Kumite To MMA: America's underground history of the origins of mixed martial arts - Paperback

by Joshua Westmiller (Author)

In this no-holds barred, tell-all account, Headmaster and Martial Arts Hall of Famer, Dr. Joshua WestMiller tells of his days as the first American to be invited to compete in the elite and underground Kumite. Westmiller is the original competitor to first coin the term Mixed Martial Arts and fight under the MMA title, and is also the founding Headmaster of United States No Holds Barred. He first began fighting Kumite at Master Hidetaka Nishiyama's suggestion in 1962, and retired in 1964 with an astounding record of 27 wins and zero losses. Ten years later, Frank Dux would establish his Martial Arts "Flying Horse" name by fighting in this same no-holds barred Kumite world. As Frank Dux related in an interview with Martial Arts Illustrated, the early days of MMA in the US were filled with real, full-contact, no-holds-barred fighters who didn't hide behind styles, but were willing to fight anyone, anywhere. Because of the underground nature of such competitions, Dux said, few were filmed and many fighters competed under pseudonyms, like "a fighter known only by his handle 'Cherokee' whose real identity is Joshua WestMiller, Hidetaka Nishiyama's student."