WebProNews

Tag: Martial Arts

  • Ronda Rousey Says Fighting A Man Would Hurt The Sport Of MMA

    Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey is running out of opponents to fight.

    The UFC bantamweight champion has easily dispatched all that have been pitted against her, often within just minutes into the first round.

    She stopped Cat Zingano with an acrobatic armbar in just 14 seconds in UFC 184.

    It has come to the point that people are speculating who can even put up a good fight against Rousey. Some have even come up with hypothetical debates, like who would win between Rousey and undefeated Floyd Mayweather or other UFC men’s bantamweight fighters.

    Rousey herself thinks it’s a “compliment” that people are considering that scenario and has even said that she “could beat 100 percent of them.”

    But despite being flattered by the idea and playing along with it, Rousey has flatly said that she will never fight a man because it sends the wrong message.

    In a candid interview with Yahoo News and Finance anchor Bianna Golodryga, the 28-year-old judoka said she doesn’t “think there should ever be a situation where there is an arena full of people gathered around cheering about a man hitting a woman.”

    She added that instead of helping the sport, it would just hurt it.

    “It’s a real fight. It’s not like it’s a movie or a part of a storyline,” she explained. “It’s an actual man hitting a woman and I don’t think that’s ever acceptable.”

    The UFC fighter also talked about other topics as she promoted her new book My Fight/ Your Fight.

    The outspoken Olympian also shared her views on deflate-gate, doping in sports and talked about her journey to becoming the world’s first female MMA fighter.

    But one topic she didn’t touch on much is her ongoing rivalry with mixed martial artist Miesha Tate.

    “I didn’t even want to devote that much time to her in the book,” the rowdy fighter said. “I could just write a book about why Miesha Tate is a big ol’ bitch.”

  • Steven Seagal’s Estonia Blues Gig Canceled

    Concert organizers for the Tallinn, Estonia “Augustibluus” summer blues festival axed action star Steven Seagal’s time slot due to his pro-Russia/Vladimir Putin leanings.

    Back in March while filming a movie in Romania, actor, film producer, screenwriter, director, martial artist, musician and reserve deputy sheriff Seagal did an interview with the state-run Russian newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta, in which he’d expressed that Vladimir Putin’s actions against Crimea are “highly reasonable.”

    The 7th-dan black belt in Aikido commented that Putin’s “desire to protect the Russian-speaking people of Crimea, his assets, and the Russian Black Sea military base in Sevastopol … is very reasonable,” and added that the U.S. policy on Ukraine was “idiotic.”

    Estonian rock star Tonis Magi, the Augustibluus headliner, called for a boycott of the Tallinn event if Seagal was allowed to perform.

    Rock stars in Estonia do things a tad differently, as seen in a Tonis Magi video for a song called Mägi Ruja Rockooperis:

    While confirming Seagal’s set was cancelled, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet commented, “this situation has been solved. The festival organizers have made changes in the program.”

    Paet added, “Steven Seagal has tried to actively participate in politics during the past few months and has done it in a way which is unacceptable to the majority of the world that respects democracy and the rule of law – Just like we can’t accept the partial occupation of our neighboring country, we also can’t accept mindless praise of it.”

    Republican Seagal, a close friend of Putin’s, reportedly because they both share a keen interest in the martial arts, called the Russian president “one of the great living world leaders,” and remarked that he “would like to consider him as a brother.” In early March, the straight-to-video action star helped Putin relaunch a national physical fitness program that had been axed after the fall of the Soviet Union.

    Here is a taste of what Estonia will be missing:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Miss USA 2014: Nia Sanchez Crowned at 63rd Pageant

    Miss USA 2014 was crowned on Sunday at the Baton Rouge River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Marking the 63rd time a winner was crowned in the pageant’s history, the 2014 title went to Miss Nevada USA Nia Sanchez. The 24-year-old from Las Vegas is a 4th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She is also a model. The live telecast was hosted by E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic and MSNBC’s Way Too Early host Thomas Roberts.

    The show was replete with top notch music performances in addition to the lineup of beautiful contestants. Georgia Florida Line sang with Nelly. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band Horns, Marc Broussard, and Latin band Camila also provided entertainment throughout the pageant.

    The Miss USA 2014 first runner up is Miss North Dakota USA, Audra Mari. She will assume the role of Miss USA 2014 if for any reason Nia Sanchez is unable to fulfill her obligations.

    Nia Sanchez competed in the evening gown portion of the pageant wearing a beautiful red floor-length fishtail gown. During the final round of the question and answer portion she was asked what should be done to curb sexual assaults of undergraduate women on college campuses. She replied saying that women must “take it upon themselves to learn how to defend themselves.” Nia was crowned Miss USA 2014 by the 2013 reigning queen Erin Brady from Connecticut.

    After being crowned Miss USA 2014 Nia told the press she wants to spread her knowledge of martial arts so that women can learn to defend themselves from attacks or rape attempts. She also said she was “so proud to bring the title of Miss USA back to Nevada.”

    “I’m so excited. It’s a dream come true,” she added.

    Miss North Dakota Audra Mari and Miss Georgia Tiana Griggs were announced as the pageant’s first and second runners-up, respectively.

    Congratulations to Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez as she begins a whirlwind year representing the USA and serving as a spokeswoman for her chosen cause.

    Image via Twitter

  • Willie Nelson to Achieve 5th-Degree Black Belt

    After being inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Friday night to much fanfare, country music legend Willie Nelson is also set to receive his 5th-degree black belt in martial arts at the age of 80. Nelson will achieve the high honor in the modern Korean martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sulon on Monday in Austin, right before his 81st birthday on Tuesday.

    Nelson began studying martial arts decades ago in Nashville, and his training had remained a constant in his life. Nelson told Men’s Health in 2013 that “It’s a good form of exercise, especially as you get older.” As a youth, Nelson was involved in various team sports, and commented, “I went through school playing all kinds of sports. I played shortstop, I ran track. I played football. I was a pole-vaulter.”

    As Nelson was inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame, fellow Texan Matthew McConaughey gave a small speech – “There would be no Austin City Limits without Willie Nelson,” the Academy Award-winning actor said.

    Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett then accompanied Nelson on stage for renditions of On the Road Again and Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.

    Here Nelson does his part in helping to explain the zany antics of philandering, lovelorn males everywhere, with his 1982 Grammy-winning rendition of Always on My Mind:

    Commenting on his ACL induction, Nelson stated, “It means a lot. It’s Austin City Limits and Austin – the music capital of the world.”

    Nelson combines variety of music styles to create his own distinctive amalgam of country music, a hybrid of jazz, pop, blues, rock and folk, which has been highly influential to the new country, new traditionalist, and alternative country movements of the 1980s and 1990s.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Gina Carano ‘Very Open’ to Returning to MMA

    Gina Carano ‘Very Open’ to Returning to MMA

    In an interview with Fox Sports’ Damon Martin, actress, television personality and fitness model Gina Carano has expressed that she’s “very open” to returning to the MMA cage.

    Carano commented, “I’ve never retired. I’ve never officially said that,” and added that, “For some reason a part of me has always kept it open. I don’t know, there’s a certain part of me that thinks if circumstances were right, and I could keep doing what I’m trying to make my future into, that’s an ideal world. If circumstances were right, you never know. I’m very open to it.”

    Carano, 31, left the ring for an acting career 5 years ago, and has been featured in films including Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire alongside Channing Tatum, as well as Fast & Furious 6, which starred the late Paul Walker.

    Here Carano beats up Tatum in a clip from “Haywire”:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Qsl_6muRY

    UFC president Dana White has expressed enthusiasm at having Carano return to MMA, though Carano realizes that five years outside of the ring will have diminished her Muy Thai fighting skills. “I would definitely take something like that extremely seriously,” Carano said, adding, “I would dedicate myself to it, and need the time because you’re taking somebody who hasn’t fought in a while, that hasn’t been in the fight camp-type environment; and it would have to be done in a time where there would be enough time for me to get ready for that and be able to support myself during that time because that’s all I’d be doing is taking that seriously, and it would take me away from other projects or potential projects that I’ve been working this far in my life to get to.”

    UFC fans are excited about a possible rematch between former Strikeforce champion Carano and current bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey. Carano said she’d return to the ring if the circumstances were right.

    Carano recently filmed “In The Blood,” directed by John Stockell, which costars Luis Guzmán and Danny Trejo.

    Here’s the trailer:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Miesha Tate Talks Ronda Rousey Rivalry

    Miesha Tate Talks Ronda Rousey Rivalry

    Ronda Rousey is well-known for her unique athletic skills and even has Olympic medals and world titles to prove her abilities. However, everyone is not a fan. In an interview with FOX Sports, Miesha Tate explained the underlying reason for her competitive animosity toward Rousey. “Every single woman that fights MMA has done just as much work as Ronda has, we just haven’t gotten as much turnaround. Those women who came before her haven’t been on magazine covers, they weren’t plastered everywhere by the UFC. They didn’t get the same reward back. She got 10 times back what she was putting in and maybe everyone else was getting 1 to 1.” Touché.

    Tate insists that she means no disrespect, and is just trying to present a more complete picture of what competitive fighters experience. “I know what it was like to be fighting for breadcrumbs and not to be taken seriously. I didn’t just jump into this. It’s no disrespect to Ronda, she’s a great athlete. But there’s another side to the story that people aren’t seeing. Girls didn’t get the same things Ronda has gotten.”

    Rousey does have a strong supportive following who has watched her rise to fame. Tate explained why crowds continue to follow Rousey’s fights. “She runs her mouth. She’s very loud, very boisterous, very opinionated. Love her or hate her, you take notice of her. I think that’s the biggest thing. She’s different than most of the girls who fight in MMA. A lot of fans out there have the WWE mentality. Those are the fans that fell hook line and sinker and loved her. She was that controversial one, that s**t talker, she started drama.”

    Rousey responded to the process of Tate “trying to talk her down” in a recent interview with Dave Doyle. “She goes on her interviews and says she’s going to finish me in the first round, ‘she has so many holes in her game, blah blah blah,’ she tries to talk me down all the time. She has to convince herself,” Rousey said.

    However, Rousey did not get where she is today without being prepared. Her strategy has been to increase her training regime in anticipation of a powerful adversary. “I believe her when she says she’s in the best shape of her life. I believe her when she says her striking is the best in her life, I believe that she can have a perfect game plan and focused her game plan on my weaknesses and everything possible, everything. I assume she is going to be perfect. I’m prepared for a five-round brawl. What she is hoping for is for me to go out there and for me to make a mistake. I expect a whole lot more from her than she expects from me,” Rousey explained.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • 47 Ronin Trailer: New Film Releases Preview [Video]

    The long-awaited trailer for 47 Ronin has finally arrived. Fans of the samurai action genre will certainly get excited over this new film, featuring Keanu Reeves in a bit of The Last Samurai-like film. The film is presented by Universal, and features a setting of a mythical Japan.

    The film will have highly stylized action and special effects incorporated as martial arts films have had great success with new style in recent years. The film also has a very high budget, totaling up to $200 million, and there are reports that it might even be higher. Earlier this month, the UK Trailer for 47 Ronin premiered, and introduced fans to the upcoming action flick.

    The film is based an old Japanese myth in which 47 ronin (leaderless samurai) avenge the disgrace of their leader. In this adaptation, Keanu Reeves will play a half-breed slave, who develops excellent sword skills, and joins the band of 47 samurai in their quest for vengeance.

    In addition to the upcoming 47 Ronin, Keanu Reeves has starred in several films throughout his active career, including The Matrix and Speed, among many others.

    In addition to Reeves, the film also stars Tadanobu Asano, who has previously been seen in Thor, Hiroyuki Sanada who was in The Wolverine, and Rinko Kikuchi, who received an Oscar nomination for her role in Babel.

    47 Ronin will be written and directed by Carl Rinsch. He has directed a few short films previously, but this will be his feature film debut.

    The release date has already been moved several times, but for now the release date for 47 Ronin has been set for December 25, 2013. With the release date not too far off, take a look at the trailer and see if the big-budget action flick will be worth seeing.

    Image via Youtube

  • Actor Jim Kelly, Of “Enter The Dragon”, Dies

    Actor Jim Kelly, who garnered a cult following with his afro and snappy one-liners in Bruce Lee’s “Enter The Dragon”, has died from complications relating to cancer. He was 67.

    Kelly, who trained in martial arts in Kentucky in the ’60s before moving to California, says he discovered a passion for acting through the discipline. At the time, Bruce Lee was making a big name for himself in the industry on television shows like “The Green Hornet” and “Ironside”; it was the perfect time to parlay his skills to the big screen. Eventually, he got the role of a lifetime when he was tapped to star opposite Lee in “Enter The Dragon”. Although his screen time wasn’t nearly long enough for fans, Kelly once said he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

    “It was one of the best experiences in my life,” he told Salon.com. ”Bruce was just incredible, absolutely fantastic. I learned so much from working with him. I probably enjoyed working with Bruce more than anyone else I’d ever worked with in movies because we were both martial artists. And he was a great, great martial artist. It was very good.”

    Though Kelly only had a handful of roles after “Enter The Dragon”, he says he never wanted to leave show business.

    “I never left the movie business,” Kelly told The Los Angeles Times in 2010. “It’s just that after a certain point, I didn’t get the type of projects that I wanted to do.”

    An update on Kelly’s Facebook page announced his passing; fans and friends have responded with posts lamenting their loss.

    “It is with sadness and regret that we must announce the passing of a great man and legend Jim Kelly,” the announcement reads. “He will be deeply missed by all. Jim had great love for his family, friends, tennis and martial arts. We are devastated by Jim’s passing but through faith and support from family, friends and fans-we are comforted, blessed and will remain strong. He was survived by his lifetime partner of 33 years and wife.”

  • Jackie Chan Tells The Cutest Bruce Lee Story Ever

    Jackie Chan had the opportunity to work with martial arts legend Bruce Lee when he was younger on “Enter The Dragon”, and recently he opened up about the best story he had from that time in his life.

    It’s a simple story that begins with a fight scene in which Lee is supposed to “hit” Chan across the face with a big pole; he missed his mark, however, and instead of making it movie-real, he made it real-real. The stick hit Chan in the head with brute force and he went down like a rock, and Lee, ever the professional, stayed in character until the director yelled “Cut!”.

    But he wasn’t heartless; Lee ran over to Chan to make sure he was okay and fussed over him for the rest of the day like a worried mom. Chan, who was starstruck from working with his hero, milked it for all it was worth.

    Listen to the story from Chan himself.

  • Street Fighter X Tekken: The Devil Within 8 Minute Film, Twitter Users are Impressed

    The following Tekken short film, Street Fighter X Tekken: The Devil Within, is already being labeled as “epic.” There is a ton of action packed into this 8 minute movie and the costumes and hairstyles stay true to the videogame. The film was released yesterday and over 114,000 people have viewed it on YouTube.

    Thousand Pounds Action Company released the film to build interest in the Street Fighter X Tekken: Special Edition videogame for Xbox360 and Playstation 3.

    Tweets indicate that the film has a growing fanbase:

    (image)@debtblackhole
    Dave Hilton    BRILLIANT! Street Fighter X Tekken: The Devil Within [Epic Short Film] http://t.co/L3hG7xbe via @geeksaresexy(image) 34 minutes ago via Tweet Button ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@NickdeBruyne
    Nicholas de Bruyne    This Street Fighter X Tekken Live Action Short Film is about the coolest damn thing I’ve seen this week! http://t.co/3HJk2pf9(image) 3 hours ago via SGPlus ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Jauntystep
    Toba Simmons    This is Better than the tekken and street fighter movies combined http://t.co/NVKrphJd(image) 5 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto