Why does Karate Transitions Well into MMA?
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Karate, in any form, is a very popular martial art that has secured its place in modern MMA a long time ago. Even though people still argue over this, no one can deny we are seeing more and more karatekas doing well inside the cage. On top of that, some of these karate fighters have become UFC champs. If you doubt still, let our list of best karate fighters in MMA change your opinion.
However, have you ever asked yourself why they are doing so well in MMA? Or to be more specific, what makes them so good?
In this article, we will do a breakdown of the karate style in MMA and bring you the pros and cons.
Unique stance
Karate fighters use different types of stances, and we are not going to dig deep into that. What they do in MMA, however, is often standing sideways and switching their stances. If you are new to MMA and you see a fighter standing like this, be sure that he/she is coming from karate.
Standing in this stance has its own pros and cons, and not everyone should or can do it. This type of stance allows you to throw long range kicks with your lead leg like front kicks and sidekicks. And, it sets you up for firing some flashy spinning elbows, kicks, and back fists.
Karate fighters mix this type of stance with great footwork and linear movement which we are going to explain later.
Yet, standing sideways comes at a certain price. First of all, your lead leg stays open for leg kicks and single leg takedowns. But they are all well aware of this. You can see them using footwork and constant movement to stay out of range and opponent’s takedown attempts.
Footwork and movement
Footwork in karate differs from the ones in boxing or Muay Thai. First of all, karatekas are usually bouncing on their feet and moving in all directions. They can bounce from side to side or back and forward which may look confusing at first. And they are on the constant move.
This bouncy stance and movement allow them to move in and out really fast. Some fighters are really good at catching their rivals in transition before they are able to even set up their defense.
This type of footwork has its roots in the way they compete in karate. The format of karate competition is based on point fighting. The main goal is to only touch the rival to score a point and the action resets after every strike. So, they must know how to jump in fast to land a strike and move out without being hit back.
How does this transfer to MMA?
If you look at Wonderboy, he is always on the move, switching from side to side and throwing a lot of faints. He is constantly giving different looks to his rivals.
Thus, his opponents are always struggling to cut him off and timing their own entries. In some way, he is playing a cat and mouse game until he decides to pull the trigger first.
Karate fighters often attack in a blitz and when they time it well, it’s really hard to defend. What’s amazing, however, is the way they are moving forward while switching their stances in the middle of the attack. They usually follow this with a barrage of straight punches like Lyoto Machida used to do back in the day.
Keeping distance and explosive attacks
Point fighting in karate has a huge impact on how and why karate fighters are so good at keeping their distance in MMA. As said earlier, point fighting is all about moving in fast, landing a strike, and moving out.
The way you keep your distance in point fighting is very important because the opponent only needs to touch you to win a point. So you must keep your range all the time. And on top of that, you may not have a second chance so the timing and accuracy have to be perfect. So, how these transfers to MMA?
Well, it’s not fair to say that point fighting is great for MMA and that you should practice it before shifting to cage fighting. But, it has more than a few pros if you ask us.
In short, karate fighters will be on the move all the time, switching stances, bouncing around, and throwing kicks just to keep their distance. They will throw all types of faints and put their hands really low just to fool you to come in. Or, give you a false sense of security.
Once the opponent does that, they will explode from the outside and catch you with fast counter strikes with laser precision. We saw this scenario so many times in MMA, and it looks amazing. I mean, their timing is always perfect and the accuracy really high. All thanks to the point fighting system.
Kicks, lots of kicks
It’s fair to say that MMA fighters who have strong karate skills throw more kicks than punches. In fact, besides good footwork, kicks are their strongest weapon in MMA. They are always throwing all types of kicks, and do this for all types of reasons.
Above all, karate fighters use kicks to measure or keep their opponent at distance. We can often see them using sidekicks to the knee to stop their rival from coming in, or they will switch it to the midsection to back them off. They do the same with front kicks which they like to mix high and low.
Karate schools teach various kicks, some of which are not that useful for MMA even though they look so. However, there are still plenty of them that work in MMA and karatekas are more than happy to use them. Some of the most useful ones are:
Question mark kicks — this one is really effective because the opponent doesn’t see it coming. Karateka would first throw a leg kick or teep to get the opponent’s attention. Then, they will start throwing the same kick again but this time go high with it by rotating their hips inward and bringing their shin up to land on the side of the head.
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Tornado kick — this one is a bit complex and we don’t see it that often in MMA. Yet, there have been fighters landing it and even scoring a KO as Michael Page did against Ben Dishman.
Heel hook — this one has a couple of variations but most fighters throw it with the back leg in a spinning motion. It can generate a lot of power and do much damage simply because you are landing it with your heel. Some fighters throw it with a lead leg but this variation can’t generate as much power.
Front kick to the body/head — in recent years, we can see more and more non-karate fighters using this kick in MMA. Even though it does not looks powerful, it is not less useful than other kicks. Fighters use it to keep their distance or tire their opponent out by landing it to the body. Usually, they will throw a couple to the midsection before landing a hard one directly on the face.
Fainting and Hiding kicks with the punches
As said earlier, karate fighters attack in a blitz and they rarely misjudge their range or timing. But what they do really well is using faints to set up their kicks. If you look at Robert Whittaker or Stephen Thompson, their entire game is based on footwork and faints.
Once they pick up enough info, they will start picking you apart using various combos. And they are master in setting up head kicks with the punches.
Whether it is a simple jab or a barrage of straight punches, karatekas tend to always finish their combos with kicks. They will first throw a couple of punches to see whether you slip your head left, right, or do you leave yourself open on the way out.
Once they make that read, they will throw the same punch but this time come with a high kick behind. Robert Whittaker did this against Jared Cannonier and nearly knocked him out as you can see in the video below.
Things go to another level when you see them doing this while switching their stances in the middle of the attack. Even though this may look like a basic one-two leg kick combo, it isn’t. It’s some high-level display of skills.
They are all MMA fighters
Fighters coming from karate are really gifted athletes. They are able to pick and add other martial art skills on top of their karate base really fast. Even though some of them rely too much on karate skills, they all know how to defend against takedowns or submissions.
I mean, GSP, who has a strong background in karate, is known to be the most rounded fighter in the history of MMA. He has built his success on using all weapons.
For instance, find me one karate fighter in the history of the UFC who’s had bad takedown defense? Here is the average takedown defense of some of the best karate fighters in MMA history (ufcstats.com). keep in mind that these numbers may change over time:
Robert Whittaker — 84%
Chuck Liddell — 81%
Stephen Thompson — 78%
Lyoto Machida — 75%
George St. Pierre — 83%
Karate as a single weapon is not that useful in MMA against some other styles. But if you mix karate techniques with some other martial arts like wrestling or BJJ, they work really well together.
As a result, karate is a good base for MMA and it’s not a huge surprise to see their fighters reaching the pinnacle of MMA.
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