Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul.-Aug. 2014 | Page 218

Kali Academy, you would be trained as a complete fighter.
You had to know how to fight in all of the ranges of
combat, to flow from Thai Boxing and Savate for stand
up, then to Jiu-Jitsu for the ground, and back up to Wing
Chun for trapping, then to Kali or Escrima for weapons.
The idea of being like water, and being able to conform
to an empty cup, is much like the idea of being picked up
and dropped off in the meanest, nastiest, most
dangerous dark alley in the world.
Only by adapting to the situation will you be able
to survive any kind of street fight that might occur,
be it standing, ground, weapons, or mass attack.
In 1993 UFC was introduced to the world. At
that time there were no weight classes and no
time limits. We saw individual styles matching
up with each other: boxing vs. wrestling, JiuJitsu vs. Kickboxing, Karate vs. Judo. In
almost every case, the conflict boiled down
to strikers vs. grapplers. By 2010, UFC
has blown up on a global scale, and
MMA is the world's fastest growing
sport. Weight classes and timed rounds
have been introduced, and martial
artists now understand the necessity
of having a simultaneous striking and
grappling game. When we watch
Lioto Machida in the octagon, we get
a chance to see Contemporary JKD
principles exhibited at their highest
level. Machida uses his attributes of
footwork,
distancing,
line
familiarization,
and
spatial
relationship to set up and attack his
opponent. He does not stand in the
pocket and try to trade blows or
block punches. Lioto understands
the MMA Fighting structure essentially Thai Boxing standing up,
and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu on the ground.
Lioto knows that his opponents aren't
going to crouch in a low stance and
approach him with a cocked reverse
punch - the way his fellow traditional
Karate stylists would. Instead, they
will be up on their toes using boxers'
footwork and launching jabs and
crosses. He knows that his opponents
are not going to be launching side kicks
to the head, instead they will be doing
Thai round kicks. He also knows that at
any time, his opponent has the option of )