Brendan Schaub is one of the fastest rising heavyweights in the sport today. He made a name for himself on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, when he was the second pick of friend, training partner, and season-coach Rashad Evans. A former football tight end, Schaub finished all three of his opponents on the [...]
It?s a good week to be an MMA fan. On Friday, we?ll be getting one of the better-looking Strikeforce ?Challengers? events in quite some time. Then on Sunday (which traditionally means the start of a new week, but let?s not split hairs) we get ?UFC on Versus 5?, which is loaded with stars and seems [...]
“Be like water, making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. “Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes [...]
Welcome back, it?s now time for the third and final entry for the first day of my special two-day six-part series entitled ?A Closer Look At UFC On Versus 5?. I?ve already spent time covering all eight preliminary Facebook fights, part 1 is right here and part 2 is here. Now it?s time to dive [...]
Keiko Fukuda is still vibrant and alert at 98 years old, but simply surviving this long isn't on the top of her list of achievements.
The Sensei is an accomplished martial artist. In fact, she's one of only 16 people to ever earn a 10th-degree black belt in the combat sport of Judo. Last week, she became the first woman to be promoted to Judo's highest ranking. Through hard work and persistence, she's overcome a sexist ranking system in the world of martial arts.
Fukuda first discovered Judo in 1935 and by 1951 she was a fifth-degree black belt. She stayed there until the early '70s.
"The Kodokan was old fashioned and sexist about belts and ranks," Fukuda said (0:50 mark). "They just decided women didn't need any ranks over fifth degree. I was fifth degree for 30 years. This was the Kodokan's sexism."
Fukuda still teaches Judo three days a week. She's devoted her life to the discipline.
"All I did was Judo...this was my marriage," Fukudo reflected tearfully. "This is when my life destiny was set. I just never imagined how long this road would be."
Believe it or not, Fukuda worked under Kano Figura, the founder of Judo. Figura, born in 1860, took Fukuda under his wing as the martial art introduced a women's division.
Judo is one of the many bases behind mixed martial arts. Some of the top judokas in MMA include Karo Parisyan (first-degree black belt), Yoshihiro Akiyama (third-degree black belt) and Dong Hyun Kim (fourth-degree black belt)