| I know there will be people who are going to | | | | the famous one strike one kill punch was a reality. |
| object to what I say, but I was there forty | | | | Heck, you see some vague hints of this type of |
| years ago, and I know the truth. The truth is that | | | | conditioning today. You see people who can break |
| forty years ago the karate fighters, students of | | | | thick stacks of bricks, boards, and what have |
| such arts as Shotokan and Wado Ryu and Uechi | | | | you. These people have touched upon the true |
| Ryu, and especially Kyokushinkai, could have taken | | | | power that fanatic, dedicated training can result in. |
| today's MMA gladiators apart quickly and easily. | | | | The only MMA fighter in recent years who |
| There are quite a few reasons for this, and I will | | | | showed any touch of the degree of mental |
| outline one main reason here. | | | | toughness required for true Karate, a fellow name |
| Before I tread where fans don't know about...let | | | | of Luke, was shown pounding gently but doggedly |
| me say that yesterdays culture was drug free, | | | | upon boulders with his hammerfist. In the ring, he |
| full of physical cultists, and we had our share of | | | | showed a persistence and determination above |
| martial maniacs. We did things that today's martial | | | | his fellow competitors. More important, he showed |
| artists would not dare to do. All of the things that | | | | a fist that overcame any lack of ability and |
| were done were done with fanaticism and | | | | threatened to destroy an opponent easily, if he |
| dedication far beyond that shown by todays UFC | | | | had just concentrated his training in that direction |
| fighters. | | | | for any year or so. |
| One of the most important things was that we | | | | Have you heard of Mas Oyama, or other old |
| didn't stop our training and do something else just | | | | martial artists? They would stand under freezing |
| because we might get tired. Cross training was | | | | waterfalls in the dead of winter, commanding their |
| something you did for fun, go hiking with the | | | | bodies to an enduring toughness that would be |
| fellows, or something like that. No, if we were | | | | frightening to today's fighters. In Mas Oyamas |
| going to have the toughest strikes we would just | | | | case, he disabled or outright killed half a hundred |
| stay in the dojo and pound the fist against the | | | | snorting, steaming bulls, and I haven't heard of |
| makiwara, and know that when training got tiring | | | | any MMA fighters dispatching any bulls lately. |
| was when the fists got tougher. | | | | You think that grappler is tough? If you train with |
| Toughening the fists, contrary to today's scared | | | | the dedication and fanaticism of old time fighters |
| cat take out lots of insurance types, was done | | | | in such arts as Uechi, or Wado, or Isshin, or |
| with relentless dedication. We would hit soft, but | | | | Shotokan, then you would know that today's |
| continually, taking the time to massage the fist | | | | grappler is nothing compared to stepping into a |
| and flicking it to keep the energy from locking up. | | | | ring with a live and snorting old bull. And the only |
| Eventually the fist, without becoming injured or | | | | way to deal with those old bulls was to knock the |
| insensitive, would become so hard and tough that | | | | horns off them, or just kill them outright. |