I'm not sure if the rest of your response got cut off, but all I see from your post is "Mider,"
The issue with MMA community
- Thread starter Mider
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Steve
Mostly Harmless
Monkey Turned Wolf,
Steve
Maybe it's like when you were a kid, and your mom called you by your full name... nothing else needed to be said.
Mider,
Not sure exactly what you mean by "getting attacked"......perhaps they're saying that those are the only arts one should study or combine to make mma....or perhaps all they want to talk about is martial arts...Well, of course when someone is leaning something new or something that they really like and enjoy, that will be the main thing on their mind....
I agree with you that a true martial artist should keep an open mind....however, the old school martial artists thought their style was the best, that they had the secret knowledge. I came up through that era. My sensei would make fun out of other styles......After November 12th, 1993 a whole new world opened up. I actually thought it was fake at first....I didn't understand it. How wrong I was. Those who thought their style was the best quickly found out, if it didn't include grappling, they were at a HUGE loss....hence the evolution of mixed martial arts which has to include all aspects of the arts with of course the exception of weapons. I too learned the hard way what was missing from my martial art. It really wasn't complete...Oh, it had kata's, 7 step sparring, self defense techniques, lot's of kicks and hand techniques, but what if someone who truly knew how to grapple took me down? I was LOST! I didn't know a thing about any sort of grappling other than an O'soto-gari...and one other rudimentary throw. Keeping a closed fist at the hip makes no sense what so ever in a real fight. Yes, there's meaning to it in the kata, but only a fool would keep his/her hand at her hip while throwing a punch. One boxing class proved that to me. After marriage, kids and a new career, the martial arts came back into my life. I found myself working out with a Wing Chun martial artist....I saw things that reminded me of my karate days....A lot of great striking and trapping techniques....I loved it! I thought that was the art of all arts! Especially after meeting Sifu Randy Williams.....By chance, I met my old sensei one day and asked if he was still teaching. He said he retired...I asked if he'd teach me and a couple of friends...he said sure...That was 26 years ago. After dabbling in Wing Chun, I saw that there's more out there, so I started looking at other dojo's to see what they had to offer, all the while taking classes from my sensei. I ate, drank, slept, dreamed and definitely talked about martial arts to anyone and everyone who'd listen. I went to different schools to see what they had to offer including but not limited to Wing Chun, Kempo, Hapkido and a strong Japanese karate style. All striking styles up to this point....until one of the schools started incorporating grappling. Holy crap were my eyes clouded over with a false sense of security. I mean, I literally thought I could handle myself with anyone...yes, I had my *** handed to me in the striking arts, but I felt WAY over confident that I'd be able to handle myself on the street with any unarmed attacker. What I didn't realize is if someone even had the slightest rudimentary skills of wrestling and got me down before I could get a strike off, I'd be like a fish out of water or a non-swimmer in a pool with water over my head. Luckily, my sensei's old friend and Judoka kept inviting me over to learn Judo which I eventually did take some classes along with my sons. I also put my sons in jiujitsu as well...after learning the importance of grappling. I learned from them. Eventually one of my work out partners took up Jiujitsu as well and he taught me what he learned....At least enough to go to the ground with a beginner jiujitsu player. As fare as Roka is concerned, I have to tip my hat to the man. He tested his art out and saw it too was lacking...since then, he moved to the states and began learning mma / jiujitsu....and actually entered some tournaments....I do believe he's a true martial artist looking for the truth...I don't know much about Dewey...But at least he's out there doing a good thing....at least from what I can see....
- Thread Starter
- #206
Yes, many say other arts aren’t worth studying, after reviewing certain experts though Aikido and arts like it aren’t good on their own, it’s good to study striking and grappling as well. plus making the art functional
I think a lot of gyms are watering down everything these days, I’ve even heard many award black belts now regardless of skill and you can buy a blue belt.
I also agree with you in adapting to modern times, from what I’ve heard the old schools would be pissed if you went to another school and cross trained.
I just think we shouldn’t forget traditional arts as they also offer a lot
Hanzou
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I think what you're seeing is (as others have mentioned) people simply dismissing stuff they see as not worth learning.
And frankly, if the goal is self defense, or learning how to fight, there are a large amount of styles I simply wouldn't recommend people taking up.
If your goal is to simply learn a traditional physical form, get some exercise, and meet interesting people, you can pretty much take anything. However, if you think you can overcome people who are actually learning to fight, that's when you've gone off the rails a bit.
The great misconception is that people who participate in MMA-based martial arts aren't interested in arts outside that particular groups. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those people are always looking for new methods to change the game, and to have an edge over other competitors and groups. Hence why you see Bjj popping up every few years and tearing up MMA circuits; Because that particular art celebrates experimentation and new ways to strangle people. I personally would love to see Aikido, Kung Fu, or Ninjutsu come out of the woodwork and have practitioners changing the dynamic of the MMA world, but that is highly unlikely to happen.
I think the likelihood of any aiki art making an impact on MMA is pretty slim. The aiki mechanics, as I've experienced them, are useful, but take a long time to learn to usability. They can be applied to almost any techniques, and likely yield some marginal advantage, but that advantage is at least offset (probably more than) by the learning curve. If you took my curriculum and removed the aiki-oriented stuff that takes so long to learn (but is really what interests a lot of us the most), what's left is a basic foundation of grappling and striking, and you can get that in a lot of other places, too. So really nothing there is likely to make any impact on competition.
Hanzou
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And that is unfortunate. I had had high hopes that Roy Dean's mixing of Aikido and BJJ would yield some positive results, but outside of a few interesting wrist locks, and elaborate black belt ceremonies, Dean's BJJ hasn't really set the world ablaze. Danaher and Bravo embracing leg locking, and the innovative guard systems coming out of elite BJJ competitors and coaches have been the major realignment in competitive BJJ and consequently MMA ground fighting/grappling.
