Lyoto Machida
The Best Pound-For-Pound Fighter, Also The Best Ever Fighter In The World?
Without further ado, we’re talking about Brazilian Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
Silva is UFC’s Middleweight Champion of the world with 10 consecutive wins and many say he has made his weight division so boring through his seemingly invincible fighting style that the calls are getting louder for him to either lose weight to fight against GSP or gain weight to fight against Lyoto “Dragon” Machida.
Silva’s MMA record is pretty amazing: 25 wins vs. 4 losses!
His last loss was over 4 years ago via disqualification by illegal side-up kick against Japanese Yushin Okami.
Silva’s fighting arsenal is more than just impressive in my book. It’s overwhelming and at times overbearing for any opponent.
Besides being a long-time Black Belt in Taekwondo, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, “The Spider” is a highly trained Muay Thai fighter and Western boxer.
He turns 35 in April and has expressed plans to retire fairly soon, whatever soon means. His UFC contract still calls for at least 3 more fights. We will have to wait and see.
In the meantime, check out some of Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s career highlights and be impressed:
Meet The Amazing UFC-Champion Georges St. Pierre (GSP)
I have been following the career of one of UFC’s absolute superstars for some time now and I gotta tell ya, GSP does not seize to amaze me for a lot of reasons.
Refreshingly, Georges St. Pierre is simply a very down to earth and likeable guy. The kind of guy you could just sit down with and have a beer or whatever.
The Canadian from Quebec has stayed very humble and modest even after all the breathtaking success he has had on the mat and in The Octagon.
Unarguably, Georges has become one of the outstanding figures of MMA worldwide with a very strong background in kyokunshinkai karate and wrestling.
He is consistenty ranked among the Top 4 Pound-For-Pound MMA-fighters in the world, along with Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida.
Georges is very methodical in his workout that includes a lot of cross training with plyometrics.
His inclination to being extemely analytical when preparing for his next opponent continues to pay off for him, too.
He is very professional in his approach to fighting, career choices and the way he presents himself.
Recently I came across a magazine headline that made reference to the physical results of his training regimen and lifestyle.
“Georges St. Pierre, The Body Women Desire And Men Admire”.
I let you be the judge!
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.”
Veteran Ultimate Fighting Superstars Matt Hughes & Tito Ortiz Return To The Octagon
Two of the most successful UFC veterans are putting on their 5 oz. gloves again.
And I gotta be honest when I tell you that I am actually excited to hear that Matt Hughes
and Tito Ortiz both came to an agreement with UFC President, Dana White, to fight in
The Octagon.
Of course, you know they won’t fight against each other in the same division.
Matt “Country Boy” Hughes will again fight as a Welterweight.
Just like he did as the UFC World Champion several years ago with a most impressive
body-slamming professional record of 43-7.
Matt will end up again in the same division as George St. Pierre (GSP who is now
considered by many one of the Top 4 PFP fighters in the world) as well as Thiago
Alves and Jon Fitch.
Tito Ortiz aka The Bad Boy from Huntington Beach on the other hand used
to be, together with Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, long reigning World Champ,
who could get the crowds really psyched about Ultimate Fighting Championships.
Basically, when it comes to Tito Ortiz: You either love him or you hate him.
He’s colorful, outspoken and controversial to say the least.
Tito is expected to compete in the Rock Star Division also known as Light
Heavyweight, loaded with extremely skillful modern day gladiators such as
Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (Is he really retiring?),
Forrest Griffin, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and Mark Coleman (Tito’s first opponent in 2009)
just to name a few.
Let there be no doubt:
Both, Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz are still two very formidable mixed martial artists
with name recognition.
The question is:
Can they still compete at the level it takes to put on the belt of a current
UFC World Champion when the dust settles in The Octagon?
What Dana White totally gets:
These two extraordinary fighters still want to and are capable to effectively
trade kicks and punches and grapple with the best in the world.
They will draw crowds and increase ratings for Dana White’s UFC organization.
So, instead of watching them fight for UFC’s competitors, why not just get
them into The Octagon instead, right?
Tell me what you think about Veteran UFC Superstars Matt Hughes & Tito Ortiz
returning to the Octagon for the UFC.
Are We In The Year Of The Dragon aka Lyoto Machida?
Are we in the Year Era of the Dragon aka Lyoto Machida?
Lyoto “Dragon” Machida has very quietly become one of THE Rock Stars
of MMA and the UFC in particular.
Just the other day I was talking to a friend about how and why Machida
got to where he is today.
Here are my Top 7 Reasons:
1. The Light-Heavyweight Division is undisputedly considered the UFC’s
Rock Star Division and the 31 year old Lyoto Machida is currently
their World Champion with a clean 15-0 record.
2. Machida is ranked as the #4 Pound for Pound Fighter in the world
(he only trails George St. Pierre, Anderson “Spider” Silva and Fedor
“The Last Emperor” Emelianenko)
3. Machida’s fighting style in considered semi-orthodox (whatever that
means), by some even boring. He is an extremely efficient counter-
striker with a hit rate of a whopping 65 percent, compared to the
“industry average” of around 35%.
4. His patience in the ring/Octagon drives his opponent nuts, causing
them to take the initiative and make costly mistakes.
5. Machida has not taken the blows (= punishment) many other UFC
titleholders experience to stay at the top.
6. Machida’s arsenal of tools is rather impressive. He has mastered
Shotokan Karate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and even Sumo.
And somehow Machida is able to make all this work together to get
the job done.
7. With his English language skills quickly improving, Machida is becoming
extremely marketable in English-speaking countries, especially the U.S.,
where his fan base is growing by the day.
UFC President Dana White knows a winner when he sees one.
He is saying that Machida’s upcoming fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
has the potential to be one of best UFC Light-Heavyweight matches in the Octagon.
Agree or disagree?
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