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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"That's what I use for my takedown, the shoot, that people see, it's zero wrestling. It has nothing to do with my wrestling. My wrestling is once I get that leg, I'll finish the takedown. But how I get in and out is because of karate. People are like, 'no way, Karate, no.' And I'm like, 'yes.' Karate allows me to cut the distance and take the people down. I have a very good single, a very good double and very good penetration. It's because of my leg, the way I do it, and the timing is because of my karate. I wrestle, too, but my karate is primary. Before I started wrestling, I was a karate guy pure."
-UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre talks to Joe Rogan on his podcast and explains why it's his karate background, not wrestling, that has made his takedown game so effective in MMA (transcribed by BJPenn.com).
Penick's Analysis: St-Pierre's been considered one of the top wrestlers in MMA despite not coming from a wrestling background, and this is an interesting insight into why that is. That timing aspect of his karate background is a different wrinkle to that takedown game, and it's something that other wrestling-savvy fighters don't have in their arsenal. It's the combination of things that he's able to put together so well, and it helps him stay ahead of the curve against his contemporaries.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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