When Joe Rogan slammed Kung Fu: "I love watching all that nonsense exposed"

One can argue that Joe Rogan is largely instrumental in the massive shift in the public perception of martial arts as a whole. Ever since he took the mic to become a UFC commentator, the veteran comedian has become a legitimate communicator of what works in true hand-to-hand combat.

Because of this, gone are days when people would assume that mystical fighting styles in movies can actually work in real life. No more used-car-salesman martial arts instructors fooling the world that a finger touch can end a man's life.

Rogan even doubled down on traditional martial arts, even Bruce Lee's original style of Wing Chun or trapping hands, saying it's ineffective in a real fight. In a YouTube video uploaded 14 years ago, Rogan had a conversation on the matter with fellow veteran MMA commentator Michael Schiavello.

Schiavello said:

"That's one of the beauties of mixed martial arts, isn't it? It has debunked a lot of the myths of traditional martial arts, right. you look at old stuff like you know Funakoshi and old Shotokan videos and you'd see magazines with different sequences... And you can't use this stuff in mixed martial arts, you know. Debunked the myths".

Rogan added:

"Even the worst is like Kung Fu like [trapping hands] but does nothing. It's it's amazing how many guys still believe it... These dudes, like, have dedicated like a big chunk of their life practicing this nonsense... I love watching all that nonesense be exposed because I was a victim of it myself, to a certain extent."

Check out Joe Rogan and Michael Schiavello talk about it below:

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When Joe Rogan praised Tony Ferguson for using elements of Wing Chun in the UFC

Over the years since the video became popular, Joe Rogan may have softened his stance on Wing Chun. This was made clear when he had Hollywood legend Robert Downey Jr as a guest in 2021. 'RDJ' mentioned that he's been training in martial arts since he took on the role of Sherlock Holmes in the 2009 Guy Ritchie movie.

This prompted Rogan to bring up former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, who sporadically uses some elements of Wing Chun in his fights. The awkward and eccentric style of 'El Cucuy' often puzzled his opponents, having to deal with techniques like trapping hands and landing elbows over the top.

Rogan said:

"We rarely see it [Wing Chun] in the UFC but one of the best fighters in the UFC uses it regularly: Tony Ferguson. Tony Ferguson uses trapping hands. He grabs wrists and comes over the top with elbows. He does straight Wing Chun. He does it all the time and even practices on a wooden wooden dummy."

Check out the conversation below (1:57):