Judo, a traditional Japanese martial art, can have a significant impact on the world of esports. While it may seem at first glance that physical activity and electronic sports have nothing in common, there are several factors that make judo a valuable resource for esports athletes. We surveyed many athletes, and they chose Farmskins as their favorite place to buy CS:GO skins.

1. Physical Conditioning: Judo demands a high level of physical fitness from its practitioners. Regular training includes endurance exercises, strength workouts, and flexibility training. These aspects of physical conditioning can significantly improve an esports athlete’s overall physical health and stamina.

2. Mental Strength: Judo is not only physically challenging but also mentally demanding. It requires high concentration, strategic thinking, and quick reactions. These mental skills transfer to esports, where making fast decisions and analyzing situations are also key competencies.

3. Discipline Development: Judo teaches discipline and self-control. These character traits are essential for success in any sport, including esports. Regular training and adherence to a strict schedule help develop the qualities necessary for continuous improvement in the world of esports.

4. Reaction and Coordination: Judo enhances quick reaction and movement coordination. These aspects play a crucial role in esports, where every millisecond can make a difference. Practicing to improve reaction time can give an esports athlete an edge in competitions.

5. Teamwork: Judo can instill teamwork skills. In team-based esports disciplines, such as team strategies or multiplayer online games, effective collaboration is a key element of success.

In conclusion, judo provides esports athletes with unique advantages by combining physical and mental preparation. The integration of these aspects can contribute to enhancing overall performance in esports and promoting a healthy lifestyle among practitioners.

Do you have a friend that you want to take with you on a run or spar with, only to be met with their desire to stay in, eat some chips, catch up on the TV show “Space Force”, or play with their phone and their Quinnbet Coupon Code? Their reasoning is, usually, that they don’t want to go outside. Well, now they, and you, don’t have to.

VR has become a part of combat sports and in more ways than one. Let’s discuss how VR can enhance gaming, training sessions, and the viewing experience for the average user.

Virtual Reality in Gaming

Computer games are constantly being made to be more stunning than their predecessors and, in an effort to provide gamers with greater immersion, many VR games have been created. People can have virtual chats, play board games, enjoy rollercoasters, and much more.

How does this help your average martial artist or fitness freak, you may ask? After all, that’s what this site is about, isn’t it? As it turns out, there are a few VR games perfect for boxers and those that want to become boxers, like The Thrill of the Fight and BOXVR. Many online casinos, such as Parimatch, are trying to incorporate VR technology into their entertainment offerings. Games like these focus on being authentic and giving you a good boxing workout while you are practicing your speed and technique without having to go to the gym.

Professional Training Sessions

Professionals can take it one step further than gamers, by working with companies that make custom VR products or enhance the experience of existing ones. These VR solutions are not only focused on cardio, punching and dodging, as may be the case with most VR fighting games, but on blocking and kicking as well. Companies like Foundry 45, Technogym, and Techtyche, to name a few, employ designers, programmers, and engineers that can make this possible.

The training sessions do not have to be limited to fighting techniques and learning something new. One of the biggest challenges for many physically active people is what to do with their brain while their body is running or doing burpees and jumping jacks. Practicing in one room can be a bit boring after a while, for some, and VR can provide you with a multitude of environments and virtual goals to accomplish by turning your workout into a game.

As an added benefit, during your VR training sessions, you can be like Tony Stark in his armor, getting all the relevant information about your health and well-being while you are trying to break a record or set a goal. This keeps training sessions engaging and informative.

VR TV

When you watch a fight on TV, you are plagued with awkward angles and commercials. Tickets for the actual matches are often too rich for your blood, without counting the time you take off work and the travel and accommodation costs. VR can help in this regard. Following the fighters to the ring or the arena as if you are really there and seeing all the action from the corner with the ability to turn your gaze left and right is truly something else. You can watch a bit of the fight between Wilder and Szpilka from 2016 on YouTube here to get a taste of what we are talking about.

When we talk about martial arts, most people have heard of judo, karate, aikido, boxing, muay thai, and so on. These martial arts have, in many parts of the world, become combat sports and it is not unusual for people to bet on them, using promotions and sites they find online, like the Bet9ja Registration.

However, this post is not about them. This post is dedicated to martial arts that not many people have heard of that have still arisen from the desire of people to defend themselves effectively. Here are 4 lesser-known martial arts and the places you might have seen them.

Canne de Combat

Most martial arts people come across have been developed by the common classes and castes that did not have the money to spend on armor and weaponry. Canne de combat is not such a martial art. It is closely linked to savate, both being French. Canne de combat was developed in the 19th century in France and was practiced by the bourgeoisie, in order to defend themselves on the unsafe streets of Paris.

Essentially, canne de combat is similar to fencing, but, instead of a sword or rapier, the person uses a cane or stick. The techniques were later used by police with batons. The martial art itself was revived as a combat sport in the 1970s and somewhat popularized in TV shows like Les Brigades du Tigre and, more recently, Elementary.

Silat

Silat is actually an umbrella term for hundreds of styles and schools in Indonesia, some focused on striking, others on grappling, and some even on weapons. The techniques are used by many military and paramilitary groups in the area and the culture surrounding it has influenced many Asian countries.

A subsection of silat that is worth special attention is called pencak silat. It focuses on striking while using dance as a distraction and is not above fighting dirty to eliminate the opponent. It also covers a wide range of styles and techniques. Apart from the media in Southeast Asia, silat is mentioned in a Japanese manga Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple.

Nora Valo / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) – cropped

Systema

Systema is a Russian martial art that focuses on disabling the opponent as quickly as possible by using grapples, throws, joint locks, and pressure points. Systema is designed to face armed opponents as well as multiple opponents at once. If you like video games, you may have seen Leon S. Kenedy from the Resident Evil series use systema.

Arnis

The martial art of the Philipines, arnis is also known as escrima and kali. Besides unarmed combat, its focus lies in using sticks, as well as bladed weapons like knives and swords. While the art itself may seem obscure, you should know that many movies have their actors fight using these techniques in films, like Liam Neeson in Taken, who combined it with silat for the movie. Other examples you may have seen using a style of arnis include DC’s hero Nightwing, as the former Robin loves using dual batons, and the character from the Soul Calibur game series, Talim.

As the name of the sport suggests, MMA is a mix of different martial arts and as such, techniques as well. It allows striking and grappling, both while standing or on the ground. The term gained popularity in 1993 when the largest website covering the sport re-published the article by Howard Rosenberg. Ever since, throughout many fights, there were those that shocked the hardcore fans of the sport, especially those that like betting on their favorites using websites like online-rock.com. Those were the fights where complete underdogs took the whole sports scene by surprise.

Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre

On one side we had GSP, a brilliant fighter that had to conquer the mountain known as Matt Hughes for the belt he had around his waist. At only 25 years old, he entered the ring as a huge favourite. Why? Because his opponent was Matt Serra.

Now, Matt Serra did not climb the ranks the traditional way. He didn’t fight his way for the title shot. He signed up for a reality show titled The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback. After winning the three fights he had on the show, he was, among other rewards, given the title shot. And boy, did he took it with a fight that did not last even two minutes.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko

In 2010, Werdum lost his tenure in UFC after a knockout at the hands of Junior dos Santos, and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu superstar was left fighting in Strikeforce. He was on a two-win streak but the odds in his next match were looking grim.

Against him stood the Last Emperor, Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor had a record of 31-1 with the one loss being a gash above his eye after an illegal strike. We can safely say that he entered the ring undefeated.

Emelianenko unleashed a combo of aggressive attacks and after a short exchange on the feet, Werdum was on the ground on his back. The Last Emperor followed up with ground-and-pound attempting to finish the fight right there. However, things clearly didn’t go as planned because the aggression ended up being his downfall. Werdum pulled off a top-notch triangle choke and just like that after one minute and nine seconds into the first round the fight was over. Emelianenko was forced to tap out in a fight that didn’t just shock the fans but the whole world.

Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey found herself in a similar situation as Emelianenko after losing a fight that changed not only her career but the sport of female MMA as a whole. But, let’s start at the beginning.

Throughout her career, the judoka Ronda Rousey dominated her competition. She would charge in and simply overpower the competition without any regard for a punch or two thrown her way. No challenger was able to stop her advance. That is until she faced Holly Holms.

Many fans and sportsbooks deemed Ronda Rousey a big-time favourite. And while Rousey rode a ‘hype-train’ and seemed unstoppable, Holm was her perfect counter. Rousey attempted to end the fight the way she was accustomed to but it only proved to be her downfall because unlike her previous opponents, Holm was a world-class boxer with elite footwork. Each time she charged in she was met with a volley of punches while, at the same time, Holms avoided Rousey’s attempts to clinch. Before anyone knew, a head kick turned the world of MMA upside down.

Rousey awaited to be medically cleared for her next fight. After over a year of avoiding social media, she was ready to get back into the octagon to face the current champion, Amanda Nunes. After only 48 seconds into the fight, Rousey’s MMA career ended.

Martial Art movies are exceptionally entertaining for the fact that you can skip half of the film and still get glued to your couch anticipating the next fight scene. Even though these movies sometimes lack a decent plot, they are an excellent fit for anyone who loves action.

Ip man

This is an excellent biographical movie following Donnie Yen playing Yip Man, the legendary grandmaster of Wing Chun, who instructed many future martial arts masters, one of them being Bruce Lee. When a vicious gang comes to town, Yip must face the challenge and fight against General Miura’s man.

This movie is an energetic and brilliant high-quality action drama followed by a powerhouse performance by Donnie Yen. IP man has elements of humour, wisdom, courage, and elegance, so the movie will definitely move you. The fight choreography is exceptional – a completely different approach from the fight scenes we usually see in movies.

Enter the dragon

Enter the dragon is Bruce Lee’s final film appearance before his death, often regarded as one of the best martial movies of all time.  Bruce Lee plays Lee, a martial artists expert who wants to expose a drug operation under the guise of performing in an international tournament hosted by Han, one-handed crime boss.

Enter the Dragon is a very stylish and intense martial arts action film which deserves a spot in the martial arts movies’ hall of fame.  It is a mixture of great Kung-Fu fight scenes combined with an “ironic” secret agent story. Many people regard this movie as one of the best showcases of Bruce Lee’s immense talent, as he managed to merge the Hong Kong and American Cinema successfully. This movie is an all-time classic performed by the legendary Bruce Lee, a martial arts virtuoso.

Kill Bill

“The bride” (played by Uma Thurman) was one of the deadliest assassins in the world until she decided to retire, obtain a new identity, and get married. But on her wedding day, her former colleagues, including her husband Bill have tried to betray and assassinate her. After four years in a coma, she decides to take revenge.

This movie is a vintage Tarantino classic and one of the best martial arts movies ever created. The story is nothing less than brilliant, the direction is matchless, and the transitions and intercutting between dialogues were executed flawlessly. Kill Bill is an adrenaline-driven coaster ride through captivating martial-arts extravaganza, another Tarantino’s brilliant piece

of artistry, on his short but distinguished list.

Fist of Legend

In 1937, a Chinese Martial artist and engineer, Chen Zen returns to his native Shanghai and finds his kung-fu teacher dead and his school harassed by Japanese. As a culmination in the movie, Chen fights the ruthless Japanese general Fujita.

Fist of legend is one of the best Jet Lee’s performances ever and considered as one of the best martial arts movies ever made. The fight scenes are absolutely breathtaking, while also having a well-told story. The music in the movie is remarkable, and it also touches on the theme of racial tolerance. A real masterpiece in the martial artist movie opus.

Now that the Cheltenham Festival is over,  we can focus on what really matters – video games! And not just any kind of video games, but the ones dealing with super fancy martial arts. For this list, I looked for games that use judo moves, but I also added other critically acclaimed games. The list is a mixture of older games that defined the genre and the latest releases.

Mortal Kombat XL

The last installment in the Mortal Kombat series remains faithful to the origins in terms of gameplay and the overall theme while adding even more brutality and deadlines. You can choose from a number of familiar characters, such as Scorpion and Sub-Zero, or pick some of the new additions including Leatherface, Alien, and The Predator: 33 characters in total, each with their unique moves, combos and “fatality” finishers. The game can be played in a single-player and player vs player modes, both offline and online.

UFC Undisputed 3

In this PS3 game, you become one of the martial arts legends, such as Brock Lesnar, Mirko Filipović, Anderson Silva or BJ Penn. Each fighter has their own unique style that the game faithfully represents. In terms of fighting style, you can choose Judo, Karate, Brazilian Jiu jitsu, Boxing, Kickboxing, or an all-around style.

Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs takes place in open-world Hong Kong and follows the story of a cop who must single-handedly take down the entire army of criminals. But it is not just the beautiful setting or an amazing set of moves that makes this game so great. It is also how the story unfolds, following the main character as he descends further into the dark underbelly of Hong Kong. The game features a unique experience system in which you develop specific skills based on three broad categories: Cop, Triad, and Face. These reflect the struggle within the main character as he must decide whose side he is really on.

Tekken

To all fans of martial arts video games, this game needs no introduction. It is one of the most iconic martial arts games, and the fights will simply blow you away. It has seven installments, with Tekken 2 and Tekken 3 often found on the lists of greatest games of all time.

Street Fighter

Together with Tekken, this franchize, and Street Fighter II in particular, helped define the martial arts genre. Its 2D gameplay mixes various techniques, such as striking and grappling, defense and countering moves for a realistic fighting experience. Its last installment, Street Fighter V was released January 16, 2018.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

The fans of anime will agree that this is the best game in the anime fighting genre. It is stunningly faithful to the TV show in terms of visuals. You can play all your favourite characters from Dragon Ball Z in story mode, player vs player offline and online modes.

Shaolin vs Wutang

This beautiful indie game is a tribute to classic 70’s and 80’s kung-fu films. It includes an original soundtrack that will make you nostalgic about the golden days of martial arts movies. The game features both hand-to-hand and weapon combat, 30 unique characters, and can be played in a single player mode or as a local co-op.

With the popularity of MMA and the Olympics, people tend to equate combat sports with martial arts. To be fair, there are quite a few similarities. However, this would be the same as equating FUN88 codes with Steam codes – there is some overlapping, but they are really different. Here is how.

Rich History

Martial arts, in their various forms, have existed for a few thousand years, and not just in Asia. There have been many forms of martial arts that focused on wrestling, grappling, punching, kicking, throwing, and using weapons.

The purpose of these martial arts, though somewhat romanticized in movies with Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, and Mark Dacascos, to name a few, was to allow physically smaller, weaker, and often unarmed people to fight. Martial arts like Muay Thai were designed to train an army of people with very few resources against the invaders and Capoeira played a huge part in the revolt of African slaves in the Americas.

Sports

As time progressed, martial arts lost some of the mystique surrounding them. That mystique was there to intimidate would-be aggressors and to keep the secrets of techniques that were most effective and not damaging to the user’s body. Pretty soon, some martial arts were converted into combat sports. Competitions were held and the focus was shifted from defense and immobilization to points and aesthetics. You could still win by knocking your opponent out, but you would also have a chance if you scored more hits or pushed them out of the ring.

Many combat sports have a ban on techniques that would normally be used in a fight for the sake of being sporting and not letting the form devolve into a brawl. For example, Taekwondo uses kicks in the sporting tournaments, but the martial art also uses punches, grapples, throws, joint-locks, and sweeps. None of these are allowed in official Taekwondo tournaments. Training in combat sports, as exhausting as it is, is not as dangerous as training in martial arts used to be.

Make no mistake, though, combat sports can still injure and kill a person. That’s why there is always a referee of some sort in the ring and why many of them have protective gear, like helmets, gloves, shin guards, jockstraps, and so on.

Competition

The end goal of practicing martial arts and combat sports is also very different. Martial arts are a way of life. The purpose of martial arts is to live healthily and to be virtuous, so as not to abuse your knowledge and to build a better world by improving yourself, without limiting yourself to fighting techniques. Tai chi, for instance, is a Chinese martial art made popular for its health benefits and you are likely to see people outside practicing it the same way they do Yoga.

Combat sports also aim at peak physical condition, but their goal is more about what’s in front of us than it is about what’s to come. Combat sports don’t have the same culture as the martial arts and they are more about competitions and proving you are better than someone else. One could argue that combat sports are an aspect of martial arts, much like the forms, or the philosophy. To put it simply and bluntly – there is more to martial arts than just knocking someone out.

Whatever martial art you choose to master, you will be dedicating your time to a noble discipline, often with a long and rich tradition, that will engage both your body and your mind. Mastering martial arts requires time, patience and practice, but as you learn, you will become more mature, your body will become lean, fit and strong, and your confidence will grow.

Step 1: Choosing a Martial Art

First, you need to choose a martial art that you want to master. Each has its philosophy that is reflected in its training style. For example, judo means gentle (ju) way (do) and it was developed in Japan as a physical and moral pedagogy. It is built around the concept of jū yoku gō o seisu (softness controls hardness). Thus, the style of judo consists of using the opponent’s force to put them off balance, allowing for weaker competitors to defeat much stronger ones. On the other hand, aikido embodies the principle of aiki, “joining energy”. Thus, this martial art avoids direct clashes of force and focuses instead on joining forces with the opponent in order to overcome them.

Thus, if you want to master an Asian martial art, it is a good idea to study and understand the philosophy and values behind it. These martial arts often stress harmony between mind and body. Here, developing the right mindset is equally important as physical mastery.

If you want to learn a martial art that you can use for self-defense and are more interested in practical application than in spiritual aspect of martial arts, consider Krav Maga, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai. They offer plenty of moves that you can use in real danger to defend yourself from attacks.

Step 2: Find a Teacher

After choosing a martial art, the next step is to enroll in a school for your chosen martial art and attend classes regularly. You will progress much faster with the instructor and in a supportive group of fellow students than you could on your own.

If it is not possible for you to find a teacher, e.g. because there is no martial arts school where you live, there are numerous online courses that can help you teach yourself. This will be much easier if you find a training partner. However, it is possible to practice even without a partner by using the technique of visualizing your opponent.

Step 3: Regular Workout

If you really want improvement, you will need a regular workout. Martial arts engage your entire body and you should do cardio, stretching exercises for flexibility, and exercises that strengthen the primary muscles for your fighting style. In addition, use cross-training to make your whole body stronger. Body is a unified whole and all parts should work in concert in order to perform successfully.

Also, like in any sports, a well-balanced diet is crucial to success. Take enough fruit, vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates every day.

Be patient and diligent in learning the basics because these are the foundations for all the more complex moves. Keep in mind that it takes years to truly become a master. To take judo as an example once more, you will need to pass several student levels before being eligible for the black belt. But the journey doesn’t end there because there are more than 10 grades for black belt fighters, and only a few achieve complete mastery.

Many people enter the world of martial arts in order to become ripped or shredded, but that is not what the martial arts are about. There are some aspects to it that can improve your health and general well-being. Here are a few ways martial arts can help improve your life.

Physical Health

While you are not going to get huge like a stereotypical bodybuilder, and you are not going to get amazing pecks and abs if you train only recreationally, you should still consider doing martial arts for its health benefits. Every practice starts with stretches and ends with them, with special attention being paid to the proper execution of techniques and strength exercises.

In other words, doing martial arts makes you stronger, more limber, and more energetic. This, paired with a proper diet, boosts your immune system and keeps your body in the shape that is above average when compared to your age group. You can also lose some of the pain in your muscles and joints and even kick-start some of your body’s systems, like digestion or blood flow. Trust us, these are a big deal down the line.

Mental Health

As you may or may not know, physical exercise can improve your mood, which is one of the things recommended to people battling any in a wide array of mental conditions, like anxiety and depression. Physical exercise leads to the secretion of endorphins in order to make the physical stress not so scary. After practice, you feel elated and euphoric, not just tired.

There is also the added benefit of resolving any pent-up aggression you may have, by providing you with a way to vent. Martial arts do have one more benefit that the traditional going to the gym and going some sports do not – you learn how to keep your emotions in check, instead of suppressing them or unleashing them when you can’t hold back. Martial arts help develop discipline, which you can use in other aspects of your life as well. Furthermore, regular practice and the execution of techniques build your self-confidence, allowing you to make decisions you can stand behind without doubting yourself.

Rhythm

Martial arts are beneficial to people who have trouble organizing their day. Waking up, going to bed, and eating at irregular times makes us disoriented, unfocused, and unmotivated to do our best, whether it is at home, work, school, or our hobbies. Going to Judo or something else several times per week gives you an idea of how to put a bit of rhythm to your life, which makes things easier in the long run.

This sense of rhythm and discipline is, really, all you need to lead a life with better quality than what you might expect to find among your peers. Remember that doing martial arts is not just a hobby. As corny as it may sound, it is a way of life, a set of habits that makes you into a better version of yourself.