgotten about Inosanto but was testing Inosanto to see whether he would keep going and whether he would come back.
Inosanto did come back, and the friendship that grew up between these two men in those years has served both well over the years.
Already well known in the U.S. Inosanto introduced Sirisute to teaching seminars, which greatly helped Ajarn Chai extended awareness of Muay Thai in the U.S.A. as well as internationally.
By the early 1980s word of Muay Thai was spreading fast in the martial arts community.
In 1983 Inosanto introduced Sirisute to Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys.
The diminutive 5’5″ Sirisute was undaunted when greeted with skepticism by the players.
“I just pointed at him [Tony Dorsett] and told him to hold the pad for me,” explained Sirisute.
Taken aback at the jackhammer like impact of Sirisute’s right leg on the Thai pad, Dorsett exclaimed, “This guy isn’t human!”
The Dallas Cowboys were soon throwing Thai kicks and skip knees, and the Cowboy’s incorporated Ajarn Chai and Muay Thai into their pre-season conditioning until the time of Landry’s departure in 1990.
In fact, all-pro defensive end Randy White is reputed to have developed the hardest Thai kick ever recorded–a stunning 450 lbs. per square inch.”
Ajarn Chai continues to teach and spread Muay Thai nationally and internationally, all while enthusing and amusing a growing number of students wherever he appears.
Happy Birthday To Muay Thai Icon, Ajarn Suruchai Sirisute!
Fighting Legend Benny “The Jet” Urquidez Offers Great Advice
Here’s another real treat for you!
Fighting Legend Benny “The Jet” Urquidez offers great advice to any serious
martial artist.
For those of you who don’t remember or who have never heard of “The Jet”:
Benny Urquidez was a true force in professional full-contact kick-boxing,
especially in the 70s. His record was something like 58 wins – 0 losses!
He even fought the toughest fighters in Thailand and Japan at their own
rules and walked away victoriously.
What I didn’t know until recently, was that “The Jet” has actually been
a Mixed Martial Artist for the longest time and living up to one of his
own principles:
Keep an open mind and apply what works.
After ending one of the most successful professional careers ever,
Benny Urquidez has been teaching here in the U.S. and overseas.
Besides teaching, “The Jet” has appeared in a number of movies,
starring with big names such as John Cusack, Jackie Chan, Joe
Lewis, Shannon Lee (daughter of the legendary Bruce Lee!).
Still don’t believe me?
Check out this clip with “The Jet” and Jackie Chan. This is considered
by most the second-best movie fight of all times:
Further, his vast expertise as a fight scene choreographer is always
in demand in Tinseltown.
His fan base continues to grow even many years after leaving the
professional fighting circuit.
Listening to Master Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and applying what works
might just “jet” propel you, too.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
And don’t forget his must-have training manual:
Training and Fighting Skills
by Benny “The Jet” Urquidez
UFC Hall Of Famer Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell On Fire (Again)
Let’s dance, shall we?
This season of “Dancing With The Stars” offers all mixed martial
artists a very familiar face.
Listen up, guys, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell is one heck of an
ambassador for Mixed Martial Arts and Ultimate Fighting.
You better believe it!
Yours truly just talked to a neighbor who has absolutely nothing
to do with martial arts and isn’t even into Ultimate Fighting, but
who is really impressed with “The Iceman”.
And why, you ask?
This is what I took away: Chuck Liddell has presented himself
as a soft-spoken, almost shy, humble and simply nice guy.
Despite Mohawk and skull tattoos. (Original quote!).
And what really make him impressive is hands down his work
ethic and utter willingness to get out of his comfort zone.
Any other volunteers?
From wrestling mat and karate ring to “The Octagon” and now
to the dance floor judged by millions of TV viewers during prime time!
“I applaud you, Chuck Liddell!”
He has already done martial arts, especially mixed martial arts
and UFC, an outstanding service, no matter how far “The Iceman”
gets during this year’s season of “Dancing With The Stars”.
Who agrees or disagrees? Let your voice be heard.
Just in case you missed Chuck’s version of “The Tango”:
And just in case you prefer his version of “The Octagon”:
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