Who is your favorite martial artist and why?

& Do you have a favorite martial arts style?

 

Dan Inosanto. He doesn't appear to be slowing down despite being in his 60s/70s (?) and is a genuinely nice man. Same with Hee Il Cho. Both men represent my favourite arts: Kali and Taekwon-Do (I have little experience training in the former, but it is beautiful to watch).

 

Marcelo Garcia. Just makes black belts look like they have Parkinson's whenever he gets them to the ground.

 

My favourite Martial Artists wouuld have to be John Wayne Parr (Australia) and Buakaw (Thailand).

John Wayne Parr:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5G0XID3-6Y"]EXCLUSIVE ! John Wayne Parr: Blessed With Venom - YouTube[/ame]

Buakaw:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8v9UKw-BUk&feature=fvwrel"]Buakaw Amazing two legs - YouTube[/ame]

Both excellent in the MA of Muay Thai.

 

Definitely Guru Inosanto at the top. In addition the almighty Gene LeBell, Paul Vunak
(of course), Saulo Riberio, Royce Gracie, Erik Paulson, El Guapo, Jack Mcvicker...damn this could take a long time....

 

there is quite a lot really.

guro dan inosanto, ama guro jun de leon, gm antonio ilustrisimo, guro rommell espiritu, guro roland isla, gm ben lema, guro marc denny, gm momoy canete, adjarn apidej and a host of others.

rudimar fedrigo, mario sperry, etc.

i am a huge fan of kazushi sakuraba too.

 

there is quite a lot really.

guro dan inosanto, ama guro jun de leon, gm antonio ilustrisimo, guro rommell espiritu, guro roland isla, gm ben lema, guro marc denny, gm momoy canete, adjarn apidej and a host of others.

rudimar fedrigo, mario sperry, etc.

i am a huge fan of kazushi sakuraba too.

 

- looks around innocently -

steven seagal

- awaits a beating -

in all seriosness tho - I'm more about the movies, i don't watch too many pro fights and I know he's an entertainer more than a serious martial artist. but I'd have to say Jackie Chan. He's had the most influence on me as a martial artist because it was seeing his films as a young 'un that made me want to train.

 

Bruce Lee. He was the front runner. I also loved his 4 book fighting series and the TAO of Jeet Kune Do.

 

@Hannibal: For about two and a half seconds I was sure I saw Macguyver in your list.




Igor Kurinnoy, Fedor Emilianenko, Genki Sudo, Masakazu Imanari, Satoko Shinashi.

And Sambo's my favorite.

 

First I'd have to say Tatsuo Suzuki for getting me through my first exam.

Others would be Mikio Yahara, Saenchai sor Kingstar, Samart Payakaroon, Bruce Lee and Wong Shun Leung.

 

Whoops. Almost forgot Reilly Bodycomb.

Also, here is a video of Igor Kurinnoy sambo'ing people with crazy rolling shoulderlocks and bokovoys.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkzRw_ShOWU"]Igor Kurinnoy Sambo Highlights - YouTube[/ame]

 

my current favorite is roger gracie. all-time favorite is jigoro kano. both lists would be ridiculously long (as hannibal says), so i'm stopping it at one current and one all-time. lol.

 

Kazushi Sakuraba is my favourite martial artist.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAAgt6mGXIY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAAgt6mGXIY[/ame]

a close runner up would be Masahiko Kimura

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkDBflFtPIw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkDBflFtPIw[/ame]

honourable mentions are Muhammed Ali, Mirko Cro Cop, Toshihiko Koga, Mitsuyo Maeda, Rocky Marciano, Frank Gotch, Royce Graice I could go on for ages.

never done either for any great length of time, just dabbled, but it would be between Sambo and Catch wrestling for me. Out of arts I have done MMA though some people might not consider that a martial art in of its self.

 

Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee. Both men moved like dancers and had the hearts of poets.

 

Matt Teasdale (my instructor), Ron Balicki, Dan Inosanto. All of them are very well rounded and knowledgeable, yet still humble and willing to learn/revise their views.

My favourite art is Kali, provided it is practiced and applied with a good fighting attitude... I also love training in boxing/muay thai, wrestling and shoot fighting for ground work, but I view them as augments to my Kali!

 

you mean that kali can be practiced without a good fighting attitude?

 

I've seen some attrocious majorette twirling labelled 'kali' - youtube is the home of both sinners and saints!

 

I've wanted to study Kali for awhile but there are no qualified instructors near me.

 

everyone here knows mine.