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As a two thousand year old martial art form, Tae Kwon Do has withstood the test of time. One of the most popular forms of martial artistry, Tae Kwon Do brings forth traditional Korean combat in “the art of kicking and punching.” Practitioners employ a variety of blocks, kicks, punches, and open handed strikes in competition, training, and sparring. The combination of kicks that are employed is one of the stand out characteristics of Tae Kwon Do martial artistry, setting it apart from other forms of traditional Asian combat.

Early Koreans first developed Tae Kwon Do techniques as a compliment to their weaponry skills, making them versatile warriors and formidable foes. For hundreds of years, Korean martial artistry underwent mainstream changes, innovations, and cultural influences without settling into a definitive art form. In 1909, Japan came to occupy Korea, thus influencing Korean culture, including martial arts. Following World War II, Korean martial artists returned to a purer form of Tae Kwon Do without the outside influences Japanese martial art forms. During the 1950’s, modern Tae Kwon Do was developed. Since that time, the World Taekwondo Federation has been established and Tae Kwon Do has made appearances in athletic competitions around the world, including the World Games, Pan American Games, and All Africa Games. In 1992, Tae Kwon Do made its appearance as a demonstration sport in the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. With much success and support, the Olympic Committee added Tae Kwon Do as a full Olympic sport for the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.

Modern martial artists still continue instruction and training in Tae Kwon Do, only adding the element of Martial Arts Equipment for superior performance. Schools and studios around the world continue to further develop Tae Kwon Do, as it continues to be one of the most widely practiced martial arts in the world.

With Affliction: Banned set to hit Pay-Per-View everywhere on July 19, Mixed Martial Arts and Ultimate Fighting Championship fans around the world are buzzing over the match ups. Regarded as being one of the best heavyweight match ups ever, Fedor Emelianenko will take on Tim Sylvia in an extreme fighting competition that is sure to be a smash. In addition, the line-up on the PPV card will include:

• Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell
• Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
• Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead

As blogs and forums around the world fly over the success of Affliction: Banned, MMA fans everywhere are stocking up on their UFC and MMA Gear in preparation for the event. Merchandise sales are racking up massive bucks for brands like No Fear, TapouT, and Good Money. Make sure to get your fan gear before heading to Anaheim, California for the big match or to your living room for one of the biggest Pay-Per-View events of the UFC season. Give support to your favorite fighter with tees, hats, gloves, and shorts that are definitely a hit, without being a power strike on your wallet. Show your martial arts pride like a champion!

Mike Russow Def. Roman Zentsov by North/south choke Round 1, 2:58
Tatsuya Kawajiri Def. Luiz Azeredo by decision 3-0
Makoto Takimoto Def. Murlio Bustamante by decision 2-1
Mitsuhiro Ishida Def. Gilbert Melendez by decision 3-0
Kazuo Misaki Def. Yoshihiro Akiyama by KO, Round 1 8:12
Hayato Sakurai Def. Hidehiko Hasegawa by decision 3-0
Shinya Aoki Def. Bu-Kyung Jung by decision 3-0
Fedor Emelianenko Def. Choi Hong Man by arm-bar, Round 1, 1:54

The first televised fight that aired was up and comer Tyson Griffin vs. Thiago Tavares. Tyson Controlled the entire fight and came out with a hard fought unanimous decision.

Next up was “Lyoto” Ryoto Machida vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura in a three round fight. Lyoto showed superior striking and stayed undefeated while handing Nakamura his first loss in the UFC. After the fight Lyoto was awarded the unanimous decision and now he awaits his next test at 205.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua had his first fight in the UFC and what an uninspired performance it was. There were times he was the dominant fighter but he never had control for long. Forrest Griffin pushed the pace to the point where Rua gassed and got caught with a rear naked choke with 15 seconds left in the fight.

The main event was Chuck Liddell attempting to put the pieces together following his failed title defense. It ended up being three rounds of all stand up fighting between Chuck and Keith Jardine. Both rocked the other in the second round but what set Keith apart is the amount of leg kicks that he landed on Chuck. After three rounds Keith Jardine scored the victory and the upset.

The event kicks off with Nathan Quarry and Pete Sell ready to go toe to toe. This is a big fight for Quarry because it is his first fight in 2 1/2 years. In addition, during that time period he had to learn how to fight again because of the surgery required on his back. Quarry got rocked in the first round but hung on and made it to the bell. The action was back and forth until in the third round Quarry lands a big right cross where you can see the blood spraying off of Pete’s face as the punch lands. This was a beautiful fight and no one was more deserving of the win that Quarry.

Nick Diaz caught Junior Assuncao with a Guillotine choke in round 1. Junior came out looking to slug but Nick’s superior Jiu Jitsu helped him finish the fight.

The next fight was a straight up brawl between Terry Martin and Chris “The Crippler” Leben. The stare down for this fight set mood, with both fighters wanting to make a statement in the Middleweight division. Leben looked like he is in the best shape ever and it paid off because he was landing Thai elbows from everywhere. Late in the third round Terry Martin cracked Leben with a right cross. This caused Leben to shake it off even though he looked rocked. Chris stomped forward throwing bombs and caught Terry Martin with a left hook on the chin and put Martin to sleep.

In the final fight of the light Din Thomas blew out his knee and suffered a first round stoppage to Kenny Florian. Kenny didn’t seem to know that Din was injured but secured the win with a rear naked choke.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson looked tough in his first title defense against Dan Henderson. Dan took control early on with his wrestling but Quinton was too strong to push around all five rounds. Jackson also got the striking edge being more technical then Henderson. When all five rounds had passed it was clear that Quinton was going to pull a unanimous decision. When the decision came I was worried Judge Cecil was going to throw a wrench in the plans but this one ended with the right victor.

Matt Hamill however did get the screw job from the refs. After out wrestling Michael Bisping and showing improved standup Matt dropped a decision that even the London fans booed.

Other notes of the night was an uninspired performance by Mirko “Cro Crop” Filipovic, dropping a decision to Cheick Kongo. Mirko still seems rattled from his last fight where he got knocked out by Gabe Gonzaga. Some fighters just never come back the same after getting knocked out like he did. Marcus Davis put his 5th UFC win in a row together after his armbar defeat of Paul Taylor. Houston Alexander represented for Nebraska again, showed that his first UFC win was not a fluke, and proved he was a force to deal with at LightHeavy. He obtained this status by busting Alessio Sakara with a Muay Thai knee then polishing him off with some ground and pound.

In the “fight of the night” Randy Couture fought Gabe Gonzaga for the UFC Heavyweight Title. The fight seemed pretty even right up until Randy distributed some frequent flyer miles and dumped Gabe Gonzaga in amazing fashion. The impact of the slam left broke Gonzaga’s nose and it was down hill from there. Gabe did amount a small comeback in the 3rd and cracked Randy with a kick that broke the Champions arm. Randy however just added to his legend and finished Gabe off with ground and pound. It looks as if Pride’s old Heavyweight champion Big Nog is in line for the next title shot.

A highly anticipated match up between George St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck left us knowing just how sick George’s wrestling is. Not only did he defend the take down but he out wrestled Koscheck and pulled a unanimous decision.

Other notes of the night are Roger Huerta out classing Alberto Crane’s stand up and scoring a third round tko. Joe Stevenson keeps making noise in the Welterweight division and defeated Kurt Pellegrino by Decision. Patrick Cote continued his UFC winning streak and caught Kendall Grove with a solid right that set up the TKO after he pounded him out on the ground. Renato Sobral defeated David Heath with an Anaconda Choke in the second and decided to send a message to Heath. This was by not letting the choke go right away when the ref tried to pull him away. Well Dana White happened to want to send Sobral a message and tore up his UFC contract. Frank Mir defeated Antoni Hardonk by Armbar in the first round. Thales Leites caught Ryan Jensen with an armbar in the first. Clay Guida also showed he belongs in the UFC with a decision win over Marcus Aurelio.

The fights will take place in London, England on September 8, 2007. They will air in the United States via tape delay on Spike TV that night.
Featured Fights

-Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson-For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

-Mirko Cro Cop vs. Cheick Kongo-Alot of talk about how Mirko is training like a mad man, we will see if it pays off.

-Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill-Grudge match from Ultimate Fighter Series

-Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara-We will see if Houston Alexander can duplicate an impressive performance.

Preliminary Fights

-Thiago Silva vs. Tomasz Drwal
-Marcus Davis vs. Paul Taylor
-Naoyuki Kotani vs. Dennis Siver
-Anthony Torres vs. Jess Liaudin
-Gleison Tibau vs. Terry Etim

Paulo Filho made his debut on American soil with his Middleweight WEC title fight against Joe Doerksen. At first it looked like Paulo was having problems grappling with Joe and getting him to the ground. Paulo went to plan b at the end of the first round and ended up putting heavy combos together. Joe did not have the time he needed to recover because Paulo was looking to end him. The ref eventually stepped in at the 4:07 mark of the first round and crowned Paulo Filho WEC’s first Middleweight Champion.

The other title fight on the card was Carlos Condit vs. Brock Larson for the Welterweight title. Carlos made quick work of Brock when he locked on a tight armbar from guard. Brock did not tap but the ref saw him in a vulnerable spot and stopped the fight via submission. Carlos is now climbing the MMA ranks and is looking to hold on to his title for long time.

UFC 74 will take place August 25, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Main Card Bouts:
-Randy Couture (UFC Heavyweight Champion) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
-Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck
-Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino
-Kendall Grove vs. Patrick Cote
-Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Gonzales Crane

Preliminary Bouts: (Some or all may not air depending on the length of the Main Card bouts)
-Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida
-Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. David Heath
-Antoni Hardonk vs. Frank Mir
-Thales Leites vs. Ryan Jensen