Why is there such a lack of kung fu in the ufc and kickboxing?

Plenty of fighters who studied Kung Fu or have kung fu as primary backgrounds. Muslim & Zabit have been mentioned, they both come from the same school in Dagestan, and you will probably see more fighters come out from that school some time in the future. We also know that Tony Ferg for example practices some sticky hands as well, and I'm sure more fighters that we are not aware have some form of kung fu lurking in their background.

Copied this from elsewhere, so no credit taken:

  • Cung Le (UFC, former StrikeForce middleweight champ) Wushu Kung Fu, Kuntao & Vietnamese Kung Fu, Sanshou. Three time Bronze Medalist in the Wushu World Championships. The only American Wushu Kung Fu Athlete to have three World medals. [1]

  • Yi Long: (WLF) Shaolin Kung Fu Master from the Shaolin Temple. Shaolin Kung Fu. Sanshou. [2] [3] [4]

  • Roy Nelson (UFC, tuf 10 winner, former ifl hw champ & ifl 2007 hwgp champ): Shaolin Kung Fu black belt. Bjj. Nelson stated, “Kung-fu is the root for I would say 95% of all martial arts. I practice it every day.” [5]

  • Dan Hardy (UFC) Trained with Shaolin Monks in China. Wushu, tdk, bjj. [6]

  • Pat Barry (UFC) Sanshou. Trained with Chinese National Sanshou team at the Shaolin Temple. Won the Sanda Kungfu Federation (SKF) United States Heavyweight Championship [7]

  • Sami Berik: Wing Chun and T'ai Chi. Received gold medals at T'ai Chi tournaments in Britain and Europe [8]

  • Peter Davis (one fc 10-3) Kung Fu [9]

  • Luke Cummo (UFC) Kung Fu, Jeet Kune Do, bjj. Also appeared on The Ultimate Fighter. [10] [11]

  • Jason Delucia (UFC) Trained in Five Animals Kung Fu. [12]

  • Bao Li Gao (ruff) Sanshou [13]

  • Zhang Tie Quan (UFC) Black sash in Sanshou (Sanda), brown belt in bjj. [14]

  • Ian McCall (UFC, former tpf flw champ): Black belt in Kung Fu, bjj. [15]

  • James Wilks (UFC, tuf 9 winner): Full instructor in Jeet Kune Do, black belt tdj, brown belt bjj. [16]

  • Michelle Waterson (UFC, invicta aw champ) Wushu, black belt in Karate [17]

  • Daniel Spohn: Iron Body Gong Fu System, black belt in traditional Kachido Aikijitsu. [18]

  • Jumabieke Tuerxun: Sanshou. He trains out of China’s elite Xian Physical Education University, where he is a pupil of Zhao Xuejun. [19]

  • Chuck Liddell:(UFC) Hawaiian Kempo. Kajukenbo. While he did not study literal Kung Fu, Liddells trainer, Hackleman, was schooled in Kajukenbo which is a mixture of Kempo Karate, Tang Soo Do, Judo, Jujitsu, Chinese Kempo, and Chinese Kung Fu. Hackleman later changed the name of this blend to Hawaiian Kempo. But Liddell was trained in traditional martial arts. [20] [21] [22]

  • Nick Osipczak (UFC) Tai Chi Chaun Kung Fu, bjj [23]

  • Bazigit Atajev (pride) Sanshou. He won a gold medal at the World Wushu Championships. [24]

  • Wang Guan “The Dongbei Tiger”: Sanshou, Kung Fu. [25]

  • Yao Honggang: (LegendFC) Sanshou, Shuaijiao (traditional Chinese Wrestling). [26]

  • Vaughn Anderson: (Bellator) Sanshou [27]

  • Ao Hailin: (Art of War) Sanshou [28]

  • Zhang Meixuan: (Ruff) Sanshou [29]

  • Ji Xian: (Legend FC) Sanshou, bjj [30]

  • Liu Hailong: Sanshou. Called the “Super King of Sanda.” [31]

  • Xingxi: Shaolin Kung Fu Master from Shaolin Temple. Shaolin Kung Fu, training for mma. [32]

  • Felix Lee Mitchell: (UFC) Shaolin Kung Fu. [33]

  • Muslim Salikhov:** AKA King of Kung Fu. Sanshou. BJJ. Champion of European Wushu Championships in 2004, and world champion in 2005. Won championship of World Wushu Championships in 2011. [34]

  • Shi Yanzi: (Hero Legends, WLF) Shaolin Kung Fu. Shaolin Sanshou. Formerly lived for some time at the Shaolin Temple. He was Chinese National Champion for 15 years. He was an eight time champion at the Chinese national sanda championships as well as twice crowned World Champion. He recently starred in a film. [35]
 
I think Kung Fu has been subject to some of the worst and most contemptible mcdojo/Bullshido culture out of the traditional martial arts such as Karate, Taekwondo, Judo etc.

I think with some of the other arts mcdojoism creeps in because they prioritise health and safety/having a full time job etc.

With Kung Fu there seems to be such a culture of being too deadly for competition and creepy supernatural shit. Maybe that's just my experience.

That being said;

 
superpunch said:
Human bodies haven't changed. So why's it have to be modernized?

Like, a muay thai fighter from the 1600s, or a bare knuckle boxer from the 1800s or a greek pankrationist from 2000 years ago would still kick some ass today.

I guess what I'm so confused on is how the fuck were people actually fighting with animal styles and stuff 100+ years ago? Why'd it work then but not anymore?
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People didn’t fight with 'animal styles and stuff' back in the days. I’m not an expert in martial arts history, but my guess is a lot of has been romanticized with Hollywood movies. Back in the days, a lot of martial arts were based off of warfare and evolved around weaponry.
 
superpunch said:
Human bodies haven't changed. So why's it have to be modernized?

Like, a muay thai fighter from the 1600s, or a bare knuckle boxer from the 1800s or a greek pankrationist from 2000 years ago would still kick some ass today.

I guess what I'm so confused on is how the fuck were people actually fighting with animal styles and stuff 100+ years ago? Why'd it work then but not anymore?
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Because they didn't... they fought with weapons.
 
Gung-Fu is a very broad term, but I think as a whole:

-There is less interest in it every generation
-Teachers breed a mentality that is not particularly MMA compatible (they often have a spiritual slant that contradicts glory fighting)
-MMA rules are inhibitive

Many soft styles implement a plethora of throat, eye and joint strikes, while many hard styles implement taking advantage of injuries and downed opponents. Muay Thai is boxing. It's pretty straight forward and easy to integrate.

And good luck finding a legitimate instructor if you don't live in a major metropolitan area. Even then...
 
I remember when the Buffer introduced Dillashaw as a ‘monkey style’ fighter and he won. However I was disappointed not to have seen him once use the monkey fist and had ample opportunity to do so.
 
Maripucci said:
Didn't Bruce Lee start out training King fu and realized how limited it was and created his own?
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Pretty much all martial arts are limited and he chose to combine what he thought was best.
 
superpunch said:
Kung fu is legit. It historically has competed against muay thai and done very well. It seems though the art is slipping. What's going on?
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superpunch said:
Kung fu is legit. It historically has competed against muay thai and done very well. It seems though the art is slipping. What's going on?
Click to expand...
When I was a young boy everybody was kungfu fighting and those kicks were seriously as fast as lightning.
 
Cung Le TMA is derived from Kung Fu, so is Zabits. Roy Nelson claimed to be a kung fu fighter, though it could have been as a joke.
 
Safton said:
Functionalized/modernized Kung Fu = Sanda (generally speaking) and there's been no shortage of fighters with a background with a background in that. Probably on of the best striking bases out there.
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Googling
 
HaulParris said:
Good question. Has there ever been a kung-fu-based fighter in modern MMA? I don’t mean early UFCs where dudes off the street came to the cafe claiming to be black belts. Lastly, this thread made me think of that Chinese MMA fighter who challenges “traditional” martial artists (and gets hated on for it)
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Cung Le is probably among the most rooted to the traditional, him being a Sanda champ. His "sport kung fu" did work, crazy kicks and trips.

But, I get a feeling this is more a movie kung fu question, like the wing chun handfighting that Anderson used to demonstrate during his most confident moments. Or what Nick Diaz does with his hands because of his deep love for nunchucks and ninjas.
 
Ahmed Masood said:
Fact, wing chun only works if the opponent has no concept of western boxing. A good jab beats everything (unless you fight TKZ)
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not sure its the jab that beats wing chun so much as hooks and combinations.
 
DatSamboKid said:
People didn’t fight with 'animal styles and stuff' back in the days. I’m not an expert in martial arts history, but my guess is a lot of has been romanticized with Hollywood movies. Back in the days, a lot of martial arts were based off of warfare and evolved around weaponry.
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That kung fu shit doesnt work, sorry homie
 
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