"karate is back!"

[sgtmac_46]

Technically, it is a fight. It just is not a street fight or the same as true self defense (admitting that there is a good deal of crossover with regards to specific techniques).

Football does not qualify as a fight. The goal in MMA is to KO, submit, or out fight your opponent and win on points or by decision or whatever they call it in MMA. All of the skills used are specifically fighting skills. All skills in football are geared towards the movement of the ball; either facilitating it or preventing it. The fact that it is physically demanding is about the only commonality that it has with MMA.

Daniel

That's not entirely accurate.........I would venture the notion that a 280 pound lineman has some pretty decent offensive skills developed simply by slamming in to other 280 pound linemen, or driving a running back in to the ground on the hoof.

That having been said, it's hardly complete training for MMA..........but to say that those skills are solely geared toward moving the ball isn't the whole picture.

 

[Tez3]

Looking at the last TUF and at most American fighters I can see why you think it's boxing and wrestling but outside America where wrestling isn't common it's very much Judo and/or juijitsu. Stand up is nearly always karate,TKD or MT. I've seen a few styles come through in fights including Aiki and CMA. The UFC likes to turn out a production line of fighters similar to the professional wrestling promotions where they all look and act alike, interchangable but then it is a business.
The American football players didn't show up too well in the last TUF though I'm sure in their own sport they are perfectly adequate. Perhaps they and others may now realise one has to be a martial artist to excel in the ring or cage.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Looking at the last TUF and at most American fighters I can see why you think it's boxing and wrestling but outside America where wrestling isn't common it's very much Judo and/or juijitsu. Stand up is nearly always karate,TKD or MT. I've seen a few styles come through in fights including Aiki and CMA. The UFC likes to turn out a production line of fighters similar to the professional wrestling promotions where they all look and act alike, interchangable but then it is a business.
The American football players didn't show up too well in the last TUF though I'm sure in their own sport they are perfectly adequate. Perhaps they and others may now realise one has to be a martial artist to excel in the ring or cage.

Wrestling isn't common in Europe? That surprises me.

I strongly suspect what it really comes down to in the minds of many TMA practioners is wanting a repudiation of TMA East Asian arts (China, Japan, Korea) in the face of Western Arts like boxing and wrestling........there seems to be some offense taken with the fact that many fighting styles are extremely effective without 'masters' and belts and uniforms, and without the made in Japan, China or Korea seals of approval.

Not to say that those arts from Japan, China or Korea aren't effective, and that there aren't some very good fighters fighting in more or less traditional styles........but they don't now (nor did they ever really have) a lock on effective martial technique. It's quite ironic that modern MMA is a virtual mirror to ancient Greek combat styles.

 

[Tez3]

The wrestling we have in Europe is specific usually to regions, we have here Cornish, Cumberland, Scottish, Northumberland, Devon etc all are very different styles and have very different rules. Some are 'stand up' grappling all are skillful but not leading into anything like MMA. There are a few places where Olympic style and freestyle are done but again they stay very much focused on their own and it's little known. With the next Olympics being held here wrestlers will be concentrating on that not looking to compete in other sports.
Boxing while still a popular spectator sport has gone done in the amount of people participating probably due to it's image of 'brutality' that seems to be out of sync with health and safety etc, it's something we have problems with too. However MAs are seen as 'improving' and character building so membership of clubs here has risen hugely.
I know of no boxers here who have made the transition to MMA, most of the fighters have a black belt in a TMA, the younger ones (the early teens) however have started from scratch learning MMA as a whole which is good. Most 'older' people have gone from one main style to cross training, to do it all as one if you want to compete is by far the best way.
We've pointed out a great many times to knockers here of MMA that it's roots are in the Greek Pankration and Olympic games etc, I think though that perhaps here, in Europe and Asia perhaps MMA is seen more as a sport/style of its own rather than the way it's looked at in America with the UFC being the commercial promotion and money making business. UFC is show business through and through whereas we see MMA as we do the full contact karate, Judo and boxing comps we have here, as martial arts fights.

 

[Omar B]

Looking at the last TUF and at most American fighters I can see why you think it's boxing and wrestling but outside America where wrestling isn't common it's very much Judo and/or juijitsu. Stand up is nearly always karate,TKD or MT. I've seen a few styles come through in fights including Aiki and CMA. The UFC likes to turn out a production line of fighters similar to the professional wrestling promotions where they all look and act alike, interchangable but then it is a business.
The American football players didn't show up too well in the last TUF though I'm sure in their own sport they are perfectly adequate. Perhaps they and others may now realise one has to be a martial artist to excel in the ring or cage.

Wrestling is not as common here as you might think from every UFC guy knowing it. I can't remember the last time I saw (if ever) a wrestling gymnasium. I think it's mostly high school and college ... of if you are an active competitor so I always just assumed it would be the same in Europe.

 

[Tez3]

Wrestling is not as common here as you might think from every UFC guy knowing it. I can't remember the last time I saw (if ever) a wrestling gymnasium. I think it's mostly high school and college ... of if you are an active competitor so I always just assumed it would be the same in Europe.

We don't have the school and college wrestling I've seen on a lot of programmes that come from your way. Schools these days aren't really into any kind of competitive sport. There used to be after school cricket, athletics, soccer, rugby etc but now the schools other than the private ones don't have anything like that.

I found the GB Wrestling Association website, they are as I thought focused on the Commonwealth Games and Olympics but the home teams did well in the Commonwealth championships held in India. It's a minority sport here, you have to look for it but it seems when we do it we do it well! In the UK we are very bad at publicising how well we do at things, for example I'm not really interested in ballroom dancing but I was really interested to find out we have world and European champions at it. We should shout when we have champions at anything!

We have the Commonwealth Games coming up ( we hope! as they may be cancelled due to security issues) where there is wrestling this time, it's not always in, Canada leads the medal tables followed by Australia, India and Pakistan. I haven't watched wrestling before but intend to this time if possible.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Wrestling is not as common here as you might think from every UFC guy knowing it. I can't remember the last time I saw (if ever) a wrestling gymnasium. I think it's mostly high school and college ... of if you are an active competitor so I always just assumed it would be the same in Europe.

High school and college wrestling is pretty big around here and to the north in Iowa.