One of the most popular martial arts in the world is karate. Many top MMA fighters have karate training, and they incorporated that into their fighting style. Karate has been a key component of fighting styles for most fighters since UFC’s inception and will likely continue to be so in the future, however, is karate effective in MMA?
Karate is effective in MMA, particularly when it’s combined with other martial arts techniques. When fighters are on their feet, karate is a powerful fighting and striking technique, though the fundamental component of MMA, the grappling and clinching, cannot be learned by karate alone.
Karate-inspired attacking techniques can be seen at very professional levels in MMA.
It has been a powerful and useful fighting technique for mixed martial arts. However, when employed in MMA, its methods and strikes have limitations. When is karate useful in MMA, and when can you expect to see fighters employ karate moves?
Karate comes into play and becomes effective in MMA when the fighters are standing while fighting. Its fighting methods are intended for close-quarters combat. Some MMA competitors use karate punches, kicks, and blocks when the fight is on the ground.
Karate practitioners are masters in blocking and launching blows. It is a fantastic tool for any situation that involves punches, kicks, knees, elbows, and blocks of these attacks. Over ten of the best MMA fighters have a karate background and they infuse those styles in their contemporary fights.
If you are a karate fan, you can’t help but note some karate moves that MMA fighters have used. Connor McGregor makes use of a wide-karate stance in most of his fights, while being light on his feet he delivers cunning kicks and punches making his opponents second guess his fluid moves.
Bas Rutten, one of the most admired fighters in MMA history holds a fifth-degree black belt in Kyokushin karate and a second-degree black belt in Shintai karate. Fighters are seen using the karate Kempo style to move fast and land powerful punches on their opponents.
Fighters like Kyoji Horiguchi hold a second-degree black belt in Shotokan karate and have been seen many times incorporating these moves in his fights. MMA competitors have been seen to apply karate in their various fights, and that’s because karate is effective in MMA.
Is karate used in MMA?
In MMA, karate is accepted, and is used. Although many martial arts use methods that are prohibited, the UFC does not have a ban on any martial art. Karate is used in MMA, over nine of the best fighters in MMA, all have karate backgrounds, and they incorporate karate styles in their fights.
Traditional Karate’s focus is on conflict and self-defense, but it also emphasizes mental and moral development for the whole person. Therefore, the UFC often accepts Karate’s passive types of movement (although questionably effective).
Numerous additional karate-inspired martial art attacks have evolved thanks to these purportedly defensive characteristics, approaches, movements, and techniques. Examples include Kudo, Kempo, and many others.
There are two major karate techniques MMA fighters who have never lost a match use. Kyokushin and Shotokan are the two forms of karate practiced by MMA. competitors who have never lost a match. Regardless, all styles of karate have their pros and cons if used in an MMA competition or match.
The Shotokan, Kyokushin, Goju-Ryu, Shito-Ryu, Shorin-Ryu, and Wado-Ryu are the six primary karate styles practiced today and each of them has its benefits and drawbacks.
- Shoto, which means “pine wind,” and kan, which means “place,” are two separate kanji that combine to form the word Shotokan, just like in the case of Karate. Strong, deep stances and linear, powerful techniques are hallmarks of Shotokan karate. The majority of American karate clubs teach this style.
- Karate in the Shorin-Ryu style In the Shorin-Ryu style of karate, equilibrium of the body and mind is highly emphasized.
- The Japanese word for Kyokushin Karate is “absolute truth.” This form of karate is violent.
- The foundation of Goju-Ryu karate is the complementing idea of harsh and soft. Students are taught tactics like landing solid blows with closed fists and soft ones with open hands. The Karate Kid movie series included Goju-Ryu with a focus on honor, ethics, and the precise Crane Kick maneuver.
- In the 1920s, Kenwa Mabuni founded Shito-Ryu Karate, which is still among the most well-liked styles in Japan today.
- The Japanese word for “way of harmony” or “harmonious path” is “Wado-Ryu Karate.” Hironori Otsuka established this style of Japanese karate in 1939, which included some aspects of jiu-jitsu. Wado-Ryu concentrates on fending off assaults.
MMA fighters who use karate
The ideal karate style for MMA fighting is the subject of a lengthy discussion. These MMA fighters use karate and they hold the record for “no-loss” matches. They apply two out of six primary karate styles practiced today.
Georges St-Pierre, a Canadian former professional mixed martial artist regarded as one of the best MMA fighters with a “no-loss” record, practices Kyokushin karate. He started learning Kyokushin Karate at the early age of seven.
Lyoto Machida is an MMA fighter who uses the Shotokan style. A UFC legend. He gave an MMA demonstration of how deadly effective karate can be. His fighting style is mostly based on Shotokan karate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He also combines techniques from wrestling and sumo which makes him fully prepared for any situation in the Octagon, he often says.
Is karate effective in MMA?
Karate is effective in MMA and fighters who use karate techniques are gifted, they’re able to pick and add other martial art styles to their fighting techniques. Mixed Martial arts stem from a variety of fight systems and techniques, but it is worthy of note that karate is a driving force behind most of the very best MMA fighters.
In contemporary MMA, karate can be seen used in combat by various fighters. Though not as frequently as in some other combat arts, karate techniques are frequently used by competitors in the UFC, for instance.
Karate matches favorably with Mixed Martial Arts and complies well with the laws of the sport. It brings unconventional striking, swift motions, angles, and excellent precision to the table. Karate-trained MMA competitors are experts at advancing to land a strike and retreat without taking damage.
The difference between karate and MMA
Karate and mixed martial arts are two distinct fighting styles that have little in common. MMA is a combat style that incorporates striking, grappling, and ground fighting. Karate, on the other hand, is a self-defense technique that emphasizes combining hand and leg attacks.
Most karate techniques emphasize sparring with the attacker while using great levels of speed, technique, and precision to defeat them. It contains a variety of techniques and forms, some of which involve the fundamentals of grappling, as well as elbow and knee strikes.
MMA is the most adaptable style and is frequently regarded as the best for self-defense.
Fighters who practice the martial art of karate learn to strike with all of their limbs. A style of karate determines the precise quantity and kind of techniques that trainees learn. However, the majority of present-day karate dojos prioritize hand and leg punches and techniques like:
- Inverted punch: (rising punch, hook, uppercut, jab, scissors punch, flat fist, open, etc.)
- Kicks: (front kick, side kick, roundhouse kick, jumping kick, foot sweep, etc.)
- Elbow (forward elbow, downward elbow, back elbow, side elbow, forward elbow, etc.)
- Blocking methods and dozens of various stances
The most adaptable combat sport, mixed martial arts (MMA) includes a wide variety of grappling, ground fighting, and striking methods. Four different martial arts are where MMA athletes draw the majority of their methods from:
- Boxing (footwork, upper body movement, blocks, punching combos)
- Thai boxing (advanced kicks, fighting in the clinch using elbows and knees)
- Wrestling (takedowns and top control on the ground)
- BJJ (positioning on the ground, joint locks, and chokes)
Final words
Karate is effective in MMA, especially when it’s combined with other martial arts techniques. When fighters are on their feet, karate is a powerful fighting and striking technique. A fundamental component of MMA, grappling and clinching, cannot be learned by karate alone. Nevertheless, karate provides a solid foundation for learning MMA.
The most effective martial art in MMA is wrestling, which is practiced by almost half of all UFC champions. The second-best martial art in MMA, BJJ, likewise emphasizes grappling. The most efficient hitting style in MMA is Muay Thai, which also teaches clinching to competitors.