MMA & UFC versus Shotokan
There is an interesting & in depth article in the latest July 2010 issue Shotokan Karate Magazine about a 31 year old Brazilian chap by the name of Lyoto Machida who is a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Shotokan.
Over the past two years he has won 16 out of 17 cage fights in Mixed Martial Arts & Ultimate Fighting Championships. Although he has practiced some other styles like Judo & Jiu Jitsu, he maintains that his main style & the techniques he uses in the cage are Shotokan based. For example, one of his favourite take-down techniques is a simple mae geri followed by jodan gyaku zuki.
Nicknamed the Brazilian Samurai he has gained quite a reputation for himself & now of course for that of Shotokan Karate. Cage fighting is about as close as you can get to street fighting without the use of weapons & Lyoto Machida's triumphs in this arena should give us all a boost to our confidence in the style.
Page Last Updated on: Wednesday 13 October 2010