MMA has been widely publicized, by media and by MMA reps, as being LESS dangerous than many other rough sports, like hockey, football... A super-quick internet search should make that pretty clear. Also, as I recall from being reprimanded, elbow/knee strikes to the head are generally only allowed in pro MMA, yes? So, it's not like the average MMA joe is going around getting kneed in the face every Saturday open mat? Maybe it's different in Maine, but...
The argument was that people who compete aren't trying to do serious bodily harm o one another. I believe that someone trying to pound you in the face and potentially send you to the hospital is trying to do serious bodily harm to you.
MMA tends to be less dangerous than Hockey and Football because a MMA match doesn't last as long as a football or hockey game. Getting consistently blasted by huge linebackers for the better part of two hours tends to wear your body down.
The person who can, in the split second of the moment, scan the entire room and determine that NONE of the people are friendly enough with the aggressor to come to their aid with the proverbial beer bottle, choose which technique to perform, and then perform it with good results is, I might suppose, of such preternatural skill and ability to be above the need for learning ANY fighting style. That sort of awareness, speed, and dexterity should be more than enough to keep you safe, you super-ninja, you.
Im curious how you got all of that out of me simply pointing out that one of modern martial art's greatest advantages is its repetition of comparatively few techniques. I've even provided two videos of guys performing MMA and doing pretty basic skills to control a situation.
Also, as Mr. Hanzou has mentioned time and again, in the heat of the moment, you don't have time to decide which technique to perform, which is why learning so many is just silly. You have to drill one or two so that they come without thinking, all else is wasted time. Apparently. I would assume that applies to this situation too, yes? So, If I won't be able to react with a decision to palm strike rather than punch, perhaps the average MMA fellow wouldn't be able to react with the decision to grapple or stand? Not my views, just asking about the ones I've seen stated...
No, the MMA fellow has the benefit of randori. So they've simulated full resistance grappling in the dojo, and reinforced that full resistance grappling in a competition environment. The advantage that grappling arts have over striking arts is that I can go full blast with a Judo throw or Bjj takedown in the dojo because my partner (should) know how to fall without injuring themselves. So I don't need to pull back when I do a one-armed shoulder throw, a guillotine choke, or a rear takedown during randori. Additionally, my partner is giving me full resistance, because his goal is to do the same thing to me. on the ground, we're both going full blast to try to gain the dominant position, just like we would in an actual fight.
So if I end up in a clinch in a self defense situation, I can throw my untrained opponent with relative ease, and he won't be falling properly, and he will more than likely be landing on concrete. If I get bjj black belt in a choke, I'm probably going to get the untrained brawler in a choke as well. It's even better when you train without a gi.
This was the genius of Jigaro Kano, the founder of Judo.
Because, without knuckle padding, four punches doesn't really cut it for those of us who want to protect our bodies AND our hands. A punch to the skull can be a pretty bad idea. Have you ever sparred with the full-contact that you love MMA for, and done it WITHOUT gloves? I bet you either started pulling your head shots, or developed some pretty painful wrists pretty quickly. Throat might be a good target for a strike, but it's hard to get a fist in under the chin... Nose/mouth is a great target, but it will almost certainly open your knuckles. The stretched, thin skin of the knuckles splits easily, and the stretching causes it to pull/suck whatever is on the knuckle back into the cut when the hand is opened. Probably a good time to get your blood tested, it would suck to win the fight and contract HIV or VHF...
You could always carry a pair of gloves in your back pocket, just in case something crazy pops off.
There are probably over a hundred "Kung Fu" systems out there. Was this Tai Shing? Shaolin Fist? Win Chun? Baguazhang? They are all incredibly different. Even supposing you were at a good traditional school, unlikely if they just taught generic "kung fu," and you managed to learn and understand everything, it doesn't mean you experienced anything of the other many many martial arts out there known as "kung fu."
Again, I'd rather not name styles. I don't want to be accused of style bashing.
...So, you're arguing that, because some people know from nothing and call it "kung fu," (Which means nothing, again!), that the actual variety of martial arts which really ARE kung fu are also bad? I bet I can find you a couch potato who watches the UFC and claims he is a MMA fighter, but knows nothing. That doesn't change the fact that MMA is a highly effective and very demanding sport.
The difference being that that couch potato couldn't open up an MMA school and be taken seriously. The culture is different. In MMA, your instructor is tested by his students constantly. If you open up an MMA school, you better know how to grapple, box, and whatever else, because people will be rolling through to test you. In the TMAs, that couch potato could open up a school and perform some pretty movements, and few will question him, much less challenge him. It's simply a different culture. I call my bjj instructor by his first name for example, while in Karate it was sensei, or master.
Yes that was terrible. He had poor balance, poor technique, poor control, and mimed smashing his knuckles of the sturdiest bone in the human body... Was that Shaloin Kempo Karate? Not exactly a traditional art; it's what, half as old as BJJ? Not sure how that's relevant. Especially since Kajunkenbo and SKK are often cited as some of the primary attempts at Mixed Martial Arts.
The uninitiated won't be able to tell the difference between kenpo a, kenpo b, or kenpo c. To this day, I don't understand the entire story of the kenpo lineage, and I don't really care. If you tell me you know Kenpo Karate, I'm going to assume you know Kenpo Karate. The internal squabbles over what is true Kenpo or Kung Fu, and what isn't is fairly childish stuff.