kicking
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.
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!
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.
The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Whenever I put The Week In Review together, I become aware how fast time flies by.
Let’s enjoy the limited time we have here and make a difference in somebody’s life.
Hard to believe, but true: Ultimate Fighting Championship Is Gearing Up for their 111th event!
Did you know that UFC1 took place over 15 years ago? On November 12, 1993 and the overall winner was BJJ legend, Royce Gracie.
Fast-forward to March 2010: UFC 111 Main event GSP Vs. Dan Hardy. This will be the Welterweight title fight between “The Perfect Fighter” from Canada and “The Outlaw” from Great Britain.
Let’s foil attacks on girls and women and teach bad boys a lesson! Urgent appeal to girls and women: Learn Self-Defense!
This is one of my all-time favorites: Check it out now! Reminder: Italian Female Karate Champion Defeats Mugger.
Alright, so you got all the moves, but … Do You Really Have A Combat Mindset and Do You Really Have A Combat Mindset – concluded?
With all the buzz about Academy Awards, aka Oscars, I thought it might be an interesting approach by introducing the “Scottish Warrior Who Won 5 Oscars“.
There you have it again: The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
I would love to hear from you, so don’t be a stranger!
Tune in tomorrow, when I ask the question ” Whatever happened to …..?”
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.
Thai Action Movie Star Tony Jaa Defies The Law Of Physics
Meet our man of many names that are tough for us Westerners to pronounce or even remember without a cheat sheet. Names like Tatchakorn Yeerum or Panom Yeerum or Jaa Panom.
We know him better as Tony Jaa.
Just recently Tony turned 34 and man, oh, man, does this guy know how to defy the Laws of Physics, or what?
A trained Thai martial artist, Tony Jaa has a proven track record as an actor, choreographer, stuntman and director.
You might have already admired some of his incredible work such as Ong-Bak:Muay Thai warrior, Tom-Yum-Goong and Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning.
Tony Jaa was certainly influenced by the great Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
But honestly, I am starting to believe that this guy from Thailand is taking things up a notch when it comes to eye-rubbing fight choreography and jaw-dropping stunt performances.
Here some examples and don’t try this at home, alright?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcudI9cJxGU[/youtube]
Taekwondo Grandmaster & Man Of Contrasts, Hee Il Cho
9th degree Black Belt Master Cho, who turns 70 this year, empitomizes the winning attitude of “I Can And I Will”.
Born in Pohang, Korea, in 1940 during the Japanese occupation and growing up as an adolescent during the Korean War (1950-53) life was not for the faint of heart.
Master Cho started his martial arts training at about the age of 10 after being beaten by a couple of teenage punks.
And again, his Tang Soo Do training was not for the faint of heart. Only the toughest made it through the rigorous daily 5-6 hour grind.
By the age of only 13, Master Cho attained his 1st dan and upon reaching the age of 21 he was a 4th degree Black Belt!
He complemented his Taekwondo training with boxing for around 2 years.
When he was 22 years old, Master Cho was called to serve in the Korean Army. During his tour he even taught Taekwondo to Indian, Korean and U.S. special forces.
By the time he left Korea for the United States in 1968, Master Cho was already a 6th dan.
After moving from Chicago, South Bend (Indiana) and Providence (Rhode Island) he ended up in Los Angeles where he lived, trained and taught from 1975 till 2000.
No other Taekwondo practitioner in the world has donned more martial arts magazine covers than Master Cho. More than 70 times!
Master Cho has been considered controversial by some in the Takewondo community for his views on how the art should progress and evolve, all whilst maintaining tradition and on the same token expecting TKD to move forward. He also ruffled feathers for incorporating boxing training and techniques to make Taekwondo practitioners more-rounded martial artists.
The Black Belt Hall of Fame Inductee and Black Belt Instructor of the Year has been marveled for his kicking abilities, especially his spinning kicks.
Master Cho has displayed his amazing kicking skills in countless books (e.g. “Man Of Contrasts”), videos, movies and seminars conducted throughout his martial arts career that now spans 60 years.
Hee Il Cho continues to teach in Hawaii where he now lives.
I would like to end today’s post with a very interesting statement Master Cho made in reference to a number of incidents, in which after being challenged by some guys walking into his school and beating them and then only to get sued for injuring them.
“All this has created a great conflict within me, for if I cannot use my skill to protect myself from any person who walks in off the street and demands a fight, how can I hope my student will retain confidence in my ability to teach them this skill? And yet, if I use my skill and hurt someone, even in self-defense, have I not betrayed the spirit of what martial arts are all about?”
And I know how much you enjoy “Masters In Action”:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LhC97yIvfM[/youtube]
Last Week In Review February 2010 At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Over the last 5 months since the inception of TheMartialArtsReporter.com my foremost goal has been and will continue to be to provide my readers with the greatest possible diversity of mainly positive martial arts related posts.
Readership has been growing faster than anticipated and I am certainly more than happy about that.
I’ll be honest with you: Make my day simply by visiting this blog whenever you want a quick ‘lift me up’ and tell all your friends about it.
If you have ever sent any comments in the past, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Don’t stop now!
If you haven’t so far, please feel free to share your thoughts on any of the previous 160 posts.
Thank you so much for your continuing support and interest.
This year seems to be moving at lightning speed. Two months have already passed and here’s the last Week In Review February 2010:
Years before Bruce Lee, …Extreme Pushups By Fitness Legend Jack LaLanne
An important topic in anybody’s life, … No Fear Or Know Fear?
Jean-Paul Belmondo … I Really Think He Was “The French Steve McQueen”
Consider Mokuso Or The Power Of Meditation Not Only For Martial Artists
Did The Movie “Enough” With Jennifer Lopez Help Women’s Self-Defense?
High-grade Muay Thai … From The Netherlands, The First Foreigner To Be Named “Muay Thai Fighter Of The Year”
Enjoy And Don’t Be A Stranger!
From The Netherlands, The First Foreigner To Be Named “Muay Thai Fighter Of The Year”
You guys already know how important and how popular Muay Thai is in Thailand and to the Thai people.
They expect and they will do everything in their power to ensure that Thai fighters are on top of the game, called Muay Thai.
Understanding that makes it such an impressive acomplishment for a non-Thai to receive the coveted “Muay Thai Fighter Of The Year” award and in 1992 that’s exactly what happened.
The recipient’s name is Ramon Dekkers, aka “The Diamond” or “Turbine From Hell” and I must say he is definitely one of my all-time favorites. His kicking and punching abilities are legendary. Absolutely amazing!
The Dutchman was a force to be reckoned with, thus being able to become a 8-time Muay Thai World Champion.
Officially his fighting career lasted for 20 years, namely from 1986 – 2006.
Ramon Dekkers fought some of the best Muay Thai fighters Thailand had to offer. What really makes him stand out even more, is the fact that he would accept any challenge at any time. Many times that meant even if his opponent was bigger and more experienced as well as while he himself was still injured from previous bouts.
This dedication and commitment certainly won him a lot of admiration in the Muay Thai community not only in Thailand.
He is the legendary Ramon “The Diamond” Dekkers.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLIAY0riBEQ[/youtube]
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