Karate blackbelts in MMA

[Psyker]

true... my instructor often explains it like this.. there's dojo fighting, tournament fighting and then the streets. They do overlap but yet each one has it's own dynamics

That's definitely something I see people overlooking. Every system was made with an assumption in mind. So when you try to apply it in a different setting without adapting it, then it probably won't work. E.g. most traditional martial arts don't focus all that much on grappling on the ground. Because on the street, when you get on the ground is when your opponent pulls out a knife, or his friends start jumping on your head.

This is why all traditional martial arts try to stay up, and always try to have control of your opponent's other arm. Because the minute you stop monitoring it is when your opponent can pull out a weapon. But if you try to apply that same logic in a tournament, you're hampering your own chances for no good reason...

 

[JohnPJones]

Then, as often is the case, it all comes down to one's definition.

not by any actual definition are you training martial art, if you're not training to fight

 

[Hotora86]

Interesting analysis of Karate techniques from the Karate blackbelt, kickboxing champion and Karate Combat competitor Gabriel Varga:

 

[Hotora86]

Congrats to my homie and Kyokushin Karate national champion Marcin Prachnio for beating the odds and winning his fight vs William Knight! OSU!

 

[noc]

So many black belts and just the Machida fight like Karate
JKA is better than WKF

Don't count Kenpo and Kyokushin as Karate

Why you care about this? is a commercial martial art, is not important

 

[JohnPJones]

So many black belts and just the Machida fight like Karate
JKA is better than WKF

Don't count Kenpo and Kyokushin as Karate

Why you care about this? is a commercial martial art, is not important

What does ‘fight like karate even mean’?

 

[noc]

What does ‘fight like karate even mean’?

The typical Karate.. that from tournaments, from long distance

 

[JohnPJones]

The typical Karate.. that from tournaments, from long distance

That’s typical for 1 rule set, that was based on what was originally intended as training drills.
And idk what machida fights you’ve been watching but I’ve seen plenty of the machidas’ fights being plenty close on their own accord, they plenty of karate grappling.

 

[Hotora86]

NEW FIGHTER ADDED!

Manon Fiorot (born February 17, 1990) is a French mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 29, 2023, she is #3 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, and as of July 18, 2023, she is #10 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manon_Fiorot
https://www.ufc.com/athlete/manon-fiorot

Come to think of it we just saw a clash of WFW contenders (Manon vs Rose) and BOTH have a Karate background! How cool is that?

 

[Hotora86]

 

[Hotora86]

NEW FIGHTER ADDED!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyson_Pedro

Tyson Pedro (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Black belt in Kempo[2]

Source: https://www.ufc.com/athlete/tyson-pedro

 

[Nonoame]

Great thread, really fun read

One more for the list, i'm not a fan of him, I find him a little crindge, but Dean Barry.

Karate black belt who transitioned to "semi contact kickboxing" then onto mma

Reading through the thread, there has been a lot of discussion on the American kickboxing and if its point karate when it came to Michael Page on the list. Was a fun debate. What is the criteria of the list? because Page's dad was Kung Fu (the Master about to have a wet dream). Page has never done a karate lesson or claims to be a karate guy, he seems to have been put under the bracket because of competing in what the UK call semi contact points kickboxing. All schools in the UK call it kickboxing. Karate, kung fu, TKD and kickboxing schools all turn up and compete under this ruleset advertised as kickboxing semi contact. Its open to all styles.

I know reading the thread that Page in a video called it point karate, but he stuttered the words because it was unfamiliar phase to him and it was just to cater for the American fans so they knew what he was talking about. There are lots of videos of Page saying he is a kickboxing world champion etc

I'm not sure Page would be happy about being put down as a karate guy in mma. I personally don't think he should make the list of karate black belts in mma because he doesn't have a karate blackbelt.

This is from a guy who loves watching people with a karate background influence their stand up in mma

Might just be a UK terminology thing though, but Page is defo not a karate guy

 

[SandisLL]

KB in europe usually is full contact and under some rule sets also with full power low kicks allowed.

 

[Trabaho]

In K1 the most impressive karate moves were by Andy Hug, Feitosa and Paulo Filho. They actually used those crazy kick. The effortless quick spinning back head kicks, axe kicks, question mark kick.

Pitchkunov had also a primary karate style.

 

[Hotora86]

Smilin' Sam finally wins a fight - and a big one!

 

[Tayski]

In K1 the most impressive karate moves were by Andy Hug, Feitosa and Paulo Filho. They actually used those crazy kick. The effortless quick spinning back head kicks, axe kicks, question mark kick.

Pitchkunov had also a primary karate style.

And all those fighters are from Kyokushin Karate