MMA refers to the competitive sport of mixed martial arts, which uses a combination of grappling and attacking movements from various different styles. MMA has risen to prominance in popular culture following the emergeance of competitions like Ultimate Fighting Championship and other high grossing events, where fighters engage in full contact sparring with minimal rules to determine which style is the greatest.

History

The competitive nature of full contact sparring unbounded by style or tradition dates back to the Ancient Greeks and the sport of pankration. Greco-Roman wrestling has always been a key feature in the sport and quickly gained a reputation for defeating many of Europe top boxers when full contact bouts were arranged throughout the continent in the 1800s. There have been many examples of hybrid martial arts styles over the course of history, including the mixed Asian and European style of Bartitsu and the Merikan contests of 1900s Japan which pitted boxers against jujutsu fighters. Traditional wrestling in its purest, full contact form would change over the course of the 20th century to become ‘shoot wrestling’ and ‘show wrestling’, which elaborated on the theatrics of the sport rather than the competitive element.

Shoot wrestling bouts gained prominence after the “Gracie challenge”, issued by top Vale Tudo (full contact) fighters Carlos Gracie and Helio Gracie. Their challenge was to test their new style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which they claimed could defeat any other style, and the Vale Tudo contests are claimed to be the forerunning in mixed martial arts events. Shooto, a Japanese organization formed in 1985, is said to be the first organization to promote mixed martial arts as a style, following a series of MMA events in the 1970s hosted by Antonio Inoki. Bruce Lee is often regarded as the forefather of MMA with his combination style of Jeet Kune Do incorporating techniques and philosophy from Asian and European forms of self defense. MMA is now taught to the US Army, while in the media, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) has gained immense US popularity following Royce Gracie’s crowning as champion in 1993. Now the MMA event rivals box office and pay-per-view takings formerly held only by high-profile boxing matches.

Principles & Training

Although MMA, in theory, refers to a cross training in all aspects of the martial arts, it has become apparent through the full contact, no-holds-barred nature of UFC that only around three styles prevail in any MMA event: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, amateur wrestling and shoot wrestling. Although, in the beginning, styles as varied as sumo and kickboxing made attempts to compete in MMA events, the grappling nature of the contest means that often MMA fighters dismiss those purely striking based styles which will not be effective in a full contact, competitive environment.

However, it is still customary for competitors to focus on certain styles in their training. Competitive combat styles utilised by many of the stand up fighters include expertise in boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and full contact Karate. These styles emphasise the use of the knee and elbow, also footwork, kicking and punching. To clinch an opponent before a take down, a proficient background in Judo, Greco-Roman wrestling and Sambo are good to develop throwing and clinching techniques. For submission holds and to maintain ground control, MMA fighters predominantly utilize Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu , shoot wrestling and Judo.

Many of these styles are adjusted for use in the sport, including adaptations of stances and attacks. The training regime for an MMA fighter can be extremely demanding, although proficiency in one particularly style is not the end goal – strength, flexibility, stamina, speed and determination are all attributes of the full contact fighter. He or she will notably train in all aspects of the martial arts under the same coach rather than add their own techniques to a specific system.

Since the growth of UFC in the media, certain moves and techniques have since become staple strategies in overcoming an opponent. These include ‘sprawl and brawl’ (a stand-up technique), ‘clinch fighting’, ‘ground and pound’, ‘submission grappling’ and the ‘lay and pray,’ which is a term used to describe fighters who fail to make the final strike once their opponent is on the defense.

Since its no-holds-barred roots in the Vale Tudo tradition, rules have been set up to preserve the health of MMA competitors. Regulations include weight categories and the use of fingerless gloves. In many events, head butting is strictly forbidden, while the referee can choose to restart the fight if the competitors are considered to be on the ground for too long. Many of these amendments came into fruition following the exposure of MMA on national television.

---

Share Our Martial Arts Features With Your Friends: