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I know there will be people who will disagree with me, but I was there forty years ago, and I know the truth. The truth is that the karate fighters of forty years ago, students of Shotokan and Wado Ryu and Uechi Ryu, and especially Kyokushinkai, could have taken todays mixed martial arts fighters apart quickly and easily. There are quite a few reasons for this, and I will go over just one of the main ones in this article.
Before I tread into an area most fans do not know exists...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 our training that todays martial artists would not dare to do. All of the things that were done were done with a degree of fanaticism far beyond that shown by todays UFC fighters.
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 take out lots of insurance types, was done with relentless dedication. We would hit soft, but continually, taking the time to massage the fist and flicking it to keep the energy from locking up. Eventually the fist, without becoming injured or insensitive, would become so hard and tough that the famous one strike one kill 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 martial artists of his time? They would stand under freezing 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, and I haven't heard of any MMA fighters killing any bulls lately.
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.
Before I tread into an area most fans do not know exists...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 our training that todays martial artists would not dare to do. All of the things that were done were done with a degree of fanaticism far beyond that shown by todays UFC fighters.
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 take out lots of insurance types, was done with relentless dedication. We would hit soft, but continually, taking the time to massage the fist and flicking it to keep the energy from locking up. Eventually the fist, without becoming injured or insensitive, would become so hard and tough that the famous one strike one kill 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 martial artists of his time? They would stand under freezing 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, and I haven't heard of any MMA fighters killing any bulls lately.
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.
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.
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