Just for the record: I'm inclined to think that video is fake...
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Do you think you have good reflexes, don't you? Look at this and think again: Evan Longoria saves a journalist
Just for the record: I'm inclined to think that video is fake...
Friday, July 27, 2012
Wing Chun or Wing Tsun in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or Vale Tudo: Sifu Steve Falkner vs Igor Zinoviev
Sifu Steve Falkner
One of the greatest debates in the history of martial arts is the question "Which is the best style of fighting?". Typically, martial artists around the world tend to consider that their respective style is the best. However, only recently, martial artists and fans could be wtiness of no-holds-barred competitions between martial artists from different styles of fighting (actually, such "no-rules" matches among different styles have been part of the history of martial arts, but just recently has been the public exposed massively to this kind of competitions through TV and the internet, and the records are available to everyone).
This kind of competitions provide a more or less neutral and empirical way to answer the question about which is the best style (actually, it only provides a partial answer: A style can be "the best" in one respect, but the worst in another. For example, spiritually aikido is a lot superior than kickboxing, which as such has not spiritual aspect at all. Other styles can be useful against weapons, but weak in hand-to-hand fighting, etc.). But at least such competitions provide an objective criterion to discuss technical efficacious on empirical basis.
This kind of competitions provide a more or less neutral and empirical way to answer the question about which is the best style (actually, it only provides a partial answer: A style can be "the best" in one respect, but the worst in another. For example, spiritually aikido is a lot superior than kickboxing, which as such has not spiritual aspect at all. Other styles can be useful against weapons, but weak in hand-to-hand fighting, etc.). But at least such competitions provide an objective criterion to discuss technical efficacious on empirical basis.
One of these "no-rules" matches that I liked a lot (because it was instrumental in changing my mindset) was the one that faced classical Wing Chun stylist, Sifu Steve Falkner, against sambo and grappling specialist, Igor Zinoviev. The reason why I like this fight a lot is because it faces an exponent of a classical martial art (concretely, a respected style of Kung Fu, namely Wing Chun) and an expert in a contemporary martial sport like Sambo.
For people unfamiliar with Wing Chun, let's just say that was the first combative style learned and used by the great Bruce Lee (who trained directly with Grandmaster Yip Man for a few years). Wing Chun Kung Fu is short-range style of fighting, which stresses trapping and chain punching, with simultaneous attack and defense techniques, a whole theory of combat (e.g. about the center and central line) and sensitivity training (Chi sao = Sticky hands; Chi Gerk = Sticky Legs).
Without a doubt, Wing Chun is one of the best and more effective classical Kung Fu styles. When competently used, Wing Chun is a devastatinng fighting art which leaves little room for the opponent to do an effective defense. See for example:
Sifu Steve Falkner is a seasoned Wing Chun figther and teacher, who trained under Sifu Duncan Leung (one of the world's leading masters of Wing Chun). Contrary to other traditional martial artists, Sifu Falkner had the courage to enter a Mixed Martial Arts competition to test his skills.
As you can watch in the first video above, Falker lost the fight pretty easily. When I first wacthed that fight many years ago, I was very young and still a practitioner of traditional martial arts and my "mindset" was the same than other traditional martial artists, namely: my style (and myself) was virtually unbeatable (except by people who knows my style better than me) and I assumed that Falker will kick ass in the tournament. This is a WRONG mindset, which (as I've argued in another post) is very dangerous and can get you badly beaten.
Falkner's loss doesn't refute the proven effectiveness of Wing Chun, but it forces you to think about its limitations. Against a experience grappler, in the context of a mixed martial arts event, the chances of the Wing Chun figther tends to be small. It doesn't mean that the Wing Chucn figther cannot win, but it is more likely that he loss, specially if the fight goes to the ground (which is likely to be the case in a MMA fight). In other context, for example fighting in stairs, the Wing Chun guy perhaps would have the upper hand.
The point is that we need to be humble, open mind and self-critical in our way to knowledge, martial arts training being no exception.
For more information on Wing Chun history, theory and technique, see discussion in the book "Wing Chun Kung Fu" by Ip Chun (the son of Yip Man) and "Wing Chun Martial Arts" by the same author (see also "Wing Tsun Kuen" by Sifu and Grandmaster Leung Ting)
For more information on Wing Chun history, theory and technique, see discussion in the book "Wing Chun Kung Fu" by Ip Chun (the son of Yip Man) and "Wing Chun Martial Arts" by the same author (see also "Wing Tsun Kuen" by Sifu and Grandmaster Leung Ting)
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
7´8" Paul Sturgess aka "Tiny": The world's tallest baskteball player with Harlen Globetrotters
7´8" Paul Sturgess aka "Tiny" is the tallest player in the history of the basketball team known as Harlem Globetrotters and currently the tallest professional basketball player:This man can dunk the ball without jumping:
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The psychology of traditional martial artists in the United States
In the United States, I've seen, trained and discussed with a lot of traditional martial artists (by "traditional", I refer to practitioners of kung fu, karate, aikido, hapkido, etc. as opposed to practitioners of contemporary BJJ and mixed martial arts).These traditional arts are great, both technically as (some of them) spiritually and morally. In general (provided they have been properly trained) practitioners of these arts are great people, peaceful and good.
But I've noted that among some practitioners (specially the younger ones) there is exist a certain kind of mindset which is extremely dangerous for themselves, namely, the belief that they're "invencible", or that they can win a fight with just one strike, or that their particular style of martial art enables them to defeat multiple opponents simultaneously.
Even though these traits can be seen in some practitioners of all countries (including Japan), I suspect that there is something in the culture of American people in the United States which makes them more prone to it.
The psychology of these (inmature) individuals seem to include the self-perception of being a very tough guy who is able to walk in a dark alley, kicking the ass of a bunch of attackers and fearing no man.
The following fighting scene of a movie by Steven Seagal illustrates this kind of "I'm a tough guy" self-perception:
Also, the following scene by the great Bruce Lee goes in the same direction:
In those videos, you can watch one man (Seagal or Lee) defeating several or multiple attackers in a painful and humilliating way.
Obviously, these are movies and, as such, these scenes are very impressive. But they're not for real. No experienced martial artist, self-defense expert or seasoned fighter will think that just one man (regardless of his style) can kick ass so easily against a bunch of determined, violent and hostile attackers.
However, the inmature martial artists to whom I'm referting to in this post (who are a minority among martial arts practitioners) seem to have a self-perception about their skills similar to the ones showed by Seagal and Lee above. And I think that movies have been instrumental in this wrong perception of what actual street combat is and how traditional martial arts can address it.
In general, real fights are not like that and no martial art will enable an unarmed defender to defeat and kick the butts of a whole bunch of determined attackers who are attacking simultaneously (except in very rare cases). It doesn't mean that no strategy for defending against multiple opponents exists (actually, there are several strategies).
The same applies against armed attackers. There are many methods to disarm an armed attacker (e.g. with a knife), but if the attacker is GOOD with his weapon, your chances of disarming him are very low.
In closed door matches in USA and Canada, I've seen some street brawlers (people experienced in street fighting) to defeat and even humilliate in hand-to-hand combat some of the inmature (and unexperienced in hand-to-hand combat) martial artists. They have learnt the lesson in a very painful way.
It is not surprising at all. The reason is that street brawlers are familiar with the reality of streetfighting, while some traditional martial artists, in their delusion of having deadly techniques and being invencible, almost never train them in the proper way and when reality of combat is unavoidable, they cannot defend themselves realistically, specially against a good opponent.
Traditional martial artists reading this should be aware that a more realistic approach to their training is needed if they pretend to have decent skills for unarmed self-defense or hand-to-hand combat.
Obviously, these are movies and, as such, these scenes are very impressive. But they're not for real. No experienced martial artist, self-defense expert or seasoned fighter will think that just one man (regardless of his style) can kick ass so easily against a bunch of determined, violent and hostile attackers.
However, the inmature martial artists to whom I'm referting to in this post (who are a minority among martial arts practitioners) seem to have a self-perception about their skills similar to the ones showed by Seagal and Lee above. And I think that movies have been instrumental in this wrong perception of what actual street combat is and how traditional martial arts can address it.
In general, real fights are not like that and no martial art will enable an unarmed defender to defeat and kick the butts of a whole bunch of determined attackers who are attacking simultaneously (except in very rare cases). It doesn't mean that no strategy for defending against multiple opponents exists (actually, there are several strategies).
The same applies against armed attackers. There are many methods to disarm an armed attacker (e.g. with a knife), but if the attacker is GOOD with his weapon, your chances of disarming him are very low.
In closed door matches in USA and Canada, I've seen some street brawlers (people experienced in street fighting) to defeat and even humilliate in hand-to-hand combat some of the inmature (and unexperienced in hand-to-hand combat) martial artists. They have learnt the lesson in a very painful way.
It is not surprising at all. The reason is that street brawlers are familiar with the reality of streetfighting, while some traditional martial artists, in their delusion of having deadly techniques and being invencible, almost never train them in the proper way and when reality of combat is unavoidable, they cannot defend themselves realistically, specially against a good opponent.
Traditional martial artists reading this should be aware that a more realistic approach to their training is needed if they pretend to have decent skills for unarmed self-defense or hand-to-hand combat.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Controversy about the Gracie Diet: Armando Wridt claims that the Gracie Diet was created by Juan Esteve Dulin not by Carlos Gracie
World-renown jiu-jitsu master Rorion Gracie has written a book about the Gracie Diet, which is the diet used sucessfully by several generations of members of the Gracie Family.
According to the usual story, Carlos Gracie (co-founder with Helio Gracie of the martial art known as Gracie Jiu-Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) studied nutrition and health for several decades, and based on his studies he developed the Gracie Diet, as described in Rorion's book.
However, according to (9th degree red belt and one of Helio's best students) Armando Wridt (in an interview published in the issue Nº 48 of the martial arts magazine Budo International, which you can read here), the usual story is false. Wridt says that Oscar Santa Maria "convinced Carlos that he needed to have a special diet to spend the whole day on the mat, and gave him the book of Dulin, who was the true creator of what they would call the Gracie Diet" (p.51)
When asked explicitly by interviewer if the Gracie Diet wasn't invented by Carlos Gracie, Wridt reply is straightforward: "No, it wasn't. In fact, that diet was developed by the Argentine author of the book Dr.Juan Esteve Dulin. He said the body is nourished by what it assimilates, not by what you eat, that is the reason why the Gracie spent fortunes in the diet. As Carlos liked to read a lot, he took the diet based on the combination of foods"
It has to be said that the Gracie Diet (regardless of whether it created by Carlos Gracie or not) seems to be a very useful diet. Carlos Gracie died of 92 years old (and attributed his longevity to the diet). Also, Grandmaster Helio Gracie died of 95 years old, being still very lucid and active (and he attributed also his old age to the diet). It is not only the long age that these people reach, but also the high quality of life that they enjoy.
So, I highly recommend the reading of the Gracie Diet book by Rorion Gracie.
According to the usual story, Carlos Gracie (co-founder with Helio Gracie of the martial art known as Gracie Jiu-Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) studied nutrition and health for several decades, and based on his studies he developed the Gracie Diet, as described in Rorion's book.
However, according to (9th degree red belt and one of Helio's best students) Armando Wridt (in an interview published in the issue Nº 48 of the martial arts magazine Budo International, which you can read here), the usual story is false. Wridt says that Oscar Santa Maria "convinced Carlos that he needed to have a special diet to spend the whole day on the mat, and gave him the book of Dulin, who was the true creator of what they would call the Gracie Diet" (p.51)
When asked explicitly by interviewer if the Gracie Diet wasn't invented by Carlos Gracie, Wridt reply is straightforward: "No, it wasn't. In fact, that diet was developed by the Argentine author of the book Dr.Juan Esteve Dulin. He said the body is nourished by what it assimilates, not by what you eat, that is the reason why the Gracie spent fortunes in the diet. As Carlos liked to read a lot, he took the diet based on the combination of foods"
It has to be said that the Gracie Diet (regardless of whether it created by Carlos Gracie or not) seems to be a very useful diet. Carlos Gracie died of 92 years old (and attributed his longevity to the diet). Also, Grandmaster Helio Gracie died of 95 years old, being still very lucid and active (and he attributed also his old age to the diet). It is not only the long age that these people reach, but also the high quality of life that they enjoy.
So, I highly recommend the reading of the Gracie Diet book by Rorion Gracie.
A further comment on the history of Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
As a long time practitioner of martial arts, and hard-nosed fan and student of the history of martial arts in general, I've long admired the Gracie Family, specially Rorion Gracie (who changed the world of martial arts forever with the creation of the UFC), Royce Gracie (who beat all of his opponents in no-rules matches against practitioners of virtually each martial art) and, of course, Grandmaster Helio Gracie, who refined the Japanese version of Judo and Jiu-Jitsu that was taught to his family. The contemporary world of martial arts have to give a lot of credit to the influence of the Gracie Family. They deserve the highest degree of admiration and respect by each practitioner of martial art in the world.
Having said that, and in a more scholarly level, I have to say that the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been constantly misrepresented in martial arts books, articles and magazines.
Let's summarize some of the problems:
1-Mitsuyo Maeda, the Japanese master who taught Carlos Gracie, was a high level practioner of Kodokan Judo, not of traditional forms of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. As consequence, the art he taught to the Gracies was mostly a modified version of Judo ("modified", because Maeda also fought in Catch Wrestling matches and probably incorporated some of the holds into his personal fighting Judo method). So, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu should be properly called "Brazilian Judo".
Some perhaps will think that it is a pure semantic question. But it doesn't, it is also a technical one. If you compare Judo with traditional forms of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, you'll find that Judo lacks the lethal techniques typical of traditional Jiu-Jitsu.
Techniques like pressure points, finger locks and other small-joint manipulations, neck breakers, scissors holds, strikes to vital points, throws in which the opponent cannot break the fall, etc. were all left out of Judo (for sporting purposes).
Interestingly, all of these holds and techniques are not emphasized (or just in a very watered down version, or in the "self-defense" category) in BJJ. The standard reply by BJJ students is that these techniques "don't work" and hence they are not trained or used in BJJ.
But this objection is false and unconvincing because some of these techniques (like finger locks or wrist locks to escape chokes) are taught in the self-defense portion of the BJJ curriculum (and "self-defense" is supposed to be the original and main purpose of BJJ, at least in the Helio's branch of it). If these techniques "don't work", then why the hell are they taught in the self-defense standing up techniques of BJJ stressed by Grandmaster Helio Gracie and his sons?
Even some pressure points are taught in the Gracie self-defense program, as seen in the technique Nº 91 of the book by Royce and Charles Gracie entitled "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Self-Defense Techniques" (p.200), in which a pressure point in the hand is used to release from a handshake grab.
Again, if these techniques don't work, then the Gracies teaching these techniques as effective self-defense against street attacks becomes inexplicable and self-defeating.
2-Point 1 (about BJJ more similarity to Judo than Jiu-Jitsu) is also made evident when you compare self-defense techniques of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu with the Self-Defense repertory of BJJ. In the latter, there is a preference for medium and large joint manipulations (shoulder, elbow, knee) instead of small joint manipulations (finger locks, toe locks, etc.). This is the case also of Judo.
For example, take a look at Gracie self-defense techniques (in which most holds are applied to medium and large joints):
Having said that, and in a more scholarly level, I have to say that the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been constantly misrepresented in martial arts books, articles and magazines.
Let's summarize some of the problems:
1-Mitsuyo Maeda, the Japanese master who taught Carlos Gracie, was a high level practioner of Kodokan Judo, not of traditional forms of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. As consequence, the art he taught to the Gracies was mostly a modified version of Judo ("modified", because Maeda also fought in Catch Wrestling matches and probably incorporated some of the holds into his personal fighting Judo method). So, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu should be properly called "Brazilian Judo".
Some perhaps will think that it is a pure semantic question. But it doesn't, it is also a technical one. If you compare Judo with traditional forms of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, you'll find that Judo lacks the lethal techniques typical of traditional Jiu-Jitsu.
Techniques like pressure points, finger locks and other small-joint manipulations, neck breakers, scissors holds, strikes to vital points, throws in which the opponent cannot break the fall, etc. were all left out of Judo (for sporting purposes).
Interestingly, all of these holds and techniques are not emphasized (or just in a very watered down version, or in the "self-defense" category) in BJJ. The standard reply by BJJ students is that these techniques "don't work" and hence they are not trained or used in BJJ.
But this objection is false and unconvincing because some of these techniques (like finger locks or wrist locks to escape chokes) are taught in the self-defense portion of the BJJ curriculum (and "self-defense" is supposed to be the original and main purpose of BJJ, at least in the Helio's branch of it). If these techniques "don't work", then why the hell are they taught in the self-defense standing up techniques of BJJ stressed by Grandmaster Helio Gracie and his sons?
Even some pressure points are taught in the Gracie self-defense program, as seen in the technique Nº 91 of the book by Royce and Charles Gracie entitled "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Self-Defense Techniques" (p.200), in which a pressure point in the hand is used to release from a handshake grab.
Again, if these techniques don't work, then the Gracies teaching these techniques as effective self-defense against street attacks becomes inexplicable and self-defeating.
2-Point 1 (about BJJ more similarity to Judo than Jiu-Jitsu) is also made evident when you compare self-defense techniques of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu with the Self-Defense repertory of BJJ. In the latter, there is a preference for medium and large joint manipulations (shoulder, elbow, knee) instead of small joint manipulations (finger locks, toe locks, etc.). This is the case also of Judo.
For example, take a look at Gracie self-defense techniques (in which most holds are applied to medium and large joints):
Compare the above video with the following one by experts in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu (like Michael Depasquale Jr., master of the Yoshitsune Ju-Jitsu system, and the late Grandmaster Wally Jay, founder of Small Circle Jujitsu system) in which the manipulations of small joints, like fingers and wrists, are emphasized:
3-The above points are purely descriptive and factual and have nothing to do with effectiveness. I'm not claiming that BJJ is superior or inferior to Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, I'm simply pointing out facts relative to these arts.
4-BJJ is divided into 1)Self-defense; 2)Vale Tudo and 3)Sport grappling.
It is not clear from the current literature available about BJJ exactly what aspect of Maeda's modified Judo was taught by him to the Gracies. Did he teach the self-defense portion of it? Or, since Maeda was a fighter, did he teach the techniques which he used in Vale Tudo? Or both?
Any scholarly history of BJJ should include details about these technical aspects, which are very interesting to practioners and fans of BJJ. It is astonishing that no martial arts scholar has been interested in these technical question and details about the history of BJJ.
5-Exactly what techniques were modified by Carlos and Helio Gracie? As far I've studied the matter and trained the techniques, the main contribution of Brazilians have been in the transitions of a position to another one, but I don't know of ANY technique in the BJJ curriculum which doesn't exist either in Kosen Judo or in traditional forms of Jiu-Jitsu.
Even leg locks and knee on the stomach were used by the ancient masters and experts of Kosen Judo in the Kodokan, as you can watch in some videos:
4-BJJ is divided into 1)Self-defense; 2)Vale Tudo and 3)Sport grappling.
It is not clear from the current literature available about BJJ exactly what aspect of Maeda's modified Judo was taught by him to the Gracies. Did he teach the self-defense portion of it? Or, since Maeda was a fighter, did he teach the techniques which he used in Vale Tudo? Or both?
Any scholarly history of BJJ should include details about these technical aspects, which are very interesting to practioners and fans of BJJ. It is astonishing that no martial arts scholar has been interested in these technical question and details about the history of BJJ.
5-Exactly what techniques were modified by Carlos and Helio Gracie? As far I've studied the matter and trained the techniques, the main contribution of Brazilians have been in the transitions of a position to another one, but I don't know of ANY technique in the BJJ curriculum which doesn't exist either in Kosen Judo or in traditional forms of Jiu-Jitsu.
Even leg locks and knee on the stomach were used by the ancient masters and experts of Kosen Judo in the Kodokan, as you can watch in some videos:
I'm fortunate to have all the training tapes and videos of Kosen Judo which have been published, and some of them are already available online or in stores. I suggest to martial arts fans and practitioners to take a look at these tapes and compare the techniques with BJJ. You'll be surprised of what you will find.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Jeremy Lin and LINSANITY: From Harvard to the NBA: Is the New York Knicks player the new superstar of the NBA?
For some days, I'm visiting the wonderful city of New York, invited by a group of friends. I'm having a great time and a lot of fun here.
Today, I had the privilege to attend the NBA game between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, a game that I'll remember for a long time.
The reason is that I could watch an amazing game not only between two great teams, but between two great players: Kobe Bryant and Jeromy Lin. (Jeromy who? some of you will ask)
Jeromy Lin is a Taiwanese descend NBA player, who graduated in Harvard University and was almost a "nobody" in the NBA until a week ago. Nevertheless, in the last 3 games, Lin has been in the starting line up and has had an absolutely amazing performance (more than 20 points in each game, including 38 points against the Lakers tonight).
Lin became the first player in 30 years to score at least 28 points and hand out at least 8 assists in his first NBA start. The last person to do so was the superstar Isiah Thomas who had 31 and 11 in his pro starting debut.
Tonight, he had a battle against the best player in the world (Kobe Bryant), and Lin won. Absolutely amazing. The following video is Kobe's opinion about Lin before tonight game:
Today, I had the privilege to attend the NBA game between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, a game that I'll remember for a long time.
The reason is that I could watch an amazing game not only between two great teams, but between two great players: Kobe Bryant and Jeromy Lin. (Jeromy who? some of you will ask)
Jeromy Lin is a Taiwanese descend NBA player, who graduated in Harvard University and was almost a "nobody" in the NBA until a week ago. Nevertheless, in the last 3 games, Lin has been in the starting line up and has had an absolutely amazing performance (more than 20 points in each game, including 38 points against the Lakers tonight).
Lin became the first player in 30 years to score at least 28 points and hand out at least 8 assists in his first NBA start. The last person to do so was the superstar Isiah Thomas who had 31 and 11 in his pro starting debut.
Tonight, he had a battle against the best player in the world (Kobe Bryant), and Lin won. Absolutely amazing. The following video is Kobe's opinion about Lin before tonight game:
LOL Kobe. I'm sure you DO KNOW WELL who Lin is now!!!!
I'm very glad of having the chance to watching this game in situ.
My opinion and prediction is that Lin will be the next NBA superstar among point guards.
Since the Knicks/Lakers game was just too recent (just finished an hour before writing this post), I've only found some videos of this game (tomorrow, in youtube, for sure you'll find more videos of this game and others about Lin):
I'm very glad of having the chance to watching this game in situ.
My opinion and prediction is that Lin will be the next NBA superstar among point guards.
Since the Knicks/Lakers game was just too recent (just finished an hour before writing this post), I've only found some videos of this game (tomorrow, in youtube, for sure you'll find more videos of this game and others about Lin):
Visit Lin's youtube channel and official website.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
A tribute to Masakatsu Funaki: The world's greatest real Catch Wrestler and Submission Fighter
Despite of the fact that my blog doesn't deal with sports, I think that as a practitioner and long time fan of mixed martial arts, I must share some words about a man who has been a great inspiration to me. This man is Masakatsu Funaki, a seasoned martial artist and real (not fake) Catch Wrestler.
In United States, "Catch Wrestling" is commonly conflated with "pro-Wrestling" (the fake wrestling shows which features people like Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker and so forth). In Japan, "pro-wrestling" has been considered not so much as a fake, because people there tends to think that japanese pro-wrestlers are real fighters.
The truth is this: Many japanese pro-wrestlers are real trained figthers, but the pro-wrestling shows are mostly fake (like in U.S.). Funaki even participated a lot in these "fake" wrestling shows, and currently he's a "pro-wrestler". However, he is an actual, real figther. (Note the contrast with pro wrestlers in the United States: Almost all of them are not actual figthers, only showmen).
In order to create an actual, real wrestling event, in 1993 Masakatsu Funaki created (together with some other fighters) the organization of Pancrase, the first organization promoting mixed martial arts. The fights of Pancrase weren't "pro-wrestling shows" with fake fights and predetermined winners, but actual fights with few rules (e.g. don't strike with closed fists in the face, just with open hands) among martial artists from different styles.
In the above video, you can watch some of Funaki's real fights in Pancrase. He was a kind of a king of hand to hand fighting, a master of submission holds. With six different black belts (or their equivalent) in several arts, Funaki was a fighting machine.
I remember watching in situ some of Funaki's greastest fights and even talking with some of the wrestlers of Pancrase. I even trained, in seminars in Japan and United States, with some of them. They were absolutely amazing.
One of the fights that I never will forget is Funaki's fight with the great jiu-jitsu master Rickson Gracie. It was in the year 2000. I was present in that stadium to watch the fight and the bets were largely favourable to Funaki. I thought Funaki would beat Rickson, but I wasn't sure (Rickson was the best jiu-jitsu expert in the world). This fight was watched by 40000 persons there and 70000 through cable around the world!:
If you watch the fight carefully, you'll notice that it was on a par during most of the fight. Only at the end, Rickson's worldclass expertise in ground fighting gave him an edge. I never thought this fight would end like this, because Funaki is one of the greatest ground fighters and submission experts.
Funaki said before that fight that he would knock Rickson out in 3 minutes, and I thought it was possible because Funaki's strikes and kicks are extremely powerful. Rickson, smartly, avoid Funaki's punches and closed the distance creating a grappling situation. But even in that situation, Funaki could beat Rickson, I thought, since Funaki's grappling skills are of the best that I've ever seen.
I'll never forget that fight.
Some fans of mixed martial arts will dispute my claim that Funaki is the greastest living Catch Wrestler. They will say that Sakuraba was better and mention as evidence the fight between Sakuraba and Funaki in 2007 (which Sakuraba won):
Perhaps they're right, perhaps not. (The above fight was in 2007 and Funaki was past his prime. In any case, I happily concede that Sakuraba is one of the best figthers in the world).
But I think they at least will agree that he was one of the 3 top Japanese catch wrestlers and submission figthers of all the time. And certainly, he's one of the finest martial artists of the world.
In United States, "Catch Wrestling" is commonly conflated with "pro-Wrestling" (the fake wrestling shows which features people like Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker and so forth). In Japan, "pro-wrestling" has been considered not so much as a fake, because people there tends to think that japanese pro-wrestlers are real fighters.
The truth is this: Many japanese pro-wrestlers are real trained figthers, but the pro-wrestling shows are mostly fake (like in U.S.). Funaki even participated a lot in these "fake" wrestling shows, and currently he's a "pro-wrestler". However, he is an actual, real figther. (Note the contrast with pro wrestlers in the United States: Almost all of them are not actual figthers, only showmen).
In order to create an actual, real wrestling event, in 1993 Masakatsu Funaki created (together with some other fighters) the organization of Pancrase, the first organization promoting mixed martial arts. The fights of Pancrase weren't "pro-wrestling shows" with fake fights and predetermined winners, but actual fights with few rules (e.g. don't strike with closed fists in the face, just with open hands) among martial artists from different styles.
In the above video, you can watch some of Funaki's real fights in Pancrase. He was a kind of a king of hand to hand fighting, a master of submission holds. With six different black belts (or their equivalent) in several arts, Funaki was a fighting machine.
I remember watching in situ some of Funaki's greastest fights and even talking with some of the wrestlers of Pancrase. I even trained, in seminars in Japan and United States, with some of them. They were absolutely amazing.
One of the fights that I never will forget is Funaki's fight with the great jiu-jitsu master Rickson Gracie. It was in the year 2000. I was present in that stadium to watch the fight and the bets were largely favourable to Funaki. I thought Funaki would beat Rickson, but I wasn't sure (Rickson was the best jiu-jitsu expert in the world). This fight was watched by 40000 persons there and 70000 through cable around the world!:
If you watch the fight carefully, you'll notice that it was on a par during most of the fight. Only at the end, Rickson's worldclass expertise in ground fighting gave him an edge. I never thought this fight would end like this, because Funaki is one of the greatest ground fighters and submission experts.
Funaki said before that fight that he would knock Rickson out in 3 minutes, and I thought it was possible because Funaki's strikes and kicks are extremely powerful. Rickson, smartly, avoid Funaki's punches and closed the distance creating a grappling situation. But even in that situation, Funaki could beat Rickson, I thought, since Funaki's grappling skills are of the best that I've ever seen.
I'll never forget that fight.
Some fans of mixed martial arts will dispute my claim that Funaki is the greastest living Catch Wrestler. They will say that Sakuraba was better and mention as evidence the fight between Sakuraba and Funaki in 2007 (which Sakuraba won):
Perhaps they're right, perhaps not. (The above fight was in 2007 and Funaki was past his prime. In any case, I happily concede that Sakuraba is one of the best figthers in the world).
But I think they at least will agree that he was one of the 3 top Japanese catch wrestlers and submission figthers of all the time. And certainly, he's one of the finest martial artists of the world.
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