Pride Fighting Highlights

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Vernon Forrest Tribute

Came across a nice tribute to the late, Vernon Forrest. I met him years ago at Doraville Boxing Club. He was a great boxer and gentleman. Wanted to share this with you guys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aLeo0zCPCk

Champions Think They Can Beat Anyone

I once heard a trainer say that if a young fighter comes into his gym and doesn't believe that he will be a champion, then he never will be. I agree with that. If you decide to become a champion, not just a competitor you have to have that mindset. This doesn't mean be unrealistic either. A lot of guys say that want to be a pro and they want to be a champion, but it's mostly talk. As an aspiring champion, you have to study champions. You have to watch their work ethic and see what they do. I have seem so many naturally gifted athletes who never become champions becaue when their physical attributes fail them, they give up. The physical is important, but the heart and desire to win is more so. You have to refuse to lose to be a champion and put in the time to hone your skills. You have to compete against the best and test yourself to know where you are.

The Technique of Mike Tyson

Here's a video clip analyzing Iron Mike's technique. The peek a boo style of Cus D'mato. In his prime, Mike was a master KO artist because of his defense. He would make opponents miss and make them pay. The discipline that he had would deminish over time but for a moment in boxing history, Mike was the man. Watch and learn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plxlf9vRzkY

Deaths Caused by Choke Holds

In many countries, law enforcement officers are required to train in martial arts. Choking techniques are used as a way of subduing violent criminals without weapons. Here's an interested article about choking techniques in the sport of Judo and case studies of deaths caused by chokes from policeman. http://judoinfo.com/new/techniques/grappling-techniques/314-deaths-allegedly-caused-by-the-use-of-choke-holds-by-ek-koiwai-md-

Lucia Rijkers

Some call Lucia Rijkers the greatest female boxer of all time. She is the first woman to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame. From a martial arts background she entered into professional boxing and became a champion. Kickboxing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X26cnAUi7fI

More Karate Techniques In The UFC

This past weekend, Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort, defeated Luke Rockhold with a spinning heel kick. He through one at the beginning of round 1 and finished Luke towards the end of the round with the same kick. Rockhold through a spin back during their fight and he always mixes spin and jump kicks in his fights. Belfort has trained in traditional Shotokan and has been training with Kyokushin Greats, Glaube Feitosa and Franciso Filho. MMA is a sport that mixes different martial arts. You will see techniques from the most proven combat systems. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOI3fssdeBw

Old School Martial Arts Schools

Here's an old clip of a Tae Kwon Do Master. What's cool is that this is a time when martial arts where new to the general public and the instructors taught authentic martial arts with a passion. Look at the dojo, the training, and the men and women. During these times there was no kids only class. Everybody trained together and the criteria for black belt was the same for everybody. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb0tGNX4YaQ

Good Old Hard Work

As an old dawg in the arts, I've been able to see a lot of fighters train. Now a days, people assume that they have better information on nutrition, training methods, equipment, etc. People are more knowledgeabe in a lot of these areas. But, as I always say, nothing beats gold old fashion, hard work. When I was coming up in the sport of kickboxing, there weren't a lot of gyms. So, I had the opportunity to be surrounded by a lot of aspiring fighters. Most of them worked out hard. No one had to stand over them and make sure they did their rounds of bag, pads, sparring, etc. The coaches could simply give a suggestion and tweak things here and there. Now a days, there are a lot of gyms, but I don't see the same quality of training. The facilities are prettier and the equipment is newer, but the same old hard work ethic is smaller. I'm not saying that it doesn't exist. I'm just saying it's less. Train hard.

Sabaki Challenge Video

The Sabaki Challenge is one of the longest running full contact Karate tournaments in the states. Sabaki is based on circular movement to an opponent's blind spot. I see it as a mixture of Karate and Judo (especially sweeps). Here's a cool video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5rJd2maDKU

Bodyweight Training Best?

Here's an interesting clip of strong man and strength training Elliot Hulse talking about bodyweight training. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ2_TGXcaMM&list=UU0ASolYU_Yh3yShLFQC0stg

Old School Point Fighting

All of folks do think much of point tournaments. Growing up, there were point fighting superstars (Keith Vitali, Tony Young, Steve Anderson, Linday Denley, Arlene Limas, etc.). All of these athletes could fight!. Here's a classic with Robert Harris and John Longstreet (both would also become Kickboxing World Champions too). This is a good match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g79SiqX11JQ

Knockdown Karate

Want to see how tough you are? Try full contact, knockdown (aka bare knuckle) Karate competiton. It is as intense as it can get. There so many different kinds of stand up competiton for fighters to do. There's boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, etc. I know thai kickboxers and MMA fighters who want no parts of knockdown karate. I just got back from the World Oyama Karate Championships in in Birmingham AL (5/4/13). I was fortunate some great fights. The fights weren't determined by who had the prettiest technique or even the best cardio. It boiled down to heart and determination. The fighter who could take the pain and stay strong mentally during bone on bone contact is what's important. Here are a few of the matches I recorded on my phone. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFPLXUmSn6I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wR63h2Q9OA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG699jsVdUk

Shidokan Russia Vs. France 1997

Hey Guys, Got another great Shidokan tournament for your from '97 with Russian and French teams competing in a tournament. Good old school Shidokan Strong Rules. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkevzTNpomw

Shidokan U.S. Open Video

Here's an awesome video from the early 90s featuring Shidokan Karate. This is old school Shidokan, when martial artists entered and just fought. There was no Youtube or Pay per View events where fighters were able to study styles and opponents. You just entered and fought. Draws were decided by adding boxing gloves. A couple of years afterwards, the "Triathlon" would evolve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaLuItlR-GE

Dolph Lungren Karate Demonstration

Action superstar, Dolph Lungren is a well known practioneer of Kyokushin Karate. He is a European champion and takes his Karate very seriously. Here's a clip of him and Shihans Brian Fitkin and Lloyd Payne doing an awesome demonstration in Japan at the 10th World Karate Championships. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGKcZFWwDXU