Tag Archives: Bloody Elbow

Masahiko Kimura – God of War

by kidkimura

As you may have gathered from my choice in username, I am a huge admirer of the career of famous Judoka, Masahiko Kimura.

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Bloody Elbow have recently added him to their “Gods of War” series of articles, and I cannot recommend reading this enough. Most of you will have heard his name due to the arm lock respectfully named after him by the Gracie family, after he used the technique to break Helio Gracie’s arm in their famous grappling match. His influence on martial arts goes much deeper than this however, and many believe him to be the greatest Judoka ever to have lived

I discovered Masahiko Kimura years before being exposed to MMA, when trying to research my own families history. While he may not be a relative of mine, Kimura had always been an inspiration for me. Click here to read the article, his life and career were pretty amazing, and I’d be very surprised if you too don’t feel inspired.

MMA Origins: CHUTE BOXE!

by kidkimura

Bloody Elbow have just posted yet another article in their outstanding MMA Origins series, this one called Brazilian Vale Tudo Evolves as Chute Boxe Emerges.

It details the rise of Muay Thai in Brazil and it’s importance in the development of Vale Tudo, and specifically the early days of the famed Chute Boxe academy. There are some incredible videos in the article of some real classic wars.

So check it out and bask in the glorious violence of CHUTE BOXE!

MMA Origins on Bloody Elbow – Ken Shamrock

by kidkimura

It’s been a little while, but there’s a new MMA Origins article on Bloody Elbow. Entitled Ken Shamrock, The World’s Most Dangerous Man, it is unsurprisingly a look at the career of one of the most underrated legends of early MMA. Some people forget just how great Ken Shamrock was back in MMA’s infancy. People tend to remember his 3 one sided beat downs at the hands of Tito Ortiz (when he was WELL past his prime, yet still fighting in the UFC), instead of his wins over legends like Matt Hume and Bas Rutten (twice).

Yes he fought Dan Severn wearing pink speedos, but YOU try telling Ken Shamrock to change his pants.

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Even more MMA Origins!

by kidkimura

I know I posted about Bloody Elbow’s MMA Origins series yesterday, but they only went and published another article! The scoundrels!

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MMA Origins: UFC 1 is a Ronseal article if I ever did see one. It explores the circumstances in which the worlds number one MMA promotion was formed, and looks back at the legendary inaugural event.

I don’t know whether or not this will be their final article in the series, but I sincerely hope not. So if you’re reading this Bloody Elbow, get on it!

MMA Origins series on Bloody Elbow

by kidkimura

I’ve been pretty crappy at posting links to the MMA Origins as they’re posted, there’s been 3 since the last time I updated you chaps.

Birth of Japanese MMA takes a look at JMMA’s pro wrestling roots and the transition from predetermined bouts to full contact shoot matches.

Brazilian Warfare looks into the rivalry between BJJ and Luta Livre, and some of the goings on in the early days of the gracie legacy.

And finally, The Gracie Challenge Comes to California, surprisingly enough, is about BJJ’s pilgrimage from its homeland to California, where Rorion Gracie set up their American base.

Each of these articles has a load of cool pictures and videos for you to gawk at if you’re that way inclined. There’s also lots of other cool MMA history articles on there, but I can’t do all the work for you.

MMA Origins – American Experiments on Bloody Elbow

by kidkimura

Those of you that have been reading this blog for a while will know how much we love Bloody Elbow, in particular their “MMA Origins” series of articles.

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The latest instalment, American Experiments gives us a bit of the history behind early martial arts interest in the states and how it fitted in around the more established arts of freestyle wrestling and boxing. Of course there is the obligatory look into the infamous Inoki vs Ali match up, which is usually cited as the first ever mixed style fight. However it’s also nice to see them go into the earlier Gene LeBell fight against boxer Milo Savage.

Check it out, and feel its awesomeness absorb into your brain cavities.

New MMA Origins article on Bloody Elbow

by kidkimura

The fine chaps over at Bloody Elbow have posted a new article in their fine “MMA Origins” series. This one entitled “Catch Wrestling travels to Japan” tells the story of Karl Gotch, and how he influenced the Japanese pro wrestling scene, ultimately playing a major role in early Japanese MMA.

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This is a must read for any MMA fan, and it has some great links at the bottom for those looking to fill their noggins with a bit more history.

A Fighter Abroad by Brian Phillips

by kidkimura

Big thanks to Bloody Elbow for pointing this fine article out to us.

Brian Phillips is a sports writer for grantland.com who writes predominantly about football (soccer for you Yankee Doodles), but also upon occasion will write interesting little pieces about various other sports. His writing style is refreshingly entertaining and his knowledge and passion really show through everything he writes.

This article in particular tells the story of former American slave Tom Molineaux and his journey to England in the early 19th century to challenge champion prize-fighter Tom Cribb. The comparisons Phillips makes between those early pre-Queensbury days and modern combat sports are brilliant. It’s actually rather rare for a sports writer that doesn’t specialise in boxing or MMA to have such a solid understanding of what combat sports are truely about. The article is also incredibly well researched, and a very entertaining read. Well worth a few minutes of your time gents.

History of MMA trailer

by kidkimura

I saw this trailer yesterday on Bloody Elbow, and it looks like a really cool little documentary. The film seems to focus on the so-called ”Dark Ages” of MMA, when there were very few rules and most fighters only really trained in a single discipline.

This definitely looks like a must see film for any MMA fan, and as you can see from the trailer, there are some big names involved. We will hopefully let you fine chaps know when it’s out.

Monster mash!

by kidkimura

This is the kind of hilarious match up that old school PRIDE fans like us seriously love.

James “I lost to Kimbo Slice” Thompson is fighting Bob Sapp on March 11th in the headlining bout for new Indian MMA promotion Super Fight League. And if you didn’t think this was funny enough, have a look at this promotional picture.

Before this however, Sapp has the tall task of taking on Rolles Gracie on the second ONE FC card in February. Although he is only 5-1, Gracie’s only loss was in the UFC, to the highly respected Joey Beltran, he has submitted all of his other opponents in the first round. Plus, he’s a Gracie. Gotta love Asian MMA mis-matches!

Don’t get me wrong, I love Bob Sapp. The man is a total throwback from the days when you could be a huge success in Japan based almost entirely upon being freakishly huge and scary looking. And James Thompsons signature “gong and dash” start is a thing of legend. I can’t wait!

Thanks to Bloody Elbow for the image and info.