Karate blackbelts in MMA

Hotora86 said:
I'm just pointing out that he was ranked in the top 10 by SD at the time. I'm not saying he's a world beater but he's had his share of success and isn't some nobody.

He is ranked #3 by SD right now:
http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings/2/Sherdogs-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-121431

Maybe it's only due to stats and wins over old "big names" but I'd still insist that Bader is in the top 10.
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We know the Sherdog rankings are unofficial and not always very accurate. I appreciate Jon Jones is to make his return and Anthony Johnson recently announced his retirement, but those two should still be in that ranking and above Bader. Bader won't even be fighting in the UFC again.

I appreciate your point that he's not a nobody, but Bader is far from being a top LHW IMO.
 
Soul Rebel 2 said:
I mean, what counts as a karate style and what doesn't? How many parts of a boat can you replace before its a different boat?

Look at a lot of Dutch style kick boxers. Ignoring the fact that theres numerous styles in Holland, the entire method we understand as being theirs was adapted from and is still VERY close to Kyokushin, you can see it in their love for pocket fighting, body shots and ending combos with low kicks. Ernesto Hoost, the quintessential Dutch fighter, his coach at Vos Gym was a Kyokushin guy.

Its kind of like BJJ, does it become something else if you take off the gi?
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That was the kind of discussion that went on for 50+ pages in the original "Karate in MMA" thread. I wanted to be more objective this time so I went with a straightforward, simple list of black belts.

All these people spent a number of years working hard on their Karate skills to earn a legit black belt. I think this says something about their dedication to the art and its philosophy, even if they later moved on to kickboxing, MT, BJJ or what have you.

Let me just quote GSP on this:

"A fighter trains only when he has a fight. He trains only when he’s fighting. Me, I train for a lifestyle. Even when I’m not getting ready for a fight, I’m always in shape, I’m always in training. I do it as a lifestyle. I studied in Kyokushin Karate when I was young and that’s why I think I’m like that."

"I’m very happy that I learned Karate when I was young. A lot of people told me that it’s useless in fighting, but they’re wrong. I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t be at this level today. Karate made me a lot stronger, and it made me flexible and athletic like I am right now. When I’m fighting, I’m not doing kata, but I use a lot of kicks and techniques that I learned from kyokushin."
 
Did you know that Matt Mitrione (who just KOed Fedor!) holds a black belt in Shotokan Karate? ;)
 
DoctorTaco said:
Chinzo has looked better in other outings. I'm a big fan of his
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What can you say, he's a standup guy and he he does best in standup. He never trained grappling extensively and doesn't seem to enjoy it so he has always been easy pray for top level grapplers. Still, he's in MMA for the challenge and to promote Machida Karate and the four highlight-reel KOs he had delivered has undoubtedly made him some fans in the sport.

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Blast from the past: Phil Davis commenting Machida vs Hendo

 
@Hotora86 did you add Robert Whitaker yet? just saw he had 8 years of karate and did hapkido after that.
 
Jimmy H said:
@Hotora86 did you add Robert Whitaker yet? just saw he had 8 years of karate and did hapkido after that.
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By Jove, you're right! Kudos to you, my friend! :) Can't find the exact style tho. Any idea?
 
BTW since Whittaker has a very specific tattoo on his chest maybe he should consider this piece as his new walkout music. ;)

 
Karate man Paul Felder sure can finish a fight! Recently KOd Stevie Ray at UFC FN 113 but look at what he has done before!

Paul-Felder-DROPPED-FINISHED-Craig-Johnson-with-SP-WHL-HK-R2-_zpsllrpekra-1.gif


Paul-Felder-KOD-Danny-Castillo-R2-with-a-SP-BK-FST-_zpsp0jppvkp.gif
 
Open question to all my Karate sherbros: do you think I should classify fighters training in Tiger Schulmann MMA (formerly known as Tiger Schulmann Karate) as Karate fighters?

For those unfamiliar:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Schulmann
http://tsk.com/

Schulmann began training in the martial arts in kyokushin karate at the age of 6 in New York City. He trained and competed throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and internationally in Japan and Israel. As an adult, he has trained in grappling, boxing, kickboxing, and other martial arts disciplines. Schulmann was the North American Mas Oyama Full-Contact Karate Champion for six consecutive years (1979–1984).

After completing his career as a fighter, he opened his first training center in 1984, known as United American Karate, in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Over time the name of his style changed first to Tiger Schulmann's Karate (TSK) and then finally to what it is known today, Tiger Schulmann's Mixed Martial Arts (TSMMA).
 
Hotora86 said:
Open question to all my Karate sherbros: do you think I should classify fighters training in Tiger Schulmann MMA (formerly known as Tiger Schulmann Karate) as Karate fighters?

For those unfamiliar:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Schulmann
http://tsk.com/

Schulmann began training in the martial arts in kyokushin karate at the age of 6 in New York City. He trained and competed throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and internationally in Japan and Israel. As an adult, he has trained in grappling, boxing, kickboxing, and other martial arts disciplines. Schulmann was the North American Mas Oyama Full-Contact Karate Champion for six consecutive years (1979–1984).

After completing his career as a fighter, he opened his first training center in 1984, known as United American Karate, in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Over time the name of his style changed first to Tiger Schulmann's Karate (TSK) and then finally to what it is known today, Tiger Schulmann's Mixed Martial Arts (TSMMA).
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It seems like its a mixture of karate and kickboxing.
 
Anything that takes you in the world of martial arts at a young age will give you an edge for fighting.

It's easier to tweak some stuff than having to learn them from scrap.

You can't learn how to kick as good as a kid who learned those kicks at 10 years old and continued to do them.

Like a guy who learned wrestling at a young age will have an edge for the rest of his life

We now see a lot more kids starting at 5 years old to do BJJ and they surely be heads and shoulder above the others who will start in their 20's
 
Jimmy H said:
It seems like its a mixture of karate and kickboxing.
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Interesting piece, thanks for that video but it doesn't really answer my question - is it still Karate or not anymore? When did it stop being Karate?

If we take the "old masters" approach (who went to China and Japan to cross-train anything they could get their hands on) then hell yeah it's Karate. Karate is anything that you add to your Karate base and utilize. But that sounds a lot like MMA...
 
Hotora86 said:
Open question to all my Karate sherbros: do you think I should classify fighters training in Tiger Schulmann MMA (formerly known as Tiger Schulmann Karate) as Karate fighters?

For those unfamiliar:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Schulmann
http://tsk.com/

Schulmann began training in the martial arts in kyokushin karate at the age of 6 in New York City. He trained and competed throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and internationally in Japan and Israel. As an adult, he has trained in grappling, boxing, kickboxing, and other martial arts disciplines. Schulmann was the North American Mas Oyama Full-Contact Karate Champion for six consecutive years (1979–1984).

After completing his career as a fighter, he opened his first training center in 1984, known as United American Karate, in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Over time the name of his style changed first to Tiger Schulmann's Karate (TSK) and then finally to what it is known today, Tiger Schulmann's Mixed Martial Arts (TSMMA).
Click to expand...

Does it matter what you call it? Just semantics.
 
Hotora86 said:
Open question to all my Karate sherbros: do you think I should classify fighters training in Tiger Schulmann MMA (formerly known as Tiger Schulmann Karate) as Karate fighters?

For those unfamiliar:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Schulmann
http://tsk.com/

Schulmann began training in the martial arts in kyokushin karate at the age of 6 in New York City. He trained and competed throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and internationally in Japan and Israel. As an adult, he has trained in grappling, boxing, kickboxing, and other martial arts disciplines. Schulmann was the North American Mas Oyama Full-Contact Karate Champion for six consecutive years (1979–1984).

After completing his career as a fighter, he opened his first training center in 1984, known as United American Karate, in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Over time the name of his style changed first to Tiger Schulmann's Karate (TSK) and then finally to what it is known today, Tiger Schulmann's Mixed Martial Arts (TSMMA).
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Daniel Tiger Shulman started out as a KK guy like GSP. Then Ultimate Fighter came out, and he switched his marketing campaign.
 
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