A Tale of Two Cities: Jiu Jitsu in Vietnam

The end of World War II signaled a chain of events that led to the political division of Vietnam into north and south. The north were commies, and the south were capitalists... the US enters to back the south, Forest Gump gets shot in the buttocks, the US leaves, and the country is reunited as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Though the political divide was bridged in 1971, a cultural divide continues to exist in 2013. And while the war wasn't the cataclysmic event that sent Vietnam on two different cultural projections, it did widen the already existing cultural gap between north and south. This cultural difference is especially visible in how each side views foreigners and foreign influence; which in turn affects the development of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in each region.

As a whole, jiu jitsu in Vietnam remains in its infantile stage. The sport was first introduced in the south about six years ago, and few Vietnamese people know of jiu jitsu.The only places to train are either in Ho Chi Minh City in the south or Hanoi in the north. Though both cities share significant similarities in in how new BJJ is, one can't help but notice the differences in the availability of training and technical level between the BJJ scenes in Hanoi and HCMC.

To me, visiting such a raw jiu jitsu environment felt exciting. It reminded me of the stories I’ve heard about the rough and tough early days of jiu jitsu in America. Back when people trained in garages, YMCA gyms, on grass lawns and carpet, or even hardwood floors. In a sense, it felt like I was witnessing the growth of Vietnam's own dirty dozen. Because Jiu Jitsu is still so new, few Vietnamese people know of the sport, and unlike other South East Asian countries, Vietnam does not have a rich history of martial arts. Some traditional martial arts do exist, but for the most part people don't train in them. Even boxing and Muay Thai were outlawed for years for being too brutal and "anti-socialist." As a result, Vietnamese people don't show as much interest in training in martial arts like BJJ. Hence why the BJJ scene in Vietnam is vastly made up of expats. The high cost of gym dues in proportion to the average Vietnamese wage also hurts Vietnamese sign ups. One gym, Hanoi BJJ, focuses on spreading BJJ among local Vietnamese, and keeps the price at 10 dollars a month to attract local natives. This price covers the facility rent but doesn't turn out a profit.

All of the advanced practitioners living in Vietnam developed their BJJ skills outside of Vietnam. Some are ethnic Vietnamese who lived abroad and returned home, but most are expats coming to work in Vietnam. This makes it difficult for gyms to hold down advanced trainers and sparring partners since they tend to leave after completing their employment obligations. BJJ Hanoi member, Da Nwang says,"the problem with foreigners in Hanoi is [that] people don’t stick here.” This gym started out with a purple belt instructor from Australia about 3 years ago. Unfortunately, the gym has been without a trainer for the last year and a half. In the south, Snake Pit Jiu Jitsu was without an instructor for one year while its founder returned to the US to develop his own game. 

Another thing both the north and south have in common is the lack of female practitioners. Even though the first ever homegrown Vietnamese fighter to earn a medal in a big international tournament was a lady, women practitioners are rare. Almost every gym has a story of a few female students joining up and then leaving, and the only female practitioner I was able to meet was an expat. However, I did hear of a few places that had Vietnamese women practicing. The general consensus is that Vietnamese women find the close quarters nature of jiu jitsu unsettling. House of Laughter gym owner, Aaron Gardiner says, "When women come in and see a bunch of big dudes lying on each other, they are never keen." Vietnamese people in general tend to feel uncomfortable with the physical contact of grappling, and it can be even harder for a woman to get over. However, everyone I talked to said they would welcome any female fighter. Though there was a tone of "We respect female practitioners and we welcome them, but we have to take it easy on them since they're weaker and smaller than men." But it would be unfair to single out Vietnam when this sentiment is heard all around the world. 

While it's true that BJJ is new throughout all of Vietnam, it should be noted that Hanoi jiu jitsu and HCMC jiu jitsu are on two different stages in development. This contrast due to cultural differences between north and south, but also The Vietnam War intensifying a deeply seeded distrust of foreigners, especially westerners, in the north. Throughout the nation's history, the north and south have always been culturally different in fashion, architecture, and food. Traditionally, southerners think of themselves as being more multicultural, more open minded, and more spontaneous. All qualities that would convince someone to try BJJ. While in the north people see themselves as more tranquil, more traditional, and less trusting of foreigners. Qualities that may inhibit someone from trying a foreign martial art.

The north and south have had two very different histories of dealing with foreigners, especially westerners. Northern distrust of foreigners stems from fighting back the Chinese in the early years of Vietnamese history. Southern multiculturalism stems from the fact that the region has always been an ethnically diverse area. Even after the French took over in the late 1800's, Saigon (modern day Ho Chi Minh) was remade in French fashion, and the aristocratic classes happily accepted their city's title of "The Paris of Asia." Then in 1954 Ho Chi Minh rode a nationalist tide (in combination with terror tactics) to drive out the French and established a Communist state in the north. Soon the nation was in full blown Civil War with the Americans taking over for the French in backing the South both economically and militarily. Many southerners, mainly Catholics and political elites, were happy to accept the foreign aid and protection, thus fueling the north's distrust of foreigners and the south's bond with the west.


The Vietnam War built on an already established mistrust of foreigners in the north; thus making the north less accepting of foreign culture. Throughout Vietnam, but especially in the north, there exists a resentment of Americans and westerners for the war. While in the south, people are used to seeing different faces and incorporating foreign ideas. Hence, it is no wonder that the south has a more developed Brazilian Jiu Jitsu scene than the north; especially since most of the people bringing jiu jitsu over are either Australian, North American, or Japanese. 

Today, South Vietnam is home to multiple gyms that offer grappling.  These gyms are generally more established than those in the north, and generally have higher level instruction. Northerners tend to believe that the south is more appealing to foreign trainers because of the ample tourist traps, bars, and an all around more multicultural atmosphere available in HCMC. For example, Long Ngyuen's gym, VietFighter, is the longest established gym in Hanoi (3 years old). It is a top notch training facility with exercise machines, two floors of mat space, and a big reception lobby, but even VietFighter's excellent facilities are out done by Saigon Sports Club's full fight gear store, swimming pool, ample mat space, and air conditioning!

Ho Chi Minh City is home to lots of purple, brown, and black belts; making it easy to find good sparing partners and coaches. Snake Pitt Jiu Jitsu's instructor, Son "Snake" Duong (purple belt) had to return to the US to develop his skills with other high level sparing partners. So obviously HCMC isn't exactly a Mecca for top level grapplers, but compared to the north, HCMC is definitely further along in terms of experienced instruction. HCMC not only offers experienced jiu jitsu instructors, but experienced instructors from all sorts of grappling arts. Everything from MMA based Jiu Jitsu to Lucha Libre (could we one day have a Vietnamese Saku?) can be found in HCMC. Just the wide variety in grappling arts alone serves as another example of HCMC's multiculturalism, and even though these other grappling arts aren't BJJ, the grappling community as a whole is very tightly knit.  

BJJ practitioners in Hanoi don't generally work or train together. The ability to lay down the foundation for the future BJJ scene in Hanoi perhaps proved too tempting for the first gym owners to pass up. In a wide open field like Hanoi, it seems easier for trainers to just start up their own gyms rather than compromise with another trainer's vision. But in the south, jiu jitsu gyms and other grappling gyms all seem to work closely together.

Saigon Sports Center started an open mat available to grappling gyms within the city. One of the gyms present there was Johnny Ngyuen’s Martial Arts Academy. Ngyuen, a Vietnamese national who learned jiu jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts while living in the United States, is an action movie star using his fame to spread MMA and grappling in Vietnam. The majority of his students are Vietnamese, and he tells me the grappling class gets the most attention. He explains, "they don't know what [MMA] is and they don't know what grappling is... but the fastest thing that they catch on is not striking, it's grappling... I think it's just a basic instinct. Everybody knows how to wrestle. As little kids [they did] it." And even though Ngyuen's main focus is MMA, he still takes time to grow the grappling community by bringing his students to open mats to roll.

Johnny Ngyuen is not alone; every gym owner I spoke to told me that passion for the sport rather than money was the motivation behind opening their business. Most of the gym owners I spoke to supplemented their incomes with a day job, and wanted nothing more than to see the sport of BJJ grow. Though at first glance growing the sport of jiu jitsu in Vietnam seems daunting, but I like to think of the guys at BJJ Hanoi who find the time to train with each other despite the lack of an instructor, and follow online BJJ courses and instructionals to keep themselves sharp. Or the guys from Snake Pitt who waited patiently for a year for their instructor to return, and happily welcomed any high level guys to come by and teach moves.

Should the sport grow in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, jiu jitsu may act as a cultural bridge between practitioners in the north and in the south. Because at the end of the day, jiu jitsu penetrates through any cultural differences we may have. When I showed up to train with these guys I wasn't an American, I wasn't a Mexican, I was another Jiu Jitsu practitioner. Any language or cultural barrier gets thrown out after a roll. We went from simple getting-to-know-you conversations to "let me show you a good way to strangle motherfuckers." We bounced ideas off each other, I helped them with issues they had rolling, and a good roll was recognized with a big smile and a handshake. It didn't matter what language we spoke, what food we ate, or what religion we practiced, all that mattered was the roll. When training, it doesn't matter if you're a northerner or southerner, or an expat or national; at that moment you're just a guy on the mat.

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Hwaighting! Pt. 4: A People’s History of South Korean MMA

Today, Korea is flourishing with talented Mixed Martial Artists. The most famous being “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung. Fans like him because of his aggressive, wild fighting style, and his awesome nick name doesn't hurt either. Jung holds a special place in MMA history; he was the number 1 contender for Jose Aldo’s Featherweight Strap, the first Korean fighter to ever compete for a UFC title. Jung represents the best that Korean MMA has to offer right now, but he isn't the only world class Korean fighter. Dong Hyun Kim, Kyung Ho Kang, and Hyung Gyu Lim also compete in the UFC, and Korean talent fills the ranks of One FC, Asia’s top MMA promotion. As a matter of fact, Soo Chul Kim will unify the One FC Bantamweight title when he fights interim champ Bibiano Fernandes. Clearly Korean MMA is making big waves on the global circuit.

But before cracking the international scene, most Korean fighters fight their way up in the local shows. At home, Road FC is the dominant MMA league (the only other league right now is TOP FC, which just hosted its first show). The structure set up by CEO Moonhong Jung not only showcases top Korean fighters, but also helps build the national talent by giving amateur and rookie Mixed Martial Artists a platform to compete. He originally set up Road FC as a way for Korean fighters to be able to earn a living and build experience. Today his vision has extended beyond just MMA. “Cage Grappling” matches, held in the Road FC Central League (a league for fighters to compete in grappling and striking matches but not MMA), are jiu jitsu matches that take place in the cage. Though there is no striking, cage grappling allows aspiring fighters to get comfortable maneuvering and wrestling inside a cage. After gaining experience competing in a cage, a novice fighter can compete in the Road FC Amateur League. This league gives new fighters a chance to showcase their skills before entering the professional circuit. Moonhong Jung not only helps promote the top Korean athletes, but also gives new fighters the chance to blossom slowly and develop their skills.

Production wise, Road FC looks a lot like Pride, but on a smaller scale and with a cage. Lazers shine on a big stage where the fighters emerge, and a long ramp brings them to the cage. Pyrotechnics along the ramp are used as the fighter’s names are announced, blowing flames 6 feet high that follow both sides of the ramp. Before the start of the main card, K-pop singers and dancers perform to warm up the crowd. It’s a giant spectacle that includes some of Korea’s biggest stars.

Once the fights start, it is again similar to Pride. Like Japanese fight fans, Koreans sit quietly while the fights go on, and only occasionally break into chants or yells. One can easily hear the corner-men shout instructions, and every big punch pierces the silence that surrounds the cage. Only after a big exchange on the feet or a transition on the ground do the fans slip into a burst of applause.

The fighters on the card are mostly Korean, but the promoters bring in some big name international fighters to build interest. Melvin Manhoef, Ikuhisa Minowa, Thierry Sokoudjou all competed against Korean Fighters under the Road FC banner. Though there are Korean on Korean fights, the shows are generally lined up to showcase Korean fighters against foreigners. This plays to the strong nationalism of Korea. Shouts of “Korea Fighting!” are heard throughout the night, and a Korean win is celebrated with roaring applause. Even so, the crowd behaves very respectful of foreign fighters; especially big names coming from overseas. Despite fighting a local guy, Sokoudjou got a big round of applause when he beat Team Posse coach, Seung Bae Whi. Sometimes being a fight fan is more important than sharing a national identity.

I was lucky enough to watch the finals match of the Road FC Lightweight  tournament; pitting South Korea’s Yui Chul Nam against Japan’s Takasuke Kume. Kume was rumored to have been scouted by the UFC, and a win that night would bring him up to the big leagues, while Nam was relatively unknown outside the Korean fight scene. The fight lived up to its main event status. The two put on a thrilling back and forth battle that after 15 grueling minutes was called a draw, which then required a final 4th round to decide the victor. Kume took the first advantage in the overtime round by getting a takedown, but Nam got back up and got a takedown of his own where he tried to advance position. Kume blocked his opponent’s offense and was able to get back to his feet. They exchanged strikes on the feet and in the clinch, and Suddenly with only seconds left, Nam shot in for a takedown and stole the round. The horn sounded and Nam raised his arms in victory while the crowd went wild. The judges announced him the victor and confetti poured down into the cage while fireworks erupted along the ramp, and then lazers brought the crowd into even more of a craze. It was pretty freakin cool.

In its short history, Korean MMA already produced a strong stable of world class fighters. In a country where MMA is still looked down on by a significant portion of the population, Korean Mixed Martial Artists continue to fight on. In only ten years Korea produced a worthy challenger for a UFC world title. “The Korean Zombie” will forever be the first Korean national to earn a shot to be the best. And his fight with Aldo follows a similar narrative to the fight his fellow Korean fighters are currently waging. Few people gave Jung a shot at beating Aldo, and for a while he seemed content just being there. But after his ring rust was shaken off, he attacked the champion with every weapon in his arsenal, and I bet you the whole Korean MMA community went ape shit when he landed that flying knee in the 3^rd round. In the end, Zombie was too tough for his own good. Even after having his shoulder dislocated, he tried to pop it back in and continue fighting, and the ref mercifully stopped the fight.

The bar has been set by “The Korea Zombie,” and it is now up to the next generation of fighters to surpass it. Given the growing social acceptance of MMA, the fantastic training environments available, and the well structured local circuits for fighters to build their careers, I have to believe that Korean MMA will only get better. I’m sure there were plenty of young Korean fighters inspired by Jung’s heart and determination in that fight. These new fighters can look up to Jung's toughness, and they can look up to their parent's hard work ethic. From a war torn nation to an emerging global power, and from MMA obscurity to producing title challengers, Koreans know how to fight.

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Hwaighting! Pt. 3: A People’s History of South Korean MMA

With the increasing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, gyms/academies are springing up across South Korea. Like most martial arts gyms, the members generally look for a fun way to get some exercise while learning self defense. Very few people have any aspirations of ever fighting; much less of being a world champion. They may not get magazine covers but regular Joes learning how to hip escape correctly and to pass a guard  make up the richest part of the global MMA community. Friendships develop from sweating with each other. They pay the dues that help support a coach and his/her family. They train hard and eventually develop as partners for the more advanced members. For big fights they split a case of beer and order Pay Per View. They buy tickets to watch their classmates or coaches fight in a local show. And they also introduce the sport to their coworkers and friends; thereby growing the community even more.

Such is the case in South Korea; where MMA is practiced by people from all walks of life. Because every gym in the world has its own unique training style and atmosphere, no one can sum up the training environment of a whole country. But there certainly are trends that Korean MMA gyms follow, and put against a cultural and historical context, we see how training Mixed Martial Arts is a unique experience in South Korea due to its history of martial arts, the nationalistic emphasis on Olympic sports, and the youth of the sport.

Korean Top Team, P.O.M.A. (Power of Martial Arts), Team MAD, and Team Posse are some of the more established gyms in the country. For example, Korean Top Team in Seoul started around 2003, and is home to some of the top fighters in the country. fighters looking for top level sparring partners and coaches tend to go here. But as fighters continue to grow and develop their own unique style, they often branch out and start their own schools. Some of Korea’s most popular fighters capitalize on their name value to draw in students. Unfortunately, the challenge of juggling a gym and a career can be overwhelming for most fighters; especially if they have a family and children. Thus, most gyms have a supporting cast of capable coaches to help run things.

As I've explained earlier, Korean MMA is still pretty new, but Korea has a long history of martial arts that produced expert strikers, judokas, and wrestlers. Good stand up coaches are easy to find. Champion boxers and K-1 level kickboxers have emerged from this country. After all, one should expect plenty of proficient strikers given that Tae Kwon Do is the national sport. And in MMA, traditional martial arts like TKD continue to prove more and more relevant in the current era of MMA. Anthony Pettis attributes his striking style to Tae Kwon Do directly, and Lyoto Machida gave us MMA fans  “Karate Kid” nostalgia with his knock out of Randy Couture.

Furthermore, the benefit of training TKD doesn't stop on the feet. The incredible leg dexterity and flexibility required to be a good TKD fighter transitions easily into the grapplling world. After spending your childhood learning how to kick people in every way possible from both a south paw and orthodox stance, throwing your legs up for a triangle choke is no issue. UFC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson, a Korean/American himself, exemplifies this point. Though today he is more known as a wrestler/grappler, Henderson’s journey as a martial artist began in a TKD academy. His flexibility was on full display in his fight with Nate Diaz, when Diaz attacked a leg lock and had Henderson doing the full splits without a hint of agony or discomfort from the champion. And his powerful kicking game was on display when he found it easier to kick Frankie Edgar’s leg out from under him than to try and take him down through his wrestling.

The nationalism that exists in Korea puts a big emphasis on Olympic sports like Judo and wrestling, two sports where South Koreans excel at. South Korean judokas brought home a combined 40 Olympic medals with 11 golds. In wrestling, South Korea holds 35 Olympic medals, 11 of them gold. I've had the pleasure of being tossed on my head plenty of times by former members of both the Judo and wrestling national teams. These guys and ladies, that have seen the highest levels of their sport, are being hired by MMA gyms around the country to coach the next wave of Korean fighters. Not only that, but interest in fighting is growing among these Olympic level athletes. Don't be surprised if South Korea started pumping out world class killers in a few years.

The fact that MMA is still very new in South Korea acts as a benefit for aspiring fighters. It may sound counterproductive, but because MMA was already starting to enter the modern hybrid era, Korean fighters know the importance of a well rounded game (being able to fight well both on the feet and on the ground). Rory Mcdonald is the poster boy for the next wave of MMA fighters; the fighters that learned to fight MMA by training for MMA. This approach differs from the past where fighters learned different individual styles and then mixed them to the best of their ability. Contrast that to the modern way that Koreans train. They learn wrestling for MMA, striking for MMA, jiu jitsu for MMA, and ground striking for MMA. It therefore benefits aspiring MMA fighters in Korea to have started late since they didn't have to go through a period of trial and error. Today’s cutting edge training methods arose from the trial and error of the sport’s pioneers. By the time MMA was introduced in South Korea, all the work was done. From day 1 Koreans learn the best stance that allows for both striking and wrestling, and after running through the basics of both ground work and stand up, you begin training “pure” Mixed Martial Arts. So essentially, Korea is developing a nation of Rory Mcdonalds... scary.

All and all, Korean MMA will quickly develop into a hotbed for future talent. World class training is available in gyms all around big cities like Seoul, Busan, and Deajon. These gyms hold fantastic coaching staffs that attribute cutting edge training knowledge to the growing MMA scene. Even casual students looking for a fun way to exercise get to practice all different parts of the game. Thus, never letting training run stale or become mundane since everyday there is something new to explore; be it on the feet or on the ground. And perhaps after training for a while, a casual practitioner may find him or herself willing to test their skills in a real fight. Should a person choose that route, Korea offers a great fighting circuit to build their careers and gradually move up the ranks. To be continued...

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Hwaighting! Pt. 2: A People’s History of South Korean MMA

Previously on “Language Fight:” South Koreans work hard, they’re tough, mentally strong, and they are starting to fuck people up with their jiu jitsu. And like jiu jitsu, Korean MMA is still relatively new; in terms of producing talent in MMA, Korea does very well. There are Korean fighters competing in local organizations like Road FC, international organizations like One FC, and even in the UFC. Korean fighters are representing their country abroad and at home, but how are Korean sport fans receiving their athletes? How closely do Koreans follow the sport of MMA? And how many Koreans are joining MMA gyms to train as a hobby? What of Woman’s MMA? And What is the experience of training and fighting in South Korea like?

Just like BJJ, Mixed Martial Arts has a rich but short history in South Korea. MMA communities around the world are a complex ecosystem made up of fighters, fans, promoters, managers, trainers, students, and their families. An athlete could compete on TV one day, go home the next morning, do an interview for a magazine, pick up the kids from school, take them to the gym, teach a boxing class, take the kids back home, finish their own training session, and then talk to his or her manager about the next fight. To truly analyze the global expansion of MMA, I have to present it through the eyes of not only the fighters, but also the newbies in the gym, the fans, training partners, family members, and coaches that make up the MMA scene. This being my 3^rd post, I’ve learned to narrow my topics a little better. This post deals with how well the Korean public socially accepts the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, and the potential of South Korea as a future market for MMA.

Interest in MMA grew when the Action Channel began broadcasting King of the Cage and Pride FC events in 2002. A year later Daehwan Kim was hired on as an announcer for free televised live events. "There weren't many people that could commentate this kind of shit... at the time the sport itself was really new. And before I went [into] the army i ran a website dealing with MMA... While I [was in] the army, the broadcast station [SBS] started showing MMA... They wanted to find a commentator and they found my website... I [had] and audition and they liked me" says Kim. Since then, MMA fights have drawn good ratings; especially among young males.

“I was thirteen [the first time I] watched King of the Cage,” says Korean MMA coach Taemin Kwak. King of the Cage was a mid level organization at that time, and the UFC was in its dark ages while the Japanese organization, Pride FC, ruled the MMA world. At the time most Korean fans looked up to Pride stars like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko, and Kazushi Sakuraba, from Brazil, Russia, and Japan respectively. When asked what made him want to start training, Kwak answered, “Sakuraba [made] me [start] training.” It is interesting that a Japanese fighter inspired a teenage Korean kid considering that Korea and Japan have an uneasy history of war, colonization, and oppression.

It is also interesting that, one of the biggest MMA stars in Korea is Sung Hoon Choo, better known by his Japanese name, Yoshihiro Akiyama. Born and raised in Japan, but of Korean decent, Akiyama had a difficult upbringing. He was bullied in school, and even after starting his MMA career, he was initially boo’ed by both Japanese and Korean fans for never being quite Japanese enough or being Korean enough to be accepted. Despite all this, Akiyama is now a household name in both countries. Through the sport of MMA, Akiyama was able to bridge cultural and political differences between two peoples. His exciting fights helped both Korean and Japanese fans look past their personal issues with his ethnicity or nationality and embrace him as their own. Today, Akiyama not only fights for the UFC, but also models designer clothes, holds sold out concerts in sport stadiums, is an actor in TV and films, and promotes everything from hand soap to chewing gum in both countries.

At first, it may seem that MMA and its athletes are widely liked by the Korean mainstream, but MMA is just another part of Korea’s wide generational gap. Only 60 years ago, Korea was a nation in ashes. Thus, the Korea experienced by the older generations was very different from Korea today. One older Korean man told me he worries about the youth today. To him, young people are lazy, overly sexual, and disrespectful. He can’t relate to Korea’s youth culture, and MMA is just another part of something he sees strange. “Many people think it’s not a sport, [they think] it is just a fight,” says Hyungsu Kim. Almost every MMA coach I talked to expressed an initial tension between them and their parents over their chosen profession.

Gender also plays a big role in the acceptance of MMA. From a young age girls are taught to be gentle, cute, and submissive. While women who train are usually fans of the sport, generally speaking cagefighting and Korean femininity don’t go together. For example, Taemin Kwak had to break up with his a girlfriend over MMA. She couldn’t get into the sport, and believed he cared more about training than his relationship. Turns out she was right, but there are Korean girls out there for Taemin. I brought some female Korean friends to watch the UFC, and a lot of them enjoyed the action. And when a big Korean name fights in the UFC, it is common to see at least a few female fans watching at the local bar. Still, most Korean girls I’ve met aren’t fans of the sport.

But in spite of the generational and gender gap, the Korean public is embracing MMA. Like I said before, BJJ is growing fast and with it generally comes an interest in MMA. With every jiu jitsu gym that opens, the market for MMA grows. And with young people continuing to follow the sport, South Korea can become a big market for the UFC.

As it stands right now, Koreans are not laying down their money to buy MMA merchandise and media. Furthermore, the largest Korean organization, Road FC, still has trouble selling out tickets. But, a look deeper into who is attending the fights proves the audience is made up of people who train MMA. The potential market for MMA grows as the number of people who train grows. If there is any indication as to how far MMA can go in South Korea, it’s the fact that MMA gyms are opening all around the country. Dong Hyun Kim just opened a very successful gym in the city of Daejeon. And “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung is now the proud owner of the newest MMA gym in Gangnam. A gym that had over 250 enrollments within the first few weeks of its opening. That makes 250 new people who will buy tickets to events, 250 people that will buy mouth guards, rashguards, gloves, and fight shorts, and 250 new people who will introduce the sport to their friends and families. Even K-Pop singers, TV actors, and film stars all took advantage of the one-on-one private lessons offered by Jung; bringing further mainstream attention to MMA.

But it’s the regular people who are training that will make up the first markets for MMA. Those gym newbies still falling over when throwing a jab are the ambassadors for the sport. They will be the ones who will wake up Sunday mornings (because of the time difference) to watch live UFC events. They are the ones who will talk their friends and family into watching the fights together. They will be the ones explaining the action to their coworkers, boyfriends, and girlfriends, and it is exactly those people that I will discuss in my next segment.

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Hwaighting! Pt. 1: South Korean Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

There is a famous exclamation in Korea, it goes: “HWAIGHTING!” It sounds like "Fighting!" but Koreans find the "F" sound difficult to pronounce. It is used to reanimate a person on the verge of quitting.  Whether it's a medical student exhausted from studying or an athlete feeling the effects of fatigue, Koreans say this to motivate each other to keep pushing past obstacles and hardships. Perhaps it is this mindset that drives the top South Korean fighters in the world. Despite it’s short history, Korean MMA is already on the global stage. For example Chan Sung Jung, better known as “The Korean Zombie," fights for a UFC world title on August 3^rd. Though he will be the first of his countrymen to compete for a world championship, he is not the only Korean athlete to fight in the world's most prestigious MMA organization, the UFC. Dong Hyun Kim for example, recently dominated  Siyar Bahadurzada, and on the same night, fellow Korean fighters Kyung Ho Kang and Hyun Gyu Lim made their octogon debut. It may come as a surprise to some that Koreans were only introduced to BJJ and MMA a little more than a decade ago. But the rapid rise of Korean MMA should be of no surprise when one considers the history of the country.Only 60 years ago, South Korea was a war torn nation with a poor economy and a destroyed infrastructure. Yet today it shines as a global influence economically (Samsung and LG are powerful international corporations), culturally (I still hear Gangnam  Style play until 2am outside my hotel room), and in education (consistently one of the top countries in reading, math, and science). Clearly, moving from marginal obscurity to a global powerhouse is not new for Korean people.

Unfortunately, even though Korean nationals fight for the UFC, the average South Korean generally doesn't know about or understand the sport of MMA. And Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, while more widely practiced, is still relatively unknown to the public. However, little by little, BJJ continues to expand across the nation, and with it usually comes an introduction to Mixed Martial Arts since any fighter looking to have success in MMA, must first be competent on the ground. And while BJJ has helped produce Korean MMA fighters, the introduction of MMA to a cable TV audience also helped bring BJJ into the homes of fight fans. Thus, the simultaneous growth of BJJ and the exposure of MMA through cable TV continue to build recognition and acceptance of both Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts. The short but rich history of Jiu Jitsu and MMA in South Korea forces me to split this article in two. First I’ll focus on BJJ in South Korea: how it came about, what obstacles did the sport have to get over, and where it stands today. In the next section, I will focus on the potential of Korean MMA as a mainstream sport with ample practitioners and fans.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was introduced to South Korea about 13 years ago by American black belt John Frankl. Frankl hoped to develop training partners to grapple with, but soon sparked an interest in the Korean community that would not settle down. Once the seed was planted, Korean Jiu Jitsu took off and never looked back. When I first got to Korea I found a gym about 45 minutes away from my apartment. It belonged to Hyeonkap Park, a purple belt under John Frankl.  That day there were about 8 guys training at the gym, 2 of them were blue belts, one was a purple belt, and another was a professional MMA fighter. I wasn't sure what to expect as far as level. My expectations weren't too high since I didn't know of any big name Korean grapplers. Any doubts in my mind of Korean grappling being on par with the U.S. were soon lost. I got my ass thoroughly kicked that night, and I couldn't have been happier. I was worried about having good training in Korea, but after that night I knew those worries were unfounded. Later I joined a gym closer to where I lived, I felt myself improve drastically under the tutelage of Frankl black belt Ji-hyeong Kim. In only 13 years Korea went from barren land to producing more than 15 home grown black belts. But how did BJJ establish itself so quickly given the cultural stronghold of Tae Kwon Do?

Ji Young Kim, a home grown black belt himself, explains, “BJJ was revolutionary martial art that totally changed [the] traditional Korean martial art system, which was [a] little outdated. It was [a] kind of martial art that lots of Koreans desired, one that has effectiveness in real-life combat situation and self-defense.” Though Tae Kwon Do offers great physical, mental, and even spiritual training, it lacks (on its own) real life practicality, something Korean martial artists were looking for. And by the year 2000, Royce Gracie had already proved Jiu Jitsu’s effectiveness in a real fight. Thus giving Jiu Jitsu credibility in the eyes of aspiring martial artists in Korea.

Today, the vast majority of Tae Kwon Do practitioners in South Korea are children. Most adults dismiss TKD as a hobby for kids.This is not to say that only children practice TKD. For example in the 2012 Olympics, Korea won two Medals. Proving that TKD continues to be taken very seriously by some Korean adults. But unlike BJJ, most adult TKD practitioners are groomed since middle school to be potential instructors and Olympians. Children must choose am educational path to follow at a young age. once a path is chosen, the child's education is geared around that path. Students can graduate with a Tae Kwon Do degree from University, but they are only accepted into a program after the student shows promise through years of training and competing. After graduation, some go on to compete for a spot on the national team, others become coaches for schools and universities, and others open their own TKD academy geared at training kids after school. Unlike TKD practitioners, BJJ fighters aren't groomed to be the best BJJ fighters possible. There is no social institution building the next generation of Jiu Jitsu fighters; instead, Jiu Jitsu in Korea grew from nothing more than word of mouth passed along from one interested party to another. Little by little, word got out about a new style of martial art, that allowed small and weak fighters to beat up the big brutes.

All martial arts rely on the principle that through technique, discipline, and hard work, the smaller and weaker fighter can beat a larger and stronger fighter. In no other art is this principle more exemplified than in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Unlike striking arts that rely on timing, speed, and power, Jiu Jitsu relies on leverage and body positioning. Thus, a gifted grappler is able to minimize an opponent's strength and size advantage through proper technique. Therefore, Jiu Jitsu especially benefits women in a way no other martial art can. To tackle the experience of a woman training BJJ in Korea is a task too tall to be wedged into this post alone, that will have to wait for it’s own future post. But, it is possible to understand why Korean women are drawn to BJJ, and how far along female Jiu Jitsu fighters have come since the art was introduced to Korea. 

The highest ranking female practitioner in Korea is a brown belt (the next stop is black by the way) named Heejin Lee. She epitomizes the spirit of Jiu Jitsu. Without the advantage of size or strength, I've seen her lock in chokes and joint-locks while transitioning around her opponent with grace. “I think I have to show that in Jiu Jitsu smaller people and women can fight with bigger guys,” says Lee. Lee plans to open her own school in the future, and as a pioneer of woman's Jiu Jitsu in Korea, she hopes to continue growing woman's interest in BJJ.

Ji Yeon Kim is an aspiring Mixed Martial Artist who started her martial arts training through boxing and kickboxing, but recently added Jiu Jitsu to her regular training regimen. Kim understands the benefits Jiu Jitsu gives women, she explains, “In my opinion, women need Jiu Jitsu. You can get flexibility, strength, and confidence with this, and [as a woman you can] submit guys who are stronger than you with the techniques.” Kim won the inaugural “King of Grappling” tournament in Korea. With only 4 women enrolled in the tournament, the organizers created an “Absolute” class for the ladies. An “Absolute” division means that all competitors will face each other regardless of size. Jiu Jitsu tournaments generally have low turnout rates for women, and because of that low turnout female BJJ fighters struggle to fill brackets in their respective weight classes. If for example there is only one woman in the 50kg division and there are two women in the 65kg division, the promoters will throw all three women into a single bracket,  and in extreme cases, competitors may be pitted against women who are not at their level of experience. A competitor with only 6 months experience may be put up against a 3 year veteran. This hurts both fighters because neither will not get a chance to gauge her progress against a woman with similar experience. The problem is even worse for high level female fighters, who at times are made to fight lower level competition because of a lack of competitors. Though there are more and more blue belt women competing, there are no purple belts and only one brown belt in the country.

To this point, Heejin Lee describes her situation as a high level female fighter looking to compete, “I have not been able to compete a lot in Korea. There are no competitors in my category.” However, Heejin and other badass lady fighters are not alone in this dilemma. Other than a handful of top level guys, Korean brown and black belts are hard to come by at competitions. 10^th Planet instructor Leonard Kim once told me of the difficulties he has competing in Korea. As he explained it, Korean Jiu Jitsu instructors rarely compete. He claims that a loss would hurt the reputation of the gym in the eyes of the BJJ community. Personally, as a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu, I too found it difficult to find competitors at my level. I competed in three BJJ tournaments in South Korea, and my brackets were usually made up of only 2 or 3 rounds. In one tournament, I only had one other fighter in my weight class, and needed to sign up for the absolute division just to get two extra matches.  It is my guess that as the sport grows and black/brown/purple belts become more common, there will be more high level competitors. As it stands, having a purple belt already puts you in a position of authority. It is possible that with more and more black and brown belts developing, some of these experienced fighters will be able to continue on as students rather than teachers. Thereby relieving the pressure that comes with being an instructor, and allowing the competitor to focus more on him/herself rather than on teaching and running a team.

The lack of competitors may also be due to the fact that Korean culture emphasizes social pressure to guide behavior. In some cases this works to the benefit of society as a whole; for example theft in Korea is virtually nonexistent because of the public shame that would come with committing such an act. But this same social pressure may persuade high level fighters to not compete as a way to avoid humiliation.

Another reason may be the fact that most of the top level guys train with each other and therefore don’t want to compete against other teammates. The John Frankl network, made up of Frankl's students who branched off, extends across most of the Gyeonggi province. As a result, most of the top level guys from John Frankl’s team may have trained together at some point in their careers. And after opening their own schools, they choose not to compete against their former teammates. But even this explanation cannot account for the fact that the John Frankl Network is no longer the only team in Korea. Korea is home to Gracie Barra, Team M.A.D., 10th planet, and Korean Top Team to simply name a few gyms. To be fair though, things are changing and more and more high level guys are getting out there to compete. 

By no means is that to say all high level grapplers in Korea are timid when it comes to competing. Koreans coming over from the worlds of wrestling and judo are used to competing, and they are slowly transitioning to Jiu Jitsu. At my first gym, Ratel Yellow, I competed in a BJJ tournament joined by only one other teammate. However, at my second school, Kim Dae Hwan Boxing and MMA, the wrestling  coach, Hyungsu Kim and his brother, competed in a cage grappling only months after being introduced to Jiu Jitsu. Competition was normal for Kim and his brother, so jumping into a submission grappling match was a no-brainer. Hyungsu will also compete at the next K.O.G. tournament along with fellow coach: Tae Min Kwak. In my experience, many of the opponents I went up against came from a judo or wrestling background. Thus, as wrestlers and judo fighters continue to compliment their grappling skills with BJJ, competition will only grow in South Korea.

Tournament organizers also play a crucial role in promoting the sport. The promoters of K.O.G set up superfights (extra non-tournament bouts between two big name competitors) pitting some of the best Jiu Jitsu fighters against top Korean MMA fighters. It was meant as a way to promote Jiu Jitsu and MMA at the same time. The event was a big success and the matches proved entertaining to all those in attendance. The promoters of the tournament have made it their mission to promote the sport, and hopefully through them top Jiu Jitsu players around the country will have the chance to showcase their skill set.

Korean Jiu Jitsu fighters are finding MMA as a tool to not only test their art but to showcase their progress as grapplers. A good example is the fact that the only twister in UFC history was hit by The Korean Zombie himself. Another example is how Dong Hyun Kim dominated two Jiu Jitsu black belts in Nate Diaz and Paulo Thiago, and continues to showcase Korean grappling at the highest level. Indeed, Korea is becoming a hot bed for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In the two years I lived in Korea I personally know of at least five gyms that opened in the Seoul Metropolitan area. Interest in BJJ is growing in Korea, and grappling is being happily accepted by Korean fighters. In just a few weeks Chan Sung Jung will enter the Octagon against Brazilian superstar Jose Aldo. Aldo is known for his powerful striking game, and most observers believe Jung’s best shot is to utilize his grappling. It is a testament to how far Korean Jiu Jitsu has come that one of Korea’s home grown fighters will be looking to submit a Brazilian, who is a black belt in Jiu Jitsu himself, in Brazil; on short term notice no less. However, if Korean history has taught us anything, it’s that Koreans can rise to the occasion quickly. "Chan Sung Jung: HWAIGHTING!"

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Language Fight

As a collective society, we like sports. We appreciate athletic achievement at the highest level. Some people are drawn to American football and some prefer table tennis. But at the very core of all athletic competition is fighting. Stripped to its most raw form, competition is a fight, and we like fights. The president of The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Dana White, once said, “I don’t care what country you come from or what language you speak, fighting is in our DNA. We get it and we like it.” Certainly, the president of the world’s premier fight promotion knows a thing or two about the draw power of combat sports.

It is difficult to argue otherwise. Across the globe, martial arts are practiced regularly by men and women of all races, ages, ethnic backgrounds,  and in different languages. Some are drawn to it for self defense, some seek an exciting way to exercise, and still others appreciate the technique involved in mastering a martial art.  Almost every country in the world has it’s own cultural appeal to fighting. Tae Kwon Do is as much part of Korean identity as kimchi, hanboks, and Hangul. Legendary boxers like Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Eric Morales all attributed to the national spirit of Mexico during their time. Alexander Karelin was the pride of Russia for his twelve year reign as the baddest wrestler on the planet. Muhammad Ali was the Sports illustrated “Sportsman of the Century,” beating Wayne Gretzky, Pele, and other great athletes of the 1900’s. Bruce Lee continues to captivate film fans around the world even forty years after his death.

Today, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is regarded as the fastest growing sport on Earth. The UFC sells out stadiums and venues regularly across Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. MMA icons like Anderson Silva, Fedor Emilienanko, Georges St. Pierre, and Kazuhiro Sakuraba are revered by fans around the world, transcending national and language barriers. Across the globe, MMA continues reaching new markets and gaining support among sport fans. Yet, there are still places where the sport is far from main stream; places where most people still dismiss it as a violent sideshow.

This blog aims to document the state of MMA around the world. I also hope to document the rise of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) as a global sport, because Jiu Jitsu continues to play a critical role in the introduction of MMA around the world. As interest in BJJ grows, interest in MMA tends to follow. This was the case in the early 1990’s in the United States, and the trend continues to happen in countries like South Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines. By immersing myself into the local gyms, I want to present MMA and BJJ through the eyes of the people practicing it. It is their journeys that will determine the acceptance of MMA by their countrymen and women. Thus, I want to share their struggles and their triumphs with the rest of the world. These are the people living in the cultural frontier between ignorance and acceptance. What obstacles does a South Korean woman have to overcome when training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? What is the national thought on MMA in Vietnam, where the government only recently legalized boxing? How can MMA and Jiu Jitsu gain interest in countries with deeply embedded cultural ties to another martial art; like mauy thai in Thailand or boxing in Mexico? How are Jiu Jitsu practitioners in Cambodia similar to those in New Zealand? And finally, just how far can MMA go to unite people of different backgrounds, races, languages, and cultures under a common interest in fighting?