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:
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!
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]
What A Week In Review At The MartialArtsReporter.com!
St. Patrick’s Day was awesome and the rest of the week wasn’t too shabby either.
If you are a single mom or know someone who is, please take note of this Personal Safety Alert For Single Moms.
We all know that Bruce Lee could punch and kick, but he also knew something about the art of fighting without fighting.
Surprise – surprise! What you didn’t know about pro golfer Phil Mickelson.
Going Green: Happy St. Patrick’s Day And Irish Stick (Shillelagh) Fighting!
This guy blows me and his opponents away: The Best Pound-For-Pound Fighter, Also The Best Ever Fighter In The World?
Amazing: Ultimate Fighting has become a household name, but what did the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC 1, Look Like?
Talk soon, my friends.
What Did The First Ever Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC 1, Look Like?
It’s amazing that more than 15 years have passed since the very first Ultimate Fighting Championship event UFC 1.
In only two weeks from now we are looking at UFC 111!
The original event took place on November 12, 1993 in Denver and was more of a tournament than just individual fights in various weight divisions.
There were 8 fighters and no weight classes and no rules! well, there were some rules such as no biting and no eye-gouging.
One of the basic ideas that the creators had was to get fighters/martial artists from different styles to determine the most effective style.
When everything was said and done the winner was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Royce Gracie, who was by far the lightest fighter beating a number of way heavier opponents.
He won the final match against Gerard Gordeau via rear naked choke and he put BJJ on the map especially here in the U.S.
And fighting would never be the same!
Today, I just wanted to reminisce and look at how it all started:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVCCVfQvUIE[/youtube]
UFC 111 Main Event GSP Vs. Dan Hardy
British contender Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy isn’t falling for the Gatorade’s recommendation that one should never EVER fight Georges St. Pierre.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-VIpCxyZaA[/youtube]
Dan Hardy is getting his title shot at the UFC World Champion Welterweight title on Saturday, March 27, in New Jersey.
The only hurdle he has to take is beating the one and only Franco-Canadian Georges St. Pierre, who is known as “The Perfect Fighter” and who is considered by many the best Welterweight ever.
Revered by many more, GSP is the complete package with extraordinary striking, kicking, takedown and grappling abilities that have put him at the top of the game.
His professional attitude toward preparation and analyzing his opponent is legendary.
I featured him here three months ago, with the title Meet The Amazing UFC-Champion Georges St. Pierre (GSP).
Dan Hardy is a very proficient striker with great timing and GSP will have to be very diligent in his approach to defending his title.
This could be a good one!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15K9T_XWAps[/youtube]
Tipping Off March Madness With The Week In Review
“Variety is the spice of life.”
I am trying to live up to that saying by posting about different topics that relate to martial arts or not. Anyway ….
In case you were too busy being busy, here’s what you missed:
Bulgarian Greco-Roman Wrestler Is Big In Japan: The David Beckham Of Sumo
It Happened In 1935 … Sarah Mayer, First Non-Japanese Female Judo Black Belt
The Question Is: “Honestly, Are You Really Prepared To Fight If You Have To?”
With ‘The Sensei ‘, She’s Creating Buzz In The Movie Industry And Let’s Just Face It … With A Name Like Lee Inosanto, She’s Got To Be Good
What Goes Up, Must Come Down. With This Guy, Things Appear To Be A Bit Different. Thai Action Movie Star Tony Jaa Defies The Law Of Physics.
There you have it: The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Have a great Sunday!
I will be reporting again from here tomorrow.
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