What do you guys think about?

[kuniggety]

The idea that MMA isn't a martial art because they use rules when fighting is completely asinine. How many BJJ, TKD, karate, Kung fu, etc etc schools do you go into that have anything goes fights everyday? Do you think they couldn't elbow you to the back of the head in the street just because they're not allowed to do it in the cage? Try that at your next sparring match and see how long you last at your school.

The idea that they're limited in any way is complete BS. If it works in the fight, then they're going to use it. Really, they're less limited than those studying a traditional martial art who sticks to a style for the stake of the style.

Just because it has been made into a sport doesn't make the art any less of a MA. Because judo is in the Olympics is it no longer a MA? Because boxing is televised is it not a MA? I've sat ringside at a Muay Thai match in Bangkok. It must not be a martial art because they were fighting in a ring and there were rules attached. Really?

 

[Jenna]

And, yes MMA is a Sport and not what I call true MMA. I once asked a ufc fighter on this particular subject and he was shaky on his answer and admittedly said it was a sport with regulations.

So, how could you call it MMA?

But like I said it all boils down to opinion.

You are saying it boil down to opinion and but at the same time you are stating MMA cannot be true martial art.. So apparently you have based this assertion on some definition of martial arts that you have formulated.. Can you explain please what is this definition FOR YOU of what "martial art" is such that MMA would be excluded from that definition? thank you

 

[RTKDCMB]

Why do these athletes fight in a cage?

To contain the fighters for their own safety. Because of the way it is fought the cage prevents the fighters spilling over or getting stuck under/between the ropes.

 

[drop bear]

there is almost no big bucks in mma.

 

[Kickboxer101]

What do you guys think about the UFC or any other organizations alike, and do you think they have a good or negative impact on the martial arts community?

It hasn't made any difference, all the martial arts that were around before mma are still here today and still just as popular. Now grappling is bigger than it was but that's it really

 

[Kickboxer101]

This is really about opinion in the matter of the subject. I do agree with you and disagree as well. I just believe that todays MMA is a style and is limited. I don't mean to put the sport down as I enjoy it as well, but it has been brought to my attention that when you add rules to something it becomes a style. I do believe MMA should be called something entirely different and not MMA. When you watch the sport as a fan and not knowing anything about the arts you become a kid. I have seen many kids beating there brains out or claiming to know so called mma and you know what they don't know baloney about the sport. On the other hand when you see a lot of athletes who never studied martial arts in the their life and all of the sudden they become MMA stars.

Why do these athletes fight in a cage? Is for the same reason you would or entirely different? For one the sport is very popular and two who can say no to big bucks.

When I mean limited I am referring to the rules in the cage. Here is a link to a set of rules set by the Association of Boxing Commissions. Here is the link: Mixed martial arts rules - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And, yes MMA is a Sport and not what I call true MMA. I once asked a ufc fighter on this particular subject and he was shaky on his answer and admittedly said it was a sport with regulations.

So, how could you call it MMA?

But like I said it all boils down to opinion.

Of course it's got rules and martial art competition does and yes since it's a /mix/ of different martial arts so yes the name is correct and so what if people are just coming into it after not studying. Anyone can do that with any martial art that's the whole point.

If you look at the early ufcs there were no rules and everyone was banning it so it needed rules but do you really thing those ufc fighters can't use illegal. Hell most of them do anyway plenty of eye gouges and groin shots. You really someone like Anderson silva couldn't fight in the street or couldn't kick a guy in the groin because he's limited by rules.

Which ufc fighter did you ask?

 

[Kickboxer101]

there is almost no big bucks in mma.

Tell that to cm punk who made half a million for getting his butt kicked for 2 minutes before tapping

 

[drop bear]

Tell that to cm punk who made half a million for getting his butt kicked for 2 minutes before tapping

Tell that to the guys who have trained for years and are getting 10 grand a fight and then loose a spot to cm punk.

 

[Kickboxer101]

Tell that to the guys who have trained for years and are getting 10 grand a fight and then loose a spot to cm punk.

People say that's so awful say you fight 3 times a year that's 30 grand plus the other things fighters have which makes them more money. I wouldn't mind that money for 3 fights a year and to train the rest of the time

 

[Jedmus]

I feel like MMA in general, including the UFC, are good for Martial Arts. I know a lot of people that have watched UFC and it's opened their eyes up to not just MMA but many traditional Martial Arts. While being a sport, it's helped me to see techniques and think more into the use of them

 

[Tez3]

Why do these athletes fight in a cage?

As was said before they fall out of a ring.

For one the sport is very popular and two who can say no to big bucks

I'm sorry that made me laugh. For every fighter who is picked up by the UFC there are thousands of others who do it for love of the sport, thousands more who fight amateur not looking to be professional fighters and thousands more again who will only have one or two fights just to test themselves.
I don't think you have looked at MMA in the wider perspective and are just focussing on one business the UFC. there are many small promotions who don't make a profit and break even with fight nights who do it again for the love of the sport.

Which ufc fighter did you ask?

Exactly was it actually an MMA fighter because you've mixed the two things up?


Most people I know have come into MMA from what is called traditional martial arts, in fact MMA is made up of traditional martial arts, there's no new and amazing martial arts that MMA has found. If you didn't call it MMA what would you call it because mixed martial arts fits the description perfectly.

People say that's so awful say you fight 3 times a year that's 30 grand plus the other things fighters have which makes them more money. I wouldn't mind that money for 3 fights a year and to train the rest of the time

Like many sports only the top 5% if that ever get more than perhaps a thousand pounds a fight. There is only one UK fighter that earns enough to live on from MMA and he doesn't live here now ( though it took him a long time to get to that point), every other fighter even those who have fought for the UFC have day jobs and careers to support them. They may make money from coaching, having gyms etc but not from the actual fight purse. There's no promotion in the UK that pays thirty grand as a fight purse. A couple of thousand at most for the top fighters perhaps expenses like fuel and a hotel thrown in. Same for the rest of Europe.


We've had the MMA v TMA argument so many times, I believe there's even a sticky on it where people can argue rather than drag it all up again.

 

[drop bear]

People say that's so awful say you fight 3 times a year that's 30 grand plus the other things fighters have which makes them more money. I wouldn't mind that money for 3 fights a year and to train the rest of the time

30 grand a year isn't big money. i am on more than 30 grand a year.

 

[Tez3]

30 grand a year isn't big money. i am on more than 30 grand a year.

It's higher than the national average here in the UK. Pay is high only in small areas here.
Annual Survey of Hours & Earnings - Map

 

[oftheherd1]

This is really about opinion in the matter of the subject. I do agree with you and disagree as well. I just believe that todays MMA is a style and is limited. I don't mean to put the sport down as I enjoy it as well, but it has been brought to my attention that when you add rules to something it becomes a style. I do believe MMA should be called something entirely different and not MMA. When you watch the sport as a fan and not knowing anything about the arts you become a kid. I have seen many kids beating there brains out or claiming to know so called mma and you know what they don't know baloney about the sport. On the other hand when you see a lot of athletes who never studied martial arts in the their life and all of the sudden they become MMA stars.

Why do these athletes fight in a cage? Is for the same reason you would or entirely different? For one the sport is very popular and two who can say no to big bucks.

When I mean limited I am referring to the rules in the cage. Here is a link to a set of rules set by the Association of Boxing Commissions. Here is the link: Mixed martial arts rules - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And, yes MMA is a Sport and not what I call true MMA. I once asked a ufc fighter on this particular subject and he was shaky on his answer and admittedly said it was a sport with regulations.

So, how could you call it MMA?

But like I said it all boils down to opinion.

There are martial arts that have techniques that can be fatal or will maim an opponent. It would seem sensible to remove those techniques from sport competition or in-dojo sparing. That whether it is an attack to the spine, eyes, throat, groin, joints, or whatever. How could you want it otherwise?

So MMA, must have rules, and if that makes it a style, so be it. I am curious if you believe no martial art has borrowed techniques from other martial arts? If MMA takes that to a different end, do you think that is bad? So far as I know, they don't claim otherwise than to use techniques from many arts.

Is there something about MMA that you think is detrimental to MA in general? Then how do you allow non-destructive sparing in a dojo, or Judo or TKD in the Olympics?

I am not trying to be confrontational, just trying to understand what it is that you really dislike.

 

[frank raud]

Tell that to the guys who have trained for years and are getting 10 grand a fight and then loose a spot to cm punk.

People say that's so awful say you fight 3 times a year that's 30 grand plus the other things fighters have which makes them more money. I wouldn't mind that money for 3 fights a year and to train the rest of the time

If you are at the low end of the scale, there is no ppv bonus, no fight of the night, extremely limited sponsorship. 30 grand a year? Before expenses(who do you think pays for the coaches, training camps, etc), before taxes. I have a friend who turned pro, fought 5 times 3-2 record, who quit because it was costing too much money to compete. He was not fighting in the UFC, but very few fighters start that way. You have to earn your way into the big leagues.

 

[frank raud]

there is almost no big bucks in mma.

Connor McGregor was on welfare before he made it to the UFC. Fought MMA for 5 years before he made it to the UFC. Irish folk hero: Conor McGregor goes from rags to riches with one brutal knockout

 

[frank raud]

A martial artist is someone not only enjoys the art combat, but the spiritual side and philosophical side as well. It takes dedication and years for someone to be called a martial artist in my opinion.

Were you required to become a Buddhist when you started training? Do you think it doesn't take years to become a competent MMA fighter? If it takes years to become a martial artist, what do you call someone who has only trained for a couple of years?

 

[Tony Dismukes]

At the risk of bringing up an old topic/argument on here, I dislike MMA being called mixed martial arts. It is definitely a mix of martial arts, so the name makes sense...but to many people, if I say I practice mixed martial arts, they assume I'm talking MMA (when in reality it's multiple forms of ken/mpo, judo and fencing).

I suppose I could just list them out, or say I practice multiple different arts, but that doesn't flow as nicely.

In all the years before MMA hit the scene, I don't recall ever encountering anyone who used "MMA" or "mixed martial arts" to describe what they did if they trained multiple arts or if they combined multiple arts into one system.

Arts which combined multiple systems were generally referred to with descriptors such as "hybrid" or "eclectic".

Individuals who trained in multiple arts separately would say "I train in multiple arts" or list them as in "I train Judo, Karate, and Kendo."

I'm sure somebody, somewhere in the pre-UFC period probably used "mixed martial arts" (but probably not the "MMA" initials) to describe their training, but the phrase never really became widespread until it became attached to the modern system of competition. Given that history, I think the MMA guys have the best claim to the term.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

On the other hand when you see a lot of athletes who never studied martial arts in the their life and all of the sudden they become MMA stars.

Name one.

 

[frank raud]

It hasn't made any difference, all the martial arts that were around before mma are still here today and still just as popular. Now grappling is bigger than it was but that's it really

I'm guessing you weren't looking around for a Muay Thai club before 1993.