Why does MMA count as an own martial art now ?

FriedRice

Master Black Belt
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
1,291
Reaction score
131
Location
san jose
I am a big fan of full contact in martial arts like kickboxing,boxing or even Karate, but I think all the " borders " are crossed when you hit somebody who is already on the ground, this has nothing to do with martial arts, this is just having a dirty fight with someone.

So how did it happen that we call MMA an own martial art now ?


You don't understand, real fighting.
 

Ironbear24

Senior Master
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
2,103
Reaction score
482
MMA is not a martial art, but it is however a collection of martial arts.
 

Buka

Sr. Grandmaster
Staff member
MT Mentor
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
12,952
Reaction score
10,443
Location
Maui
This is kudo

I was away part of the summer and completely missed this.
That is what I think should be the sparring aspect of training in every karate school. (In the ones that have sparring)
 

drop bear

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
23,337
Reaction score
8,070
I was away part of the summer and completely missed this.
That is what I think should be the sparring aspect of training in every karate school. (In the ones that have sparring)

Yeah interesting system. Those hats are really good. You can elbow head butt them and eye gouge them with as much juice as you want without dropping people.
 

Gerry Seymour

MT Moderator
Staff member
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
29,968
Reaction score
10,524
Location
Hendersonville, NC
Yeah interesting system. Those hats are really good. You can elbow head butt them and eye gouge them with as much juice as you want without dropping people.
Looks good - my only concern was the sheer abandon in the head butts - looked like they could easily knock themselves out with that if the gear wasn't there. Everything else was really good - nice commitment, reasonable power, good speed and form. Much better than many fights I've seen.
 

drop bear

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
23,337
Reaction score
8,070
Looks good - my only concern was the sheer abandon in the head butts - looked like they could easily knock themselves out with that if the gear wasn't there. Everything else was really good - nice commitment, reasonable power, good speed and form. Much better than many fights I've seen.

It is a top class competition. You can represent your country in it.
 

Hanzou

Grandmaster
Joined
Sep 29, 2013
Messages
6,770
Reaction score
1,330
In all honesty all martial arts are mixed. The issue arises when an art refuses to fill its weaknesses and chooses to adhere to tradition instead of adapting to the changing world around it. The thing about MMA and Bjj is that they're both very dynamic styles that are evolving rapidly in multiple directions, unlike say Okinawan karate which is pretty traditional, and adverse towards change.
 

Gerry Seymour

MT Moderator
Staff member
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
29,968
Reaction score
10,524
Location
Hendersonville, NC
In all honesty all martial arts are mixed. The issue arises when an art refuses to fill its weaknesses and chooses to adhere to tradition instead of adapting to the changing world around it. The thing about MMA and Bjj is that they're both very dynamic styles that are evolving rapidly in multiple directions, unlike say Okinawan karate which is pretty traditional, and adverse towards change.
I don't know many instructors in any art who aren't working on filling gaps in what they teach their students, except those who teach arts purely for internal development. Those who train folks for competition are filling gaps that fit the competition, and those who train for self-defense are filling gaps for the street. Sometimes they fill those gaps from other arts and styles, sometimes they fill those gaps with techniques that belong in the style but were left out at some point, and some fill those gaps with what other instructors in their art are doing. This has been one of the bonuses of things like YouTube - instructors can see what's being done elsewhere in their art, as well as in other arts.

I'm certain not all are successful, regardless of their area of focus, and I know there are some instructors who either ignore the gaps or leave them for the students to fill with other training. In the end, most students won't train often enough or long enough to fill all those gaps, anyway, so the gap-filling is mostly for the benefit of the small percentage who do.
 

Ironbear24

Senior Master
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
2,103
Reaction score
482
In all honesty all martial arts are mixed. The issue arises when an art refuses to fill its weaknesses and chooses to adhere to tradition instead of adapting to the changing world around it. The thing about MMA and Bjj is that they're both very dynamic styles that are evolving rapidly in multiple directions, unlike say Okinawan karate which is pretty traditional, and adverse towards change.

Our Sigung often encouraged us to learn from other martial arts. But then again I guess kenpo is very different from most forms of karate.
 

Gerry Seymour

MT Moderator
Staff member
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
29,968
Reaction score
10,524
Location
Hendersonville, NC
Our Sigung often encouraged us to learn from other martial arts. But then again I guess kenpo is very different from most forms of karate.
I have known instructors who didn't encourage experimenting with or learning from other arts, and some who even discouraged it. Most that I've known, however, are much like your Sigung, and appreciate the cross-pollination of thoughts and ideas. The biggest challenge is when someone doesn't understand why they can't do something in one dojo the same way they did in another.
 

Ironbear24

Senior Master
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
2,103
Reaction score
482
I have known instructors who didn't encourage experimenting with or learning from other arts, and some who even discouraged it. Most that I've known, however, are much like your Sigung, and appreciate the cross-pollination of thoughts and ideas. The biggest challenge is when someone doesn't understand why they can't do something in one dojo the same way they did in another.

I see it like this, you don't go to Calculus class to show off your skills in Geometry and you wouldn't go to a Spanish class to show everyone how well you speak French. You go there to learn from them and not to teach them or show them what you know.
 

Gerry Seymour

MT Moderator
Staff member
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
29,968
Reaction score
10,524
Location
Hendersonville, NC
I see it like this, you don't go to Calculus class to show off your skills in Geometry and you wouldn't go to a Spanish class to show everyone how well you speak French. You go there to learn from them and not to teach them or show them what you know.

Agreed. There are exceptions, of course. If an experienced BJJ guy shows up for my classes, I'll eventually ask to roll with him to see if he knows enough for me to learn some new stuff from him. That's like someone in the Spanish class asking you to say something in French, then asking you to teach them to count to ten in French. If it's invited, it's okay. Otherwise, stick to the purpose at hand.
 

dmsaint

White Belt
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
7
Reaction score
1
Because all the "martial arts" involved in my favorite martial art are combat sports. The term "martial arts" is generic, covering things it doesn't apply to imo. Some arts are martial arts, some are martial arts and combat sports, some are combat sports without any real art to them at all. In MMA even the art element of those arts that are arts and sports is not used, just the combat side. On the flip side of the coin, MMA wouldn't be very usable in the forms competition at the local martial arts tournament.....it seems there are arts and there are combat sports. There are also military combatives , which are expressed in many martial arts, but that is a different topic. MMA is a popular combat sport. Tai Chi, Aikido, and Bagua(for instance) can be combined to create mixed martial arts.....in the literal sense of the word.
 

Steve

Mostly Harmless
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
21,918
Reaction score
7,474
Location
Covington, WA
So, combat sports aren't martial arts. Is judo a martial art or a combat sport? What about kendo?

Just trying to figure out what you mean by martial art and combat sport. I see martial art as a much broader term. Th way I usually use the terms, a combat sport is a subset of martial arts.
 

Gerry Seymour

MT Moderator
Staff member
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
29,968
Reaction score
10,524
Location
Hendersonville, NC
So, combat sports aren't martial arts. Is judo a martial art or a combat sport? What about kendo?

Just trying to figure out what you mean by martial art and combat sport. I see martial art as a much broader term. Th way I usually use the terms, a combat sport is a subset of martial arts.
Who is this a reply to? For most folks I know, we differentiate between "art" and "sport" with a hazy grey area of overlap between. Judo falls in both categories, as does Kendo. Some styles (or, more accurately, some schools) are all sport. Some are all art. Some are a mix. MMA isn't an art in my mind, because it's not a single style. Frankly, MMA is a style of competition, which includes several different martial arts/martial sports.
 

dmsaint

White Belt
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
7
Reaction score
1
I practice Judo, it's definitely a combat sport. I also practice American Kenpo Karate, it is mostly art....forms, choreographed techniques, rituals etc (art). I don't really need a training partner to practice kenpo and don't need equipment to enhance my fitness. I can zone out and meditate on the art side of it for hours (the dance) (the imagination)....art is artistic expression. Sport is competitive application
 

Latest Discussions

Top