My idol as a kid. He came to Minneapolis for a good will match and I was amazed at his speed and timing. Then I journeyed to crystal palace and watched Kase Sensei throw Frank around. What an incredible art we are all in. Thankful to,have been around for many of the greats.
Poise, balance, timing, kime, Frank Brennan is an inspirational karateka who makes me proud to hail from his home city. Also may I add an incredible ambassador for combat sports.
Sensei was intimidating for sure. Large bloke but very nimble, super fast and dynamic. Catches a lot of people coming in a straight line and excellent counter fighter, uses front leg to catch people who try and turn the corner. Karate legend and myself and my brother were luckily to have some lessons with him.
To everyone who thinks those punches and kicks don't h e any power, please note that one of the main aspects of karate is self control, which is indeed shown in this video. Brennan Sensei is co tiling his techniques to reduce physical damage to his opponents. Trust me, what he is showing is is not power, but pure skill.
There is no doubt that his techniques have power in general. There is doubt that all the techniques he executed to score had power. In a fight you can't always get the distance and timing 100% correct, which is also why in full contact sports you sometimes see a punch resulting in a knockout and sometimes it doesn't. With this point-based system, we'll never know which times he executed his techniques just right and just used control not to harm his opponent, and which times he barely touched him but couldn't have done any damage even if he wanted to. Also note that all karatekas that go into full contact like UFC and have to put full power behind their techniques end up with a very different style of executing their techniques than this point-based fighting. It just doesn't work.
@@ThePresidentsMan there is a reason it is called sport karate. Traditional karate is different, historically karate and kobudo were the means by which Japanese people defended themselves since feudal Japan. Kobudo for example. Pre-war karate (pre-Funakoshi) is very different. That being said, comparing shotokan and other martial arts is like comparing apples and pears. The vast majority of real life assailants have no martial training, and karate is an excellent form of self defence in these situations. MMA is not a good litmus test of a martial art. Each martial art has its context and its time.
I really loved watching Mr. Brennan fight. He is an excellent technician. And his kata are fantastic. as for some of the comments on here. Sport karate is one thing and real karate is another. Still love watching him fight. I have been training in traditional karate do for 35 years, as well as Jujitsu, Judo, Kenpo and Kobudo. You have to learn what you can from all styles and systems.
One of the best is Sensei Frank Brennan. I was fortunate enough to be trained by his brother Jimmy. Andy Sherry and Frank used to do our gradings in the Red Triangle.
I trained with Sensei Brennan and Sensei Sherry a few times. Whatever you think of point karate (believe me I have very strong opinions on what it has done to the efficacy of karate), Senei Brennan was a force to behold.
UFC is street fighting and don't get me wrong effective, however Frank is pure fighting Art, Martial Art in the purest way. what a joy to watch ! ! Respect ! !
At 02:55 - I was just about to say you don't get a point just for a good sweep, there has to be a follow-through but then I noticed in the replay that he had kicked him to the head as he fell. Very good.
He is truly one of the best, if not the best, Shotokan karateka ever. These guys in this video that he is competing against are national team members and he is mostly handling them with ease. One of the people he competes with in this video is one of my instructors and at that time was on the USA Shotokan team. He was pretty much unbeatable in the US but he could never beat Brennan. Brennan didn't destroy him like most of the others in this video but he always did beat my sensei. PS for those who think Frank's kicks and punches have no power, you are so so sadly mistaken. He has such amazing control of himself and that's the only reason why all the people who he scored head shots on in this video weren't knocked out.
With fast reflexes and techniques that have become second nature, he cuts through the vulnerabilities of his opponents' guards and attacks like lightning. Mr. Brennan, among others, has shown the best and the worst in karate. He has also shown that success in the martial arts does not depend on the art but on the artist. Bravo!
I'm not sure he holds back much at all, but he most definitely does not follow through on his techniques. That's even when he makes contact. He could follow through much more even when there is contact.
@@michide72 if he's not holding back why isn't there one knockout? You're not saying much for his technique if you believe he was hitting as hard as he could. Even back in the day, shobu ippon was semi contact, and people were disqualified for excessive contact.
Great technically in Kata and competitions. Humble , speed , power and timing. Love how he moves backwards sucking them onto a stiff jab . Speed and power can be learnt but timing in split seconds is God given. The difference between champions. Andy Sherrys protege turned into an iconic champion.
Bloodriotiori. You are funny.hilarious. Please educate us about Martial Arts you are so wise. Sensei Brennan does not need to speak....there are many clips here on RU-vid that speaks for Sensei Brennan, his knowledge And capacity. Sensei Brennan maintained And continues to maintain that respect And passion for Shotokan. His teachings are of no other than what you seek, the teachings are of high quality And high expectations. You only need to watch his teachings And you will see he loves it. It
@@complexblacknessjust sorta gets outta the road. His rolls are good. George best I heard that name before . I am only on the point fight circuit since 2009 and I know if these guys. Young chaps do your due diligence
Awesome speed and great use of his hands and feet. I would have loved to spar him in my prime and yes I know he would have beat me but still that would have been amazing to have tried.
I was Frank's sparring partner for many years, the guy is is so good at pushing u to ur limits, u need to not have a job so u can train all the time, and do the box splits and be naturally talented to come close to frank, and whilst ur doing this u come up against his brother Jimmy hahaha, wouldn't change it for the world, great days, Tony Harrison, osu
I did years of Shotokan and couldn't defend myself when mugged or attacked. Probably because Sensei Brennan wasn't my sensei... woaw, speechless....respect !!
If we look just at leg strength and balance we can see that Brennan sensei must have train his horse stance a 100 times more than any of his opponent in this video. They mostly don't have any rooting to the ground and very weak legs compare to him... Train your horse stance and iron board bridge!
That was a good time in karate’s history Frank, Terry O’Neil Ticky Donovan Vic Charles That was just the British There were many around the world too but can’t recall their names Frank Brennan though master of the ashi bari
Great stuff! Not sure why they are chambering punches. As unrealistic as it gets. Not a criticism toward Sensei Brennan, he is incredible! but just a standard for that era that was not combatively wise.
This is so much more exciting than modern Karate tournaments. Nowadays, point-fighting is all flouncey-bouncey, tippy-tappy and as boring as hell. The Karate Combat format is pretty good, I guess, but it lacks the terrific precision and control demonstrated in this video.
At the highest level. The sport becomes one. It becomes a game of patience. Very cagey with reverse being the chosen weapon. Look at Brennan vs the Japanese.
I can't watch that stuff for as long as 10 seconds. Frank Brennan highlight reel is insane, a terrifying fighter. I'm a huge UFC fan, but I know Frank is exceptional, it's crystal clear.
Burboss Were they able to drop a guy with 1 kick like in 1:28 (which was completely by accident btw since they were pulling techniques). Damn! Those must've been some tough drunks you've met. I wouldn't ever want to meet those. lol!
to those who believe in him believe in him. But I don't he can not beat a classical boxer. he is just one with a big mouth when he shouted with a KIAI! I believe in those small Asians who can fight better and even beat him- the Japanese. You can see their demeanor they re not like brennan who shout with joy whenever he put a strike. The Japanese don't even when they knock their opponent.
FB was very dominant, extremely fast and powerful with intimidating technique I never saw anyone else flow like he did. I'm talking 30 years ago, he was built different.
He has many weapons a boxer doesn't have, his front kick alone will break you. In a boxing match wearing boxing gloves of course he doesn't win. Which rule set ... In the street i doubt hed struggle at all.
why he don't join MMA like the Japanese Brazilian who tried it and become even a champion. There is difference between looking fearsome while by nature you are big. and fearsome of what they can do while being small like the Japanese.
David Hamilton Have you ever trained in shotokan, you are taught self control as it is a form of self defense, you dont go out to hurt others in competition but when defending yourself in real life you can use real power.
The karate point system is totally ridiculous..there should be a knock out point system,that reverse punch is delusional..it should be like that old budo system of karate , everything allowed ...this video is full of screams and scream only..karate with knock out and no reverse attack system is the most lethal of them all.
Hialmar Saint Ely It seems to me you've never trained with sensei brennan, until you have you can't make comments like that. He has probably the best control of anyone that I have trained with that includes sensei sherry a truly awesome yet very humble man
I was a training partner with Frank, trust me he has the best control of his techniques, I always knew I was never gonna get hurt by Frank because his delivery was that good, probably the least disqualified fighter ever cos his control was that good for the the stuff he delivered to his opponents, it was an honour to train with one of the best around. Tony Harrison
