Check out this promotional video for UFC 101: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mN9otLiuoY"]YouTube - Check out the X-Men moves on Anderson Silva[/ame] Few people know Anderson got his start in TKD. He actually is very complimentary of the art in his book and calls his instructor a 'great man'. Also adds that the discipline and agility he learned under his TKD instructor still helps him in his fights today. Note, to be fair, he feels MT made him a more complete fighter and he he has a great love for MT. But he was very positive about TKD in his book. When I know I'll have time to watch it I'm going to get the A. Silva video instructionals (hopefully pull a couple of drills like the Machida videos). Also note that because TKD gets no love this was labeled as Anderson doing some Muay Boran moves on Sherdog...ah well. We are the 'uncool' art after all.
That was truly awful. Word of advice: don't look to UFC guys for expertise in Taekwondo or other traditional martial arts.
Nope. Look to them for expertise in kicking butt. Got any source saying that Silva got his start with TKD?
Yeah. His book from Victory Belt (I did mention that above). I picked it up at Barnes and Noble a while ago and I am sure you can buy it online. He has a boxing DVD from the same publisher and a Takedown and TD defense book. Funny I never thought about A Silva as the guy to learn TD or TDD from. And there was nothing awful about his technique. First of all it is obvious he is having a bit of fun in this sequence. I enjoyed it. Showed he brings a playful attitude to his training as well as hard work.
It's clearly a press session- He's Doing things for the camera...But he isn't horrible, clearly has some training and good technique there.
Wait, what? You just called Anderson Silva awful?! Please stick up a video of you training as if you're better than Anderson I'd love to see! As for not looking at UFC guys for expertise in TKD or traditional arts, I have no idea what you're talking about, and clearly neither do you.
It clearly is a press session. But he could do the whole, "Look how rigorous my training is...I will show you my medicine ball routine" type of press conference. Instead he chose everyone running around in a circle and throwing jumping kicks against a bag (almost like what you'd see in a kids class). I liked the sense of play in it. I forgot to mention that he got his TKD lessons for free. He was raised by his uncle and there were a bunch of kids all together living under a policeman's salary. He loved martial arts but they couldn't afford them. So he just hung out at the studio until the instructor, sensing his love for the arts, just started teaching him.
Wouldn't matter if it were a 1st Dan. That was still bad. I know bad technique when I see it, Anderson Silva or not. I don't have video of me training because I don't perform for show or cameras. Well actually there is some, but it's all on VHS tape.
I find it interesting that in the transition from karate and TKD to MMA, that most people have to do it "wrong" to make it work. Striking with good form, especially kicking, is a choice between deceptiveness and destructive ability. The way you're taught to chamber makes the more injurious shots like the front kick and side kick hard to land cleanly, as it's two steps. That's easy to cover in my experience. My roundhouses are pretty much the same, but I've come across more competition and form-oriented schools where it doesn't quite do the job as is. The best thing to happen to my kicking after I left TKD was to take out the chamber, make the shot a straight line from floor to target, and use a stabbing sort of hip action for the actual power. It looks very sloppy but I kick harder with that method than I ever thought about before, and there's no upper-body tells. It's a small movement so people miss it trying to enter very consistently. Silva might be doing a similar thing. Which would mean, yeah, he's not good at proper TKD form anymore. The difference is, he's drawing on his TKD experience to wreck people. This is where you have to make a decision. Are you a librarian, or are you a martial artist? Do you want to continually improve yourself, or do you want to record and preserve "perfect" form for the next generation? If you do successfully preserve perfect form, are you giving your future students the essence of the art, or the theatrics?
Plus, chambered kicking is an exercise anyway. The only reason anyone would do it is to throw double kicks. I set my foot down between kicks on my double kicks anyways.
I agree, the playfullness is nice. Also shows he doesnt take himself too seriously. The story about his youth is wonderfull. Did he ever grade? or just learn techniques? There is a saying that I dont think I've used before but seriously: "put up, or shut up" And just to be fair...Those kicks look more devestating than Forrest Griffins Kicks in UFC101- The fight where this bad technician successfully defended his UFC title- AGAIN. Also, Ratty...nice post, conveyed your ideas very well.
Ratty - I don't think those jumping kicks are modified. Those are exactly the way we learned them. I have no idea what YoungMan68 is talking about. Maybe he thinks the flying knees are supposed to be front kicks that Anderson missed or something. Plus a jumping side spinning side is just a flashy move period. Not something you modify for sparring. liero- He doesn't say, but my guess is he graded to black belt. He describes his training under Master Kangi as 'many years of training'. Here is the story straight from the book: Despite my days being filled with various sports and activities, I still found time to hang around the local Tae Kwon Do academy where a couple of my friends trained. After class, I'd make a point to bother the instructor, Master Kangi, with all sorts of questions. I figured I might be able to pick up a few techniques here and there. As it turned out, my constant inquisitions paid off in an even better way. One day when I showed up, Master Kangi told me I could begin my training, even though I couldn't afford the tuition. Rather unexpectedly, my life as a martial artist had begun. I trained every chance I could, and under Master Kangi's rigid discipline, I learned how to control my leg movements - an attribute that still saves me in fights today. The more I applied myself, the more my personality stabilized. I learned patience and the menaing of dedication. I wasn't an exceptional martial artist right out of the gate, but if I had trouble with a specific technique , I always adapted and found a way to make it work. He goes on to describe his desire to cross-train and learning capoeira, hapkido, and then finding his love...Muay Thai.
I'm in agreement, they don't look different to anything I'd expect to see in class. No need to modify it, works just fine. I use it in sparring both in TKD class and MMA. thanks for the book quotes, are these from the Victory Belt published book? I have a few of their book and the introductions are always very interesting. Just to correct you slightly, he wasn't defending his title, he went up a weight class having trashed everyone in his natural class. Just imagine if he went and trained with Youngman so his technique got better! Obviously though he'd be a blue belt or something though...
So your argument is that in order for a person to be able to identify something as substandard, they must themselves be able to perform a better example of the craft. Therefore, every time you have seen a bad movie and said "that sucked", are you talking from the authority of having made better movies yourself? Similarly for musical records, paintings or any other example of criticism?
Youngman68's posts are suggesting that the techniques demonstrated in the video are below the standard he woud expect from a 1st Dan. Youngman68 is a higher Dan grade, meaning that his technique should be far better than that demonstrated by Anderson Silva in the video. I believe people would like to see that.
Man if you can land the side spinning side or even the 360 side in sparring you are a better man than me! Jump spinning back yes, but people rarely give me the distance for 360. Of course you are 10 years younger!!! You know when I showed the video to my wife she said, "You actually get more height than he does on your spins..." I had to point out to her the key difference was that A. Silva also destroys top competition whereas I'd be running like a chicken with my head cut off from them wailing like an infant for the ref to open the cage door. Yep. Introductions are always fun to read. I want to get his DVDs and probably will when I know I'll get the time to watch them. Actually looks like fine technique. I have no problem with it. In fact I'd say the technique and extension look similar to A. Silva's in the video. So I don't know why he has a problem with A. Silva's technique.
About time you realised that. Ah, the joys of selective quoting. I tend to be able to keep people at a nice distance due to using my legs a lot when sparring, so there's that extra bit of space than if they were just staying out of punching range. I'll normally set it up going back a step first as this not only gives me more distance, but tends to then make my sparring partner step forward to close the gap. Them walking into the technique makes it easier to land I find. but you're right, it could just be an age thing Some people have that fight spirit in them, some just don't. I don't think you'll ever know until you get in there. I've seen people, far better than me, who leave their best game in the gym. I'm interested in the DVD's too, the boxing one more than the other though. I assume at some point there's going to be a Muay Thai or genral striking one? In that case, maybe he could provide us with some actual constructive criticism of Anderson's technique?
