Korean martial arts styles are primarily centered on striking, and Taekwondo is the best example of their striking art. Korean martial arts styles also include grappling arts (Ssireum), hybrid arts (Hapkido), and weapon-based arts (Kumdo). However, these are less well-known than Taekwondo.
MMAchannel.com Staff
Japanese martial arts include dozens of different combat systems that differ in various aspects, notably emphasis, philosophy, and orientation. These arts are also practiced for different purposes, such as sports, personal growth, self-defense, or fitness. Some of the most popular ones are striking arts such as karate and grappling systems like Judo and Jujutsu.
Based in Singapore, ONE FC is the largest and most popular MMA promotion in Asia and is renowned for its distinct rules and event format, which sets it apart from the UFC. ONE FC events feature various combat sports besides MMA, such as Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling.
Netherlands was the first country to adopt modern kickboxing from Japan. It quickly established global dominance and became home to the best training facilities, coaches, and world champions, all of whom played very influential roles in making it a very popular sport in the Netherlands.
Kickboxing is one of the most popular combat sports that has been around since the 1950s. Though kickboxing is often associated with countries with strong martial arts cultures, such as Japan or Thailand, the nation that actually dominates the sport is the Netherlands.
A lot of MMA fans believe that Taekwondo (TKD) doesn’t have any relevance in cage fighting. But the reality is TKD is more than present in modern MMA. Although the application of this Korean art is quite limited, there have been a number of successful UFC fighters who came from a strong foundation in TKD.