Get ready for a beat down.
Martial artists from various backgrounds will bash the bejesus out of each other tonight for a prize purse at the Taipei Youth Activity Center (青少年育樂中心Y17) near Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Organized by the Mingwu Mixed Martial Arts Club (名武會館綜合武術), the tournament consists of eight matches. Among the fighters are guests invited from Brazil who are trained in Brazilian jujitsu, a style of martial arts that specializes in full-body takedowns and grappling on the mat and was made famous by Joyce Gracie in the first series of Ultimate Fighting Championships back in the 1990s.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MINGWU MIXED MARTIAL ARTS CLUB
Between the bouts, Cristiane Santiago’s CapoArte school will stage demonstrations of capoeira, another Brazilian martial art characterized by drumming and dancing.
Teachers and organizers of the fight night say they want to educate Taiwan’s mixed martial arts scene about the importance of solid mat work, which is particularly useful in mixed martial arts fights.
“Not enough people know how to grapple in Taiwan. We want to show people how this technique can be effective,” says Lalin Youming (喇藺猶命), a Mingwu instructor.
The Mingwu club was organized by three martial arts teachers in Hsinchu. Song Mingyan (宋明諺) quit college to train full-time in wushu 10 years ago. Shortly after he began his training, he teamed up Chen Yihong (陳奕宏) to explore other styles such as karate, Shaolin kung fu and taekwondo. Joining later was Lalin, of the Taiya Aboriginal tribe, who brought his knowledge of tai chi to the club.
They now teach 90 students, one-fifth of whom are foreigners, Lalin says.
Tonight’s tournament runs from 7:30pm to 10:30pm on the 10th floor of the Taipei Youth Activity Center, at 17, Renai Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (北市仁愛路二段17號). For more information visit www.mingwu.com.tw.
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