Foot Fist Way

Jet Li Comes Out of Retirement

cwcanedy — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:19:04 +0000

Four years ago, Jet Li announced that Fearless would be his last wuxia film. Well, IGN is reporting that Li is doing his best Jordan impersonation and coming out of retirement to star in a remake of New Dragon Gate Inn, a 1992 flick starring Tony Leung Ka-fai and Donnie Yen (of recent Ip Man fame). Filming is reported to begin in September. Stay tuned.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum Review

cwcanedy — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:52:35 +0000

The MMA world's reaction to the tap heard 'round the world courtesy of Edvard Munch's "The Scream"

He only tapped once. It was if he didn’t even know how.

The Roundup

cwcanedy — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:08:23 +0000

Here’s a couple of articles to pass the time:

Bloody Elbow’s Kid Nate has a timely piece on Kamal Shalorus’s Iranian wrestling background proving, once again, that growing up on a farm works just as well in Iran as the United States for developing wrestling skills. Somewhat shockingly, Shalorus (a wrestler) has become a fan favorite, “thanks to his unique blend of truly world-class freestyle wrestling and punching power unencumbered by things like technique or defense.” In other words, the Rashad Evans approach. (Ah, I kid Rashad).
Kid Nate’s latest Judo Chop post focuses on Mirko Filipovic’s axe kick on Pat Barry at UFC 115. As with most kicks, the set-up is sometimes more important than the kick itself and Fraser Coffeen’s analysis handles that aspect quite well.

Tong-Il Trailer Online

cwcanedy — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 22:59:34 +0000

A trailer for Tong-Il, the 2010 documentary on the 2007 North Korean Taekwondo tour in the United States, has found its way to Youtube. According to the official web site, the film is currently in the editing and post-production phase with an expected release in fall 2010.

UFC 115 Review

cwcanedy — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:36:10 +0000

Little Mac (Rich Franklin) knocks out Glass Joe (Chuck Liddell) to end the ice age with Steve Mazzagatti refereeing.

(I know Herb Dean actually refereed the fight).

Cung Le: I Am a Fighter

cwcanedy — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:25:10 +0000

Showtime released a fairly cool, short promotional video for Strikeforce: Fedor v. Werdum featuring Cung Le. In it, Le even briefly mentions his taekwondo background. Great success!

DREAM-Themed UFC Posters by OAE1985

cwcanedy — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:53:53 +0000

OAE1985 has created three excellent DREAM-themed UFC posters for UFC 115, 116, and 117. The UFC 115 poster is probably my favorite but all three are a big improvement over the UFC’s normal aesthetically deficient offering. Bravo.

Click the image for the enlarged version.

Is Machida Rampage Next?

cwcanedy — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:40:15 +0000

Following UFC 114, Dana White suggested that Rampage Jackson could be the next opponent for Lyoto Machida. I’d rather Machida fight Forrest Griffin if that’s possible but Rampage is certainly a winnable fight albeit one fraught with danger. With Evans v. Shogun up next, the next-in-line for a title shot could conceivably be one of seven people. Machida, Rampage, and Rogerio Nogueira are all coming off decisive losses or a controversial win in Nogueira’s case. Factor in Jon Jones’s meteoric rise, the sacrificial lamb that is Randy Couture, Anderson Silva’s possible move to LHW and Forrest Griffin’s recovery from surgery and it’s anyone’s guess as to who will fight the Evans-Shogun winner.

Eduardo Alonso, Shogun’s manager, offers his two cents: “We have great fights ahead of us . . . a rematch against Forrest Griffin, a fight against Anderson in the future, if it’s UFC’s wishes . . . . I would really like that Mauricio had a chance to fight against the legendary Randy Couture before he retires . . . .” There’s no way Griffin will be the top contender even with another victory and apparently, Anderson Silva will be fighting Vitor Belfort for the middleweight title after Silva’s defense against Sonnen at UFC 117. That leaves Randy Couture as the front-runner. Ugh.

UPDATE: Speaking of Evans-Shogun, Kid Nate has a fantastic post over at Bloody Elbow that captures my thoughts about the match-up nicely.

Hip Pain in Splits and Side Kick

cwcanedy — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:54:31 +0000

Dan Van Zandt, a sports therapist and frequent contributor at Martial Arts Planet Flexibility forum, posted an incredibly useful piece for people who have hip pain in splits and high side kicks on his blog. Here’s the good stuff:

The problem is caused by a lack of pelvic rotation, which is a common trait in people who start flexibility training or martial arts training in adulthood. The sticking sensation is certain ligaments resisting against abduction (spreading of the thighs) and the pain is the top head of the femur (thigh bone) jamming into the acetabulum (hip socket). Rotating the pelvis permits proper alignment of the hips so that the ligaments can relax (thus ceasing the resisting against abduction) and prevents the top head of the femur jamming into the acetabulum.

To rotate your pelvis properly, try tilting it forward (hip flexion). Point your groin to the floor and lift up your coccyx (tail bone) toward the ceiling. It might help to imagine that a rope is attached to the ceiling and it has been hooked into your [tail bone], pulling your butt upwards . . . .

His advice is the most common answer I’ve come across from people-in-the-know for those who have hip pain while trying to do the splits. Check out his blog for the rest of the post and other advice on flexibility.

UFC 114 Review

cwcanedy — Sun, 30 May 2010 05:19:57 +0000

Homer Simpson (Mike Russow) pushes an exhausted hobo (Todd Duffee) out of the ring.

From “The Homer They Fall,” season 8 episode 3 of The Simpsons:

Moe: Okay, punching isn’t your thing. But that’s okay. You’re not that kind of fighter. What you’re gonna do is stand there while your opponent gets exhausted from over-punching.

Homer: Then I can just push him over.

Moe: That’s right . . . .