Discuss martial arts in here.

ahh the art of beating the crap out of each other...

i intend to get into a discipline after i get in shape... i have some background in kickboxing and i'd like to solidify that (technically i'm still there, just need the cardio to catch up), but also add muay thai, and i'd definitely like to acquire some jiu-jitsu skills... especially if geghard mousasi moves to my town and starts training there, it'll definitely be a kind of impetus

some very intriguing matchups coming up in the world of mma: machida vs jackson (i take lyoto in 1st or 2nd round KO), velasquez vs lesnar (i take cain by tko), shields vs kampmann (jake by submission in 3rd), st pierre vs koschek (georges either by decision or submission), edgar vs maynard (grey in an upset, of sorts, by decision), jones vs bader (jones by 2nd round ko or tko), and i also predict an upset for belfort over anderson silva, because this is the first time ever anderson faces someone who is on his level as a striker, and he just has to lose at some point, so why not to belfort (besides, anderson losing might convince him to stay in mma for an extra couple of years)

i have never really watched any mma or ufc fights before because i find them kinda boring (depending on the fighters though, some are really cool), but i love martial arts. i have been training capoeira for a while now, which is a brazilian art that integrates music, dance, and ceremony and is really fun. probably not the most practical for a street or pro fighting situation but it will still get you very flexible, acrobatic, fast, and strong if you apply yourself. i have also been training a little bit in tae kwon do - not in any class but i have a friend who is 60 and was an incredible martial artist for over 40 years and started in tae kwon do before moving on to incorporate almost every style into his training. he has broken his back three times now though and can't do everything he once could, although he is still fast as lightning and super flexible. he has taught me a lot about posture, speed, and kicking especially. i am hopefully going to start some kajukenbo (ka- karate, ju- judo & jujitsu, ken- chinese kenpo, bo- chinese boxing/kung fu) soon because there is a really good school near where i am staying right now.

GSPPPP

http://www.tatame.com/2010/12/19/Strike ... t-for-2011
http://www.fighters.com/12/20/strikefor ... rticipants
for anyone interested in mma this is super exciting, maybe the best thing to happen to it since pride... let's hope it's not just a rumor and does take place

The organisations outside UFC confuse me. George, you know about this stuff, is the UFC a good entity or not? For someone who follows from afar it would be nice if all the fighters of a certain calibre were all under one rood so to speak.

Anyone see that kick off the cage by Pettis? Pretty sick.

http://insidefights.com/2010/12/17/anth ... jump-kick/

of course... UFC does house maybe 60-70% of the world's best pro mma fighters... however, most casual mma fans associate the sport exclusively with ufc... strikeforce is the younger organization and the clear #2, and it's catching up... if this heavyweight grand prix does happen, it will really put strikeforce closer to mainstream
(unfortunately it won't be like during pride days, when they held grand prix tournaments in a single day, which i'm sure was an incredible experience for fans and a more grueling challenge for the fighters... but those shows were held in tokyo and mma was bigger in japan... we don't have a similar size venue in america, so i understand the logic of stretching out the 3 rounds over the course of the year)

MMA is a brutal sport. I can't imagine seeing that stuff in person.

It certainly takes a different type of athlete to do that stuff, much like boxing or K1.

I bet Serena Williams (with the requisite training) could compete in female MMA with her physical gifts and nasty competitive spirit.

yeah, probably
actually i think mma is less brutal than boxing and even k-1, where there are two ways to win - punch the crap out of a guy for however many rounds, or knock him out.
in mma, you can outwrestle (with practically no physical harm), you can submit a guy (the pain lasts a few seconds, with no lasting effects), or employ other less violent styles such as judo, sambo, etc., in addition to winning by decision or ko. thing is most mma fighters aren't really elite kickers and punchers so there are fewer consussions and other nasty injuries.

No MMA fighter has ever died?

Best Kick Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQta78htwYE

not under any modern organization with sanctioned rules and supervision... there haven't even been any severe injuries... just about the worst i can think of off the top of my head is goodridge vs taktarov (and taktarov returned to the ring only 3 or 4 months later)

btw that was awesome... i actually haven't watched that fight, just read about it. looks like pettis will have to wait until after the edgar-maynard rematch to get a shot at the title.

Yestarday fight was great. I have been watching UFC only for a year and Edgar is my second favorite fighter (just behind Cain).

lesnar vs dos santos being planned for june... is brock ready for his 3rd loss?