Actually, Liddell's instructor, John Hackleman was a student of Walter Godin, a Kajukenbo stylist under Adriano Emperado. Hence the term "Hawaiian Kempo", not American Kenpo. Kajukenbo contains quite a bit of western boxing, and judo, and jujitsu. When I see Chuck fight I see the hands of a boxer, instead of the open hand slaps and checks found in some of the other kenpo systems. But of course no one can train in just one martial art and compete well under MMA rules. The training has to emphasize techniques that would be successful within the limitations of the MMA rules.
Exactly. Also, the fact that there are so many different styles of Kenpo makes this a difficult issue to say just a straight yes or no. Still, though, I think that no one style is effective alone in MMA; someone interested in MMA should have at least some training in multiple Martial Arts.
Chuck Liddell, IMO, does not fight anything like a boxer. Boxing is about throwing tight short hooks and straight jabs and crosses from a high. Liddell throws crazy loopy punches, and keeps his hands low. I don't understand what it is, but Liddell's punches are most certainly not boxing.
Wow what a train wreck of a thread. First of all Liddell does Hawaiian KeMpo not Kenpo. Second, people who claim their system is a "street" system are people who are copping out of admitting having ineffective training. To argue that MMA is limited yet also agree that crosstraining is necessary to broaden your horizons in order to be successful in MMA is illogical. Kempo is not effective in MMA because of this... http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=34416 Skip to the last page to get the most current discussion on the issue. But the basic crux of the problem is that MMA is a sport that calls for addressing how to overcome a skilled and prepared opponent in all ranges of combat, while Kempo espouses kata and pre-choreographed SD techniques that account for overcoming an opponent who is not expecting much of a fight.
While some of you were close about Chucks "Hawaiian Kempo" heres the word staright from the the "Pitmaster." In 1985, when I moved from Hawaii to California, I switched it from Kaju Kenbo to Hawaiian Kempo. I added some things to it, took away some things and started calling it Hawaiian Kempo. I took out the katas and the forms and I threw in more natural fighting techniques and conditioning. Now that’s my style. Like if you see Chuck (Liddell) with the tattoo on his arm, that’s the logo for my school." Hackleman says back in the ‘90s other martial artists began calling their style Hawaiian Kenpo, but he is the only instructor to spell his Hawaiian Kempo with an ‘m’. In Japanese, the letters ‘m’ and ‘n’ have the same symbol, so the art can be spelt either way. John has been spelling his art as Kempo since 1985. "Ours is a little more hardcore. In Hawaiian Kenpo they still do forms and stuff like that. When you see the guys such as Chuck fighting, that’s Hawaiian Kempo. Mine has always been a mixed martial art ever since I started it."
Here is an Ak guy in a cage match... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdLsxLboLzg"]Kenpo guy in a cage fight - YouTube[/ame]
....Keep your damned hands up! God why do Ke?po guys like to drop their guard? 5 minutes sparring any decent boxer puts that right in perspective.
Yes, he did keep his hands down a lot....and if the other fighter was half as good at striking, he could have done some damage to the Kenpo guy. However, dropping of one's guard during stand up is not specific to just Kenpo/Kempo stylists....its everyone and anyone regardless of fighting style that lacks in proper training. Just means eventually if he keeps his hands down, he'll learn the hard painful way of why keeping his guard up is important
