Underutilized Martial Arts Techniques
If anyone has been paying attention, you know that I'm a fan of Mixed Martial Arts as well as being a practitioner of Kung Fu. That being said, it would come as no surprise that I am quite opinionated on the subject. I've noticed that most of the MMA fighters being shown on TV would fall into just a few categories: stand-up fighters, Brazilian Jujitsu fighters, wrestlers, and some who have good combined skills.
What I've noticed with the stand-up fighters is an over-utilization of regular boxing and kickboxing techniques, mainly straight punches and low roundhouse kicks to the legs. The kicks to the legs is more of a Muay Thai kickboxing technique and is very effective. I've seen many Muay Thai fights ended because of repeated leg kicks to the sciatic nerve or femoral artery. The only problem with the way it is currently being used in MMA is it is very predictable. A few good kicking techniques that are underutilized in my opinion would be the crane kick(faked flying knee then high straight kick to the head with the other foot), the straight front kick(to the face or to the body), the front kick from the lead foot, the low kung fu style kick(low straight kick with toes pointed outward) to the legs, the Dutch kick(sort of a side kick/stomping kick delivered like a round-house), and the liver kick. Anderson Silva is one of the few who can deliver a knockout with the high front kick and Bas Rutten was the master of the liver kick.
As far as the arm techniques go, I'd like to see more uppercuts and elbows. In the Mark Munoz vs Chris Weidman fight this past weekend, Weidman KO'd Munoz with a beautifully timed short elbow to the face followed by a few punches to the face of the grounded Munoz before the referee jumped in to stop the fight. I couldn't have coached that better myself! I was cheering that it was about time someone used such a beautiful elbow technique! Usually that's the realm of Jon Jones, except he usually delivers spinning elbows.
Oh! And let's not forget the knee to the head of an opponent who is trying to come in for the wrestling style take-down!
Anyway, just my two cents worth on the matter.
posted by Xul at 10:11 PM
8 Comments:
Hey Nice post...I share your views, you are absolutely right there are a lot of under-utilized techniques.
I think part of the problem is that many of the people that are training in MMA do not have a traditional martial arts background. Most have not spent the time learning traditional techniques and theory, they jumped into as a sport so they are fighting with a limited amount of resources in there arsenal.
In saying that the one thing they do have going for them is the experience of sparring and contact fighting which in many times is absent in a traditional martial artists. Both can learn from each other.
Cheers
David E Chung
www.themartialartshq.com
Hey, Xul, it seems your audience has doubled with this last post.
Anyway, I've just watched the fight (Munoz vs Weidman) and although I have to say I don't really know that much about the sport, that elbow attack looked inspired. I hadn't even seen what happened until they showed the slomo replay.
Let's hope those MMA fighters will do some soul searching and become a little more well-rounded. For entertainment's sake.
@David E Chung Thank you for your comments! I agree with you that many who are into MMA, because of its popularity, have jumped into it without any traditional training. I also agree with your assessment that MMA fighters have the advantage of real life fights that their traditionally trained counterparts may be lacking. Each discipline, however, has a different objective: the traditional arts have at their core the objective of defense, where the MMA fighters are trained to be offensibly minded. That being said, yes, each group can learn things from the other. I would like to see more traditional theory and technique incorporated into MMA training.
@Arekino Maybe I should start posting more regularly on martial arts subjects? I hadn't even seen what happened until they showed the slomo replay. I was watching it live and I missed the elbow. I had to see the replay several times. That was a beautifully timed and executed technique. From what I know and have observed from the sport, many of its greatest champions have had either a traditional martial arts background or at least some training in the traditional arts.
Maybe I should start posting more regularly on martial arts subjects?
Why not? Maybe you can do reviews of fights or opinion pieces. Whatever you like.
My sister officially sold her old house today. She came over and we all had a bit of cake and coffee to celebrate. Must have been quite a relief for her.
reviews of fights or opinion pieces I have a piece about Bruce Lee and mixed martial arts in mind.
My sister officially sold her old house today Hey, that's great news! Definitely a reason to celebrate! What's the status on her new house? Is the other tenant still there or did he move out?
What's the status on her new house?
They moved in a couple of months ago. I suppose they're still customizing it a little but I think they're, mostly done with that. Looks like I'll be doing some babysitting friday night.
Bruce Lee and mixed martial arts
IIRC he did like to pick what he thought were the best moves from other martial arts.
IIRC he did like to pick what he thought were the best moves from other martial arts You are correct, sir. That's what the post will be about. :)
“A few good kicking techniques that are underutilized in my opinion would be the crane kick.” – You have a point. The crane kick was even used in the movie, “Karate kid” which was one of its memorable scenes. The crane kick has four parts, the misdirection, blind rage, balance and energy. By which, the energy is the most essential part of the move as the person must transform the potential energy into kinetic energy – from the arms, to the waists, to the leg, and finally, to the deadly foot.
Hugh Motz
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