Anderson Silva Fights Like Whoa

Mastery often makes a difficult task look easy. Anderson Silva dispatches his opponents fluidly, routinely, and authoritatively. When I watch Anderson Silva fight, I can’t help it – I have to say WHOA!

“The Spider” is an MMA fighter for UFC, but comes from a Muay Thai and Jujutsu background. Silva is an amazingly well rounded fighter. He has an extensive reach that usually puts him 2-3 inches outside of his opponent. He is most well known for his explosive striking, but is also very impressive on the ground.

When watching Silva, I can’t help but be impressed by his calm and collection. His natural body language is the same in the ring as it is outside, and there is no explosive increase in zanshin when he fights. That’s because he is prepared at all times. Fighting for him seems as natural as riding a bike is for Lance Armstrong.

There is one important thing to remember for Silva – he makes many of his opponents look like amateurs. He goes up against the top mma fighters and swats them away. Let’s take a TV time-out now, because I think a little video will show what I’m talking about:

He’s got awesome control of distancing and timing, and a lethal arsenal of techniques. But all of his talent and skill isn’t what makes me like him – it’s his personal demeanor. He shows a great deal of respect and honor to his opponents and to the establishment of combat. He bows and demonstrates Muay Thai ritual, not in a wannabe fashion, but as someone who has trained for a very long time and has ingrained those methods into his being.

Anderson Silva resembles a traditional warrior fighting in mma, and a lot of the other combatants should look up to him and follow his example.

**Spoiler Alert** – Silva’s latest knockout over James Irvin was another display of prowess. I won’t ruin the details for you, but SIlva dispensed of Irvin in short order. He proved something martial arts instructors have been preaching for years – a well placed technique, delivered with precision and power, can eliminate even the toughest opponents.

Karate on the Beach

I’m fortunate enough to find myself writing this post from Ocean City, Maryland. We are in a hotel called the Marigot and the accommodations have been stellar. During my stay here, I’ve ridden some waves (and been wiped out by some too), eaten some great seafood, and watched a bunch of people from our 11th story balcony. Is there anything more useful for a writer?

Yesterday, while chilling out on the balcony, I spotted two guys standing side by side…and bowing. I lifted a karate eyebrow and paid closer attention to them. Right before my eyes the two began performing kata seiunchin! I was pleased.

Allow me to apologize for not snapping any pictures of them, I was watching too closely to think of it at the time. It was actually a bold move on their part – they chose the middle of a crowded, public beach in the middle of the day to practice their karate. No doubt they were receiving some sidelong looks from people all around, but they proceeded anyway. Kudos to them.

Seiunchin is not practiced in my style of karate, but I’m familiar with it from my interactions with other martial artists and some of the video/book material I’ve encountered. It is an excellent kata utilized by styles such as Goju-Ryu and Isshin-Ryu.

As the two beach practitioners proceeded through the movements, I noticed the trademark deep stances and transitions used to undermine and off-balance opponents. Check out this video of Tatsuo Shimabukuro demonstrating the pattern -

As you can tell by Shimabukuro’s smooth movements, this kata can be done as mobile meditation, much like a tai chi chuan form; but it can also be “hardened” with more emphasis on hip movement and sharp strikes.

The strong sanchin dachi (stances) worked very well for the sand on the beach, as it did not dig the exponents in too hard, but provided a solid base.

The two beach karateka were helping improve each other’s technique, but I believe they were missing one very important part of training on the beach – the rhythm of their surroundings! Sensei Bill Hayes discusses beach training in his book My Journey With The Grandmaster and explains that Eizo Shimabukuro would use the sounds, sensations, and timing of the beach to adapt his kata. They would train the power of their kiai overtop waves and storms, and allow each step of their kata to be strengthened or relaxed by the flow of the waves.

Of course, the karateka I was watching couldn’t afford to rip kiai, lest they be escorted away by lifeguards. But I still think the point for them, for myself, and for anyone else considering beach training, is to try your best to forget the technique itself, and realize how it interacts with everything around you!

The Two Deadliest Fists of Karate

This is a big-secret-revealed kind of post. The question – What are the two deadliest fists of karate?

Is it the seiken, or two-knuckle fist?

That would be a good guess. The seiken is used very heavily in most karate styles and can be an utterly devastating weapon. But that is not one of the two.

Is it the shuto, or knife hand?

This technique is also very common and embodies karate’s empty handed nature. The ridge end of a shuto strike can often be found breaking boards and roofing tiles in exhibitions. Unfortunately, this is also not one of the deadliest fists.

It must be the ippon nukite, or single finger?

The ippon nukite uchi, or single finger strike, can be extraordinarily unpleasant when used properly. The Bubishi refers to it as the “one blade of grass hand,” and anything that poetic has to be good. Used for jabbing into vital areas such as the eyes, ippon nukite is formidable…but not one of the two deadliest fists.

So what are the two??

Distancing and Timing.

The dual fists of distancing and timing are more deadly than any hand or foot formation ever devised by man. Now, I know what you’re thinking – “Matt, you cheated. You didn’t tell us you were going to use metaphor.” That’s true, I did cheat a little bit. But we learned something about fists anyway, right?

Distancing and timing are such an effective combination that the fanciest flying kick and the most bulldozing punch are helpless against them.

A practitioner who properly utilizes distance is able to maintain a zone of safety around himself/herself by avoiding attacks and cutting angles. When that same practitioner uses timing, he can then evade and intercept attacks as they happen. A person who masters distancing and timing can place themselves at the perfect distance away to strike their enemy, while knowing how much their enemy must move to strike them back.

While in that perfect distance, the expert exponent of timing can read his opponents intentions of attack – when the decision of attack is made, when the body begins to move, and when the body finally executes a technique. A proper counterattack can be made while the opponent is making decisions, while they are initiating attack, while the attack climaxes, or while the attack recoils and the opponent prepares his next attack.

It becomes a matter of when, not if.

Much more on distancing and timing later…because they REALLY ARE that important.