Before I get started, I apologize if this rant is incoherent or hard to follow. It's just that things like this make me furious.
To begin, I'm not bashing MMA in its literal definition, and I'm not going about this from an "it's too violent" or an "if Bak Hok Bei Lung Hou Bou Caau (White Crane Giving Dragon Blowjob) techniques were allowed they'd all be dead" or a "hurr durr, grappling is gay because they're not wailing on each other the whole time" perspective.
What I'm ranting about here is the fact that with the dawn of things like the UFC, martial arts have become a spor--Stay there and let me finish, I know what you're thinking.
I have no problem with martial arts competitions in and of themselves. I think the concept is great, as it requires the practitioner to train hard and be the best he can be at what he does so he's prepared for whatever comes at him. However, here's the issue:
People like competition. Competition gets attention. There's nothing wrong with this either. It's a natural part of the human condition that won't be going away any time soon.
However, what happens when these competitions are made to last as long as possible to satisfy viewers, and then this is mass produced and marketed to millions of people? It attracts the wrong kind of people to martial arts.
In my opinion, the most beautiful and admirable aspect of training martial arts, especially arts like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, is the fact that it allows a smaller person to easily overcome a 6'2, 250 pound guy who tries to attack him. That's amazing. If your five-year old son Jimmy takes a martial art, it's likely so that he can defend himself against the big bully that lives across the street who picks on him.
Bigger, stronger, more dangerous people are the reason people learn martial arts in the first place.
Now then, with the dawn of things like the UFC, these people who are huge, powerful, meatheads and likely criminals who are attracted to these competitions are the ones learning martial arts. Your typical UFC fighter is going to exhibit the following characteristics; he's going to be:
A. Huge
B. Muscular
C. Extremely athletic.
In other words, he looks like this:
It's not that this is a bad thing but rather that this is what's required to succeed in extremely long matches and people would rather watch two huge guys duke it out than two little Asian guys.
Here's the issue:
This image is exactly what people are thinking of when they train martial arts in the first place.
Because of the commercialization of the martial arts, the people learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu aren't the skinny teenager who gets picked on in school or the frail old man who has no way to defend himself. Instead, it's the 6'2, 250 pound guy mentioned previously that's learning them.
Because of the commercialization of the martial arts, the world is a more dangerous place. The martial arts have fallen into the hands of people who like to abuse their power to get their way, and they have learned the most dangerous techniques possible.
There is nothing wrong with learning dangerous techniques. It's the hands that they fall into.
Little Jimmy's in the hospital now because the bully across the street put him in the chokehold he learned from his big brother. All the thugs and bullies in your local high school know how to fight and kill now.
Thanks, UFC!
To begin, I'm not bashing MMA in its literal definition, and I'm not going about this from an "it's too violent" or an "if Bak Hok Bei Lung Hou Bou Caau (White Crane Giving Dragon Blowjob) techniques were allowed they'd all be dead" or a "hurr durr, grappling is gay because they're not wailing on each other the whole time" perspective.
What I'm ranting about here is the fact that with the dawn of things like the UFC, martial arts have become a spor--Stay there and let me finish, I know what you're thinking.
I have no problem with martial arts competitions in and of themselves. I think the concept is great, as it requires the practitioner to train hard and be the best he can be at what he does so he's prepared for whatever comes at him. However, here's the issue:
People like competition. Competition gets attention. There's nothing wrong with this either. It's a natural part of the human condition that won't be going away any time soon.
However, what happens when these competitions are made to last as long as possible to satisfy viewers, and then this is mass produced and marketed to millions of people? It attracts the wrong kind of people to martial arts.
In my opinion, the most beautiful and admirable aspect of training martial arts, especially arts like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, is the fact that it allows a smaller person to easily overcome a 6'2, 250 pound guy who tries to attack him. That's amazing. If your five-year old son Jimmy takes a martial art, it's likely so that he can defend himself against the big bully that lives across the street who picks on him.
Bigger, stronger, more dangerous people are the reason people learn martial arts in the first place.
Now then, with the dawn of things like the UFC, these people who are huge, powerful, meatheads and likely criminals who are attracted to these competitions are the ones learning martial arts. Your typical UFC fighter is going to exhibit the following characteristics; he's going to be:
A. Huge
B. Muscular
C. Extremely athletic.
In other words, he looks like this:
It's not that this is a bad thing but rather that this is what's required to succeed in extremely long matches and people would rather watch two huge guys duke it out than two little Asian guys.
Here's the issue:
This image is exactly what people are thinking of when they train martial arts in the first place.
Because of the commercialization of the martial arts, the people learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu aren't the skinny teenager who gets picked on in school or the frail old man who has no way to defend himself. Instead, it's the 6'2, 250 pound guy mentioned previously that's learning them.
Because of the commercialization of the martial arts, the world is a more dangerous place. The martial arts have fallen into the hands of people who like to abuse their power to get their way, and they have learned the most dangerous techniques possible.
There is nothing wrong with learning dangerous techniques. It's the hands that they fall into.
Little Jimmy's in the hospital now because the bully across the street put him in the chokehold he learned from his big brother. All the thugs and bullies in your local high school know how to fight and kill now.
Thanks, UFC!