Question for MMA Guys

Training Powerlifting
21

[quote]Politico wrote:
FightinIrish26 wrote:
Politico wrote:
Haha you guys are funny. I never said I was scared of getting hit, I said I was worried about it because it’s never happened to me before. But, I’m sure you guys being the tough manly men you are didn’t think twice about it the first time you got in there.

You guys saying people who are initially cautious about being hit in the face aren’t meant to be fighters is just like saying a racecar driver who thinks and worries about crashing and becoming paralyzed isn’t meant to race.

I’ve gone through pj training with the Air Force, so I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a sissy or pretty boy. You guys must just be that much tougher than me.

Thanks to those who actually responded and didn’t feel the need to stroke themselves.

Well, if you lived this long and haven’t gotten whacked in the face a couple times, then I wouldn’t be reaching to say you’re not a fighter.

Well of course I’m not a fighter, and I’m not trying to be one either. I guess mma guys are like marines. “We’re the toughest mother fvckers you’ve ever met and we’ll kick your ass. If you aren’t one of us you’re a pussy!”

:)[/quote]

Of course they are.

Like I sai before, give it a shot. Can’t hurt…or it can, but it won’t last forever.

22

If you’re new to Muay Thai, you’re going to likely be spending all of your time in the beginning learning technique before you even start sparring or any kind of contact drills. Once you get technique down, things will progress from there.

Can’t hurt to have the jaw issue checked out by a doctor, if for nothing else than to give you peace of mind before you enter into training.

23

[quote]Politico wrote:
I’ve gone through pj training with the Air Force, so I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a sissy or pretty boy. You guys must just be that much tougher than me.[/quote]

There’s a non-sequitor if I’ve ever seen one. Airforce airborne training is not hardcore - at all.

Now, if you had a Ranger tab… that’d be something special.

24

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Politico wrote:
I’ve gone through pj training with the Air Force, so I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a sissy or pretty boy. You guys must just be that much tougher than me.

There’s a non-sequitor if I’ve ever seen one. Airforce airborne training is not hardcore - at all.

Now, if you had a Ranger tab… that’d be something special.[/quote]

I’m not sure you know as much as you think you do. Especially when you called it “air force airborne training”, there’s no such thing.

25

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:

you learn to love it though, nothing is better than taking someone’s best shot unfazed, and still marching forward… after one or two times of that you’ll see the look of fear on their face.

[/quote]

I can do that all the time…against featherweights.
To the thread starter, you should just get yourself to a gym and try it out. You won’t know until you get hit. Some are fine, some react badly. Since you are not going to become a pro I do not see what the problem is in going to a mma gym.
Alot of guys do not “like” to get hit in the head. That is why there are skills to be learned. And even if you are fine with getting hit in the head, it doesn’t do much to be getting hit in the head repeatedly. It isn’t just the pain, it is being put out of position and not being able to initiate your offense and being countered when you do commit that also happen when you get hit in the head/face.
I think it is the shock of getting hit for most people. I started as a kid so for me it wasn’t really bad, because I never thought about it or worried about it. Many times adults seem to have a harder time with it. Once you have been hit and accept that you will be hit then you will have cleared one hurdle. Most sparring is light and if it is heavy it will be around 70-80 percent. The best advice I can give is protect yourself at all times. There are guys out there who just disregard others safety. They will say take it easy or they are hurt and then try to take your head off right after saying it(happened more than once). There are guys who headbutt on purpose(amateurs!) and those unintentionally(or you can’t tell i.e. pro boxers). Guys who do things they were told not to do. I have been elbowed in sparring(when it was disallowed). Guys get indignant or angry if you are getting the best of them. These things do not happen much in my expereince, but watch out.
There are many headgear out there. I don’t like my vision blocked or my face covered so my headgear is pretty barebones. But you can get good gear to protect your face and jaw.
If you have good coaches and spar with good fighters(good amateurs and pros) you usually won’t have problems. In my experience it is usually guys who are a level or two below a good amateur who cause problems. They have enough experience and are just good enough to give you alot of trouble. They usually don’t evolve beyond this but have good physical abilities.
Anyway good luck to you.

26

As much as it sucks breaking a bone isn’t the worst injury you can get. Soft tissue injuries on the other hand can be excrutiating and very debilitating.

If you jaw gets broken, you can get it set and wired so it will ususally heal with no problem. On the other hand TMJ or some other kind of injury to the joint is something that can bother you every time you take a bite of food. If you like eating steak this can become very distressing.

It sounds like you already have issues with the joint, so my best advice would don’t put yourself in a situation where trained martial artists can repeatedly lay into it with their best shot.

I have a friend who has TMJ from hockey and he has really been through some suffering from it, even with therapy.

Before you join a school take a look around at what is available in your area. Just because someone has the flavor of the month buzzword to attach to their school doesn’t mean they are the best teacher in your area.

There are plenty of schools where you can learn good offensive skills like hitting. There a whole lot less schools where you can learn defensive skills like blocking and angular movement.

There are a lot of schools out there that make up for a lack of defensive skills by beating the hell out of the students.

Here is a good example of what I am talking about. - YouTube

Georges StPierre vs Matt Hughes. GSP was able to use movement to keep from getting hit while Hughes just stood there like a chump trying to tough his way through it.

If you watch GSP you’ll see that he is constantly sliping off at an angle, while Hughes just moves straight in and out with no angle and no setup. You can see this at 17 seconds GSP slips off at an angle and punches, again at 29 seconds GSP puts Hughes off balance this time, at 1:24 Hughes jabs while GSP angles off to the side past it and counters with a jab that lands. At 7:18 GSP angles and squat kicks Hughes leg right out from underneath him.

The wound up angry punch that GSP put hughes on his back with at the end of round one, was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in a fight. That punch was SO telegraphed that it beggars disbelief that anyone who called themself a martial artist could get hit with it. GSP put Hughes dick in the dirt with that. Luckily for Hughes he was saved by the bell.

Another telling difference between the two is how Hughes moves straight back and drops his guard after every exchange. You really see this from 4:20 to 4:46 where Hughes gets his leg caught, but still trys to run backwards and gets run over.

Hughes constant hand dropping is something you will see in a family oriented karate class. You never do that in a real fight. In comparison GSP’s guard is constantly in the on guard ready position. At the end when he gets took out Hughes was just beginning to drop his guard (again!?!?!?!Oi Vie!) and gets caught with a round house to the neck.

Here are some things to look at with Hughes, at 1:49 he just charges straight in with no setup and no concern about eating a punch on the way in, he just figures he can take it and it’s a price of doing business.

Suttle changes in body positioning can make a big difference, you can see at 2:47 Hughes lead foot is pointing straight at GSP which opens up his groin for a squat kick which GSP puts right in there at 2:48.

So as important as it is to be able to take a shot, don’t train with a teacher who makes that their first and last line of defense or you will end up getting punked out by a real fighter just like Hughes did.

Also don’t think that because someone is a champion that they must be a good fighter with something to teach.

27

just look around, every school is going to have something to offer. The key things you want to look for is
-Safety

  • Make sure it has realistic training
  • Make sure no one has ego’s and everyone is willing to work with you (including the instructor)
  • Have fun with it. I dont train to compete, but every time I go to class its like going to a club. I always have a good time.
    -Make sure you look around, there is no such place as a be all end all. Find something that works for you
28

[quote]Sifu wrote:

Georges StPierre vs Matt Hughes. GSP was able to use movement to keep from getting hit while Hughes just stood there like a chump trying to tough his way through it.

If you watch GSP you’ll see that he is constantly sliping off at an angle, while Hughes just moves straight in and out with no angle and no setup. You can see this at 17 seconds GSP slips off at an angle and punches, again at 29 seconds GSP puts Hughes off balance this time, at 1:24 Hughes jabs while GSP angles off to the side past it and counters with a jab that lands. At 7:18 GSP angles and squat kicks Hughes leg right out from underneath him.

The wound up angry punch that GSP put hughes on his back with at the end of round one, was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in a fight. That punch was SO telegraphed that it beggars disbelief that anyone who called themself a martial artist could get hit with it. GSP put Hughes dick in the dirt with that. Luckily for Hughes he was saved by the bell.

Another telling difference between the two is how Hughes moves straight back and drops his guard after every exchange. You really see this from 4:20 to 4:46 where Hughes gets his leg caught, but still trys to run backwards and gets run over.

Hughes constant hand dropping is something you will see in a family oriented karate class. You never do that in a real fight. In comparison GSP’s guard is constantly in the on guard ready position. At the end when he gets took out Hughes was just beginning to drop his guard (again!?!?!?!Oi Vie!) and gets caught with a round house to the neck.

Here are some things to look at with Hughes, at 1:49 he just charges straight in with no setup and no concern about eating a punch on the way in, he just figures he can take it and it’s a price of doing business.

Suttle changes in body positioning can make a big difference, you can see at 2:47 Hughes lead foot is pointing straight at GSP which opens up his groin for a squat kick which GSP puts right in there at 2:48.

So as important as it is to be able to take a shot, don’t train with a teacher who makes that their first and last line of defense or you will end up getting punked out by a real fighter just like Hughes did.

Also don’t think that because someone is a champion that they must be a good fighter with something to teach. [/quote]

I know GSP did Kyokushin and his kicks reflect that.
Though Hughes being kicked in the groin by GSP’s lead low kick is not a result of Hughes foot position. That is more GSP’s fault. His distancing wasn’t good when he hit Hughes in the groin. Also considering both men fight orthodox groin shots from poorly executed(even well executed) lead low kicks lead to groin shots.
Where should Hughes point his foot? In my experience you keep your front foot pointed forward. Besides having it pointed in any other direction won’t really change your chances of getting hit in the groin from a lead low. You would have to check the kick and that has more to with moving at least the entire lower leg. Your right leg(rear leg) which is already at an angle. Hughes proved in that fight he has no idea how to check low kicks. His supporting leg got caught by a right low kick. There is no excuse for that. If Hughes was throwing a a kick himself and got his supporting leg kicked out form under him that is fine. But he was just standing there and tried to jump over it or whatever nonsense he was trying to do.
Otherwise I do agree with you other points.
I am getting the feeling that striking skills are deteriorating these days. I guess it is just watching alot of mma that is the cause. Having a good chin is great. But skills are very important. It is why I still think specialization is important. There are bare basics that a person trained in muaythai/kickboxing etc should be able to do. Check low kicks, cover up and counter, lateral movement as opposed to backing up, know the basic counters for basic techniques e.g. right cross counter on a left jab etc. Throw in combination(punch AND kick). Cut off the ring/cage. Catch kicks, clinchwork. Head movement and blocking with your shoulder.
These days it seems to be just headhunt and throw two or three one-twos in succession. If you have decent speed and strength you can get to certain level, then you just be embarrased by a guys who has good skills.

29

[quote]Politico wrote:
I’m not sure you know as much as you think you do. Especially when you called it “air force airborne training”, there’s no such thing.
[/quote]

So you didn’t go to airborne school? If not, then how are you a PJ?

From the official Air Force site:

“U.S. Army Airborne School, Fort Benning, Ga. – Trainees learn the basic parachuting skills required to infiltrate an objective area by static line airdrop in a three-week course.”

Looks like you’ve been busted as yet another Internet poser. When you create new handle, at least do SOME research before making claims that many guys on here will immediately sniff out as bogus.

Many of us actually served in or with air force guys, so we understand what “PJ” means and what that training involves, etc.

30

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Xen Nova wrote:
True, it is the pits.

Then be honest with the OP. The OP obviously does not have what it takes to be a fighter. There is nothing wrong with that.

If a guy posts, “I might start deadlifting, but won’t that hurt my hands,” what would you say? Someone posting that he is afraid of getting hit in the head is not fighter material. You should be able to see that.

In the name of being “nice,” too many people on this board tell lies. Be real with the OP: He sounds like a first-rate sissy. He does not belong in an MMA gym. [/quote]

Kinda harsh bro. I say give the guy a chance and equip him with what he needs to know to do it.

If he gets his mind right you never know how far he can go. I’d rather encourage someone then completely write them off.

31

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Xen Nova wrote:
True, it is the pits.

Then be honest with the OP. The OP obviously does not have what it takes to be a fighter. There is nothing wrong with that.

If a guy posts, “I might start deadlifting, but won’t that hurt my hands,” what would you say? Someone posting that he is afraid of getting hit in the head is not fighter material. You should be able to see that.

In the name of being “nice,” too many people on this board tell lies. Be real with the OP: He sounds like a first-rate sissy. He does not belong in an MMA gym.

Kinda harsh bro. I say give the guy a chance and equip him with what he needs to know to do it.

If he gets his mind right you never know how far he can go. I’d rather encourage someone then completely write them off.

[/quote]

No, it’s okay. I’m obviously not fighter material because I didn’t go balls to the wall with my chin sticking out. Besides, only he and his fellow tough guys are allowed to try mma.

32

Here is reply to Otoko’s points. In Isshin ryu Karate which is what I study we have a saying “a cup is part of the uniform” because traditionally all of our kicks are aimed below the waist. In our classes we allow kicks to the groin. We have a high turnover because of it. Anytime your foot goes above groin level your groin is open, this is why we are very unpopular with the Tae Kwon Do people.

One of the basic kicks that we teach to our white belts is the squat kick, the primary target we teach is the groin. That squat kick GSP caught Hughes with is something we use all the time in class. If you watch carefully you will see that GSP wasn’t even aiming it at the groin he is aiming it at the Femoral artery, you can really see it on the second groin shot. Hughes just left him so wide open that the kick couldn’t help but go into his groin.

The technical name for that kick GSP used is a “low line kick”. A low line kick is a kick where the foot comes from the floor straight into the target point A to point B. There was no preliminary cocking of the leg A-B followed by the foot firing from a chambered position to the target C.

This is why low lines are advantageous there is no telegraph, the foot fires right from the floor to the target. Bill Superfoot Wallace is a master of this kick.

Now on to your point about foot positioning. Here is how you can see what I am talking about.

Stand in front of a full length mirror where you can see your foot to your waist. get into a kokutsu dachi or a cat stance with your front foot pointing straight forward. If you look you will see that all the bones of your lead leg are in the same plane, if you now take you rear leg and do a simple football place kick towards the inside of the ankle of the mirror front leg and continue up you will see that the inner leg becomes a guide rail that directs the foot right into the groin. You will also see that a straight kick into the front of the knee will be able to hyper extend the leg breaking the knee.

Once you see how that is working try this.

Slowly rotate your lead foot on the heel so your toes point in. As you do this watch what happens to the position of your knee it starts to move in (I am assuming you have your leg bent a little at the knee like a proper martial artist would) as soon as you start turning in you should notice something but keep turning in till it’s between 30 and 45 degrees. What you should now see is that the bones of your lead leg are no longer in the same plane.

If you now place kicked at your front ankle the foot would now travel up the front of your shin bone at an angle till it reaches your knee, where you will now see that your thigh angles away from the direction of the kicks upward travel because your shin has guide railed the kick away from your groin.

There are two additional benefits:

Number 1 is even more important than protecting the groin. Because your lead leg is no longer aligned with the knee’s plane of motion directly perpendicular to your opponent, the same straight in kick that previously hyperextended and locked out your knee destroying the joint, is now more likely to merely flex the knee, especially if you allow yourself to go with it, you can even drop down into a spinning sweep kick with your rear leg and drop your opponent on their back.

Number 2 get back into the kokutsu dachi with you left leg forward toes pointing straight torwards the mirror now imagine GSP is throwing that lowline kick at you groin. What do you do? If you rotate your hips clockwise so you take the kick on your hip instead of you groin what happens? You don’t have enough range of motion in your lead hip joint to rotate your groin to safety, but if you allow your foot to rotate back to that 45 degree angle your pelvis can keep turning till your groin faces away from your opponent.

Cool! Right? But it gets even better because there is a special technique that is specifically designed to be used with that hip roll as a riposte.

If you do that hip roll right you will throw your opponents legs apart also you will now have spinning momentum in your hips so you just keep going and throw a spinning back kick right into your opponenets groin.

That is the proper way to use a spinning back kick, as a riposte. Not as a showboating technique like GSP did against Hughes, unless of course you seriously outclass the other guy and can get away with takeing risks. Which obviously was the case.

But if you have someone who knows what to do and they know how to grapple (which Hughes excels at)you can be in a world of hurt misapplying a spinning back kick. GSP was lucky there that he didn’t end up with Hughes attached to his back like a white girl on an NBA player choking him out.

It’s just too bad for Hughes that when he was a teenager he didn’t take up some kind of striking art. Even a hokey assed Tae Kwon Do class then would have put him at a whole other level now, because he would be able to read his opponent better. Because you can just look at you opponents foot positioning and know what they can and can’t do. With enough experience it just becomes instinctive.

While there are very few good fist fighters in mma there are some bright spots. GSP is excellent. Chuck Lidell has one punch take out power and he refuses to roll with the grapplers so they have to stand and face that.

Here is a brilliant matchup of two men who have competency at all the ranges and are smoothly traversing from one range to the other.

33

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Politico wrote:
I’ve gone through pj training with the Air Force, so I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a sissy or pretty boy. You guys must just be that much tougher than me.

There’s a non-sequitor if I’ve ever seen one. Airforce airborne training is not hardcore - at all.

Now, if you had a Ranger tab… that’d be something special.[/quote]

From what I have read of the Air Forces Pararescue Jumpers they go through the toughest training in the Air Force and go to the same schools as other military special forces. Seems like pretty hardcore training and fellas to me. They risk their lives to save others. Nothing further need be said about them.

Probably a little harder than your BJJ dojo in the strip mall.

I remember I made fun of you for being an MMA tough guy and you claimed you didn’t do MMA but then you subsequently posted that you did BJJ.

Perhaps you should stick to discussing rear naked choking of your chicken instead of trying to prove how tough you are.

34

[quote]Sifu wrote:
Here is reply to Otoko’s points. In Isshin ryu Karate which is what I study we have a saying “a cup is part of the uniform” because traditionally all of our kicks are aimed below the waist. In our classes we allow kicks to the groin. We have a high turnover because of it. [/quote]

Did anyone else cringe when they read this? You guys can call me a pussy, but I won’t be signing up for that class anytime soon. Ouch.

35

[quote]slimjim wrote:
Sifu wrote:
Here is reply to Otoko’s points. In Isshin ryu Karate which is what I study we have a saying “a cup is part of the uniform” because traditionally all of our kicks are aimed below the waist. In our classes we allow kicks to the groin. We have a high turnover because of it.

Did anyone else cringe when they read this? You guys can call me a pussy, but I won’t be signing up for that class anytime soon. Ouch.[/quote]

If some Isshin Karate Guy was trying to fight me I’d be like, “Ay! Ima kick you squa in the nuts!”

36

I just read the initial question and breezed through some responses so sorry if this has been said already.

First, most people are ‘nervous’ about getting hit in the face. So that is okay I think.
Next, a good mma program should have a good bjj black belt or high level wrestler who can teach and a boxer or muay thai guy. All should have significant competition and coaching experience. Preferably some mma competing experience. Where I train now, we have a pro boxer and a bjj black belt. Both classes will hurt at some point. But both should really lead you into that progressively. I’d shy away from a pro boxer who went at you full force the first day. I don’t think he’d have any beginners there. And if you’re a beginner, you need a place that understands what a beginner needs.
So for boxing it would probably be conditioning and hitting the bag/mits for a bit and some defensive drills with minimal contact or even with a foam stick or some not too hard prop that they lunge/swing at you. Eventually, you will need to do some defensive drilling where you will get hit in the face. Our guy does boxing drills for only a few weeks, but it’s important to do some, and then, unless someone is a real idiot and not getting it, he starts doing it with contact.

The result? After all the defensive drills when things get real you’ll still get hit in the face. What you’ll find is, it ain’t so bad…or you wake up and are like…I’m okay…I’m okay…but you’re not. Hahaha. The thing is, usually when you feel a punch, it was hard and it sucks but you ain’t out so you’re alright. The good punches you don’t feel…well not at the time they hit you anyway.

And if you’re boxing you should be wearing the 14 or even 16 ounce gloves at first, good head gear and a mouth piece.

All in all, it’s okay to be nervous. You’ll find out soon if you are able to stand being hit.
Best advice, get good at not getting hit and taking people down.

37

[quote]Sifu wrote:
Here is reply to Otoko’s points. In Isshin ryu Karate which is what I study we have a saying “a cup is part of the uniform” because traditionally all of our kicks are aimed below the waist. In our classes we allow kicks to the groin. We have a high turnover because of it. Anytime your foot goes above groin level your groin is open, this is why we are very unpopular with the Tae Kwon Do people.

One of the basic kicks that we teach to our white belts is the squat kick, the primary target we teach is the groin. That squat kick GSP caught Hughes with is something we use all the time in class. If you watch carefully you will see that GSP wasn’t even aiming it at the groin he is aiming it at the Femoral artery, you can really see it on the second groin shot. Hughes just left him so wide open that the kick couldn’t help but go into his groin.

The technical name for that kick GSP used is a “low line kick”. A low line kick is a kick where the foot comes from the floor straight into the target point A to point B. There was no preliminary cocking of the leg A-B followed by the foot firing from a chambered position to the target C.

This is why low lines are advantageous there is no telegraph, the foot fires right from the floor to the target. Bill Superfoot Wallace is a master of this kick.

Now on to your point about foot positioning. Here is how you can see what I am talking about.

Stand in front of a full length mirror where you can see your foot to your waist. get into a kokutsu dachi or a cat stance with your front foot pointing straight forward. If you look you will see that all the bones of your lead leg are in the same plane, if you now take you rear leg and do a simple football place kick towards the inside of the ankle of the mirror front leg and continue up you will see that the inner leg becomes a guide rail that directs the foot right into the groin. You will also see that a straight kick into the front of the knee will be able to hyper extend the leg breaking the knee.

Once you see how that is working try this.

Slowly rotate your lead foot on the heel so your toes point in. As you do this watch what happens to the position of your knee it starts to move in (I am assuming you have your leg bent a little at the knee like a proper martial artist would) as soon as you start turning in you should notice something but keep turning in till it’s between 30 and 45 degrees. What you should now see is that the bones of your lead leg are no longer in the same plane.

If you now place kicked at your front ankle the foot would now travel up the front of your shin bone at an angle till it reaches your knee, where you will now see that your thigh angles away from the direction of the kicks upward travel because your shin has guide railed the kick away from your groin.

There are two additional benefits:

Number 1 is even more important than protecting the groin. Because your lead leg is no longer aligned with the knee’s plane of motion directly perpendicular to your opponent, the same straight in kick that previously hyperextended and locked out your knee destroying the joint, is now more likely to merely flex the knee, especially if you allow yourself to go with it, you can even drop down into a spinning sweep kick with your rear leg and drop your opponent on their back.

Number 2 get back into the kokutsu dachi with you left leg forward toes pointing straight torwards the mirror now imagine GSP is throwing that lowline kick at you groin. What do you do? If you rotate your hips clockwise so you take the kick on your hip instead of you groin what happens? You don’t have enough range of motion in your lead hip joint to rotate your groin to safety, but if you allow your foot to rotate back to that 45 degree angle your pelvis can keep turning till your groin faces away from your opponent.

Cool! Right? But it gets even better because there is a special technique that is specifically designed to be used with that hip roll as a riposte.

If you do that hip roll right you will throw your opponents legs apart also you will now have spinning momentum in your hips so you just keep going and throw a spinning back kick right into your opponenets groin.

That is the proper way to use a spinning back kick, as a riposte. Not as a showboating technique like GSP did against Hughes, unless of course you seriously outclass the other guy and can get away with takeing risks. Which obviously was the case.

But if you have someone who knows what to do and they know how to grapple (which Hughes excels at)you can be in a world of hurt misapplying a spinning back kick. GSP was lucky there that he didn’t end up with Hughes attached to his back like a white girl on an NBA player choking him out.

It’s just too bad for Hughes that when he was a teenager he didn’t take up some kind of striking art. Even a hokey assed Tae Kwon Do class then would have put him at a whole other level now, because he would be able to read his opponent better. Because you can just look at you opponents foot positioning and know what they can and can’t do. With enough experience it just becomes instinctive.

While there are very few good fist fighters in mma there are some bright spots. GSP is excellent. Chuck Lidell has one punch take out power and he refuses to roll with the grapplers so they have to stand and face that.

Here is a brilliant matchup of two men who have competency at all the ranges and are smoothly traversing from one range to the other.

[/quote]

I do not know anything about Isshin-Ryu karate. Thanks to your answer now I know a little. It was very informative.
My point is that GSP is from a Kyokushin karate background(which is very famous in Japan, and the reason why GSP is known in Japan). His kicks reflect that training. Meaning the style in which they are thrown. Which are different from the Muay Thai and Dutch kickboxing style. So I do not think that the kicks to the groin were deliberate. If you were trained in either the Thai, Dutch or Kyokushin style they would just check the kick, so the position of the front foot simply just has to point forward(in other words foot position doesn’t matter). If the guy was very good he would just teep(front kick the guy when he threw his low kick).

Here is an example
the Kyokusshin karate stylist Sam Greco in K-1

Ernesto Hoost is an example of the Dutch style. You might be familiar with him. And the thai style there are numerous examples but two time K-1 MAX(70kg) champion Buakaw Por Pramuk is dominating right now, others include Yodsaenklai and Jomhod(though old was great).

38

[quote]otoko wrote:

I do not know anything about Isshin-Ryu karate. Thanks to your answer now I know a little. It was very informative.
My point is that GSP is from a Kyokushin karate background(which is very famous in Japan, and the reason why GSP is known in Japan). His kicks reflect that training. Meaning the style in which they are thrown. Which are different from the Muay Thai and Dutch kickboxing style. So I do not think that the kicks to the groin were deliberate. If you were trained in either the Thai, Dutch or Kyokushin style they would just check the kick, so the position of the front foot simply just has to point forward(in other words foot position doesn’t matter). If the guy was very good he would just teep(front kick the guy when he threw his low kick).

Here is an example
the Kyokusshin karate stylist Sam Greco in K-1

Ernesto Hoost is an example of the Dutch style. You might be familiar with him. And the thai style there are numerous examples but two time K-1 MAX(70kg) champion Buakaw Por Pramuk is dominating right now, others include Yodsaenklai and Jomhod(though old was great).
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Nice HL, Sam is awesome. I don’t know how he didn’t kill Branko with that KO, he was out for a long, long time. Supposedly the officials were quite worried that he was going to die because of his age and how long he was unconcious.

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Since I am talking about Kyokushin karate. Some famous Kyokushin stylists. THIS IS KARATE

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Getting hit in the groin is much like getting hit in the face, there is a strong psychological inhibition that you have to overcome.

Once you get used to it it’s not so bad if you have a cup on and you are hit from an angle the cup protects.

There are things you can do to guard your groin and make it much more difficult to hit. But this isn’t something you are going to learn from a boxing coach or your average mma teacher because groin shots are against the rules of their sport. This is a point I have had a very hard time getting across to all the mma cheerleaders on this board.

Most people don’t realize that the testes aren’t the only part of the groin that you have to worry about. The lower kidney is down there also.

The main thing is don’t stand squared off like a boxer or a wrestler and don’t have your foot flailing around in the air like you see at karate tournaments or jean clad van damm movies.