Joe Rogan Heaps Praise On Steven Seagal: 'He Is A Legitimate Aikido Master'

UFC commentator Joe Rogan had nothing but praise for Steven Seagal’s background in aikido.

Seagal became somewhat of a meme in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world after taking credit for Anderson Silva’s upkick against Vitor Belfort among other things. However, as Rogan pointed out in a recent episode of his podcast, Seagal is legit, especially when it comes to aikido:

“The thing is, Seagal was a legit aikido specialist,” Rogan said. “Like if it was just aikido…just because a guy seems kind of silly, you forget, he had a real, legit history with aikido. He as the first American to ever teach at a dojo in Japan. He speaks fluent Japanese and he is a legitimate aikido master.

“Like 100 percent, absolutely legitimate aikido master. The thing is aikido is just not something that translates perfectly to MMA.”

Rogan added that aikido is not necessarily the best martial art for self-defense, but it does have its applications, and Seagal is one of the very best at it:

“Aikido is just not the best martial art for self-defense,” Rogan explained. “It’s just not. But it has its applications. And in its applications, he’s a master at it. Much like jiujitsu has its applications, but it’s not great for kickboxing, right? Taekwondo has its applications, but it doesn’t work if you kick the legs and punch the face.

“But if you learn how to do it, those techniques can apply if you know all the other stuff. Well, if you know all the other stuff, this motherf*cker has some real sh*t. You would have to be so good at all the other stuff that you could utilize this.”