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Happy Wednesday, kids! Still high off the buzz from that steller UFC PPV? Great! Keep that same energy, because there’s not much star power for another few weeks. Yay! Things are less impressive again!
However, there is a cool KSW card this weekend. But we don’t have to wait to see some bonkers action when we can check out some wild martial arts antics and lovely fringe exploits right here, right now.
And before we do that, just want to take the opportunity once again to thank all of you for your continued support. If you’ve considered becoming a member/subscriber and haven’t done so yet, go ahead and pull the trigger on it. We’ll keep trying to give you our best and a ton of exclusives, and you get to be part of the most fun community in combat sports and martial arts. It’s a great trade!
OK YUMRUK
I warned you in the comments last time, and you should’ve listened. There is only one martial art that will put hair on your chest. Man or woman, your voice will deepen and the pained howls of the ancients yearning to breathe again travel through you. Most martial arts can be contained, but not this one. The battle cry stirs within you, and it must be released in a manner that burns your lungs. And that battle cry is OK YUMRUK.
That’s right, bitch. It’s Turkish Karate™ hours, and the sands of time are not merciful.
Quick primer for the unfamiliar: this is called Sayokan. It’s a Turkish martial art that looks a lot like Karate. That’s all you need to know in terms of what’s happening here.
And honestly? It mostly looks great! A lot of this looks efficient or cool, sometimes both. Nothing too crazy here. Would it be my personal go-to if I’m looking for something involving self-defense? Fuck no, but that’s fine. Same could be said for other arts that are still worth exploring.
So my qualms aren’t exactly with some of what’s presented in terms of technique, but holy shit… there’s some real oddball shit going on here in only the best schlocky 80s/90s way possible. Because this vid is actually pretty damn cool.
Get past the initial stances, and you start to see the square chart in the middle of the mat. This is to emphasize the importance of footwork and positioning. Then it gets added to the stances that he starts the video with. That combination is then demonstrated in a few scenarios with counterattack options, and this is some pretty solid old-school martial arts instruction.
OK YUMRUK.
Now watch the shit in practice. First, a kick gets blocked.
Then, a sleeve and collar drag to the right.
Establish range to release and attack. Twice.
As goofy as the instructor may look, there’s some real quality shit here, man. It’s refreshing to see some genuinely well-made martial arts instructionals like that in the waters I tend to navigate in. Especially out of Turkey, because there’s always some goofy shit happening there. I’m used to stuff like Turkish Bruce Lee.
Oh wait… you guys never heard of Turkish Bruce Lee?
Check this scene out. Dude literally jumps out of a fucking tree to fight a guy throwing wimpy little frogman punches.
Turkish Bruce (Bruçe?) deftly catches the punch and the two share a moment where they stare into each other’s eyes. One wonders if they’ve in fact ever explored each other’s bodies. I sure as hell hope so.
Bruce engages in the time-honored martial arts tradition of misdirection, playing “made you look” with the red-shirted dope.
“Bruce” gets taken down with a Judo throw that ends with the throwee kind of sliding off on his own. Bruce gets up and gets taunted, the red shirt guy throws another punch that gets parried. Bruce counters with Dragon Whips It’s Tail.
OK YUMRUK, MOTHERFUCKER.
Dude ends up licking his wounds on the ground as he gets consoled and roasted by the onlookers, while Bruce hits him with the “I heard you was talking shit” talk. Really hope Turkey never stops being so weird and cool when it comes to martial arts content.
Hellbows, baby
Not much to say other than this: don’t blink. Some of these are sneaky, some of them are loud. They’re all devastating. Check out this batch of Muay Thai elbow knockouts.
Sibling Supremacy
Check out the Abes. They’re a pair of siblings doing amazing things in the Judo world, and more menacing than the Lutece Twins. Another banger from Judo Highlights, who manages to give a nice comparison between the two.
Lethwei frenzy
I’m gonna warn you up front, this isn’t the most technical martial arts display you’ll see all day. Or all week. International Lethwei Federation Japan had this one in the vault and it’s nuts. Hope you like spinning stuff and dramatic violence.
More Muay Thai elbows!
We’ll finish off the week with the one and only Nathan Corbett. Muay Thai Scholar has a collection of some of his most amazing elbow finishes, and what made him so effective with the technique. Another lovely tribute to a certified legend.
That’s the end for this week, kids. Have fun and go play some Far Cy 6 or something. It’s genuinely amazing, a true course correction for the series. And remember – you might think you can fight, but there are many guys like you all over the world.
Bloody Elbow excels at covering fight-related nonsense like this. We do it for the eyeballs and the ad revenue and to amuse our loyal audience who appreciates that nonsense is a big part of the combat carnival.
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