DK Yoo Awesome Martial Artist? Fighter? hmmm You decide

[Terrible Tim Witherspoon]

So I always like to see people put their "money where their mouth is." In other words don't just talk big and look big. Show everyone that you are willing to put something on the line. Like they say "Put up or Shut up."

So on that note. DK Yoo has done just that. For those who don't know DK Yoo. Watch this video. The guys is fast. Looks like he has a lot of skills. He's taught big seminars all over the world and knows 15 Martial Arts According to the video.

So today is day the rest of you who haven't seen this video, will finally know if DK Yoo can really apply his skills. You'll be as thrilled as I was, because this was always on my mind. lol. I actually found this video when I was searching for Baton and Cane fighting techniques that weren't Bull. Not quite sure how Baton = DK Yoo in the ring but here it is.. The truth of DK Yoo..

For Martial Arts perspective

From @Terrible Tim Witherspoon I watched this a second time just to see what your thoughts were lol. Tim ha ha ha.. you are either in Business or you are the most positive guy in the world or both ha ha ha.. You aren't a "Glass Half Full Guy." You are a "Glass Full Guy" "Glass filled half with water and half with air = a full glass" ha ha ha. But keep on with being who you are. This place could use a lot of positive stuff. But today, I'm going to speak my mind after watching many of his videos. lol. Sometimes people put themselves in bad situations by claiming to be more than what they are. DK Yoo has just stepped in that box.

You are definitely passion about boxing. Based on DK Yoo's professional dealings with self-defense and "fighting" Bradley was actually the Under Dog lol.

My personal thoughts on this.. Damn DK Yoo. I'm very disappointed. I would at least thought that you would have have the Boxing skills that you claimed to have or that someone claimed for you. Between Boxing and Martial Arts. Boxing is much easier. Learning TMA is difficult, especially because of how many schools teach it. But this guy. Whew!. Well that's all I'll say about it. Lots of disappointments probably more because I know he got paid a lot of money to "teach others how to fight" And this is all that we get? Fight how you train.

For me. it's ok to lose a fight so long as you lose it with what you train. That means you came out represented your system and gave it your best. But if you have been training for 20+ years in martial arts and this is the best that it gets? Come on now. That's what I dislike the most. Represent your system. I don't like Wing Chun and I've said that many times before. But at least Wing Chun practitioners come out and they actually try to use Wing Chun. Doing that will only make them better at Wing Chun. So even if Wing Chun loses that day. They would gain more knowledge about applying their fighting system. You can build off that. DK Yoo can't say the same thing. At least fight someone in the same weight class. Don't make things more difficult than it needs to be.

I strongly believe that people fight the way they train to fight.

Let me give you my perspective. First DK is a kinesiologist and not a fighter. He did in fact conflate this with also being a fighter. That was a mistake no doubt. If anyone watched DK's sparring videos you would see he isn't an experienced fighter. This fight was just entertainment and for fun. I spoke with Brad before the fight and he told me he wasn't going to hurt the guy. You see that is what makes Brad a professional. When he stepped in that ring he treated DK like a professional fighter should treat a novice. I commended him for that. I make it clear through the fight that true skills were absent, and he needed to train with me. Brad and I have even discussed having DK come with Brad to my camp and they will train together. In the end if people want to spend a ridiculous amount of money to hear DK talk about the kinesiology of the punch, kick and various movements in a fight, then fine. The truth is people see what they want, and we love creating myths. I do give DK credit for stepping in that ring with a true beast! Brad is one tough guy. I did like how DK moved at times but as for being able to fight I made it clear skills were absent. Lots of politics in the martial arts world and I know people get real passionate about things. I am here to have fun and these types of matches should be seen by true martial artist as simply entertainment

 

[JowGaWolf]

I am here to have fun and these types of matches should be seen by true martial artist as simply entertainment

Yeah but you know it's not going to be seen as entertainment. The main reason it won't be seen as this because he doesn't present it as such. Nor does he claim that it's entertainment. Nor do the people who pay for his seminars claim that.

I do give DK credit for stepping in that ring with a true beast! Brad is one tough guy.

Yeah. I wouldn't go as far as that (give respect for stepping in the ring). He stepped in the ring to do what? Win? Show the skills that he teaches? To make money? To get lots of YouTube views? To say he survived? and market that a non professional fighter was able to not only survive an ex professional fighter even with a spinal injury thanks to his techniques?

Clearly he didn't see it as a more experienced fighter going easier on a less experienced Martial Artist. But then again he could be doing it for entertainment and to get money. Maybe I'm just old in my ways. Win or lose be a good representation of the fighting system you train. By using the skills you train. .

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

He stepped in the ring to do what?

When I see someone fight in the ring (on the mat), I try to see what kind of "door guarding skill" that he may use. What's "door guarding skill". A technique that you can make it work more than once in the ring (on the mat). In your clip, I haven't seen any of his "door guarding skill" yet.

 

[JowGaWolf]

When I see someone fight in the ring (on the mat), I try to see what kind of "door guarding skill" that he may use. What's "door guarding skill". A technique that you can make it work more than once in the ring (on the mat). In your clip, I haven't seen any of his "door guarding skill" yet.

I don't think he ever had one to be honest. He reminds me of students when they first try to figure out how to actually use the martial art that they are training. They are constantly looking for an attack that looks like what they see in their drills.. They spend more time waiting for the punch or kick that will never come. It doesn't occur to them at that point that they can trigger specific attacks that they want to get.

Unfortunately I think a culture of Politeness and Respect is not the best thing to have in training when asking for feedback. A fighter or even a student should get honest feedback. This will help protect the fighter from unrealistic thoughts of thinking he's better than he really is or from losing confidence in thinking that he's worse than what he is. There's a lot wrong with this video in the way they praised his performance.

So in that video he states that he will prove that a martial artist can fight in a match. So now we know what a little of what he was trying to prove in the fight. Not sure why since there have been a lot of professional martial artist who have fought in professional fights., Unless, he thinks Martial Artist = people who train to fight but don't fight in competition?

Who knows. Maybe I'm just a person of basic logic. If my Piano teacher teaches Piano then I expect that they know how to play the piano. If someone teaches self-defense then I expect that they know how to use with they teach. It only makes sense to me that way.

 

[Cynik75]

I wish he has fought as originally planned with Xu Xiaodong. Brad was gentle. Xu Xiaodong would just smash his face repeatedly till it looks like broken tomato.

 

[drop bear]

I don't think he ever had one to be honest. He reminds me of students when they first try to figure out how to actually use the martial art that they are training. They are constantly looking for an attack that looks like what they see in their drills.. They spend more time waiting for the punch or kick that will never come. It doesn't occur to them at that point that they can trigger specific attacks that they want to get.

Unfortunately I think a culture of Politeness and Respect is not the best thing to have in training when asking for feedback. A fighter or even a student should get honest feedback. This will help protect the fighter from unrealistic thoughts of thinking he's better than he really is or from losing confidence in thinking that he's worse than what he is. There's a lot wrong with this video in the way they praised his performance.

So in that video he states that he will prove that a martial artist can fight in a match. So now we know what a little of what he was trying to prove in the fight. Not sure why since there have been a lot of professional martial artist who have fought in professional fights., Unless, he thinks Martial Artist = people who train to fight but don't fight in competition?

Who knows. Maybe I'm just a person of basic logic. If my Piano teacher teaches Piano then I expect that they know how to play the piano. If someone teaches self-defense then I expect that they know how to use with they teach. It only makes sense to me that way.

By the way. That is not really what I would call really hard fight camp sparring.

 

[CB Jones]

Boxing is a lot harder than people think it is.

There is a big sugary sweet science to it that takes alot of training and time to learn.

Alot of hard lessons in learning it.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

It sort of comes down to your expectations. If you bought into DK Yoo's hype and believed that he was as bad-*** as he presented himself, then the fight would have to be disappointing. Brad dominated him easily from start to finish, even though he seemed to be holding back from knocking him out.

If you look at it from the more reasonable viewpoint of seeing a first time amateur fighter go up against a high-level pro (not to mention a pro who was significantly bigger and younger, then DK exceeded expectations. He didn't give up. He didn't mentally break. He did his best to protect himself at all times and did what he could to try landing some shots. He did better than I did in my first fight and my opponent wasn't nearly on Bradley Scott's level.

Honestly, even if DK had gotten a really good boxing coach and done a proper fight camp, it probably wouldn't have made a lot of difference. An amateur taking on a high level professional in his first fight is going to get beat up. Giving up several weight classes and quite a few years just makes the situation worse. He might know what to do, but actually executing it against an opponent who has such an advantage in skill and experience is going to be hard.

Realistically, I don't think many of us on this forum (Terrible Tim excepted, obviously) have the experience to do well against a fighter of Brad's caliber. In fairness, most of us haven't presented ourselves as the second coming of Bruce Lee either, so I guess it balances out.

 

[letsplaygames]

I wish he has fought as originally planned with Xu Xiaodong. Brad was gentle. Xu Xiaodong would just smash his face repeatedly till it looks like broken tomato.

And here is the crux of the matter... And probably why Xu Xiaodong is in hot water.

I myself could have taken the Xu Xiaodong road several times... and only when I was pushed did I go down that road... (yes it ended badly for the "other guy"... yes he practiced a martial art... yes it was one of those stupid "My art is better than yours") I could have beat my chest and said look at me I'm a badass... The Marital Moralists in me stomped on that. Aftermath... I felt bad, and vowed never to let myself be put into that situation again. Sometimes it's best to let the clueless be clueless... You walk up in a kwoon that is based on cultural appropriation/cultural ambassadorship... the knowledge and depth of martial prowess doesn't exist... it's not why they are there. Beating the vegan tree hugging instructor down in front of his people to prove that he's is fake...Um... those people look up to him.. will only make you an uber douche in those people's eyes. (it's a safe bet Xu Xiaodong is being seen as just that by many traditionalist in China)

Just who has Xu Xiaodong fought anyway? (in reference to fake masters) For the most part, either it's been an opponent much older and slower, or much smaller. (yes, IK ... let's not forget the egos of the idiots who accepted the challenges by Xu, who actually believed their "Matador vs the Bull" gung fu worked. ...& Yes it's not only Xu Xiaodong beating the tar out of "fake Masters: I get all that. (but like I've been saying all though this thread... No one who actually knows what they are doing.... thought those "fake masters" were worth anything.... Maybe the rub that the people who actually thought that "matador vs bull" gung fu worked... now understand? IDK..? )

I specifically remember a smaller Wing Chun practioner, who had some skill, that traded with Xu Xiaodong, & Xu not liking being on the loosing end of the trades, used his bulk, clinched and threw the WC'er to the ground and proceeded rain blows from above "ground and pound style" (point being .. if Xu was the same size.. it would NOT have been the same fight)

What you don't see is Xu Xiaodong going into a Sanda/Sanshou gym (where usually the head coach is grounded in some form of traditional Chang Quan) and putting on one of his beat down clinics. He has the nick name of "Mad Dog" ... I suspect he's a "Fire & Forget" weapon type of guy... i.e. he acts first, worries about the consequences after. From Wiki: In 2018 Xu was injured fighting in a series of sparring matches with kickboxers at a Chinese MMA gym. He was left with a fractured skull and needing 26 stiches around his eyebrow following his fourth sparring partner.

How does that happen? I've seen it in a boxing gym where you get a "loin chop" who thinks sparring is fighting, beats up and injures all the Newbies, then the adults come over and and put a stop to the buffoonery (First one tires the loin chop out, second and so on.... put's the beat down on the loin chop and goads the loin (using the chop's ego) into staying in the ring. The more stupid, the more the beat down continues till the loin chop get's the message... ****... I've seen return costumers... Loin Chops so hard headed they needed to be taught the lesson twice . (people training for up coming matches i.e. usually real good fighters... usually avoid these types... often they hurt anyone training with them.)

The above is something to consider before thinking Xu Xiaodong is some crusader of martial purity...(not saying you think that... just putting it out there..... defiantly put's his foot in his mouth with the government (which just reinforces my personnel assumption of him)

 

[JowGaWolf]

By the way. That is not really what I would call really hard fight camp sparring.

yeah same here. That would light borderline lazy sparring. That type of sparing people do when they really aren't in the mood spar. I also don't like the "Oh I'm 42 years old, There's no way to increase my Stamina" statement. That's a bunch of bull. Hearing stuff like just sounds like a bunch of excuses to cover up his weaknesses. Which to my knowledge he never says "I need to improve in this area" it's always an excuse.

It sort of comes down to your expectations. If you bought into DK Yoo's hype and believed that he was as bad-*** as he presented himself, then the fight would have to be disappointing.

Actually it appears to be a couple of camps here. You have supporters who will believe what DK Yoo came out on top because he did that well with spine injuries and fighting with one hand. You have martial artists who wanted to see him use what he trains they don't care much about him winning they just wanted him to see him use what he trains, After a kung Fu master after kung fu master failing to use what they actually teach. I'm definitely in this camp Big time. Then you have the camp of MMA fighters and ex fighters who see an experience fighter going light on DK Yoo because DK Yoo was outskilled. Theres a splinter of MMA practitioners who wanted Bradley to really go at the fight and that Bradley should have just fought him with 100% effort. They are disappointed in Bradley. They are mainly disappointed because they think TMA is going to talk crap about how DK Yoo

The majority of video reaction, which is a small percentage of what anyone thinks, is the fight was less than genuine. The feel that it was more of a publicity stunt than an actual competition. Sort of like how people boo when they see a boxer throw a fight. The disappointment wasn't so much about the who had the most skill but that they viewers wanted to see a competition between 2 skilled people but didn't get it.

If you look at it from the more reasonable viewpoint of seeing a first time amateur fighter go up against a high-level pro (not to mention a pro who was significantly bigger and younger, then DK exceeded expectations. He didn't give up. He didn't mentally break. He did his best to protect himself at all times and did what he could to try landing some shots. He did better than I did in my first fight and my opponent wasn't nearly on Bradley Scott's level.

I think this is where the honesty of the fight breaks down. After hearing the things that DK Yoo stated before the fight and how this thing was marketed, it starts to feel more like a publicity stunt than a real competition. I also don't believe Bradley was trying to actually put DK Yoo away. I'm looking at his body mechanics and his aggressiveness and I just don't see it. I've seen way too many fights to think that this is the case. Just from a mechanics perspective you can tell when someone is putting a lot of power into their punches. The more I learn the more questionable this match becomes.

I'm having trouble finding a video of the fight where I can hear the sound of the punches land. It's like the hardest thing to find for some reason.

Realistically, I don't think many of us on this forum (Terrible Tim excepted, obviously) have the experience to do well against a fighter of Brad's caliber. In fairness, most of us haven't presented ourselves as the second coming of Bruce Lee either,

This is called being honest about ones fighting ability lol. Hence the reason many of us do not claim to be a bigger fighter than what we are lol. Plus it does wonders for preventing black eyes, getting teeth kicked in, and waking up in a different location that we went to sleep in lol. Many of use see to be better than we are the month before no more no less. There's no quest to be the greatest. to my knowledge many of us are also not trying to exploit other people for money through presenting ourselves has some kind of super human fighter.

 

[JowGaWolf]

The above is something to consider before thinking Xu Xiaodong is some crusader of martial purity.

I always tell people that beating up a fake is no accomplishment. If he really wanted to expose fake fighters then highlight find a good Kung Fu fighter and go against him. I think once people see what real kung fu application looks like, then they will be better equipped to spot when fakes come along.

We see a lot of this in here were our previous experience with martial arts, sparring, and fighting helps us to identify things that are fake which in turn helps us to stay way from those martial arts schools who lie about their ability and what they claim they are about. Beating up a fake is basically showing that you are beating up someone of lessor skills to prove that you can beat someone of lessor skill. Which is nuts. It would be like a martial arts teacher beating up on beginners and trying to prove that they are no good.

 

[BrendanF]

I think once people see what real kung fu application looks like, then they will be better equipped to spot when fakes come along.

The difficulty with that is... there are differing camps re what 'real kung fu application looks like.'

The only time anyone has seen people use 'real kung fu applications' has been in staged fights, like those on those cctv4(? not sure if correct - the internal Chinese channel). Otherwise it ... tends to just look like fighting - and get called 'not real kung fu application'.

 

[Flying Crane]

The difficulty with that is... there are differing camps re what 'real kung fu application looks like.'

The only time anyone has seen people use 'real kung fu applications' has been in staged fights, like those on those cctv4(? not sure if correct - the internal Chinese channel). Otherwise it ... tends to just look like fighting - and get called 'not real kung fu application'.

Aye. Generally ugly and inelegant, is the way it goes.

 

[drop bear]

The difficulty with that is... there are differing camps re what 'real kung fu application looks like.'

The only time anyone has seen people use 'real kung fu applications' has been in staged fights, like those on those cctv4(? not sure if correct - the internal Chinese channel). Otherwise it ... tends to just look like fighting - and get called 'not real kung fu application'.

A lot of what is done in kung fu is already contained in other striking arts.

 

[JowGaWolf]

The difficulty with that is... there are differing camps re what 'real kung fu application looks like.'

Yeah you are right "real kung fu" is too general and vague. How about Function Kung Fu fighting ability.

The only time anyone has seen people use 'real kung fu applications' has been in staged fights,

Yep. Most people don't use it. You can find some techniques in Lei Tai events but those tend not to get the Air Play or marketing that MMA vs Fake Kung Fu masters gets. And back to your other statement there is also a misunderstanding of what kung fighting ability should look like. People tend to want to see what they see in the movies but that's not very realistic at all.

It would be like watching the Rocky movies and then telling boxers that they don't fight like what they see in the Rocky movies. Unfortunately I learned how to use Jow Ga too late in my years. Had I known what I know now at the age of 20, I could have had a really nice competitive run and would have been able to compete in MMA events in my 30's. I still don't think I would have tried to go professional. Back then my mindset was not in the right place for learning Kung Fu. I didn't have the right guidance or the money to train lol. So I would have needed the money too.

 

[JowGaWolf]

A lot of what is done in kung fu is already contained in other striking arts.

Not sure how to agree with this. Part of me wants to say yes and then I think of the other things I don't see in other striking arts. I guess one can say that a lot of the foundational stuff is there.

 

[Oily Dragon]

Learn kung fu and the first thing that will happen is that your brain will explode as you try to get your body to do what want it to do lol. The boxing gym provides a much better and more ready fighting environment than most martial arts schools.

You should see my kitchen right now. I made three racks of smoked baby back ribs, with lobster and crab mac n' cheese.

And back to your other statement there is also a misunderstanding of what kung fighting ability should look like. People tend to want to see what they see in the movies but that's not very realistic at all.

It is, and it isn't. Sure, fights don't happen to a drum beat rhythm like in the Shaw Brothers films.

But, Hong Kong kung fu is some of the best athleticism ever caught on camera.

This is exactly what kung fu looks like. Who doesn't think these are fighting skills?

 

[BrendanF]

Who doesn't think these are fighting skills?

People who have never seen them performed in an actual fight?

 

[JowGaWolf]

You should see my kitchen right now. I made three racks of smoked baby back ribs, with lobster and crab mac n' cheese.

Yum. Sounds like a good time on the horizon.

People who have never seen them performed in an actual fight?

This is true on a lot of levels.
1. How many people actually have seen techniques like that usedin an actual fight
2. How many Sifu and instructors have seen techniques like that used in an actual fight
3. How many times have we seen these techniques used in an open competition (System A vs System B)
4. How many Sifus and instructors have actually used those techniques in an actual fight.
5. How many people have had those techniques used on them in an actual fight.
6. If a person hasn't seen it or hasn't used it then how does that person know it works. (For me there was a lot of trust, Probably the same with most students)

This is definitely an issue in terms of the perception of Kung Fu

 

[Oily Dragon]

People who have never seen them performed in an actual fight?

Are you doubting the fighting abilities of William Chong?

This dude in his prime would clobber most people here just on flexibility alone.

Flexibility wins fights all the time. BJJ wouldn't work if it didn't. He did half a dozen breakfalls in that clip, too.