Issue 079

September 2011

Fighters Only reveals the secret Steven Seagal techniques revolutionizing the repertoires of Brazil’s greatest fighters 

Aikido has found a home in Brazil. With infamous aikido practitioner Steven Seagal reportedly responsible for dazzling front-kick knockouts from UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva and former 205lb champ Lyoto Machida, the “way of harmonious spirit” has renewed stock in MMA.

Seagal might be best known as a star of ‘90s action films (such as Under Seige, Marked For Death and Hard To Kill) but he is a seventh-dan master of aikido and was the first foreigner to run a dojo in Japan. Though the YouTube footage that appeared online of Seagal imparting his skills onto Black House gym fighters Silva and Machida was roundly dismissed as a PR stunt, Seagal had the last laugh when Silva and Machida attributed their respective Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture knockouts to the Exit Wounds actor.

So, can mixed martial artists really learn from aikido? Aikido master black belt Rik Ellis believes so, although warns that not all forms of aikido are equal. “Aikido has changed so much in so many ways, changed by the modern ‘plastic samurai’ who have diluted aikido into their own pseudo-religious nonsense,” says Rik. “This form of aikido only works with a compliant partner and would be totally useless in MMA or the street. You will often read or hear ‘there is no kicking in aikido.’ The late Kenshiro Abbe Sensei (one of aikido’s leading ambassadors) taught kicking from the inception of aikido’s introduction to the West in 1955 and my father has continued with the same ideals. I know that aikido was a martial art: now it is little more than an art. This is why Seagal is disliked by many in the aikido world; his aikido is effective, it works.” 

The son of Henry Ellis – a sixth-dan who began aikido in 1957 and whose first two dan certificates are actually signed by the style’s founder, O Sensei Morihei Ueshiba – Rik is now a professional MMA fighter training out of the Fight Science and Prize Fighter gyms an hour south west of London, England.

Having adapted elements of aikido for the cage, he understands what Seagal is doing at with the Black House stable of Brazilian fighters through his demonstrations of attack parries and quick strikes. 

“Although you cannot take every technique in aikido to MMA there are definitely certain elements that can carry over. What I have seen in the [Seagal and Anderson Silva] videos I have also used in sparring and found to be very effective. It is all extra strings to Anderson Silva’s bow. What I feel Seagal is trying to communicate is the importance of the movement into your opponent – using their momentum to deliver powerful takedowns and strikes – which is the basis of traditional aikido.”

He also points out that Seagal taught, ‘immobilization techniques,’ to take your opponent down. “From here you immobilize or submit your opponent. I have often tapped out my partners in serious groundwork training sessions with wrist control techniques. From standing I find irimi tenkan useful (the method of entering into close range and turning).”

Another Seagal aikido technique favored by Rik is the hammer strike (see pictures). He says: “We often use this as an entry strike to be followed by another technique. If delivered accurately to the temple, jaw or neck it will result in an effective knockout. The punch is delivered in a whip-like action from a short distance, or even a longer distance as a counter entry to your opponent.” This ‘entering your opponent’ aka irimi is a key feature of aikido. Rik mentions that it is used “in the same way we close distance in MMA by entering your opponent instead of waiting for him to come to you.” 

While there might not be any madness behind Seagal’s methods, the Silva front-kick KO and Machida’s crane-kick stopper he’s attributed with exclusively tutoring are common to many Japanese arts. Gavin Mulholland, goju ryu karate sixth-dan and head coach of former UFC star Neil Grove and others explains: “The two techniques were straight line: mae geri (front kick), and mae tobi geri (jumping front kick) from Machida. In both cases they’ve hit with the ball of the foot. They’re not push kicks (such as a Muay Thai teep) that you would use to get yourself out of range.”

According to Gavin, the effectiveness of the kicks comes from the Brazilians’ ability to relax after throwing the shot. He says: “If you look at how they fire them, the kicks aren’t driven, they’re released. It’s like a gun: once the explosion has happened you don’t need to push the bullet; in fact the less resistance there is, the better. Once you’ve pulled the trigger your legs have to fly free until the point of impact which is what both of those guys have done extremely well. They’ve got the weight and speed because there’s no muscle tension in it. [It’s called a] myotatic reflex – the stretch reflex and compression then causes a release. In both those kicks there’s a strong abdominal contraction that initiates the fire.”

But Gavin believes that Seagal’s influence has only been subtle, saying: “What Seagal’s done is a strategic use of a tactical tool. He didn’t teach them those kicks, he’s brought the context in which to throw them... What they were working on [in the YouTube videos] was the timing.”

AIKIDO HAMMER STRIKE: STEVEN SEAGAL PARRY ATTACK

 1 Slip the left-hand jab, covering high left and ready to control the arm if necessary. 2 Bring the right-hand hammer strike down like a whip, diagonally from high right to lower left, keeping the left hand up as cover or control. 3 Land the strike on the temple, eye or jaw to create an opportunity to enter the opponent’s space.

MAE GERI: ANDERSON SILVA FRONT KICK

 1 Start in a standard MMA crouch with your hips back. 2 Fire your hips forward by contracting your abdominals. 3 Your trailing leg follows the hip movement. 4 Throw the foot in a straight line from the floor to the opponent’s jaw.

Gavin: “Silva’s kick almost looks quite slow but the reason that works is that it is going straight towards the face. That means you can’t pick up the movement as easily as you could rotational or lateral movement. We’re hunters, our eyes are in the front of our heads. It wasn’t massively fast but I bet Belfort thinks it was!”

MAE TOBI GERI: LYOTO MACHIDA CRANE KICK

 1 Start again in standard crouch (this is for orthodox striking). 2 Throw your left knee up and in front in a cycling-style motion with your hips trailing. The ‘trigger’ is now behind, making the kick effectively a mid-air, rear-leg strike. 3 Abdominal contraction thrusts your hips forward, generating the power. 4 Sweep the kick up landing on the jaw. 

Gavin: “Almost every technique you throw against a wrestler, he’ll drop his weight and go slightly lower, tucked ready to go underneath. So Machida [against Couture] is primed to throw the kick slightly lower than where he would normally want it to land. Machida trails his hips and the power comes from the forward thrust of his hips in the air. His hips travel a much greater distance than his head. If the opponent is looking at his head there’s not a lot of movement there but his hips are really punching that kick through.”