Indigenous martial arts styles are important to every country. But to the Thai people, the art of Muay Thai holds special significance. You see, when invading Burmese troops took them over, a Muay Thai practitioner by the name of Nai Khanom Tom gave them hope by defeating multiple Burmese fighters in front of the invaders' king (and likely a pretty substantial crowd).
Interestingly, the king was so impressed that he granted the Thai fighter both freedom and wives. Today, Tom's victory is celebrated on March 17 as "Boxer's Day," and the victories continue to be a source of pride for the Thai people.
Which leads us to the next point (the point of this post, actually). Starting on March 10th and going until the 17th, the World Thai Martial Arts Festival will take place in the city of Ayutthaya (in Ayutthaya Stadium, actually). It should be an interesting event considering how important Muay Thai is to the Thai people and their culture. In fact, for outsiders, to go to Thailand and not experience something significantly connected to Muay Thai would be to cheapen the experience.
For more information, check out the PR article below.
Relevant Articles
Anderson Silva- Thai Specialist in MMA
World Thai Martial Arts Festival taking place in Ayutthaya originally appeared on About.com Martial Arts on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 18:18:22.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
Former PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix Champion Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has had a pretty difficult time since transitioning over to the UFC. Part of the problem has seemed to be the sheer size of the people he's been taking on. Think about it: Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo, Junior Dos Santos, and what had almost been a fight against Ben Rothwell.
Almost, of course, being the keyword here. You see, a Croatian site by the name of Dnevnik.hr originally reported that Pat Barry would take on Cro Cop at UFC 115. Though that report was taken down, MMAFighting.com is indicating that a source has told them that the report was accurate (though it is not official at this time).
This could be an interesting match up. Barry comes from a kickboxing background like Cro Cop. He's great on his feet. The difference between him and Cro Cop's previous UFC opponents is that the two are pretty close in size (Cro Cop is actually taller).
Get ready for a striking battle.
Relevant Articles
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic Biography
Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic vs. Pat Barry At UFC 115 originally appeared on About.com Martial Arts on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 18:18:05.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
With the signing of State Representative Marlin Schneider's new bill, the state of Wisconsin has taken a big step toward making sure that the majority of martial arts instructors get to keep their good name. And much more importantly, by taking steps to make sure that sexual predators do not end up teaching martial arts to children, they've made a decision to keep their kids safe.
"There have been a number of cases across the country - including Wisconsin - where martial arts instructors have taken sexual advantage of the children under their charge," Schneider said according to a WTAQ.com article. And because of this, Schneider's new bill, which was signed by Governor Jim Doyle, requires that martial arts instructors be licensed by the state.
This should go a long way toward protecting students and the good name of the far majority of outstanding instructors out there.
New Wisconsin Law To Keep Martial Arts Instructors With Sex Crimes In Their Past From Teaching originally appeared on About.com Martial Arts on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 07:33:02.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
Okay, when Brock Lesnar acted like a WWF personality after defeating Frank Mir at UFC 100, many fans just couldn't stand the disrespect. If Mir had been angry about the whole thing, it certainly would have been understandable. But now Mir has gone a step too far, which isn't standard fare for him by any means. You see, in an interview with Mark Madden on WXDX radio he went on to say the following:
"I'd rather go ahead and say what's on my mind than to sit there and come up with some PC 'Oh, the guy is a great fighter and I have a lot of respect for him.' If I don't mean it, why is it even coming out of my mouth? ... I want to fight Lesnar. I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries. That's what's going through my mind."
Whoa. That's crazy to say on another level. What Mir just did was both hype a possible fight- if he's able to defeat Shane Carwin at UFC 111- and make himself into a possible villain. Though admittedly, even with the aforementioned, he still may have a ways to go before he catches the Lesnar-villain train in the eyes of the public.
Relevant Articles
Frank Mir Looking To Break Brock Lesnar's Neck In The Ring originally appeared on About.com Martial Arts on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 16:19:31.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
We've seen it before- the young buck wanting to make a name for himself against a legend. In case you were wondering, the young buck at UFC 110 was Cain Velasquez. The legend was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. And here's how their fight tonight went down.
Early on, Velasquez connected with some nice kicks to the legs. Nearing the four minute mark, he hit home with a flurry that connected beautifully. Then came the leg kicks again. Basically, Velasquez just started putting on a striking clinic. But Nogueira would come back, right?
Wrong. A left, right, left combination floored Nogueira. Then Velasquez followed him to the ground and finished things off with several big punches.
What a dominating performance. Velasquez sure is the real deal.
Cain Velasquez defeats Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by KO at 2:20 of round one.
More Articles
Cain Velasquez KO's Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira In Dominating Fashion originally appeared on About.com Martial Arts on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 00:37:03.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
Before taking on Michael Bisping at UFC 110, Wanderlei Silva said, "I want to punish him; I want to cut his face; and I want to hurt him." Well, that just about sums things up. Here's how it went down.
Early on, Bisping gained a takedown that Silva got right back up from. Another takedown just seconds later met the same fate. Some time later, Bisping gained another takedown that was short lived. However, he then connected nicely as "The Axe Murderer" got to his feet. Beyond that, throughout the round Silva landed nice leg kicks and some timely punches (Bisping also hit home with one nice right hand and some strikes). That said, Silva ended the round with a solid flurry.
Hard round to call.
Early in the second, Silva caught a kick by Bisping and swept his leg, taking him to the ground. From there, "The Axe Murderer" connected with some nice ground and pound before getting up. Silva then landed a couple of nice rights before Bisping took him down hard. As had become customary, Silva got back up soon after. Pretty even stand up until the end of the round, when Bisping took Silva down. However, Silva had a deep guillotine sunk in on him at the bell. It was one of those that might've stopped the fight had the bell not sounded.
Therefore, Silva won the second round.
The third stanza saw Silva connect with lots of nice low kicks and some timely punches early on. Then Bisping started using his hands effectively. But Silva came forward with his trademark ferocity toward the end of the stanza, and connected with a big time right that dropped his opponent just before the bell . Though Bisping had recovered, the ground and pound punches were still raining down at the end for "The Axe Murderer."
Silva should take this fight home based on the final two rounds. And the judges agreed with this assessment.
Wanderlei Silva wins via unanimous decision.
More Articles
Wanderlei Silva Defeats Michael Bisping Via Unanimous Decision originally appeared on About.com Martial Arts on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 00:17:14.
Permalink | Comment | Email this