The Truth About Rokas From @MartialArtsJourney
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2019
- This is the martial arts journey of Rokas Leonavicius @MartialArtsJourney who founded The Ultimate Self-Defence Championship. Disillusioned by his Aikido experience, Rokas started exploring functional martial arts and combat sports like MMA.
Listen to this inspiring story of how to reinvent yourself through questioning dogmatic beliefs, applying critical thinking and rediscovering your true purpose on the path of martial arts.
You can follow Rokas journey: @MartialArtsJourney and @Rokasleo
Visit my website to learn more about Karate: www.karatebyjesse.com
☯️ BIO: Jesse Enkamp a.k.a The Karate Nerd™ is a #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author, National Team Athlete, Keynote Speaker, Entrepreneur, Carrot Cake Lover & Founder of Seishin International - The World’s Leading Karate Lifestyle Brand.
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WARNING: The advice and movements shown in this video are for informational and educational purposes only. Consult a health professional before engaging in any exercise or martial arts program.
Music credit: Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0 - www.scottbucjkley.com.au 
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I always admired the honesty of this guy. Not many are brave enough to be that honest.
Agreed, he is a great example to us martial artists, as Jessie is also. I am 66yrs old and have been training since my late teens, starting with 12 yrs of Wing Chun, then decades of WTF TKD reaching 3rd dan and I currently train at a great local Shotokan club. I believe that developing a good character is so important in martial arts training and these guys have achieved that it seems to me! A 9th dan TKD once told me that all martial arts are 80% the same, all around relaxation and breathing and the 20% differences are in the techniques the art concentrates on! It's about the student and the work he or she puts into their training in the end!
Another interesting video sensei @jesseenkamp. Interested to know if your friend's decision to take the sport/MMA path was taken with/without exposure to advanced Aikido training strategies, including those learnt from Shihan in Japan that deal with multiple attackers, edged weapons, just like on the street (unlike the cage) and waza taught to disciples, live-in (uchi-deshi) students and those who use Aikido in self defense scenarios, including bouncers, French foreign legionaires etc. Also curious to hear of your friend's understanding of Kaeshi waza or Kaeshi no Kata (返の形, Forms of reversal) which, like the Go no sen-no-kata, focus on counter-attacks to techniques (just like those in judo)?
True, as an aikido practicioner myself, I have a lot of respect for him and I often found myself caressing the idea of joining a bjj or mma class... But maybe at 40 I'm just too old 😅
@@Elasciapurgrattar in aikido terms this is shugyo where we ĺearn from other masters and styles.... not deviating from O Sensei's principles of self respect and protection through non violence. ✌
@@Elasciapurgrattar Just do it.
I was over 40 when I startet my journey in martial arts. It is hard, will stay hard in future, but it still is worth it.
Rokas looks like a different man since his switch. He still has the same relaxed calm and gentle air that he had before, but now he carries himself like a fighter. He is now somebody you would look at and think 'yeah, he can handle himself'.
Renegade Roach the Question is : is this a good thing
@@bombastikderteutone6858 Of course not. It would be way better if he was still insecure, full of doubt, and full of fear. Confidence in being able to protect yourself is ridiculous.
@@bombastikderteutone6858 Why would it not be?
That's exactly what you want. The Conor McG thumbnail insert emphasises this. Conor can fight, but he's also the kind of person to get into pointless fights.
Rokas' demeanour invites a friendly interaction... ✌️🙂 🤝
Conor's invites a punch in the face! 🖕😠 💥🤛
Confidence has an aura about it and Sensei Rokas shines with it!
Rokas went from looking like a Pokémon trainer to looking like Baki the grappler.
nicely comment!
PokéDojo evolved.
I am so excited to see him using the cockroach dash
😂
Marvel: 'Infinity War is the most ambitious crossover event in history'
Jesse:
😂😂😂
And now arrowverse's crisis on infinite earths is the most ambitious crossover
I am very impressed at how you two dudes from non-English speaking European countries are able to speak English so extremely fluently!
Thank you 🙏 We learn it in school at a young age
Theres some thing called school and it teaches you things
@@julietpapa2657 How come this thing called “school” hasn’t taught the American much of anything?
@@julietpapa2657 I remember another fighter telling Rokas he was impressed with his English because he didn't noticed any Lithuanian accent. I don't know about Lituania, but Jesse comes from an amazing country with a high level of education. I wish my country also had a school system that taught us languages at a younger age.
Fantastic point, and often taken for granted.
I didn’t even recognize the guy. He now looks very athletic
Me too . I look at the roka name, I'm like "not the aikido roca guy I know". (See the clip of him) omg it's is him..
@@hotpopcorncake Exactly!
Looks like mma training made him look slightly more manly by his posture and looking more muscular and confident back then he just looked like a geek
He sits differently too. Somehow he built confidence
Rokas did, what every Master/Sensei/etc should do: Evolve!
Did he thought
In would say it is a big improvement to let go your own Style and learn something new! He trains with one of the best MMA Coaches, so he gets some really good input. The founder of Aikido Ueshiba was also a tough fighter, who challenged and fought lots of other traditional martial artists, even before "inventing" Aikido.
To become a real Martial Artist you have to find your own journey, thats what Rokas did.
Does evolving mean fighting in a ring? I don't think so! I love to watch MMA. I like to watch Boxing. But I would never want my kids do it! Do I have something primal that gives me thoughts about fights? Yes. Did I learn BJJ? Yes! Did I try to learn other striking methods of course! But I believe and I love what Karate gives every person! 95% of Karate students are not ring fighters nor competitors! From the 5% that might be (If they do specific training) most of them will not do that.... That is all....
@@donnchadhmcginley3153 i think he did
@@oldnatty61 a more effective one
This interview is gold for everyone who has years of experience in traditional martial arts. I applaud both of you! You deserve to be remembered as two great masters of our Information Technologies era. Can't wait to see the next part...
Some traditional martial arts such as Thai kick boxing Muay thai and Kyokushin kai karate is still efective
@@robleyusuf2566 because of pressure testing
Anyone know the link to part two?
Keokushin is highly effective
This man's courage to post that video of him not knowing what to do against an MMA fighter being a Aikido Sensei himself.... Man... you gotta have balls to to that. Respect!!!! Honesty and truth. That's a HONOR.!!!
Salute to Rokas sensei. Martial arts is a lifelong journey, indeed. I've been following him ever since, and I love the lessons that he teaches in his videos
pretty brave coming out and just improving himself with honesty helping other people rather than being a coward and just avoiding what others could truly learn from what he has to teach... and learn.
Its so refreshing to hear someone talk with complete honesty and at the same time be so respectful
Steven Segal is never gonna like this. You better watch out. 😂😂😂
He is to big and slow today.
@@bajou4668 but still strong :) Steven Segal makes Aikido work... because he is HUUUGE. I really liked the rogan talk about steven segal being legit or not. He may be a big bellied boy.. but you don't want to take hits or get thrown by that guy. But yeah if i imagine him knowing a more combat oriented martial art that would be even scarier.
@@fettaspalta3127 dont think so in Reality, he just LOOKS like as he makes Aikido work, but i doubt that he could take punches tbh, or work on the ground.
I would say Aikido would be a good way to stay in shape but then I remember Seagal.
BIGFOOOOOT Bru what are u doing here clown?
very honourable video about the confusion lot of martial artists have these days as mma seems to be the ultimate winner of the most effective fighting style. I am doing shotokan, my dad used to call it ballet. But then some dojo's got so savage spirit that you really get the sense of being a real fighter. Karate definitely needs to be able to reinvent itself otherwise it will dissappear as a rusty old practice. Thank you for the video
Props to the interviewer. Excellent questions and good logic flow of conversation. Thank you this.
I did saw his video in the past and did never tought he became a real fighter one day. He suprise me so much now and i like that kind of persons very realy. i hope and wish for him just all the good things in life and sucsess. Great guy! My respect!
Sorry for my bad english...
I wish more martial artists would possess his level of humility and honesty. He has great potential in MMA.
I trained in Aikido for some time when I was young. Most of techniques start with the opponent grabbing you or your wrists. This was motivated by my sensei like this:"Aikido is born in warring times when people would have a sword. If you have a sword and the opponent does not want you to use it, he will try to grab your wrists and that is where the techniques stem from." Thesword training part is not anymore part of a lot of Aikido teachings but that also means that the self defense part of Aikido is more a selfdefense from who does not want you to use your sword. It is only natural that it is not usable without weapons. The same blows that are thrown are a mimic of the sword techniques. It looks like it has been to watered down that the attack patterns have been almost completely taken away from it. Ther eis weapon training but I never saw unarmed training in my years.
Rokas its the most honest, humble, brave person whose was capable to confront himself and his knowlege. A real martial artist. Jesse Enkamp thanks for the interview and specially for the respectfull and openess.
This man is the full definition of Samurai.
I love the way these two Senseis display respect for each other. True Martial Artists.
Yep. Been watching Rokas journey. Very brave. Have to admire this fine young man. Very good of you to show him and let him tell his story. Salute to both of you! Great video by great people!
Everytime I see your gym/dojo I am amazed. That facility is insane. Also Rokas' fight maturation has been amazing to follow. I binged a lot of it on quarantine.
I admire the willingness of Rokas to grow beyond Aikido and go in a different direction. Props to him!
One of the most honest and sincere conversations I've witnessed, bushido at its best.
I love how humble he was. Even showing his “before”, long before his journey/arrival to where he is now. Very impressive...
I’m a big admirer of Rokas. Many of us have transitioned from traditional martial arts to more combat oriented arts, in my case from TKD/karate to KB and BJJ. The biggest component to this transition is self honesty. Are you being honest that what you’re training is realistic or efficient? Are you honest enough to admit you’ll been wasting your time in an ineffective art?
Bruce Lee asked the same questions in the 70s and challenged us to question what we were doing. He turned out to be right.
Best wishes to both sensei! This is a lesson in humility and honesty. Thank you sensei Jesse for your great work and researches, your videos are very didactic. Thank you Rokas for your courage. Many people do not admit their mistake and keep on in the same spot and confort zone. Sure there are 3 groups of M.A.: Sport - Personal Inprovement - Self Defence. People should know that before spending many years in the wrong art. I share the same desire to find a self defense method. I also spend a lot of time in Taekwon-Do, Judo, Aikido, Karate, BJJ until I met Kali and Kombato (a brazilian self-defense system). I think I found what I was looking for!
Traditionally, people came to Aikido from strong fighting backgrounds, looking for something different. Today it is kind of reversed. O'sensei was a man who could fight, and had proved himself in the Russo-japanese war, and was very strong, physically and technically. To be a fighter you have to fight, to be a student of Budo, you don't have to be a fighter. There is room for both in Aikido. I hope Rokas returns to Aikido at some point, with his new knowledge.
True
Ja ja ja ja.
The problem that I see here, is that they never tell you this when you go to register to an Aikido school. It might seem obvious to someone who has strong fighting background to look for something different, but it is not the case for most Aikido students. They are sold an image of an effective martial art and that is the reason most of them study Aikido.
Many go as far as to claim that Aikido is truly superior to every other martial arts, and that a good Aikido practitioner should be able to beat every other martial artist without much effort.
@@RoelSiradj I think a very overlooked part of O'senseis change was his divine love encounter. Most focus on what happened in Japan during the war, but O'sensei was trying to use his influence during the war to make the military leaders change their thinking, he was already seeking a path of peace. When he saw it was futile, he went to do farming in Hokkaido (if I remember correctly).
I watch a few videos of Rokas..I likee His pation for the martial arts but the honesty when realize the flaws of the aikido..the switch and courage to change after admitting that maybe invested lot of time,energy,dedication and follow You'r heart...a real inspiration! Great interview Jesse!And good luck ROkas!:)
Rokas is so transparent and introspective. Good Collab.
I enjoyed part 1... I don't enjoy the thumbs down. A personal journey of learning and growing is not to be judged by another's perception. Take it for what it is worth... Great interview, very interesting.
👏 Brave man. Admire his honesty and self awareness 👏
Omw. Rokas looks completely different. Used to watch his videos and would not recognise him. He definitely looks way more intimidating now. 😄
I haven't watched thus guy for a while, but always had a lot of respect for him. He took an honest approach to trying to learn and expand his martial arts knowledge.
Admirable sensei, very humble and sincere. Just how many persons like him?
The guy is very honest with himself and truly appreciate it. We all have been there. One important point is aikido is an internal martial art if u have never met a master who has reached enlightenment trough aikido you cant say you have practised aikido. Internal martial arts have differnet dimesion and masters now are counted on fingers so its very difficult to put aikido in the sport contest.
The way you guys connected in this is straight up heart-warming.
Rokas is such a strong minded person it takes a lot to sacrifice soo much
This sensei is so calm, i need some aikido in my life.
thank you jesse for reaching out to rokas and thank you rokas for sharing!
Im a karate practitioner at the moment (an Aikido-ka in the past) so this video is really close to my heart!
An excellent conversation that gets to the core of martial arts and what different people hope to get from the different approaches. I love what Rokas has to say about humility.
Worth noting that Morihei Ueshiba conceived of Aikido while under gunfire; he was already a soldier and had fought for years before deciding he no longer wanted to bring harm to his opponent. If a person who is unused to conflict and actively wants to avoid it decides to take up Aikido, they will likely fail to use it 100% of the time, because they cannot remain calm under pressure. If you watch the video with Rokas against the MMA fighter, you can see he is constantly tense and reverts immediately to an instinctive kind of defence. From my experience, I would say something like Aikido is what you would look at towards the end of a martial arts journey, when you have the confidence of knowing your body and the movements of others, otherwise fear will kick in and prevent harmony.
(Edit: No disrespect to Rokas at all, and I wish him luck with his choices).
THAT'S the point. I couldn't agree more.
Seeing as how aikido stem from decades of study in jujutsu/aikijutsu and swordsmanship, I would have to agree with you. Aikido is very much an internal art, and specializes in defense against other, more offensive martial disciplines (jujutsu, karate, kenjutsu, etc.)
Well said.
Aikido is the epitome of a conceptual martial art.
Have you seen his channel?
*Sparring is needed to be effective! In combat*
Trying to learn to fight without sparring is like trying to learn to swim without water
Actually fighting is the best.
@POOR PIRANO it's from Bruce lee
I have a lot of respect for Rokas Leonavicius, it takes a lot to move on to something different after practicing Aikido for so many years, hats off to you sir.
Dude now carries himself with confidence before he was unsecured look at him now 🤙🏼
Great interview. I have such immense respect for Rokas. You can tell he has true passion in martial arts.
Two role Martial Arts role models side-by-side! What a great interview! Thank you!
Rokas seems like a genuinely nice dude.
It takes an incredible amount of courage and humility to do what Rokas did.
I seriously have mad respect for this guy. He believed in aikido for years, even open his dojo, realise there’s a problem with it. Made a video of himself being beaten by a mile by his MMA fighter friend to show how inefficient aikido is. Closed his dojo and pursue MMA.
I love this interview Dear Senseis... Honesty from the heart and soul...
Holy Crap. I was hoping this guy would show up in your videos. Thanks!
People forget that Morihei Ueshiba was a trained Spy for the Japanese military. He was a Officer who traveled around Asia, during War times. Plenty of opportunities to gain experience; before he created Aikido.
So much respect for this dude
Been following his journey from the beginning. Fantastic!!
Nothing but respect for this guy
Introspection can be one of life’s most daunting tasks, but there’s nothing more fulfilling. In resisting the temptation of stagnation, Rokas took a harder path and will be all the better for it. I wish him luck in his journey with sincerity and respect. Never stop learning! Thanks for setting this interview up, Jesse! As always, you bring great content to the martial arts world 👍🏼
love Rokas' transformation into a fighter and his channel
Its a pleasure and an inspiration to watch Rokas evolve and redefine himself from the ground up. You are a awesome, Rokas.
I love his honesty!
God damn he got super masculine
The haircut definitely helps 😉
His voice got different too.
Testosterone shots. 😝
If you train more aggressively (spar more often), testosterone gets boosted naturally.
@@P1015532oni true, but only if you also keep everything else consistently improving and balanced: diet, rest and mood(passion, motivation etc...), which he certainly did.
If u look at a lot of muay thai fighters in poverty-prevailing regions of thailand, consistent and aggressive training is certainly on point to the point that it may shook a lot of western fighters, but their testosterone isn't really that high due to poverty (lack of good quality and amount of high-calorie nutrition, and much of test is often spent to recover from training injuries and illnesses in the tropical zone), tho their stand-up striking skill is absolutely world-class.
Been watching some of this dude’s stuff for a while now. Appreciate his honesty and dedication. 👍
What a nice humble inner moment !! That,s make one proud about the spirit of this guy for sure
Great video, Rokas is one of my favorite martial arts guys on youtube. His point of view is always from a neutral position and he tries to give the most honest answers that he can.
So strong character. A real martial artist ... Respects !
I actually have watched BOTH of your channel for a LONG time and it’s amazing to see the progress bring made. Arigato!🥋🙏
So impressed with Rokas' pursuit of truth.
He left behind everything he knew to start over with MMA and find ways to make his techniques work against resisting opponents.
I believe later he will be so much more effective as a teacher having years of sparring and fighting under his belt.
All of the successful martial arts (in terms of fighting effectiveness) share training methods that involve live resistance.
Love the interview videos. Thank you. Enjoyed immensely and learned.
Rokas you are the Champion !!! The best man from Lithuania that i know so far , keep it up and best wishes from Sweden 🤗🤗🤗
🙏
Jesse, I love how you don't back down from controversy. I'm curious, do you think MMA has hurt traditional martial arts in the sense that it is hard for a traditional sensei to make a living without teaching some form of MMA? I'm noticing more these days that a lot of traditional schools are adding Krav Maga or some type of MMA to their curriculum. I'm also curious if these types of things make you question Karate's effectiveness, or do you believe Karate can still be effective without supplementing from other arts?
Great video, again! I saw Rokas video against MMA and I loved the approach and his honesty regarding his art to another things.
Hey! I watched that aikido vs MMA video. Man, it's great that you followed the path you saw in front of you.
Also Jesse's interviewing questions were solid. It was good vid!
I love the honesty of this video. I bet it took a lot of will power for him to do that move. I guess what traditional martial arts teaches is being patient especially with ones self and the discipline to keep moving forward (including general decision making)
Love both of your channels.
Amazing interview. Great questions. Congrats Rokas.
Great interview! Jesse did I great job. I follow both of you and I really appreciate Jesse's questions. Thanks!
Glad to see the collab actualised. 👍🏿
I know this guy for his Aikido videos... And I came across some youtube channels who made fun of him later on, so now I'm very happy that he embraced it and kept going like a man!!!
Rokas, I knew you would not just sit back, and here you are, badass.
And a lot of thanks to Jesse for inviting this man and his choice of questions. :)
Jesse ,Your videos made me fall in love with the martial arts again, Blessings Brother .
Thanks great interview.
Enjoyable and meaningful conversation, honestly, I learn something (or many things) from you guys.
It ended so abruptely !! :O Can't wait for part 2, thank you both of you !
Only God knows who is more talkative between those two
Actually neither of us talk very much unless we have to
@@KARATEbyJesse yup your the experts 😉🌹
Great video, thank you for sharing your views and it is good to see you both interested in each other and share the passion for martial arts.
I remember seeing this dude's aikido videos out of curiosity a while back and it's cool to see how he changed.
Ah! My favorite Martial Arts content creators in another video! Thank you Jesse.
Cheers from Valsesia (Italy)!
Buon Giorno, Federico! Good to see you here!
Grazie mille! 👍
@@flashingsword Hello HEMA friend! Thank you!
Pensa che io seguo rokas dall'alba dei tempi e manco ho mai fatto aikido in vita mia.
Wow, I actually remember seeing that exact video about akido vs mma like yrs ago. Im so happen to see that he went to adapt and worked on perfecting himself.
Is there a part 2 of this? I am very keen to watch more of this interview :)
Amazing to see you two! :-) Jesse you are so good in doing interviews! :-)
I've watched this man's jounrey for some time now. I'm completely amazed by the change in his physicality, demeanor, and appearance. Awesome.
I watched your guest's video a good while back ago. Very well done and educational. It's nice seeing an update.
It was only a matter of time before these two met. Fantastic video!
Been following him for at least a couple of years. Kudos to him.
This interview is top-notch!
I really respect this man . Truth is important. OSS 🥋🙏🏻
I learned a lot, thanks for sharing those information. It's not easy to shift from traditional Aikido to MMA, but you did the right thing. Osu. God Bless. 👊
Glad Rokas is dong what is right for him. Hope one day to see him use Akido in MMA.
This video is so great, I love how you guys resonate great with each other :) Rokas, for me thats by far video that spreads your message best ;)
Another great vid fom jess enkamp, my idol!😊
Whoa, sensei Rokas has self-actualized. His voice is naturally deeper than in his akido vids a year back, his manner has changed to be calmer, cooler, and self-assured. We self-actualize when we learn the life lessons we were meant to learn. Looks like Rokas's MMA journey has done just that for him. Often times its not what we learn, its how we learn it.