Van Damme vs. Seagal

[Ash]

Ever since Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal started doing movies in the late 80's, one of the topics my friends and I talked about was which one of them would win in a fight.

       

               

Most of my friends argued that Seagal would win because his aikido skills were so deadly and that he could take out Van Damme in minutes.
I always put my money on Van Damme because of his skill in shotokan karate and his swift and deadly kicks.  I pictured him doing some flying roundhouse to the side of Seagal's face and laying him out.   

What do you think?
Who would win in a fight?

(P.S. I can't remember if this topic was ever posted before.  Was it?)

[Jim H]

This is actually a much more interesting question than one I have seen more often: Jet Li VS Steven Seagal.  In that one, Seagal all the way.  He's got like 100 pounds and 9 inches on Jet Li and has experience in martial art with training for fighting, whereas Li has training in what are essentially Chinese gymnastics (non-combat oriented Wushu). 

Now, there are several things to consider.  Are we talking when both were at their prime, or now?  I'll say now...

As of right now, Van Damme is in way better physical condition than Seagal.  He's also 9 years younger.  However, he has a long history of drug abuse, and this probably does affect him in several ways.  Van Damme also has kickboxing experience, a quite solid record of it, actually.  I believe he had around a dozen matches and only a single loss.

Seagal is older, has put on a good deal of weight, and is just generally not as well-conditioned as Van Damme.  He's also trained in aikido, which does have practical application but the general gist I get is it is not as practical as something like karate or kickboxing.  I'm also not familiar with any actual matches Seagal was in.  What Seagal does have: he's about 7 inches taller, and a lot heavier.  This is actually a huge advantage.  Even considering his lesser conditioning, he's probably still stronger than Van Damme.  His overall build, even considering his height, is also a broader one than Van Damme.

So, who'd win?  I'm not entirely sure.  Neither have any recent fights to their credit.  However, I'd lean slightly to Van Damme, as I think his conditioning and kickboxing experience would outweigh Seagal's aikido and reach advantages.  If they were both in their prime though (say, 1987ish), I'd bet on Seagal though.

[MilkManPictures]

I love me some JVCD but I think if they were both in their prime... Seagal would take JCVD.

[Jack]

I'd put my money on Van Damme.  Aikido looks really impressive against an untrained opponent, but you never see it used by mixed martial arts fighters - I would assume that's because it's just not effective against a trained opponent.  Sure, there's plenty of joint locks and that sort of thing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but only after the match has gone to the ground.  In the stand up phase, I don't think you'd have much luck trying to grab the arm of a trained kickboxer when he's throwing a punch, or easily manipulating him with some Judo move.  They're just too fast and have too many offensive weapons.  On the other hand, kickboxing is pretty much a mainstay in MMA.

[Skull]

I'd put my money on Van Damme, too...

Anybody that can crush a walnut with his own butt is somebody you wouldnt want to fight... :)

[Psycho Circus]

I'm going with Van Damme, he's in much better shape. Seagal seems like he's dead, but still full of wind, so people think he's alive....

[schmendrik]

Aikido looks really impressive against an untrained opponent, but you never see it used by mixed martial arts fighters - I would assume that's because it's just not effective against a trained opponent.  Sure, there's plenty of joint locks and that sort of thing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but only after the match has gone to the ground.  In the stand up phase, I don't think you'd have much luck trying to grab the arm of a trained kickboxer when he's throwing a punch, or easily manipulating him with some Judo move.  They're just too fast and have too many offensive weapons.  On the other hand, kickboxing is pretty much a mainstay in MMA.

You may not have seen a very high level of Aikido. There are plenty of techniques against kicks, punches, sticks, knives, etc, and masters give demonstrations against trained opponents all the time. Here's one story about the founder:
"Soon, his fame attracted national attention, with martial artists of all styles traveling to test his growing reputation as unbeatable. He defeated them one by one or sometimes in groups. No one could ever touch him. He seemed to disappear like smoke in their grasp. The founder of Kodokan Judo, Jigoro Kano, was dazzled by his skill, and referred to it as “my ideal in Budo.” The judo master requested that two of his major students be taken on as students of O Sensei. Many famous people, leaders in the government, military, martial artists and people in other fields studied with the O Sensei."
http://clevelandaikikai.com/AboutbrAikido/OSenseiBiography/tabid/717/Default.aspx

It is absolutely incorrect that the wrist locks only apply after the opponent is on the ground. They are take downs, and you can start from any position.

[Torgo]

I would have to go with .