From someone who practiced karate for many years, Van Damme would not be successful in MMA without knowledge of other techniques, including kickboxing and grappling but its impressive that Van Damme actually competed on that level. Karate uses bare fists in their fighting, and focuse on strikes to the body and legs, not the head, unless its kicking....so knowledge of other tecniques is imperative
Karate is good but I don't think it is what it is now being hyped to be. It is a good base with some awkward footwork, good kicks etc Just like any martial art, it only translates into MMA if tweaked.
Machida started karate training under his Dad's tutelage at the age of 3. He started traing in Sumo at the age of 12 and even went to Japan to train. He started training in BJJ at age 15 and aquired a Black Belt in BJJ. He also traveled to Thailand and trained in Mui Thai. He saw Gracie in the early UFC shows and decided back then in the 90's when he was a teenager he wanted to be a MMA fighter. He is a complete MMA fighter with his earliest base martial art in Karate.
Chuck Zito kicked Van Damme's ass in a strip club in New York. Zito was in the bathroom, and Van Damme told another guy that "Zito has no heart" (lol). The guy told Zito, so Zito confronted him. Van Damme had a stripper sitting on his lap, so he got her to stand up and move away, and he theatrically took his glasses off and put them in his pocket. Van Damme stood up and got ready for action, and Zito rushed him and put him in a head lock and pounded his face until people pulled him apart. Van Damme wouldn't do interviews about it locally, instead he went to Europe, where he said that he slipped while throwing a kick or some **** like that. Zito did interviews about it and challenged anyone to talk to those who were there to prove that he was telling the truth. He even said he'd love to do it again, if Van Damme was willing.. Let's not compare Van Damme with Machida. I'm sure Van Damme knows Karate, but so do millions of other people around the world. He's a good looking guy who can do the splits and has the movie star action figure quality - and that's it.
So much stupid **** in this thread. First off, being a Belgian karate champion doesn't mean a hell of a lot in MMA. Look at all of the European national champs that don't do much in the UFC. Kampman wins on the ground. Siver gets stopped by guys like Guillard and gets out struck for two and a half rounds by Nate Mohr. I haven't heard anything about Van Damme's cred outside of Belgium, and not anywhere near what someone Norris had. The only thing he's proven to be is an actor, and one who's choreography is based way more on his ballet experience than his karate. Second, Machida's win shows that MACHIDA can use his karate as a bigger part of his base than anyone before him. THAT’S ALL. It’s not as if all of a sudden we open our eyes and there are a hundred karate fighters out there kicking ass that we’ve never noticed. Boxing, wrestling, Thai kickboxing etc are still BY FAR the most prevalent styles mixed out there today, and Machida is a very interesting anomaly. I suspect that there are a few guys out there who have the reflexes and timing to make that style work (Anderson Silva comes to mind) but mostly it works because Machida makes it work. Maybe now we’ll see the best karate fighters in the world step into mma and dominate? Wait, didn’t someone just try that? http://www.mma-extreme.com/?cat=407 UNDEFEATED KICKBOXING PHENOM TO MAKE MMA DEBUT AT “MELENDEZ VS. THOMSON” Former World Combat League superstar already touted as the next Cung Le SAN JOSE, Calif. — Following a spectacular, undefeated run in Chuck Norris’ World Combat League, 28-year-old kickboxing superstar, Raymond “The Real Deal” Daniels (0-0), will make his long-awaited mixed martial arts (MMA) debut when he takes on Jeremiah Metcalf (8-4) in a middleweight (185 lb. limit) battle at Strikeforce’s “Melendez vs. Thomson” mega-card at HP Pavilion on Friday. Already being hailed as the second coming of Strikeforce World Middleweight Champion, Cung Le, Daniels, recognized as the number one Sport Karate fighter in the world, holds a 6th degree black belt in Kenpo and Shotokan Karate as well as a 5th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He packs a thrilling, dynamic fighting style that is strikingly similar to Le, also a guru of traditional martial arts. Is he a champ yet? http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/raymond-daniels-34397 This content is protected Machida is a great fighter and could be champ for a long time, but it’s because he’s so good, not that all of a sudden every karate guys is a ****ing badass, and certainly not actors who once won a few matches in Europe.
VD got his ass kicked in a bar some years back by your standard run of the mill drunk. Besides, Karate dont work as effective as one might think in a street fight or otherwise, else wouldnt we see more practioners of the 'art' as world champions in the UFC or elsewhere?
