Puroresu Effectiveness and Questions

[ZDrax]

Hey guys, I'm just curious - I've noticed PRIDE events have a significant amount of Puroresu practitioners involved in their matches. Does Puroresu training provide the necessary skillsets to compete with top-ranked martial artists, or are these individuals supplmenting the training they get with alternative styles? I know the NJPW school crosstrains students in Kickboxing with their standard program. I'm just curious as to how effective "Puroresu training" as a style of martial arts can be.

Secondly, do you think those who go from MMA to Puroresu, or Puroresu to MMA have a better, more established repitoire of fighting maneuvers and understanding of fight theory? Who's at the advantage, and what would YOU rather do? I know Puroresu has had a lot of overlap with MMA, and "worked shooto" style competitions, but it still seems like the Strong-style and King's Road are distinct.

Oh yes, last question, I've always been confused as to what exactly entails a King's Road vs. Strong-style. I know Strong-style describes AJPW and it's emphasis on using stiff, realistic looking strikes. And King's Road, obviously, is associated with late 80s NJPW, but what are the defining characteristics of each?

Thanks in advance for the info!

[kurama_tengu]

My opinion on your first question is that puroresu training probably wouldn't help too much with MMA. I know when I was learning submission fighting from Frank Shamrock, it was my amateur wrestling experience that made it easier to learn the holds and moves. I was able to secure a Texas Cloverleaf hold on my partner during a sparring session, but my ankles were too close him and he countered with an ankle lock. Other than that, I didn't see any opportunities to land a ganso bomb or a burning hammer on anyone.....lol. I am curious to see if some of Heat/Tanaka's submission moves could actually be hit on an experienced grappler, as they look cool in matches, but could probably defended in such a way where even if it was hit in a shoot match, it would be slower and not as clean.

For point #2, based on the actual case studies, the MMA training would probably help more in puroresu provided that the wrestler can adapt with timing, selling, etc. I think the NJPW matches that Kerr and Coleman did were passable, and I think it was Sakurai or Uno who had a decent showing as well. I think the reverse is harder to achieve, take a look at the lack of success Takada had. Even Yuji Nagata, who was a national-level amateur wrestler has looked bad in MMA matches. I don't want to count Fujita, as he is a pro wrestler and amateur wrestler originally, but not a great worker and his success in MMA is more due to an incredible chin and hard head rather than Sakuraba-like technique.

As for myself, there was a time when I was interested in training for pro wrestling, but the training fees were a bit much for something that wasn't guaranteed(I mean making even good supplemental money). At the time, I would've trained at Roland Alexander's school which has produced Spike Dudley, Mike Modest, and Crash Holly. If I were naive enough to shell out the cash, I no doubtedly would've worked a program with Matt Hyson, who evolved into Spike Dudley, just due to our size similarity. I recall Alexander being a little interested since I had the amateur wrestling experience and I had a few people to vouch for me. He was selling his program by telling me of a meeting he was going to have with Inoki about Hyson. I had a gut feeling I was being worked and I don't think Hyson ever made it to Japan. Fortunately, I passed, but if I did go through with it, I think I would've been more like Heat/Tanaka or Koji Kanemoto in style than my favorite wrestler Jushin Liger. Hopefully, I wouldn't have been as bad as another local guy, Ron Reis. Boy, does it bug me that he was able to headline a show in Japan, regardless if it was one of the worst main events ever. Then again, I wouldn't want to be reminded as the guy who molested Hogan while dressed as a mummy as millions watched on Nitro.

[ZDrax]

Thanks for the great reply. In terms of the King's Road and Strong-style characteristics, could perhaps provide a summary? How would a match fought King's Road style look similar/different to Strong-style?

[kurama_tengu]

I hope Hisa or one of the others can help you with the King's Road and AJPW Strong Style question. I can tell the difference between the two, but I don't think I'm the best one to put it into words.