Meeting MMA: An outsider's encounter with the world's fastest growing sport.

[Tez3]

I'm putting this here to get a wider audience

It's a good article.

http://www.sbnation.com/2010/2/10/1300771/meeting-mma-outsiders-encounter

 

[Steve]

I'm putting this here to get a wider audience

It's a good article.

http://www.sbnation.com/2010/2/10/1300771/meeting-mma-outsiders-encounter

Tez, what's up? It's the UFC. I'm surprised you aren't posting a counter article about how the UFC isn't representative of MMA or telling us how cool things are in the UK.

 

[Tez3]

Tez, what's up? It's the UFC. I'm surprised you aren't posting a counter article about how the UFC isn't representative of MMA or telling us how cool things are in the UK.

Well, it's reverse pyschology, Americans love big shiny things that come from America so I get them into the UFC first then we teach them what MMA is really all about!

And if you don't know by now that things are always cool in the UK I've wasted years on this forum!!

 

[Steve]

Well, it's reverse pyschology, Americans love big shiny things that come from America so I get them into the UFC first then we teach them what MMA is really all about!

And if you don't know by now that things are always cool in the UK I've wasted years on this forum!!

Hehe. I'm glad you took that as tongue in cheek (as intended).

Of course, we all know that the UFC is the NFL of MMA. UFC events are to MMA as Wimbledon is to pro tennis.

And I'd say everything about the UK is cool except maybe your cooking. Unless one enjoys food that is fried or boiled.

Regarding the article, it's a good outside in view of the sport and a refreshing change of pace. It was good to see so much of what we enjoy about the sport articulated by someone who had experienced a change of heart.

 

[Tez3]

Hehe. I'm glad you took that as tongue in cheek (as intended).

Of course, we all know that the UFC is the NFL of MMA. UFC events are to MMA as Wimbledon is to pro tennis.

And I'd say everything about the UK is cool except maybe your cooking. Unless one enjoys food that is fried or boiled.

Regarding the article, it's a good outside in view of the sport and a refreshing change of pace. It was good to see so much of what we enjoy about the sport articulated by someone who had experienced a change of heart.

I can see you haven't in fact tasted proper food here!

The problem with MMA is that it has a 'reputation', loads of people are sure they know what it is ...without having actually seen it! I was pleased by the comments likening it to chess and emphasis on skill. I do think American MMA and European MMA has differences because we basically don't have the wrestling base America has, our bases are Judo and BJJ but in the article he seems to have caught the excitement of it.


I wouldn't have described UFC as Wimbledon though, we see the UFC more as that archetypal American 'take a good thing, throw loads of money at it, make it all showbizzy, loud and tasteless' thing you do so well lol! Wimbledon is tasteful, dignified and quiet until the female fans find a player and smother him.

 

[terryl965]

The article was good but as far as the UFC goes it is like the bad sport thing to me. I mean it goes so far outside any realism and people believe this is the ultimate fighting way, please in a real life stituation most of them would be seriously hurt. Duck and cover here comes all those MMA giant sport people.:rofl:

 

[SensibleManiac]

I love it when people use generalities like "real life situation".

How do you define "real life situation"?

 

[terryl965]

Anytime you are confronted in any givem hustle stituation. I was not trying to sound bad but there is a big difference between sport MMA and MMA ina self defense stituation. Nobody is going to go into a fullgaurd on there back in this type of stituation. If I offended anybody sorry was just talking about some of the sport fighters I know down here.

 

[Dave Leverich]

Beautiful article. It's amazing to see how he 'got it' so clearly.

Terry, no worries, we each have the flavors we like right? I wouldn't pull guard on the street either heh, then again, I wouldn't be bouncing with my hands down like my TKD tournaments (I don't in those either, but you see the relation hehe).

 

[Bruno@MT]

Well, it's reverse pyschology, Americans love big shiny things that come from America so I get them into the UFC first then we teach them what MMA is really all about!

And if you don't know by now that things are always cool in the UK I've wasted years on this forum!!

You've wasted years on this forum.

 

[Xinglu]

It happens in every MMA thread.... Someone always rags on grapplers as being ineffective fighters, or at the very least, impractical.

Why is it that people seem to think that the only tools a grappler has to work with are executed from the guard or mount position, thus rendering them street ineffective?

 

[terryl965]

Beautiful article. It's amazing to see how he 'got it' so clearly.

Terry, no worries, we each have the flavors we like right? I wouldn't pull guard on the street either heh, then again, I wouldn't be bouncing with my hands down like my TKD tournaments (I don't in those either, but you see the relation hehe).

Yes I do, Lets get back to the article and it was a great read.

 

[Tez3]

BUT MMA is a competition sport, people shouldn't (I know they do though) say its for fighting on the street, it isn't, it's for competition. MMA fighters can fight on the street of course they can, the same as any other martial artist and yes they do know that there's no ref and no rules. Any decent MMA fighter can tell you that, any decent TMA fighter can tell you that. I very much doubt that the Olympic TKD team if attacked on the street fight as they do in their competitions. We can all (I hope) switch back and forth from our sparring in class with lower belts to full on fighting when attacked. None of us should be restrained from defending ourselves because sensei isn't there to say go and stop.
What you see in an MMA competition is not all you get with MMA fighters, what you see is an MMA fighter conforming to the rules of that competition, they could just as easily conform to points sparring and non stop competition, they wouldn't like it but they can do it easily. They can and many do also compete in Gi and No Gi BJJ competitions adapting to their rules. some I know compete in Judo competitions, some also go for boxing and K1 too.
An MMA fighters mind isn't stuck in a groove only obeying the MMA comp rules at all times. It has to be flexible to learn so much. Many moves have to be adapted because of body type, weight etc, it's no stretch to realise that moves are also adapted for SD use.

As with most things one has to be wary of generalising, that because one guy who says he does something doesn't mean it's actually true for everyone doing the same thing. Olympic TKD is a great example of this.

 

[Steve]

You know, I typed a bunch of stuff, but deleted it. Suffice to say, I get tired of good threads being killed by the same tired lines trotted out by the same people who are in some way threatened by the rising popularity of MMA.

 

[terryl965]

You know, I typed a bunch of stuff, but deleted it. Suffice to say, I get tired of good threads being killed by the same tired lines trotted out by the same people who are in some way threatened by the rising popularity of MMA.

Stevebjj I love MMA and I also love the sport if I offened anybody I am sorry for my stupid comments. The artivle was very well and I enjoyed it.

 

[Steve]

Stevebjj I love MMA and I also love the sport if I offened anybody I am sorry for my stupid comments. The artivle was very well and I enjoyed it.

I read the rest of the thread AFTER I posted. It's all good.

 

[Tez3]

I think not just with MMA but also with things like hunting we are afraid to say we like things that seem 'uncivilised' to some others. Should we be watching two people fighting in this day and age or should we be like the people from Stallone's 'Demolition Man'?
Martial arts are for fighting, there's nothing you can do to disguise that fact however much you try to turn martial arts into a quasi religion of peace, you can have all the tenets you want on good behaviour and righteous living but martial arts is fighting, it's violence.
No one I guess wants to acknowledge that inside them is a person who can badly hurt even kill another, we all say if anyone attacked our families etc we would defend to extent of killing even but again we think we need a reason but in truth we don't always. We don't want to think we can enjoy violence which admitting you enjoy watching MMA is.
The word however that sums up MMA though is 'control' not the violence, the fighting or even the skill. It proves we can control the violence and we can control ourselves.

Admitting that one enjoys fighting is hard these days, we are all supposed to be so much 'better' but does 'better' mean we shouldn't do something that is part of us, the human race has fighting hotwired into it, without the fighting part of us we wouldn't have survived so long. Contrary to what many believe most soldiers can't wait to get out to the warzones and fight. Around our way there's a feeling of excitement before deployment. It has to get hidden under the feeling for the families but it's there, the buzz, the thing in the air of an army going to war. You can almost touch it, you can see it in eyes and hear in the voices. It's war and they can't wait to get out there!

Yes we know all the bad things, the deaths, the suffering but you can't stop the buzz.

Young men (and women!) have a need to prove themselves, so called primitive tribes knew this they sent their young men off to kill a lion before they could call themselves a man. Here they'll join gangs, commit crimes take up extreme sports etc but inside everyone is a warrior still. Many find martial arts or the forces and it's channelled. For many the martial arts offered in these days of political correctness and 'softness' isn't enough, for these MMA has been the thing they've found answered their questions.

Yes I'm going to UFC (and Pride and the very big shows) bash again only because it's the commerical side of MMA which is sadly the only one many see. It's business that has to make money so of course it's going to be designed to get backsides on seats and as long as the customer pays they aren't going to be fussy who the customer is, they will pander to them. Even so the fighters while selling themselves to earn a living and everyone has a right to do that, are still martial artists and believe it or not the level of sportsmanship is high, probably higher than most pro sports. Pro sport is never going to be like the grassroots stuff, and it's the grassroots stuff that most do, in the small fight nights and interclubs comps that people enjoy finding out about themselves by fighting

Perhaps it is barbaric to fight but isn't it also hypocritical to learn to fight but pretend its for character building or for keeping fit? Deep down don't you really want to know if you can get in that cage and fight or do you just want to stand in your martial arts uniform reciting things your parents should have taught you when you were little.

What MMA does is challenge people to examine what their martial arts is and many don't like that so it's MMA to blame not that person.