Why MMA?

Don't take offense at this, because I ask it out of the upmost sincerity. What is it about MMA? It seems lately that all I hear about is MMA. Everybody wants a school that teaches it, and they want this, that, and the other out of that school.

From the name "Mixed Martial Arts", i would think that you could learn a standing style (kickboxing or Muay Thai), and then a grappling style (JJ or BJJ or Wrestling) and be a pretty good Mixed martial artist.

Is it the rush to get into fighting and feel like a pro in a hurry, or is it the fanfare of television where these guys lay on top of each other for the better part of 15 minutes?

I'm just a traditionalist. I believe in time. I believe in diligence. I believe in patience. I believe in dedication. I'm not saying that mma's aren't dedicated, but I also see guys premiered that say they got into MMA with no fight experience about a year or so earlier, and now he's 13-0...

Is if for the sport, or for self-defense? Is it for inner or outer glory?

I just want to understand, please don't get upset.

Best,

Brian

 

its the desire to do what works. MMA is nothing new, and is essentially just a blend of the most useful time tested TMAs.

 

Within a paticular ruleset, you train for what's needed. In MMA as in all sports you know the rules and train accordingly.

 

MMA, is basically, the result of a ruleset and cross-training to arrive at what is effective in Martial Arts.

The appeal to MMA is that it is quite simply the best in Martial Arts. This isnt debatable any longer. Its been refined to include the best techniques at striking, clinching and grappling range, and it has washed away all the myths [All styles are equal!] and unknowns about martial arts. Everybody does MMA for different reasons just as they do Traditional Arts for different reasons.

There are people who do MMA for the sport and glory. There are people who do it for self-defence [Its a far superior training method than practicing dead patterns against thin air] and any other reason anybody wants to do it.

You say you "just want to understand" but youre coming across very bitter here.

And you think MMA guys lack any those above qualities? Apart from maybe tradition.

The implication in your post is that because MMA fighters can become very proficient, very quickly by training right and learning the right things, they are lacking in patience, dedication and diligence.

Just because they dont spend 90% of their Martial career training in ineffective methods with ineffective moves doesnt make them less a Martial Artist. The very opposite.
[Say what you like but, traditional patterns, set sparring and most traditional striking attacks and defences are next to pointless]

All of the above and many more. Depending on the person training.

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The other point you made:

This is half true. I do kickboxing and Judo. A striking and a grappling art. So technically yes its mixing martial arts. But that doesnt make it MMA and I dont consider myself to be an MMA fighter. I would be if I could be. But I dont know of anywhere near me. I know some guys who claim to be. But thats about it.

 

this isnt a debate anymore. MMA has been modified and adapted again and again. its just the sum of all parts.

 

hi

um i guess the system i study universal karate is like mma but we learn learn 7 different styles including jujitsu also there are no rules in ou sparring we hardly do point sparring its all or nothing for 5 minutes with 3 guys

 

lmao. sure it is.

 

yea u right tekken god

its 2 min. submission holds till they tap but ive had to use my training once

 

A few points...

As said, it's the conglomeration of the most high percentage techniques in martial arts. These techniques can be found in array of styles, but MMA training extracts them and combines them efficiently.

That is exactly what Mixed Martial Arts is. Mixed. I've had this debate with quite a few people, and it may not be known, but I have a rather low opinion of "MMA schools." In my mind a good MMA school is one that has people highly qualified in each area of the fight game. A good wrestling and takedown coach. A good stand-up boxing or Muay Thai instructor. A Jiu-Jitsu purple + or certified Sambo instructor. Perhaps an accomplished Judo black belt to help with the clinch game, blending takedowns into newaza submissions.

Schools that have some BJJ blue belt who wrestled and boxed a bit in college running "MMA classes" which have no defined class structure for each range kinda leave me feeling a bit put off. Even if someone had far greater qualifications, and ran a school the same way, I'm still not a fan.

Fighters, for sport or self defense purposes NEED to train exclusively in each range to get a feel for what they have a knack for. This also helps them build gameplans with SOLID fundamentals behind them. Not a mere jack of all trades. Don't get me wrong, these types of gyms can put out competent fighters, and even offer decent self defense courses, but they just are lowering the bar IMO.

Not sure what you're getting at here. That people take up MMA to become a UFC star? Sure, many do. At my gym in particular they usually turn away knuckleheads like that, because you're not going out and fighting MMA under their banner until you're at least a proficient blue belt who has cross-trained. This can mean at least 3-5 years of training.

Who is 13 and 0 with no training? I've heard fighters saying that they scrapped a lot and got into amateur MMA and knocked some idiot out, but then again the ones I hear say that started back before MMA was as popular, and it was easy to dominate with sheer aggression or basic wrestling skill. Rampage and Krazy Horse come to mind. Those fighters if they are still around today, have trained extensively in all ranges of fighting with top quality coaches.

Depends who you talk to. Though I think you should clarify between MMA fighters and MMA students. Many many people train MMA with no intention of jumping into the cage or ring.

 

I'll admit that MMA's are devestatingly effective one-on-one. I've never seen someone who practiced MMAs against multiple opponents, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't hold there own. I've also seen traditional martial artists go into a fight and break someone's rib with one hit. Personally, since I've got a wiry body frame, I'm a big fan (and a practitioner of) traditional arts. I did do wrestling when I was younger, but I really wasn't good at it.

On a side note, I've never used punches, kicks, or submission holds to end a fight. My sais, on the other hand, have done me very well.

 

i would agree. the best gyms are ones that have a striking program (boxing or mt) and a grappling program (bjj seems to rule ....meaning it seems more common but im sure catch wrestling, judo or sombo would be fine).


no one kicks like mt , or punches like boxer and grapples like a grappler

and the guys who train with them....well it shows

 

MMA has a lot of good stuff because MMA schools generally have really good, realistic training, and that's really all it comes down to.

And no, if you take some stand up and some ground you aren't going to be a good mixed martial artist. Knowing a bunch of gi-only BJJ with no strikes, and standard boxing will get you somewhere, but you aren't taking all things into consideration by taking those separate styles. One should have some concept of . . . oh yeah, that sweep will work great until the other guy is allowed to punch, then he's just going to light up your kidney. Oh yeah, that waist-level duck will work great untill the other guy is allowed to kick or knee, then it's lights out.

You get the picture.

MMA has nothing to do with traditionalism, or the lack thereof. My MMA coach was very traditional. We bowed in at the beginning of class. We bowed out at the end of class. He demanded respect and control out of all of his students, and he wasn't willing to give a guy a fight because the guy thought he deserved it. If you fought without my instructors permission, you were in the doghouse, and a candidate for getting ejected from the gym.

My MMA instructor was more traditional than my current CMA instructor.

 

Plus, the idea that you can get proficient in MMA faster or slower than a TMA due to diligence or patience is a misnomer. It has more to do with what you are training for and how you are training.

 

why ask the question if you already made up your mind?

Other than what's already been said, I'll add only that the biggest thing MMA training has over TMA, in my experience, is full resistance training. As in, it's not 'here, kick this pork chop until you feel like a badass' - it's 'kick that guy who is looking to plant you on your back really hard'. It's a different mindset IMHO...one that produces technique with more integrity and requires just as much if not more time, diligence, patience and discipline than any TMA I have worked in.

Who premiered at 13-0 with a year of training? Name, please.

 

*deep sigh*

 

Could be that people realize that generally, one system doesn't have all the answers, so they seek a school that teaches a striking class/art as well as a grappling class/art. And since MMA competitions are aired somewhere on TV about once every couple of days, more people are familiar with it, and talk about it.

Pretty much. However, the best MMAers either have a specialty that they're very good at, or know how to blend striking & grappling aspects together. Only on a basic level is MMA taking two separate arts, as the "mixing" has yet to be applied. A true MMAer will, for example, set up his guard passed with punches, or fake a takedown to set up a head kick.

Who's hurrying? Most MMAers have a solid background in a single, specialty art (Muay Thai, BJJ, wrestling, judo), meaning many years of training and competing, before they start adding to their game. I'd say the most common scenario in the US is a guy who's been wrestling since at least middle school discovers that, after college, hardly anyone wrestles anymore, but he can still use his skills & conditioning in MMA, albeit by adding striking & subs to his game.

And please, enough with the "two guys laying on top of one another" garbage. First, my guestimate is that roughly 1/3 of MMA matches are fought primarily on the feet. Second, if a fella really wanted another guy to lay on top of him, I'm sure there are ways to accomplish that without having to do sprints or getting punched in the head.

Good. You have a lot in common with the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Fedor Emilianenko, Randy Couture, and Quinton Jackson. Guys who put in the time, diligence & dedication to be Olympic-level athletes, to fix holes in their skill sets, and who have the patience to go back to being a begginer in an art in order to learn. What good company you're in!

With all due respect, sir, I doubt the accuracy of that last statement. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro has been fighting since 2001 and has only racked up 20 fights; Liddell's only had 24 fights since his debut in '98; Murilo Bustamante only has 21 fights, and he's been fighting since '91; Frank Shamrock has had 31 since 1994, but '95 was a busy year for him. And with the exception of Shamrock, these guys all participated in prior combat sports before their debut. Unless a guy is some sort of MMA prodigy, he's not going to go 13-0 ANYWHERE without prior fighting experience of some sort.

Why differentiate? Both are applied martial arts. The training methods used in MMA make for pretty good self-defense training, as far as training the techniques go.

Not entirely sure what "inner glory" would be. I think these days you do see some people who want to be fighters 'cause they can get on TV. I doubt any of them will be willing to make the sacrifices needed in order to get to that level, though.

 

great post allexept for the end.

whats wrong with wanting to be on tv. when i was a kid i saw lawerance taylor play football on tv. and said "mom i want to play football". started at pop warner (little league)..ended up playing college ball...on tv.

when i realized that i was not going pro. after two years on inactivity (and getting fat). i started to look for another sport. I saw the ufc...and started that. while at this age (an unfortunatly skill level) i know i will never get to the ufc. but i can hold my own in local competions....and who knows if the sport grows like it has been and smaller leauges get air time i might make another tv appearance

 

You know, that's what I used to ask myself when I first started MMA. I started training in jujitsu and then started training muay thai before I was into MMA. So to me, I wasn't too sure when I started doing MMA.

My belief is that MMA is to intimately know the details of my skills and be able to fluidly transition and improvise in a fight so that I can use those skills be it stand up, gnp or submission. The beauty of it is it teaches not just self defense, but it makes you develop suitable offense, i.e. actually how to fight.

 

Why is everyone into MMA? Because the MMA guys have for the last decade and a half pounded the crap out of every "highly dedictated, and traditional" TMAist who dared step in the ring to fight for "inner glory." Go stick your head back in the sand and take your "enightened" crap with you. Where do people like this come from geez.