Chung Le

Cung Le (Vietnamese: Lê Cung; born May 25, 1972) is an American mixed martial artist, actor, and former Sanshou kickboxer currently competing as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, holding a record of 2-1 with the organization. In Sanshou (Sanda), he is a former International Kickboxing Federation Light Heavyweight World Champion, having a professional Sanshou record of 16-0 before moving to mixed martial arts (Le also held an undefeated kickboxing record of 17-0). He defeated Frank Shamrock to become the second Strikeforce Middleweight Champion before vacating the title to further pursue his acting career. Le is perhaps best known in mixed martial arts for competing in Strikeforce, holding a record of 7-1 with the organization before its demise. In mixed martial arts, 8 of his 9 wins have come by way of knockout.


Early life and education

Le was born in Saigon, South Vietnam (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). In 1975, three days before the Fall of Saigon, Cung Le and his mother Anne left Vietnam by helicopter under heavy gunfire. He ended up in San Jose, California, where early discrimination and bullying inspired him to learn martial arts. His mother enrolled him in Taekwondo classes at the age of 10. Le has disciplines in a variety of martial arts like kuntao, sambo, and was undefeated as a professional kickboxer with a record of 17 wins and 0 losses. He is a three time world champion in kickboxing and also coaches his own team, which is now 11–0 in team competition.

Le began wrestling competitively at age 14 after being inspired by Sylvester Stallone´s Rocky and earned All-American Honors in his junior year of high school.[7] He went on to wrestle for West Valley College in Saratoga, California and won the California Junior College State Championship in the 158 lb weight class in 1990.

Sanda career

Le is undefeated in his Sanda career (17–0).[10] He has won three US Open International Martial Arts Championships (1994, 1995, 1996). In 1998 he won the Shidokan tournament championship. He has also won 4 US National Championships (Orlando, Florida 1994, Dallas, TX, 1995, Baltimore, MD, 1997). He earned three bronze medals in his amateur Sanshou world competition compiling an overall amateur record of 18–3. He has been a three-time captain of the United States teams that competed and was the U.S. team captain at the World Wushu Championships in 1997 (Italy) and 1999 (Hong Kong). On December 15, 2001 he defeated Shonie Carter by unanimous decision in San Jose, California to win the IKF International Kickboxing Federation Pro Light Heavyweight Sanda World Title.[10] In May 2003, Le entered into K-1 competitions where he garnered a 3–0 career record, including 1 knockout.

Mixed martial arts career
Strikeforce

Le made his mixed martial arts debut at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie on March 10, 2006, at the HP Pavilion at San Jose, knocking out kickboxing rival Mike Altman at 3:51 of the first round. Le first met Altman in San Jose, 1999 in a kickboxing bout where he defeated Altman via a body shot in the third round. Three months later he faced KOTC veteran Brian Warren, knocking him out at 4:19 of the first round. Le had also faced Warren in a K-1 Sanshou bout where he won by decision. At Strikeforce: Triple Threat on December 8, 2006, Le defeated UFC veteran Jason Von Flue in 0:43 of round 1 when the fight had to be stopped due to a cut from a kick strike. Le went on to fight Tony Fryklund who had just suffered a spectacular loss to Anderson Silva. Like Silva, Le beat Fryklund via TKO due to strikes late in the third round. Soon after Le fought Sammy Morgan at Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives where he won the bout via TKO.

On March 29, 2008, Le defeated a long time MMA veteran Frank Shamrock in a fight co-promoted by Strikeforce and EliteXC at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Le won via TKO when Frank Shamrocks' right arm was broken after a series of kicks (ulna broken), making him the new Strikeforce Middleweight champion.On September 17, 2009, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced that Le had relinquished his belt after securing a major motion picture deal.

After 21 months since his last fight Le returned to Strikeforce to face Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Evolution on December 19, 2009. Le suffered his first MMA defeat, losing via TKO at 3:25 of round 3. After the match, Le expressed interest in an immediate rematch with Smith. His wish was granted on June 26, Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum in which Le defeated Smith via TKO into the second round to avenge his only MMA loss at the time.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Le has said that it’s basically the UFC or bust for him at this point in his fighting career. “I know for a fact that if I do fight again, it’s going to be in the UFC. I’ve never fought in the UFC, but I would love to fight in the UFC. But right now because of my contract with Showtime and Stikeforce, hopefully things can work out because there is a show in San Jose that Cain Velasquez is the main event. I would love to fight in San Jose for the UFC ....” said Le.

Le was briefly linked to a matchup with Vitor Belfort on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139. However, Belfort was removed from the bout and replaced by former Pride FC Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva. Le managed to confuse Silva with his unorthodox kicks, and landed a spinning backfist that dropped Silva. During the second round, Silva managed to shake Le with huge punches and knees that completely broke Le's nose. Le was stunned, bloody and fell to the ground, and the fight was stopped by the referee. Afterwards in the press conference, Dana White commented that it was a good stoppage and that Cung was taken to the hospital.

Le was scheduled to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148. However, due to an injury to headliner Vitor Belfort, Franklin instead faced Wanderlei Silva in a 190 lb catchweight rematch on June 23, 2012 at UFC 147.[19] Le instead faced former title contender Patrick Côté. He earned his first UFC win via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Le faced Rich Franklin in the main event on November 10, 2012 at UFC: Macao. Cung Le won the fight via KO with a powerful hook punch at Franklin's head at 2:17 in the first round.

The Ultimate Fighter: China

In November 2013, it was announced that Le would serve as the chief coach and mentor on The Ultimate Fighter: China, the China-based version of The Ultimate Fighter which begins airing in December 2013.
Acting career

Le co-starred in the live-action Tekken film, based upon the popular martial arts fighting game, as Marshall Law, released November 5, 2009 for the American film market. Le had supporting roles in the science fiction film Pandorum with Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster, and Fighting, released in 2009 alongside Channing Tatum. He also starred in a Hong Kong martial art film Bodyguards and Assassins, which was released on December 18, 2009; his film was the first time he worked with and had a fight scene with Hong Kong martial arts superstar Donnie Yen.

He also appeared in a Vietnamese music show Paris By Night 99 - Tôi Là Người Việt Nam where he was interviewed by Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen; this show also marked one of the few times Le has spoken Vietnamese on camera.

Le had a lead role in the 2012 action film Dragon Eyes, costarring Jean-Claude Van Damme and produced by Joel Silver. The movie is based on the Akira Kurosawa classic Yojimbo and is "MMA-themed". Also in 2012, Le played Bronze Lion in The Man with the Iron Fists, a film directed by RZA.

He recently starred in the explosive action movie Certain Justice, a film directed by Giorgio Serafini and co directed and written by James Coyne. In this fast paced, action revenge tale, he stars alongside Dolph Lundgren, Vinnie Jones, Gianni Capaldi and Briana Evigan.
Personal life

Le has two sons with his ex-wife. He and his second wife Suzanne were married in August 2009. The couple had their first child together, a boy named Robert Eric Le, born in 2010.

Championships and accomplishments
Amateur wrestling

    California Community College Athletic Association
        CCCAA State Championship (1990)
        CCCAA All-State (1990)
        West Valley College Wrestling Team Captain (1990, 1991)

    Amateur Athletic Union
        AAU Espoir Freestyle National Championship (1989)
        AAU Espoir Greco-Roman National Championship (1989)

Kickboxing

    International Kickboxing Federation
        IKF Sanshou World Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

    International Sport Karate Association
        ISKA Sanshou North American Light Heavyweight Sanshou Championship (One time)
        ISKA Sanshou U.S. Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
        ISKA Sanshou U.S. Light Cruiserweight Championship (One time)

    Ho Tet Tae Kwon Do
        Ho Tet Tae Kwon Do Tournament 1994 Grand Champion

    USA International World Championships
        1996 Continuous Sparring Tae Kwon Do World Champion

    World Wide Draka Federation
        1998 Draka Tournament Winner

    Shidokan Cup Bare-Knuckle Full Contact Karate
        1998 Shidokan Cup U.S. Tournament Winner

    International Wushu Federation
        1999 WUF World Wushu Championships Sanshou Bronze Medalist
        1997 WUF World Wushu Championships Sanshou Bronze Medalist
        1995 WUF World Wushu Championships Sanshou Bronze Medalist

    Black Belt Magazine
        2007 Kung Fu Artist of the Year

Mixed martial arts

    Strikeforce
        Strikeforce Middleweight Championship (One time)

    Ultimate Fighting Championship
        Fight of the Night (One time)
        Knockout of the Night (One time)

    MMAFighting.com
        2012 Knockout of the Year vs. Rich Franklin on November 10

    Inside MMA
        2008 Fight of the Year Bazzie Award vs. Frank Shamrock on March 29

Submission grappling

    Amateur Athletic Union
        AAU Espoir Sambo National Championship (1989)

Masutatsu Ōyama Inventor Karate Kyokushin Flow

Kyokushin kaikan (極 真 会館?) Is a school of karate founded by Masutatsu Oyama (大 山 倍 達 Oyama Masutatsu?). This stream emphasizes physical training and full-contact kumite, the sparring (sparring) unprotected. Kyokushin means the highest truth, which is believed by Mas Oyama karate as it should be taught and learned. Kyokushin curriculum emphasizes realistic combat and physical strength.

Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin, born as a Korean named Choi Hyung Yee. As a child in Korea, he studied the Korean martial art called Chabee. Chabee under the influence of Chinese martial arts "18 Palms Art" which was further developed by the Korea became Chabee. Since childhood, Choi Hyung Yee is not a child silent and be patient if disturbed. He was frequently involved in fights, especially when he or his friends bullied. Aggressive personality is what he passed on to Kyokushin into a stream that emphasizes offense, and the importance of dropping the opponent as quickly as possible.

During World War 2, Choi Hyung Yee moved to Japan and enrolled as a mechanical fighter. In Japan, he lived with the family perantuan of Korea and adopted their surname, Oyama. At that time many people overseas who adopt Japanese names so you can easily blend in and be accepted by society of Japan. After the war in 1945, he studied Shotokan karate from Funakoshi great teacher. At the same time, he met with fellow overseas from Korea named So Nei Chu. So Nei Chu Goju-Ryu inherited from Gogen Yamaguchi, and Mas Oyama studied Goju-Ryu So Nei Chu.

 

While in Japan, aggressive personality and does not want to lose yourself still strongly attached to the young Oyama. In Tokyo, he often got into a fight with the gangsters Japanese and American soldiers who served in Japan. He once accidentally killed a famous Japanese gangster expert using a knife (Eventually he was released from custody on the grounds of self-defense). Oyama also nicknamed "Superman of the East" by the local people as they often defend the local people of the American soldiers who do mischief. After a few moments, Tokyo became no longer safe for Mas Oyama, because he sought by many who want to reply to his actions. On the advice So Nei Chu, Mas Oyama eventually withdrew to a mountain to reflect on the purpose of his life.

While in exile, he lived as befits a Yamabushi (Warrior Monk). Face the rigors of nature wrought, he got a lot of inspiration from the life story of Miyamoto Musashi, the famous swordsman in Japan. Every day he studied martial arts practice and meditation to reflect on his life. After a while, he was training in the mountains was enough and decided to go down to the city.

 

Mas Oyama karate championship and become the champion. However, he still felt disappointed with its capabilities. Feeling still not able to apply what they have learned in a real fight, Mas Oyama shaved her head and once again go up to the mountain to practice.

After more than a year on the mountain, Mas Oyama eventually drop to test the results of his training. In a village, there is a bull to be slaughtered. He asked for permission to drop the bull with his bare hands. However, he failed in his first attempt. After being hit, the bull angry and rummaging through a crowd of people around him. Mas Oyama did not give up. He studied the days of the bulls. After that, he tried again. The bull falls with a single blow to the head direction. News of a karateka menjatuhan bull with his fist spread rapidly. In addition, he also travels around South East Asia held many demonstrations and challenging flow inside and outside of Japan. This caused much sensation and popularized karate internationally.

With this fame capital, Mas Oyama then set up a karate dojo in Tokyo. Karate dojo training emphasizes the importance of full-contact kumite (sparring without protective). According to him, full contact kumite is essential to hone the fighting spirit and skills. This caused some tension with elders from other karate stream found practical application of karate directly is dangerous and unnecessary.

The tension peaks appeared in the 1960s. At that time, Muay Thai boxer stated that Thai Boxing is a martial art that is the strongest, and he has defeated many representatives of martial arts, including karate Japan (At that time, karate was popular internationally, and Muay Thai boxer wants to utilize opportunity to look for the name). Muay Thai boxer is requesting an official representative of Japan to answer the challenge. The official stance from Karate schools in Japan is to not serve these challenges, because the purpose of Karate is to foster mental and forging one of the embodiments of the mental is to avoid unnecessary fights. However, Mas Oyama argues that "Karate is not to look for trouble., But if it comes with its own problems, running away from the problem is the act of a coward". 3 He sent his best students to compete with Thailand for Muay Thai rules. Two of his three wins and they are back to Japan was hailed as a hero who raised the self-esteem of Japan. This adds to the tension between these Oyama flow with streams of Karate others, so many other streams which flow Oyama dub as "instead of Karate" and "knowledge of the brat".

Mas Oyama do not give a damn on the response. He formally established Kyokushin, which means the highest truth as he believes it should be taught and learned Karate. He held a tournament-tournament itself responds following the banning of Kyokushin Karate matches. Although in-'anak-tiri'-kan, Kyokushin is growing rapidly in and outside of Japan, especially since some of the first generation of Kyokushin many challenging various martial arts in Asia and in Western countries.

1964 to 1994

After Kyokushin kaikan officially formed, led Oyama to expand. Oyama chose instructors which he was able to demonstrate the ability and fighting style of Kyokushin to recruit new members. At first, the instructors assigned to open a dojo in another town in Japan. There, the instructor will show off their skills in public areas, for example in the gymnasium, in the gym of police (where the athletes used to practice judo), in the park, or at local festivals.

In addition to Japan, Oyama also spread instructor-instructor to other countries, for example to the Netherlands (Kenji Kurosaki), Australia (Shigeo Kato), the United States (Tadashi Nakamura, Shigeru Oyama and Yasuhiko Oyama, Miyuki Miura) and Brazil (Seiji Isobe) to spread Kyokushin in the same way as in Japan. In 1969, Oyama organized the First All Japan Full Contact Championships in Japan. In addition, the CE 1975, he also organized the First Open Full Contact World Karate Championships. Since then, international matches are held regularly every four years.

 

After Oyama died, the International Karate Organization (IKO) Kyokushinkaikan had split. The split caused a conflict about who would succeed Oyama as Chairman, as well as about the future structure and philosophy of the organization. Until now, the problem can not be solved. Shokei (Akiyoshi) Matsui Oyama was expected to be the successor after he claimed that he has the intellectual rights to all trademarks, symbols, and the name of Kyokushin. But apparently the Japanese legal system forbids that action so Shokei Matsui forced to return all the intellectual rights to the family Oyama Kyokushin.

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