Martial Arts 101.

Martial arts is a popular type of self defense that emphasizes discipline and focus. Today, it's taught primarily as a tool for physical fitness, sports, confidence and mental discipline, but it originated as a method of self defense that was taught to soldiers and used in combat.

Bruce Lee.

What is Martial Arts?
The term “martial arts” includes various types of fighting techniques that are used primarily for self defense. Martial arts originated thousands of years ago within the cultures of China, Japan and India. China is home to one of the oldest types of martial arts, called Oigong, thought to have been practiced as long as 5,000 years ago. Qigong, which means "energy cultivation," is a martial arts technique that was developed to increase the flow of energy in the body. According to Chinese philosophy, a person's life energy is responsible for strength and health throughout their lifetime.

What are the Types of Martial Arts?
Some types of martial arts are practiced without self defense weapons, while others include weapons like swords, knives and daggers. Whether armed or unarmed, the desired result of all types of martial arts is to achieve physical power over an opponent. The different types of martial arts fall into categories that include striking arts, joint lock arts and throwing arts.

Lyoto Machida, Shotokan Karate black belter.

Striking Arts
The striking arts method of martial arts is one of the oldest techniques. Striking arts techniques focus on striking the opponent in vulnerable body parts in order to defeat him. Striking arts include Karate, Tae Kwon Do and boxing. While Karate and Tae Kwon Do employ various punches and kicks to the body, boxing focuses on hitting the opponent in the upper torso using boxing gloves.

Photo credit: Aikido Auckland.

Joint Lock Arts
In joint lock arts, you must learn how to push and manipulate your opponent's joints past their normal comfort zone. This self defense technique is especially helpful when a small person is pitted against a larger person. Aikido, a disciplined type of martial arts, uses joint lock techniques, but these techniques require years of study and are extremely hard to master.

Roger Gracie, grandson of Carlos Gracie - creator of Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

Throwing Arts
Throwing arts, practiced in Judo and wrestling, focus on knocking your opponent off their feet. Hapkido and Braazilian Jiu-Jitsu use a combination of striking, joint lock and throwing arts performed with fluid movements that are meant to take an opponent quickly to the ground.

ONE FC: Warrior's Way | Wins, Losses, and all the Action!

'Twas another night of hard-hitting, world class mixed martial arts action as ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) returned to Manila last night for ONE FC 23: Warrior's Way. Here's a recap of all the action that happened at the Mall of Asia Arena.

ONE FC Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes retained his title with a submission win over Korea’s Dae Hwan Kim. Kim proved to be a live challenger as he tested Fernandes’ championship mettle in the first round with a display of lightning quick strikes that found their mark. In the second round, Fernandes turned to grappling as he quickly worked to secure Kim’s back after the Korean missed a punch. Moments later, Fernandes locked in a Rear Naked Choke, forcing Kim to tap out.

And still the ONE FC Bantamweight Champion!

In the co-main event of the evening, international mixed martial arts superstar Brandon “The Truth” Vera of the Philippines defeated URCC champion Igor Subora of the Ukraine via spectacular knockout, sending the MOA Arena crowd into a frenzy. The fight started off with both fighters trading heavy blows. Vera caught Subora in a Muay Thai clinch and unleashed a couple of knees to the head. Towards the end of the round, Vera slipped a punch by Subora and countered with a straight left, dropping his opponent and throwing in two more kicks for good measure. The referee stepped in to stop the fight, awarding Vera with the victory.

Brandon Vera comes home - and takes the win!

Timofey Nastyukhin of Russia defeated hometown hero Eduard Folayang after connecting with a combination of devastating strikes to win by knockout. After a solid exchange of power shots at the center of the cage, Nastyukhin landed a flying knee to the chin of Folayang, sending the Filipino to the canvas in the first round. Two quick kicks finished things off as the referee stepped in, awarding Nastyukhin the victory.

Flying knee to the chin of Folayang.

Roger Gracie of the renowned Gracie fighting family made a successful ONE FC debut against the hard-hitting James McSweeney. In a feeling out round, the two light heavyweights spent the majority outside of each other’s range until McSweeney connected with a roundhouse kick. In the second round, a cut opened up on McSweeney’s right eye courtesy of a Gracie left hand. Gracie went to work on the eye for the remainder of the round. In the third, things got worse for McSweeney as he hurt his foot after missing with a kick. Gracie immediately capitalized on the situation and pounced on McSweeney with downward strikes, causing the referee to call a halt to the contest.

Roger Gracie's first ONE FC match, and he takes the win!

In a bantamweight matchup, Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon impressed with a strong performance against the highly touted Koetsu Okazaki of Japan. After a slow start, it was Belingon who was able to land the damaging blows as he dropped Okazaki to the mat with a thudding right hook towards the end of the round. In round two, Belingon continued his dazzling display of elite striking with a wide array of kicks, punctuated by a flashy spinning side-kick that knocked Okazaki back. In the third, Belingon scored on a pair of kicks and finished the round with a series of sharp elbows from top position. All judges were in favor of Belingon, who won by unanimous decision.

Herbert Burns needed just a few minutes to take care of Honorio Banario, working and securing a Rear Naked Choke to end the fight in round one. As soon as the opening bell sounded, Burns took Banario’s back with lightning quick efficiency, sinking in the hooks almost immediately as both fighters hit the ground. For the rest of the round Banario tried desperately to defend from the choke but it was inevitable. Once the choke was locked in, Banario had no choice but to tap out, giving Burns the submission victory.

In a battle of light heavyweights, former NCAA Division I wrestler Jake Butler dominated Sylvain Potard in a much anticipated rematch. In round one, Butler controlled most of the action, keeping Potard ineffective against the cage. Butler used his wrestling again in round two, this time to gain mount, letting his hands go with a combination of damaging left hands. Butler continued his dominance to the end of the third and final round, winning the fight by unanimous decision.

Former Lumpinee champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke of Evolve MMA showed fans just how dangerous his world-class Muay Thai can be by taking care of Rene Catalan of the Philippines in a clash of ferocious flyweights. In round one, Sor Amnuaysirichoke worked masterfully in the clinch, blasting a plethora of vicious knees to Catalan’s midsection, one of which sent the Filipino to the canvas writhing in pain. With his opponent unable to continue, Sor Amnuaysirichoke nabbed the win by knockout.

Ana Julaton wins via unanimous decision.

Former boxing world champion Ana Julaton showcased her newfound grappling skills against opponent Walaa Abas, winning a unanimous decision. In the first round, both fighters traded strikes in the clinch but it was Julaton who was able to score on a takedown. In the second, Julaton’s boxing shone through as she landed a series of solid blows. The third round saw much of the same action as Abas tried her best to keep the distance and avoid Julaton’s power punching.

Amazing ground and pound by Jujeath Nagaowa.

The Philippines’ Jujeath Nagaowa and Cambodia’s Tharoth Sam kicked off the action for ONE FC: Warrior's Way in an entertaining women’s atomweight contest. The former pro-boxer Nagaowa dominated the fight with impressive boxing in the clinch and some solid ground work. In the second round, Nagaowa caught Sam out of position and swiftly worked to get full mount, unleashing ground and pound to win by referee stoppage.

Official results for ONE FC: Warrior's Way

ONE FC Bantamweight World Championship bout:
Bibiano Fernandes defeats Dae Hwan Kim by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:16 minutes of round 2
Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera defeats Igor Subora by Knockout at 3:54 minutes of round 1 Lightweight bout: Timofey Nastyukhin defeats Eduard Folayang by Knockout at 3:11 minutes of round 1
Light Heavyweight bout: Roger Gracie defeats James McSweeney by TKO (Strikes) at 3:15 minutes of round 3
Bantamweight bout: Kevin Belingon defeats Koetsu Okazaki by Unanimous Decision
Catchweight bout: Herbert Burns defeats Honorio Banario by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:59 minutes of round 1
Light Heavyweight bout: Jake Butler defeats Sylvain Potard by Unanimous Decision
Flyweight bout: Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke defeats Rene Catalan by Knockout at 2:30 minutes of round 1
Flyweight bout: Ana Julaton defeats Walaa Abas by Unanimous Decision
Atomweight bout: Jujeath Nagaowa defeats Tharoth Sam by TKO (Strikes) at 3:34 minutes of round 2

And in case you missed the action, log on to www.onefc.com/livestream for the full replay of the fights at only US $9.99.

One FC: Warrior's Way | Roger Gracie returns to MMA action.

When you think about fighting families in the world of  mixed martial arts, only one name comes to mind. That is the legendary Gracie family, who were the inventors of the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They will now send one of their greatest descendants to do battle in the world-renowned One FC cage. The representative is multiple-time world grappling champion, Roger Gracie.

Roger Gracie gearing up for his One FC debut.

Roger Gracie is set to make his long-awaited debut for One FC on 5 December in Manila when he takes on knockout artist James McSweeney. McSweeney has professional kickboxing experience and will look to demonstrate his striking prowess against the grappler Gracie. Since coming to One FC, McSweeney has destroyed both light heavyweight and heavyweight opponents via knockout. This is a clash of two high profile athletes in the sport today.

Roger Gracie is an icon of the grappling world. He is the grandson of Carlos Gracie, the creator of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In 2005, he won both the heavyweight and absolute division tournaments at the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship. He also won all of his bouts at the 2009 Mundials and have never been submitted in competition in more than ten years. He also has an impressive mixed martial arts record, notching up six victories thus far.

After his last bout a year ago, he was prepared to walk away from mixed martial arts. However, after speaking with a few close friends and One FC executives, he decided the itch for competition remains and decided that now was the time to come out to Asia to create a legacy.

Another Gracie in One FC!

"I am happy to sign with One FC. I had given up in fighting MMA, decided to go back to jiu-jitsu, but I got this offer and it changed my mind," Gracie said. "I’m going to do a few more MMA fights, and I still want to compete in jiu-jitsu."

He now teaches and owns an academy in London, England. Gracie has seen his cousins Igor, Gregor and Rolles Jr. all achieve mixed results in the One FC cage and is determined to do the legendary family proud by letting the world witness a Gracie become world champion once again. He has announced plans to compete at two weight classes and want to reign supreme at both classes.

Tickets for One FC: WARRIOR’S WAY on 5 December in Manila are on sale now at SM Tickets (http://www.smtickets.com). Ticket categories begin with the full Red Carpet and cageside experience for VIPs at PHP 6,360 followed by Patron PHP 3,180, Lower Box PHP 1,280, Upper Box PHP 640 and General Admission PHP 220. Prices include ticketing fee. Pre-sale packages are currently available.