The Most Influential Martial Artists Ever

Bruce Lee, Jigoro Kano, Anko Itosu, Morihei Ueshiba. These are just a few names of martial artists that have influenced hundreds and thousands of people through there training. But who is the most influential ever to exist. Who paved the way to how we train today.

Bushi Matsumura is seen by some to be the greatest karate fighter of all time. Without him karate would not have been passed down to Anko Itosu, one of the men responsible in teaching Gichen Funakoshi who then introduced karate to the rest of the world via Japan. Maybe karate would have found another route to the world if there was none of the above three, who knows. This however is what happened and certainly should cement there reputations as great and influential martial arts masters.

Everyone in the martial arts world was stunned back in the 1990’s when Royce Gracie shocked the world by beating nearly all comers with his jiu jitsu techniques. He most surly started the “grappling era”. Grappling was well known before the early UFC but he put it on the map so to speak. A truly influential person. But someone taught him, which was Helio Gracie and someone taught the Gracie’s which was Maeda. You could even say that Jigoro Kano, the person who created the Judo system and from his Kodakan came Maeda, was the man responsible for creating the grappling era. After all, without him, Maeda would not have learnt Judo who passed it on to the Gracie’s and Royce would not have competed in the UFC. There may never have even been a UFC.

The Ancient Greeks created pankration. It is believed that from them, pankration travelled to India via Alexander the Greats conquests. The Indians where then taught the Greeks system of fighting, which travelled to the Shaolin Temple and became known as kung fu and kung fu is said to be the father of all martial arts. Maybe the creators of pankration hold the right as the most influential martial artists of all time.

Bruce Lee has inspired millions. It’s a fact. He has given many people inspiration to become not just great martial artists but great people. For this reason surly he will be known as one of the most influential.

The fact is, it’s impossible to point out the most influential martial artists because there has been so many over time. Many people have proven themselves as great. The common link which they all share however is that they all believe in there own abilities and this should make them great alone regardless of there technical abilities. This could be the reason they inspire and influence so many, and why they shall continue to do so.

Marks

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A Rare but Effective Strike - The Superman Punch

The superman punch, as it has been known in MMA events is seen as a relatively new technique, but chances are, it has been used by fighters from striking backgrounds for many years and it has been a regular point scorer in karate tournaments for many years.

To employ the technique from a southpaw stance, you feint a kick with your left leg, then as you leg is off the floor, you push vigorously with your right which pushes your other leg off the floor also. Then you swing your left leg backwards whilst performing a left cross punch.

By feinting a kick first, this technique has the advantage of maybe lowering your opponents guard, as he/she may think you are kicking to a low target, which will enable you to quickly and powerfully punch towards the unprotected head area. If the technique does not work, it should at least help you bridge the gap to your opponent by quickly jumping in towards him, allowing you to concentrate on close range striking or grappling, if you prefer this type of combat. The best way to practice this technique is first on the heavy bag, starting softly and working speed and power over time. When you become proficient with the strike, practise with a partner who is moving around holding some hand pads. It shall be harder to move around and perform the technique but over time the proper co ordination, distance and balance shall be obtained.

Marks

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Technorati Tags: superman punch, karate, feinting, grappling

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The Best Karate Gi (Suit)

When it comes to karate training, the type of Gi (training suit) can have a significant impact on your training. With lots of different types available in today’s market, and so many types of manufacturers, it can be very hard to pick one that is suitable for YOU.
Basically, there are three main weights of karate gi,
Lightweight
Middleweight
Heavyweight

Depending on your style of training, one gi may be better than the other. For instance, Kyokushinkai students practice constant conditioning and full contact sparring so maybe a middleweight or heavyweight gi would suit them. Fighters who concentrate on point fighting, where the fighters tend to move around much more than full contact fighters, may decide that lightweight suits benefit there style. Then there are some students who practice throws and grappling in there training, like Wado Ryu students, and because of all the pulling and tugging on the gi that comes with this type of training, they may feel that a stronger suit is more ideal.

Then there is the fact of sweating. If you are training hard, then probably you shall be sweating hard. This sweat will then be absorbed by your suit, so if it’s a heavy weight you have, it shall feel extra heavy, and for this reason a light weight suit may be better. But then again, some like the extra weight, and see it as more resistance, which helps in losing weight, and building stronger bodies.

Hopefully you are starting to see that it all depends on your type of training and personal needs, when deciding on what suit weight to buy. Personally I think a middleweight suit is ideal for karate. As long as it’s a good make, it should be strong enough to take grappling without ripping, should not be too heavy when soaked in sweat and should take impact training on the bags and through sparring very well. Quality manufacturers include Meijin, Kamikaze, Shureido and Tokaido, and can be found through searching the Internet or from many martial art magazines throughout the world.

Marks

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Great Karate Biography

Occasionally I like to inform you about certain martial art and training books which I feel are worth there money. Many times I have bought many books that give useless information which is impractical for fighting, or biographies of famous martial artists which portray pointless lives. The book which I shall speak of today fortunately does not belong in that category.

My Journey in Karate by Kancho Joko Ninomiya gives a great insight into the Enshin karate founder’s life. Joko Ninomiya came from Japan to the USA and set up his karate school in Denver. Having a Judo background and from there moving to Ashihara karate, it tells of his story in becoming the All Japan champion, which includes details of his training routines, people he would train with and the hard life which he lived when he first moved to the USA. It also gives information on how he brought students to his school, the success of his school and his work with troubled youths.

I first read this book about 5 years ago, and continue to read it again and again. It is very motivational for any martial artist looking for extra inspiration to there training, and I recommend it to all. It can be found at many book stores or on the Internet.

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Where to Guard when Punching

Karate, Kung fu, Boxing, whatever you fighting style, as long as you punch, there will always be the need for a guard. Unlike kicks, when you punch, unless you are extremely tall with long arms, you shall also be in reach for your opponent to punch you back. This is where your guarding hand comes into play. Boxers and most martial artists nowadays tend to have there guarding hand clenched as a fist, and held near the cheek area protecting the delicate chin. An argument to this is that if you are wearing big boxing gloves which increase the size of the guarding area and provide a cushion if hit, that is fine, but what if you are not. The fist without gloves is small which may not guard enough and there is no protection to the front face area. Some people believe that the more effective guard would be an openhanded one held in front of the face which protects the facial features, but then again it doesn't protect the chin which if struck hard, is the best way to score a knockout. It could be said that it depends on the situation. In a boxing match a guard on the side of the face could be appropriate, where an MMA fighter might prefer the in front of face guard. Also, in the street your guarding hand could be used to grab the opponent or to control his arms which could allow for a more accurate strike. In my opinion, the situation decides the position of the very important guard, but it must always be in the back of your mind when punching.

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