MikeMartial
New member
heavy_duty said:It is is no way a demonstration of the ultimate in martial arts, it is professional fighting just like boxing, kick-boxing or MT but with different rules.
I disagree with this. Is not MMA a "mixture" of martial arts? Essentially, a blend of everything practical that works? IMO, MMA puts to rest the old "this elite" martial artist versus "this other elite" martial artist (think Bruce lee verus Chuck Norris. I always had these arguments as a kid. Didn't you?). Now we get to actually see who would come out on top the winner, via MMA matches thanks to UFC and Pride.
But what is your opinion of the "ultimate" in martial arts? One-on-one combat? Or a display of technique, power, speed, style? Years of rigorous training in a dojo, while wearing a gi? If you picked the first, then MMA is the ultimate in martial arts. But it's all opinion based.
heavy_duty said:AND now MOST martial arts are no longer represented in the UFC
Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Ju Jitsu, Judo....are these not STRONGLY respresented in MMA? I'd have to yell a loud "hell ya" on that one. Almost every single MMA athlete in the UFC started in one of these, and all the core fundamentals come from these.
GSP = Kyokushin Karate. David Loiseau = Tae Kwon Do. Karo Parisyan = Judo. Stephen Bonnar = TKD and Boxing
I think the idea that MMA is the almighty, all-encompassing, purified end result of traditional martial arts really only pisses off traditional martial artists---and this, coming from me, a traditional martial arts practitioner. But seriously, in this day and age of MMA athletes, what traditionalist would last a full round in the ring? Any? Only a fool would argue that a single-style traditional martial artist could compete at the skill level of todays MMA athletes. But, that's a bit off point of the main topic.
