Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz cultivates an image of a street fighter, but in the video below from Fight Magazine he explains that he's actually been a student of traditional martial arts since he was a small child.
"I did aikido when I was four years old," Diaz says. "My first experience of doing martial arts was weird, real traditional, strange smell with incense burning. We did a lot of bowing, it was a lot of path of least resistance and go with the flow. ... Really good stuff for when you're at a young age."
Diaz credits his coach, Cesar Gracie, for showing him that the sport of mixed martial arts should be approached studiously.
"You can actually learn how to fight," Diaz says. "It's not just about being tough."
Diaz has learned well.
"I did aikido when I was four years old," Diaz says. "My first experience of doing martial arts was weird, real traditional, strange smell with incense burning. We did a lot of bowing, it was a lot of path of least resistance and go with the flow. ... Really good stuff for when you're at a young age."
Diaz credits his coach, Cesar Gracie, for showing him that the sport of mixed martial arts should be approached studiously.
"You can actually learn how to fight," Diaz says. "It's not just about being tough."
Diaz has learned well.