Is Mixed Martial Arts considered a genre/style?
Posted by admin on Feb 8, 2009 in Martial Arts |
AirForce1 asked:
I have seen ads of gyms promoting their teachings of MMA. I thought it was a sport, not a form of self-defense, so what does this style consist of and is there a rank structure?
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I have seen ads of gyms promoting their teachings of MMA. I thought it was a sport, not a form of self-defense, so what does this style consist of and is there a rank structure?
School Fundraising Ideas & Church Fund Raising
its not a form of self defense per se, but neither is boxing and you see lots of those gyms too
it’s a sport to a degree, yes. however, lots of people train in mixed martial arts and do not compete, so for them it is less of a sport and more of a form of martial art. mixed martial arts doesn’t have traditional ranking structure such as belts or whatnot, but does have instructors, trainers, and senior members
well complete wannabe covered it good. i would add that even though it is not a form of self defense you can use it as one, like boxing can be used in self defense also. they will all give you an edge in the situation.
martial arts is better and more geared toward self defense.
but either can be used effectively
As others have said, so I’ll just add in my own interpretation. The term martial art covers a lot of things, but the core definition could arguably be any body of techniques directly associated with muscle-powered combat. With that in mind, there are several elements that some styles have more of than others.
1. Self-defense - This is the practical how to hurt someone with your hands and survive kind of stuff. It’s brutal, practical, and pretty darned basic. It also covers things like situational and social awareness, weapon defense, conflict de-escalation, the legalities of lethal force, and more esoteric stuff like handgun and pepper spray use. Examples would be self-defense courses taught by police officers. Krav Maga also covers a good chunk of this. Most styles can be used for self defense to some degree or another, but it’s really a different mindset than most martial arts use.
2. Combative sport - the non-lethal techniques (or modification to techniques) that allow you to practice it full-force against a friendly opponent. Examples include Boxing, Muay Thai, UFC-style MMA, Olympic TKD, fencing, etc. Even if a style isn’t a sport style, most have some form of heavy sparring, which this would also cover.
3. Duelling - the set of techniques you would use against another trained martial artist. These are different than Self-defense, as (for example) most self-defense situations wouldn’t require the use of a spinning heel kick. This has more in common with Combative Sport, but without all the lethal/crippling stuff taken out. Most styles, as taught today, would probably be duelling styles.
4. Physical Fitness - the cardiovascular, flexability, and so on. Most styles have this, to an extent. Tai Chi and yoga are the ones best-known for their fitness; most sport styles also have a big degree of endurance training in them.
5. Presentation Arts - the set of martial techniques designed to look good for an audience. It’s very similar to duelling, but is more flashy and explicitly designed NOT to hurt anyone. Examples include Stage Fencing, fight coriography, competetive kata, etc. (The stuff jackie Chan does.)
6. Spiritual Fulfillment - the catch-all term for what people get out of martial arts from a spiritual or mental perspective. This ranges from improved focus, increased brain activity, reduced stress levels, and even up to the zen-buddhist style enlightenment. Most martial arts have this to some extent, but the one best known for it is Tai Chi.
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So, with those in mind: where does your average MMA school stand? On a scale of 1-5:
Self-defense - (2) For non-lethal stuff, such as barroom brawls, MMA works fine. However, it doesn’t have any sort of weapon defense, or legal training, or much in the way of social or situation awareness training. Also, the way MMA guys go to the ground is probably a bad idea in non-sport situations. However, if you get into an argument with a drunk, you’ll probably be OK.
Combative Sport (5) - this is EXACTALLY what MMA gyms train for.
Duelling (4) - MMA actually works pretty well against other styles, one-on-one. You’d have to modify your techniques for lethal strikes, for example. (it’s a bad idea to use certian BJJ grapple techniques with someone who has no problem with eye-gouges, for example.)
Physical Fitness (4) - most MMA gyms I’ve seen have some pretty serious cardio workouts associated with them: lots of running, jumprope work, weight-lifting, wind-sprints, etc.
Presentation Art (1) - eh, it could be used for this, but MMA usually isn’t very flashy; if you want to do basic stunt coriography it might be a good place to start. Arguably it would be OK if you wanted to do WCW-style fighting, but there are better ways to learn that.
Spiritual Enlightnment (2) - MMA certianly helps with confidence and focus; however, so does studying anything for a long time: basketball, a foreign language, computer programming, etc.
A pretty broad question, but I can take a crack at it.
Mixed Martial Arts is a combat sport. The main focus of it’s origin (And arguably it’s precursor [Pankration]) is competition, but the only true defintion of a martial art is a codified method of combat. MMA meets that criteria, but the strong competitive angle, and it’s inclusiveness of styles makes it a combat sport.
So it’s not so much a genre, but more of a genre that’s a part of a genre. A good ring sport is good for self defense, but it’s a ring sport.
-As for belts? It depends on the school. Because MMA is so inclusive, it varies depending on what the instructor feels. The school I attended did have a belt system (But it was only three, and it took 2.5 years to get one belt IF you were ready), while the ones around where I am now (Oklahoma City) do not have a belt system. Most think years of training, certifications, as well as who one trains under is important.
Mixed martial arts is first and foremost a training methodology. It moves beyond simple cross-training and involves incorporating the strategies and techniques of multiple martial arts into a single entity, one that covers a broad range of skills. Most people associate MMA with competitions, and that’s part of it, but nearly every system has a competitive side to it.
Most MMA schools teach multiple martial arts, and then have separate MMA classes where the various elements of the different arts are combined into one format. Most of the places I’ve seen like this don’t have a ranking structure for MMA, but some do.
There are also preexisting martial arts, like Combat Submission Wrestling, Shootfighting, and Daido-Juku Karate which are basically MMA styles. These three have a ranking structure.
There is no real standard MMA training. The MMA training I get in Knoxville is distinct to the Combat Submission Wrestling training I get here in Atlanta. MMA, because it isn’t a style per se, doesn’t have a single founder or a direct lineage. MMA systems can have their roots in any number of other systems. CSW, for example, draws from Jeet Kune Do, Taekwondo, Judo, Shooto, Brazilian Jiujitsu, and Muay Thai. I’ve seen other MMA classes that are essentially BJJ and Muay Thai, others that are essentially boxing and submission wrestling, and so on. However, the blend of these systems, as I said, goes beyond mere cross-training. Boxing punches are used to set up wrestling takedowns, BJJ guard passes are set up with Muay Thai kicks to the leg, and so on.