I know there will be people who are going to object to what I say, but I was there forty years ago, and I know the truth. The truth is that forty years ago the karate fighters, students of such arts as Shotokan and Wado Ryu and Uechi Ryu, and especially Kyokushinkai, could have taken todays mma gladiators apart quickly and easily. There are quite a few reasons for this, and I will outline one main reason here.
Before I tread into an area most fans have no real understanding of...let me say that yesterdays culture was full of physical cultists, drug free, and we had our share of martial maniacs. We did things in the course of our training that todays martial artists would shiver at. All of the things that we did were done with a degree of fanaticism far beyond that shown by todays UFC combatants.
One of the most important things was that we didn't stop our training and do something else just because we might get tired. Cross training was something you did for fun, go hiking with the fellows, or something like that. No, if we were going to have the toughest strikes we would just stay in the dojo and pound the fist against the makiwara, and know that when training got tiring was when the fists got tougher.
Toughening the fists, contrary to todays scared cat run to the doctor for a bruise types, was done with relentless dedication. We would hit soft, but continually, taking the time to massage the fist and flicking it to keep it from turning hard and inflexible. Eventually the fist, without becoming injured, would become so hard and tough that the famous one strike punch was a reality.
Heck, you see some vague hints of this type of conditioning today. You see people who can break thick stacks of bricks, boards, and what have you. These people have touched upon the true power that fanatic, dedicated training can result in.
The only MMA fighter in recent years who showed any touch of the degree of mental toughness required for true Karate, a fellow name of Luke, was shown pounding gently but doggedly upon boulders with his hammerfist. In the ring, he showed a persistence and determination above his fellow competitors. More important, he showed a fist that overcame any lack of ability and threatened to destroy an opponent easily, if he had just concentrated his training in that direction for any year or so.
Have you heard of Mas Oyama, or other fighters of his time? They would meditate under waterfalls in the dead of winter, commanding their bodies to an enduring toughness quite unknown to todays fighters. In Mas Oyamas case, he disabled or outright killed around fifty bulls, something MMA fighters aren't doing.
You think that big, old wrestler type is tough? If you train with the dedication and fanaticism of old time fighters in such arts as Wado, or Isshin, or Uechi, or Shotokan, then you would know that todays grappler is nothing compared to stepping into a ring with a live and snorting old bull. And the only way to deal with those old bulls was to knock the horns off their fat heads, or just kill them dead. - 30300
Before I tread into an area most fans have no real understanding of...let me say that yesterdays culture was full of physical cultists, drug free, and we had our share of martial maniacs. We did things in the course of our training that todays martial artists would shiver at. All of the things that we did were done with a degree of fanaticism far beyond that shown by todays UFC combatants.
One of the most important things was that we didn't stop our training and do something else just because we might get tired. Cross training was something you did for fun, go hiking with the fellows, or something like that. No, if we were going to have the toughest strikes we would just stay in the dojo and pound the fist against the makiwara, and know that when training got tiring was when the fists got tougher.
Toughening the fists, contrary to todays scared cat run to the doctor for a bruise types, was done with relentless dedication. We would hit soft, but continually, taking the time to massage the fist and flicking it to keep it from turning hard and inflexible. Eventually the fist, without becoming injured, would become so hard and tough that the famous one strike punch was a reality.
Heck, you see some vague hints of this type of conditioning today. You see people who can break thick stacks of bricks, boards, and what have you. These people have touched upon the true power that fanatic, dedicated training can result in.
The only MMA fighter in recent years who showed any touch of the degree of mental toughness required for true Karate, a fellow name of Luke, was shown pounding gently but doggedly upon boulders with his hammerfist. In the ring, he showed a persistence and determination above his fellow competitors. More important, he showed a fist that overcame any lack of ability and threatened to destroy an opponent easily, if he had just concentrated his training in that direction for any year or so.
Have you heard of Mas Oyama, or other fighters of his time? They would meditate under waterfalls in the dead of winter, commanding their bodies to an enduring toughness quite unknown to todays fighters. In Mas Oyamas case, he disabled or outright killed around fifty bulls, something MMA fighters aren't doing.
You think that big, old wrestler type is tough? If you train with the dedication and fanaticism of old time fighters in such arts as Wado, or Isshin, or Uechi, or Shotokan, then you would know that todays grappler is nothing compared to stepping into a ring with a live and snorting old bull. And the only way to deal with those old bulls was to knock the horns off their fat heads, or just kill them dead. - 30300
About the Author:
Al Case has studied martial arts for 4O++ years, written dozens of articles for the magazines, and written the ultimate book on having The Most Powerful Punch in the Universe! Visit him at Monster Martial Arts.
