Keith Vitali vs. Doug Smith

[TheShinobi32]

Keith use to be a bad dude he was in several martial arts movies like revenge of the ninja with Sho Kosugi.

[stevevandien]

It's doubtful that American point karate competitions will regain this standard. Even so, let's hope for a time when judges will only call strong, SOLID techniques, while rejecting that cartwheel-kick silliness. Competitive karate should at the very least SUGGEST the techniques one might use for self-defense. I have no doubt that Vitali, Genova, Harris, Al Francis, McCallum, Anderson, Tucker etc. could have prevailed in street combat. Likewise re. Wallace, Jeff Smith, Howard Jackson . . .

[jkreng]

@Frequent2001

This point fighting match was back in the early 80's. The emphasis on point fighting is to score by making controlled contact so all judges can see it (majority of judges calling the hits gets a point) and not KO the opponent.

[stevevandien]

@jkreng Granted. But in those days, one could score with FULL body contact and even the same re. the head, depending on who was judging the match. I was a junior fighter in the Midwest from 1973-4. We could score by blasting one another in the body, and we were not required to use Safe-T equipment We could also strike with significant if not full contact -- regardless of whether the striking weapon bore pads or was bare -- to the part of one's head covered by a baseball catcher's mask:).

[superstar1218]

the cartwheel kick is actually from kung fu. its called spider weaves its web. i used it and broke a guys nose so it is very deadly if uses correctly.

[shotojojo1986]

ahhh.. the early days of open style karate

[ACmacho]

Awesome!!! keith I am one of your biggest fans.

Art Camacho

[tgumbyw]

Wow! Keith Vitali came to our summer camp in the early '90's and put on a show. I had really never heard of him before until then. I was fortunate enough to be chosen to spar with Keith. Keith did the same thing to me you see him do here at :46. What an honor and priviledge to get to spar with someone of his caliber. A truely honorable martial artist which we desperately need more of.

[tgumbyw]

Keith was at our summer camp, I think in the early '90s. He was FAST. He did the same thing to me as this guy. Put me on the ground by checking the back leg. It was awsome to get to spar with him. That guy is in different dimension athletically.

[Crucades]

awesome action!

[stevevandien]

Not sure Bill Wallace could have handled Vitali in their respective primes:). Vitali against Howard Jackson and Jeff Smith would have been FANTASTIC to watch. How I wish point fighting would return to this late-70s-early-80s standard, requiring protective gear and strong, solid techniques to score. And will someone whose opinion matters PLEASE reject those contemporary cartwheeling attacks? Must contemporary point fighting embrace such garbage?

[Sta6kA]

can someone tell keith vitali height?

[BillyDaKid014]

i've met him before. he's about 6 feet tall if i remember correctly, though it's been about 5 or 6 years lol

[stevevandien]

Keith has said in interviews that he's six feet tall:) --

[jkreng]

@Sta6kA

Keith was 6 feet tall.

[Buxxby]

Great stuff. Would like to see more of this quality.

[stevevandien]

What the hell happened to point karate? How did it descend from this -- quite possibly its high point -- to the silliness it occupies today?

[Buxxby]

I would say the discovery of Muay thai in the west (America specifically, Europe had admired MT for some time) and the subseqent destruction of Rick Rofus by Champhuek (SP?..damn Thai name, LoL) is what knocked all forms of competitive karate down a few notches. My oppinion only of course but I think one could see the connections.

[stevevandien]

Hmmm -- plausible, certainly, though I don't remember when the Roufus fight was ('82). But another factor had to be that the standard of point-fighting officiating went WAY down. Of course, there could be a connection here to what you suggest -- thanks for writing:) --

[boxing404]

muy thai is amazing i boxed and kickboxed nothing comes close

[LongBeach2SanDiego]

keith vitali was a g with his!!!

[Realmasterorder]

Really awesome stuff !

Keith rocks.

[goldenboy813]

Keith is my favorite point karate fighter ever!

[cyb3rsyn]

point fighting was so much better back in the day.

[stevevandien]

AMEN!

[dbzchris6]

those kicks are awesome!