When Joe Rogan told Alajamain Sterling why Steven Seagal has some real 'sh*t'
Steven Seagal's fighting skills have been an ongoing topic of discussion in the MMA community, but Joe Rogan has stated that the Aikido master is legit.
During episode #70 of his JRE MMA Show, Rogan told Aljamain Sterling that the martial artist-turned hollywood actor has legit skills in the art of Aikido. The JRE host mentioned that the Seagal had excellent technique when he was younger, saying:
"There's black and white footage of him teaching at a dojo in Japan...He is 100% legit. Aikido is not the best martial art for self-defence, it's just not, but it has its applications. And in its applications, he's a master at it...Well if you know all the other stuff, this motherf***er has some real sh*t." {1:08 - 1:40}
Seagal began as a martial artist prior to his film career that included successful box-office hits like Hard to Kill, Out for Justice, and Under Siege. Rogan also brought up his backstory with Aikido and despite some people mocking him for his demonstrations online, complimented him for his abilties, saying:
"Just because a guy seems kind of silly, you forget like he had a real legit history with Aikido. He was the first American to ever teach at a dojo in Japan - he speaks fluent Japanese - and he's a legitmate Aikido master. Like 100% absolute legitimate Aikido master. The thing is Aikido is just not something that translates perfectly to MMA." {0:11 - 0:35}
Seagal has been to a number of UFC events in the past and has even worked with former UFC champions including Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida.
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Joe Rogan believes Above the Law is a hisorical film for martial arts
April 8, 1988: the film Above the Law starring Steven Seagal was released in theaters. #80s https://t.co/CFlKGegQCU
Steven Seagal's recent films have recieved overwhelming negative reviews, but his earlier films are viewed postively. Joe Rogan had a lot praise for his film debut in Above the Law for what it did for martial arts, particularly Aikido.
In Above the Law, Seagal plays the role of Nico Toscani, who is a Chicago police officer that investigates the shipment of military explosives that is linked to a CIA agent, played by Henry Silva.
While speaking with his guest Joey Diaz on episode #1409 of his JRE podcast, the UFC commentator described the historical significance of the film, saying:
"Above the Law is a legitimate historical movie in terms of martial arts movies because it was the first movie where you got to see a real Aikido practitioner with a hybridized system of martial arts. Like he was doing Aikido but he was also throwing a lot of punches and knife-hand strikes and a lot of strikes...But listen, his Aikido skills were very legit, he was very legit." {3:28 - 4:07}
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