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How far we are away?

8K views 99 replies 25 participants last post by  UFC_OWNS 
#1 ·
..someday there might comes a day where we only see guys come from those barbaric MMA gyms. Guys who never became great at one traditional Martial Art and combined this art of fighting with another one and another one from time to time, to make the transition into the Sport of MMA. Outstanding Judokas or Wrestlers who after a couple of years of MMA training, switched over to the Sport of MMA.

This beautiful time we all can witness right now, will be gone and when a next generation of Bruce Buffer announces the fighters discipline.. we will only hear Mixed Martial Arts..

All the clash of styles will die and MMA will just become MMA for every fighter out there.. The great Karateka or the Japanese Judo Gold medalist can not dream about a MMA career anymore, cause he just doesn't have enough time left to keep up with those maniacs who only ever wanted to compete in a Sport hold in a Cage. For the fame for the Money..

Is this already the Golden Age of MMA?? Will we never see a top Level Judoka an All American Wrestler, or a ADCC World Submission Wrestling Champion make the transition into MMA anymore.. because he just can't keep up with the "MMA fighter"?? Will this beautiful time of the Sport will die forever, because of young boys who never even heard about a trational Martial Art anymore, like Karate, Judo or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? All they ever heard about was MMA who some might even wanna call already a "Martial Art"..

..do you feel the same way about this Sport of MMA? Do you feel my pain and the fear that this could and probably will happen someday to the Sport we all Love so much??

I even see myself stop watching this Sport. If all I need to know is, that the MMA guy fights the MMA guy.. two dudes who call MMA there Martial Art. Isn't that a sad thought, that this Sport will 99% head into this direction?!

Will we never see a Demian Maia again..
 
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#6 ·
So you look forward to guys who only ever learned MMA as there fighting style? Guys who never really bothered to become great at at least one Martial Art?

For me this is a sad future..

I don't see that happening. The guys who train MMA instead of one discipline will have huge disadvantages against champions of single disciplines in that area. Striking is more instinctual also. So if you are a top shelf grappler you are going to be able to close the gap and surpass a lot of guys who have trained it their entire lives if you have a natural ability at striking like Fedor and Akiyama have.

The future is more guys who are really great at one discipline, good at everything else, and great athletes like GSP and Anderson. That won't be the majority of the competitors though probably just a handful more at any one time which will make the sport a lot more exciting at the top.
I am so glad to read a post like this Osmium! I hope you are so right with all of that. But to be honest with you.. I don't really see this being the truth.

Can you believe, that guys like Akiyama, Nakamura or Demian Maia who spend all there time to win Gold or an ADCC tournement in there particular Martial Art, can still make the transition and fight against guys who did nothing else then learning everything all togheter from the age of, let's say 10?? Guys who got pushed only become a great MMA fighter.

Is it really possible for a Judoka, who had to spend his entire childhood with this particular Martial Art, to have a chance to win Gold someday to still adapt some sort of standup fighting, to comepete against guys who did nothing else then that in there childhood??

I agree with you that guys who are as gifted as Akiyama, can make the transition maybe.. but others like Demian or Nakamura won't have the time anymore to actually keep up with those guys from the MMA gyms.

To the OP:

Wow... how elitist. So if they don't come from a "legitimate" amrtial arts background they are just some thug from a "barbaric" mma gym? This train of thought is just stupid.

What you are witnessing now is the birth of a new martial art. The development of a new style of fighting born from a hundred older ones. It's just as legitimate. It's just as respectable to be a skilled mixed martial artist as it is to be a Judoka or a Karateka practitioner. They are all martial artists. Mixed Martial Arts is the new Karate. It will branch off into different schools of thought utilizing different training methods and different philosophies. It will not homogenize fighting. It will take fighting to new levels.

And even if people train at these barbaric places it doesn't mean they will all fight the same. Different people have different talents and predilections. It will force differences in style and tactics. It's mixed martial arts. Not style versus style. It is about taking the best of each style that works for you and making your own style.

To say that you would stop watching if they didn't have a background in something you respect is just ...well elitist and mma doesn't need fans like you.
I did that on purpose. To get this debate going and to get exactly people like you in here to jump on my post.

Thats the thing I am so worried about right now.. will these people really believe that MMA is there "Martial Art"?? Will they not even bother anymore, to become at least great at one Martial Art?? A style where they have an advantage on mostly everybody?

But I know what you are saying and I understand that. But don't you thing, that the excitment of the Sport will die, if everybody just studys the so called MMA "Martial Art"??
Wich obv. isn't a Martial Art?!

Don't you think, that the excitement of the Sport has a lot to do with all those different backgrounds and Martial Artists. Do you really believe, that MMA would still be that thrilling, if just both guys come out of an MMA gym and nobody really does one thing perfect??

Joe Rogan was talking about this during the Carlos Condit/Rory McDonald fight about how Rory was one of the first guys who started young training in MMA from a blank slate rather than transitioning from traditional martial arts, boxing or wrestling.
Oh I didn't even noticed that. Good point Toxic.
Those are exactly the guys I am talking about. Don't you feel empty if the new generation of the Sport, includes guys like McDonald fighting guys like McDonald?? Guys who never really leaned to master at least one sytle of fighting?! One Martial Art to there perfection instead of just learning everything by ones and do everything mediocre..??

And everybody is saying, this guy has such a bright future ahead of him. And I have to admit, but I see this guy doing waves in his devision in a couple of years.

Is this really the future of this Sport? I don't want to believe this..
 
#3 ·
I don't see that happening. The guys who train MMA instead of one discipline will have huge disadvantages against champions of single disciplines in that area. Striking is more instinctual also. So if you are a top shelf grappler you are going to be able to close the gap and surpass a lot of guys who have trained it their entire lives if you have a natural ability at striking like Fedor and Akiyama have.

The future is more guys who are really great at one discipline, good at everything else, and great athletes like GSP and Anderson. That won't be the majority of the competitors though probably just a handful more at any one time which will make the sport a lot more exciting at the top.
 
#4 ·
To the OP:

Wow... how elitist. So if they don't come from a "legitimate" amrtial arts background they are just some thug from a "barbaric" mma gym? This train of thought is just stupid.

What you are witnessing now is the birth of a new martial art. The development of a new style of fighting born from a hundred older ones. It's just as legitimate. It's just as respectable to be a skilled mixed martial artist as it is to be a Judoka or a Karateka practitioner. They are all martial artists. Mixed Martial Arts is the new Karate. It will branch off into different schools of thought utilizing different training methods and different philosophies. It will not homogenize fighting. It will take fighting to new levels.

And even if people train at these barbaric places it doesn't mean they will all fight the same. Different people have different talents and predilections. It will force differences in style and tactics. It's mixed martial arts. Not style versus style. It is about taking the best of each style that works for you and making your own style.

To say that you would stop watching if they didn't have a background in something you respect is just ...well elitist and mma doesn't need fans like you.
 
#5 ·
Joe Rogan was talking about this during the Carlos Condit/Rory McDonald fight about how Rory was one of the first guys who started young training in MMA from a blank slate rather than transitioning from traditional martial arts, boxing or wrestling.
 
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#9 ·
Since we all know MMA isn't a martial art it is a combination of whatever you choose to train in, mainly Muay Thai, BJJ, Wrestling Boxing etc. inst it natural to assume if someone trains "MMA" but naturally excels at the BJJ aspects that this "pure fighter" or specific "martial arts champion" won't really die so long as one fighter can implement a specific game-plan out of the norm? All people are different and I really can't see everyone adopting one "MMA" style, since some may prefer to stand and bang others may still prefer GnP, Subs etc
 
#11 ·
Bobby... you are still being an elitist. MMA is a martial art. It is. It is a martial art as much as jiujitsu is. Jiujitsu's actual philosophy is whatever works. Sounds a lot like mma to me.

Why is someone specialized in one thing more respectable in your eyes than someone who mastered multiple disciplines? It doesn't make any sense. There is no perfection in any martial art. Training in martial arts is a constant search for perfection but there is no end to it. You don't reach a certain point in Judo and relax because you have perfected it. You don't do that with Muay Thai, Karate, Kung Fu, Jiujitsu, or any other martial art in existence.

To me mixed martial arts is the epitome of martial arts. It is taking 2000+ years of training and seeing what actually works. Thus the extraneous bits begin to flake away and we get a martial art that is effective. The purest form of hand to hand combat and - as more people train in it - we get to see the real differences between fighters. It will be two men with access to the samea training proving which of them has the stronger mind in the ring. Proving who has trained harder. Proving who deserves to be a champion.

If you don't like that this is not the sport for you. Fighting isn't about philosophy. It's about fighting. It's about stepping into the eye of the storm and coming out with your head held high. Your beliefs that it is not an art are superfluous. It will not change that it is. It will not change what is coming.

If you don't want to watch the evolution of hand to hand combat then don't. Go practice one of your "respectable" arts and let the rest of us enjoy.

And, just to let you know, I come from that old school background. I have a black belt in both Judo and Tae Kwon Do as well as a blue belt in Shotokan Karate. I'm not someone trained at one of these barbaric gyms.
 
#14 ·
Ok my friend, I understand your point about MMA being a Martial Art. But I still can not agree with that thoroughly. We can call it a art of fighting. But a Martial Art.. I to not have the heart to call it that!

But back to the topic now :)

That you can never master a Martial Art is very true from you. Very true!

But don't you think something will be lost?? That the actual Sport will change forever? That the beauty of the sport will leave us?? What makes MMA great for you??

Isn't this a sad thought for you??

Don't you think it's part of the Sport?

All those different kind of backgrounds wich make a fighter so unbeliavble unique to us will just die out forever.. cause every single fighter will just be another dude who came out of those babaric MMA gyms. Everybody will be a boring MMA fighter who probably trained only Muay Thai, BJJ and Wrestling..WOW to become THE MMA CHAMP! Does this really not bother you at all?? Isn't that why we are watching this Sport? And why this Sport is so great compared to all those others combat sports like K-1 or Boxing?

For me this thought just ruins everything.. and I really don't know how I can get over that. I really really hope this evolution of the Sport takes as long as possible.

the old discplines will never die out because they are arts or sports in their own right. many people who practice them arent very interested in MMA at all, and I don't see any real reason that will change.
Thats very true. But you missunderstood me here! I was saying that the traditional Martial Art would have no place in MMA anymore. It of course will still exsist everywhere.. but also in this combat Sport?? Or will we never see a guy like Maia making the transition to MMA anymore?? just because they can not keep up with those guys who train at those MMA gyms from an early age.

Will the beauty of the Sport die forever??
 
#15 ·
The thought doesn't sadden me at all. New styles will replace the old. New strategies will come to the fore. Fighters will continue to use their strengths to win.

Style versus style holds little appeal for me. I much prefer complete fighters facing each other. That is when I get excited. People who excel at one thing and one thing only just get no reaction from me.

For example I can't bring myself to be a Maia fan. Sure he has had some really nice submission finishes but that's his only real way of winning. All you have to do to beat him is keep it at range and out strike him. It makes - for me - a boring fighter.

I like it when the fighter is dangerous everywhere because that is when it becomes a tactical battle. True strategy. That is when you see who the better fighter is. That is the beauty of mma to me.

As for "barbaric" mma gyms... I just don't see why you think they are barbaric. There is something beautiful - to my eyes - about people from different disciplines gathering in one place to share their knowledge. Pool their talents to create something new. That's art.
 
#16 ·
For the most part, I found this thread ridiculous. There were a few soundbites that are just too irritating to ignore, though.

Those are below.

..someday there might comes a day where we only see guys come from those barbaric MMA gyms. Guys who never became great at one traditional Martial Art and combined this art of fighting with another one and another one from time to time, to make the transition into the Sport of MMA. Outstanding Judokas or Wrestlers who after a couple of years of MMA training, switched over to the Sport of MMA.
Apart from the loaded term "barbaric MMA gym," which is unbelievably irritating, what in hell makes you think that there is going to be a trend away from traditional martial arts?

Seriously?

Are the best fighters in the world slowly becoming less dependent on their backgrounds? Is Brock Lesnar using less wrestling than Dan Severn did? Is Anderson Silva less muay thai intensive than Pedro Rizzo? No.

The fighters are getting better at other areas of the game as well, but the vast majority of successful fighters have a background that they utilize with regularity. They're not homogenizing so much as rounding themselves out, and there's a difference between those two things: they are not sacrificing the skills of their preliminary backgrounds in order to be somewhat competitive in other areas of the fight game.

I even see myself stop watching this Sport. If all I need to know is, that the MMA guy fights the MMA guy.. two dudes who call MMA there Martial Art. Isn't that a sad thought, that this Sport will 99% head into this direction?!
Apart from the fact that there is absolutely no support for this claim, the pettiness that you would stop watching the sport because there were less stylistically diverse matchups is pretty bizarre.

Props for giving me a complaint I'd never heard before.

Wow... how elitist. So if they don't come from a "legitimate" amrtial arts background they are just some thug from a "barbaric" mma gym? This train of thought is just stupid.
I agree with the "stupid" part. I hate the term elitist.

Every time I hear it, I wonder what the f*ck that means. Really, the word you want to use is "pretentious." Firstly, it's actually an adjective. Secondly, (and more importantly) it actually says something, other than attempting to alienate the person on the basis of having different tastes.

What you are witnessing now is the birth of a new martial art.
This annoys me.

MMA is not a martial art, because MMA is not a system. The term "martial art" implies systemization, it implies cogency of techniques and similarity of styles between academies.

There is no "style of MMA." There is no homogenized way of viewing the techniques of mixed martial arts. There are a dozen substantial, well known instructors (Greg Jackson, Pat Miletich, Ricardo Liborio, Renzo Gracie, Mark Dellagrotte, etc.) who all have different "styles" of mixed martial arts.

MMA is a form of competition. You can argue that the systems that these guys are pioneering are martial arts. You can't argue that MMA is, because MMA is so much bigger than any single curriculum or systemization.

BJJ, Judo, Karate, etc. are all "styles" insofar as they emerge from a systemization of techniques and philosophies. MMA is different. It's an open forum with no instructors attempting to reduce the techniques to the most efficient and technically sound in the way that the kodokan or the Gracies did/do.

I don't call it a Martial Art, because there is no such thing as perfection in MMA.
And there's a "perfection" in BJJ? Or judo? Or wrestling?

I'm just going to stick to the styles that I study, but I'll say this: there is no perfect. There is what's good and there's what works.

There's mastery. But there's no perfection. It's a dead concept. Let it go.

nobody will try or bother anymore to demonstrate his background as guys like Lyoto, Shinya, Silva or Akiyama. They will just be MMA fighters who learned everything at ones.. but without a background.
I don't see that at all. I have guys who are looking to start training come to me for advice all the time, and the thing that they hear from me, and from guys much more experienced, and smarter, than I am is this: find a style that compliments your body type, where you're comfortable and how you want to fight and start there.

That's how you build a successful fighting style. Not: "I'm going to keep all of my skills rounded out and then take the fight wherever I have to in order to win." That doesn't work.

Bobby... you are still being an elitist. MMA is a martial art. It is. It is a martial art as much as jiujitsu is. Jiujitsu's actual philosophy is whatever works. Sounds a lot like mma to me.
This comment drove me to post. It's so grating to hear someone say: "Jiujitsu's actual philosophy is..."

I've been training jiu-jitsu most of my life. I've dedicated hours of sweat and blood and to hear a fortune cookie as what jiu-jitsu is all about is irritating. No one agrees about the philosophy of jiu-jitsu is.

The philosophy of any sport is "whatever works." In the same way the philosophy of any sport is "win the damn game."

Every coach has a different philosophy. Helio's from what I've read and gathered from his students was "use leverage, be crafty and catch him when he's getting aggressive." That doesn't work for everybody. It works for me, but my coach prefers: "Rack him up, drop your weight and make him squirm until you catch him."

There is no fortune cookie. Have a little more respect for the style than that.

I don't mind you taking the guy to task for being stupid, but either show some respect for the complexity of a martial art or don't comment on it. It's really irritating to hear the McNuggets dropped like that.

And, just to let you know, I come from that old school background. I have a black belt in both Judo and Tae Kwon Do as well as a blue belt in Shotokan Karate. I'm not someone trained at one of these barbaric gyms.
Great. It's nice to have martial artists on the board. And I don't mind the commentary, but I noticed that "jiu-jitsu" isn't included in that background, which annoyed me further.

You're going to comment on the philosophy of a martial art you don't train in, when there are martial arts you can reference with some degree of credibility? That makes no sense.

the old discplines will never die out because they are arts or sports in their own right. many people who practice them arent very interested in MMA at all, and I don't see any real reason that will change.
This was a golden ray of sunshine in a bleak and irritating thread. I certainly agree with it, and though I really think it's worth noting that fighters come to MMA with a variety of backgrounds in those styles, and that trend doesn't seem to be changing at all, I don't mind just pointing out that the traditional martial arts seem to be doing just fine.
 
#31 ·
One way to ruin a thread

Seriously IronMan. Did you really not get the topic at all??? I mean Toxic, Chilendude, Osmium and deadmanshand got it immediately.

This thread isn't about "IS MMA A MARTIAL ART OR NOT"... it's about the evolution of the sport of MMA. How will this Sport look like in 20 years from now. not how does it look like today.. or anyhting like that. Most of your respond was more irritating then the enitre thread so far.

I try to make it as simple as possible now..

I am talking about the Evolution of MMA! The Evolution of Cage fighting

Will we ever see a Demian Maia again in 20 years from now?? Will we ever see a high top Level Judoka who had to spend his entire childhood in a Judo Dojo, just to win Gold someday, making his way into MMA again in 20 years?? Will we ever see an ALL american Wrestler or an ADCC Submission Wrestling Champion making the transition into MMA again in 20 years from now???

Don't you think that these guys will have too much of an disadvantage over the guys who start training as a little child, in those "babaric MMA gyms" ( A expression I was using to express my feelings about those gyms and to get people in here who already train this by many already called "Martial Art" )

Isn't that a sad thought, that we will probably never see such a high level grappler like Demian Maia or Shinya Aoki in MMA ever again??

Because everybody who grows up today, will see Anderson Silva fighting in this cage. And the little boy will think.. wow Daddy, I would like to be an MMA fighter one day. Do you really believe, that this little boy will still sacrifice himself to learn a TRUE Martial Art like Karate, BJJ or Judo in his childhood?? If he already has the option to become an MMA fighter in those "babaric MMA gyms"???

Don't you think he will choose the obvious way?? And join an MMA gym instead of a BJJ school??

Don't you think a guy like Demian Maia would have no time anymore, to make the transition into the Sport of MMA?! After his so successful Grappling career??

Don't you think this era of fighter will die out?? And the future of the sport will be guys who call there background ONLY Mixed MArtial Arts anymore??? Don't you think that we will never see a guy like Akiyama or Nakamura anymore, who just jumped into MMA with there outstanding Judo background? These two guys would have no time left anymore to keep up with those little kids, who only ever trained in those babaric MMA gyms..

Little boys who see Anderson Silva and because of that join an MMA gym only and only develope Muay Thai, BJJ and Wrestling.. doesn't that thought make you sad, that this Sport will 99% head into this direction??

For the most part, I found this thread ridiculous. There were a few soundbites that are just too irritating to ignore, though.

Those are below.



Apart from the loaded term "barbaric MMA gym," which is unbelievably irritating, what in hell makes you think that there is going to be a trend away from traditional martial arts?

Seriously?

Are the best fighters in the world slowly becoming less dependent on their backgrounds? Is Brock Lesnar using less wrestling than Dan Severn did? Is Anderson Silva less muay thai intensive than Pedro Rizzo? No.

The fighters are getting better at other areas of the game as well, but the vast majority of successful fighters have a background that they utilize with regularity. They're not homogenizing so much as rounding themselves out, and there's a difference between those two things: they are not sacrificing the skills of their preliminary backgrounds in order to be somewhat competitive in other areas of the fight game.



Apart from the fact that there is absolutely no support for this claim, the pettiness that you would stop watching the sport because there were less stylistically diverse matchups is pretty bizarre.

Props for giving me a complaint I'd never heard before.



I agree with the "stupid" part. I hate the term elitist.

Every time I hear it, I wonder what the f*ck that means. Really, the word you want to use is "pretentious." Firstly, it's actually an adjective. Secondly, (and more importantly) it actually says something, other than attempting to alienate the person on the basis of having different tastes.



This annoys me.

MMA is not a martial art, because MMA is not a system. The term "martial art" implies systemization, it implies cogency of techniques and similarity of styles between academies.

There is no "style of MMA." There is no homogenized way of viewing the techniques of mixed martial arts. There are a dozen substantial, well known instructors (Greg Jackson, Pat Miletich, Ricardo Liborio, Renzo Gracie, Mark Dellagrotte, etc.) who all have different "styles" of mixed martial arts.

MMA is a form of competition. You can argue that the systems that these guys are pioneering are martial arts. You can't argue that MMA is, because MMA is so much bigger than any single curriculum or systemization.

BJJ, Judo, Karate, etc. are all "styles" insofar as they emerge from a systemization of techniques and philosophies. MMA is different. It's an open forum with no instructors attempting to reduce the techniques to the most efficient and technically sound in the way that the kodokan or the Gracies did/do.



And there's a "perfection" in BJJ? Or judo? Or wrestling?

I'm just going to stick to the styles that I study, but I'll say this: there is no perfect. There is what's good and there's what works.

There's mastery. But there's no perfection. It's a dead concept. Let it go.



I don't see that at all. I have guys who are looking to start training come to me for advice all the time, and the thing that they hear from me, and from guys much more experienced, and smarter, than I am is this: find a style that compliments your body type, where you're comfortable and how you want to fight and start there.

That's how you build a successful fighting style. Not: "I'm going to keep all of my skills rounded out and then take the fight wherever I have to in order to win." That doesn't work.



This comment drove me to post. It's so grating to hear someone say: "Jiujitsu's actual philosophy is..."

I've been training jiu-jitsu most of my life. I've dedicated hours of sweat and blood and to hear a fortune cookie as what jiu-jitsu is all about is irritating. No one agrees about the philosophy of jiu-jitsu is.

The philosophy of any sport is "whatever works." In the same way the philosophy of any sport is "win the damn game."

Every coach has a different philosophy. Helio's from what I've read and gathered from his students was "use leverage, be crafty and catch him when he's getting aggressive." That doesn't work for everybody. It works for me, but my coach prefers: "Rack him up, drop your weight and make him squirm until you catch him."

There is no fortune cookie. Have a little more respect for the style than that.

I don't mind you taking the guy to task for being stupid, but either show some respect for the complexity of a martial art or don't comment on it. It's really irritating to hear the McNuggets dropped like that.



Great. It's nice to have martial artists on the board. And I don't mind the commentary, but I noticed that "jiu-jitsu" isn't included in that background, which annoyed me further.

You're going to comment on the philosophy of a martial art you don't train in, when there are martial arts you can reference with some degree of credibility? That makes no sense.



This was a golden ray of sunshine in a bleak and irritating thread. I certainly agree with it, and though I really think it's worth noting that fighters come to MMA with a variety of backgrounds in those styles, and that trend doesn't seem to be changing at all, I don't mind just pointing out that the traditional martial arts seem to be doing just fine.
You are wrong! That what HexRai posted, was completely irrelevant to the discussion.

Of course the traditional Martial will always exsist. Who ever questioned that?? But will we ever witness guys again, like Akiyama, Shinya Aoki or Demian Maia?? Who just spend there entire life on there MArtial Art to become the best at it?? Will these guys ever have enough time left to addapt some form of striking, to comepete against guys who only ever learned a fighting style, to compete in a Cage for the Fame and the Money?

Of course these kids will learn BJJ, Muay Thai and Wrestling to become great MMA fighters in those babaric MMA gyms. But isn't this a sad sad thought about the future of the Sport? Wich should kill you inside???

Joe Rogan was talking about this during the Carlos Condit/Rory McDonald fight about how Rory was one of the first guys who started young training in MMA from a blank slate rather than transitioning from traditional martial arts, boxing or wrestling.
Here IronMan, does are the guys I am talking about. Rory McDonald. Is this really the future of this Sport??

If it really is, then yes.. I see myself stop watching it!
 
#17 ·
What you are witnessing now is the birth of a new martial art.
This annoys me.
MMA is not a martial art, because MMA is not a system. The term "martial art" implies systemization, it implies cogency of techniques and similarity of styles between academies.
MMA itself might not be a Martial Art on your definition, but new Hybrid-Systems are being born, sure, they are not big enough yet to spread in similiarties between academies, but as the sport continues to evolve i'm pretty sure some of the fighters/trainers will reach a point of influence where they will have created and spread their signature MMA Systems, altough it will probably take a few generations and some pioneers.
 
#19 ·
I only posted a few of the martial arts I have trained significantly in. Judo, TKD, and Shotokan are simply where I started twenty years ago. Since then there has been Aikido, Muay Thai, Boxing, Kenpo, Wrestling, Kendo, and BJJ. Whatever works is the philosophy of BJJ as I was taught it. If you have a different interpretation so be it but don't yell at me because you don't like mine. You can take it up with my teacher if that's what you want to do.

Elitist is actually used as an adjective these days. You might not like it but it is. SO you know exactly what I meant when I said it but pretentious would be correct as well. Your tone towards me would also count as pretentious.

And you and I may have different ideas about whether MMA is the birth of a new martial art or not but your opinion holds no more weight than mine. If you don't agree say it but you cannot conclusively prove that it isn't because it is a matter of perspective not fact. I believe mma is heading towards a systemized form of training. It's the only logical evolution from my point of view.
 
#20 ·
I only posted a few of the martial arts I have trained significantly in. Judo, TKD, and Shotokan are simply where I started twenty years ago. Since then there has been Aikido, Muay Thai, Boxing, Kenpo, Wrestling, Kendo, and BJJ. Whatever works is the philosophy of BJJ as I was taught it. If you have a different interpretation so be it but don't yell at me because you don't like mine. You can take it up with my teacher if that's what you want to do.
Then you should've qualified your background fully.

Here's my issue: "Whatever works" isn't a philosophy. It's a platitude.

You can say it about basketball, football, hockey, academics, chess, cross-country skiing and whatever else you want. It doesn't say anything.

Elitist is actually used as an adjective these days. You might not like it but it is. SO you know exactly what I meant when I said it but pretentious would be correct as well. Your tone towards me would also count as pretentious.
I'll say this, you weren't the only person who used the word "elitist." Just the usage in the post I quoted. Of course it's used as an adjective in contemporary culture. And in contemporary culture, it's similarly useless and unexpressive. I'm taking a little frustration with the culture out on you, which may be a little unfair, but it happens.

My attitude towards you is disdainful. Pretentiousness implies that I'm exaggerating my own importance or making some sort of unjustified claim. I'm not doing either of those things.

And you and I may have different ideas about whether MMA is the birth of a new martial art or not but your opinion holds no more weight than mine. If you don't agree say it but you cannot conclusively prove that it isn't because it is a matter of perspective not fact.
Yay! The relativism defense!

I haven't seen that one in a while.

Seriously? Yes, you're entitled to your opinion. I'm also entitled to point out that you're position is incoherent.

I believe mma is heading towards a systemized form of training. It's the only logical evolution from my point of view.
It's going to become systemized? How?

Are Greg Jackson and Ricardo Liborio and the rest going to get together at a summit and agree that there are some moves, with particular execution, and that there is a structured methodology for teaching them? Because that's the function of systemization that we're talking about when we talk about "martial arts styles."

That's what Kano did when he created judo. That's what Helio and Carlson Jr. did when they were creating what would become Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As those things became sports, they shifted away from being a single system. With a public forum for the exchange and testing of techniques, the executions of techniques and the teaching methodologies tend to get more diverse, not less so.

It's hard to argue that the techniques in MMA have gotten more diverse because it started with incredible diversity, so I won't bother with that. But they certainly haven't gotten more homogenous, they're just more sophisticated and more defined in their connections to the styles from which they originate.
 
#21 ·
Whatever. You are being being an asshat. No one else found my arguments hard to follow. Only you find them incoherent. I'm not going to argue with you. I'm done here. I have other projects to work on.
 
#24 ·
Another brilliant argument.

"He's being mean to me, so I'm leaving." You are a mastermind.

It's not the argument was hard to follow, it's that it makes no sense to argue that there's "systemization" occurring without appropriate requalifying systemization, which you haven't. Define what you mean when you say that MMA is becoming a style, and where you see that occurring.

Don't just say "I see this thing happening, but I'm not going to tell you what I mean by it and I'm not going to tell you where I see it. And I'm not going to deal with the terms, and with the history. I just see it."
 
#22 ·
I personally think there will always be guys who transition from another sport into MMA. Sure there will be those guys who train solely in MMA but the tradition of going from a certain sport to clash with someone from another discipline will not change. Sure the good old days when Royce Gracie dominated the sport are gone, but the discipline versus discipline theme will never truely die!:praise01:
 
#23 ·
..The sport just keeps evolving. It will always be MMA. Look at each division. Shogun is not a wrestler but he's the LHW champion. Anderson Silva isn't a wrestler and he's been a dominant MW champion. GSP has blended all the aspects of MMA. Wrestling has been his biggest asset and he's been a dominant WW champion. B.J. isn't a wrestler, he's been the LW Champ for a long while. I seriously doubt the sport will become a bunch of gold's gym WWE brutes that just wrestle their way to a title. One dimentional doesn't mix with the word "Mixed"...
 
#30 ·
Ok, I'll break down the diversity of styles in the heavyweight top 10. Brock, Carwin, Cain, and Mir all have wrestling bases; Werdum and Big Nog have BBJ bases, Fedor has a ***** base, Overeem is a kickboxer, and JDS and Rogers are unspecified strikers!:thumbsup:
 
#32 ·
Its the inevitable evolution and our time will fade into something else. This is exactly how the purists of anything feel about the incombents who want to change what they have become comfortable with for long periods of time. Nostalgia and fear of change are what hold us in the past.
Pride had to die, the UFC had to adopt rules/weight classes and Lindsey Lohan had to finally go to jail. Its all sad in a way but cathartic none the less.
 
#33 ·
I've never gone to an mma gym and not focused on either JJ or MT individually, with a separate coach too. So if it were to carry a stigma for being an "MMA" school, I would be offended because it's just a way for all of our coaches to save money on rent and supplies...

Since we already know now that a martial art can not be perfected in an entire lifetime, I can skip that part and try to be realistic (in a hurry).

Here is what I would do:
Look back 100 years, what martial arts could you go practice as a child do you think? If you live in asia, you might be lucky. (Although I wouldn't call that lifestyle 100 years ago lucky) If you are from Europe or young North America, you MIGHT get to box a LITTLE bit, MAYBE wrestle but you probably won't want to because your day-to-day work is so hard, and the lack of money for food leaves you with little energy to train.

Fast forward 100 years to the present. ENJOY martial arts and a long life. Don't get so aggrivated over some idea in your head like this, because you are probably one of the only people in the world aside from karate gym owners worried about this happening!

We still have the olympics, and people from every corner of the world will continue to go there and be the best athletes on the planet at their individual arts. I don't see how anything could change much from the way it is right now except that the athletes will be faster, stronger, more technical, and more natural with their fighting in MMA.

I definitely wouldn't say you are being elitist or anything, but this sounds similar to when Boxers argue that boxing is better than MMA, and even if MMA suceeds boxing will have always been better. When in reality because it is the new thing, and involves more, they get somewhat defensively offensive about the issue.

The world is a big place, and there are more places to learn individual martial arts than there were 50,40,30,20,10,5 years ago. It will probably continue, too! Chin up Bobs! there is nothing to worry about here CALM THE **** DOWN
 
#38 ·
You know what? I think you are right with this. You gave me a lot more hope with this post. I really hope you are right with all of what you are saying. Anything else would just destroy this Sport and leave me as a fan.

I really hope that these guys we are talking about here, still have the chance to make it. This Sport would lose everything wich makes it so damn fascinating for me. I don't even wanna think about how my future picture would look like in reality.

But since all those MMA gyms just opnened up and people are getting more and more into it and into the Sport of MMA in general.. I see this making waves and producing George St. Pierre clones. GSP who did not have a background in Wrestling, but became the greatest MMA Wrestler today.
So many young kids come out now and they wanna be an MMA fighter someday. Some of them just have to turn into outstanding MMA fighters. Of course they need talent and a lot of dedication to make it, but some will make it! It's very hard to deny that in my opinion.

Even if you do not have much faith in this Rory McDonald guy.. he has all the potential to make it far. Maybe he becomes one of the best strikers in MMA? Who can answer that righ now! Lets see where he stands in 5 years. With only 25 years of age.

And the scary thing is, that he is one of the first guys. One of the really new generation guys. And he is already so far in his career. Doesn't this scare you at least a little bit, that the trend might go exactly into this direction?

Rich Franklin already was one of those guys who made it. Good that you mentioned him. But then of course Anderson came by and destroyed him.. because Anderson isn't just somebody and had a sigificant background in Muay Thai plus a gift from somewhere else to become a fighter. But Rich was at the top for so long, without any signifitant background as a child.
But then he ran into a guy like Lyoto and later Silva.. who had just the superior striking because of there strong backgrounds. So the two guys with the TRUE Martial Arts backgrounds at only one dicipline won there fights at there strenghts. So if this truly remains in the Future, then MMA will always shine. I just hope this will still be the case..
 
#39 ·
You know what? I think you are right with this. You gave me a lot more hope with this post. I really hope you are right with all of what you are saying. Anything else would just destroy this Sport and leave me as a fan.

I really hope that these guys we are talking about here, still have the chance to make it. This Sport would lose everything wich makes it so damn fascinating for me. I don't even wanna think about how my future picture would look like in reality.

But since all those MMA gyms just opnened up and people are getting more and more into it and into the Sport of MMA in general..
That part's new, and it's fine to speculate about the effect that it will have on the sport, but it's still just speculation. It's not a trend.

When these gyms start producing guys that are competitive, we'll talk more about it, but right now, they're not making an impact.

Frankly, I think being a focussed striker will still mean something in MMA. It certainly does the way the sport is now, and I can't see a guy with no traditional background competing with B.J. Penn or Anderson Silva or Jose Aldo. Or, for that matter, Brock Lesnar. Stylistically, I just don't see it.

So many young kids come out now and they wanna be an MMA fighter someday. Some of them just have to turn into outstanding MMA fighters. Of course they need talent and a lot of dedication to make it, but some will make it! It's very hard to deny that in my opinion.
Again, I train a lot of kids in BJJ and judo and have started teaching MMA to those who are interested. The thing that they figure out quickly, when they roll with me or one of the guys who has a better ground game than I do is that you have to put the gi on, you have to do 5000 armbars and 5000 repetitions of o goshi and 5000 double legs. You have to get back to the fundamentals of the technique if you want to be able to apply it at all in MMA.

You can't just learn to grapple in an MMA setting and expect to be submitting people constantly. It's not an effective methodology for teaching, and the MMA community knows that. There's a reason why toughmen like Bobby Hoffman and Dan Bobbish were never competitive.

Even if you do not have much faith in this Rory McDonald guy.. he has all the potential to make it far. Maybe he becomes one of the best strikers in MMA? Who can answer that righ now! Lets see where he stands in 5 years. With only 25 years of age.
Sure, we'll see where he stands in five years. Like I said, he's a good prospect. But is he going to make a run at the title anytime soon? No. Is he going to have a serious impact on the top ten? No.

So, when that time comes, he might very well be someone worth talking about in the context of trends in MMA. Right now, he's not.

And the scary thing is, that he is one of the first guys. One of the really new generation guys. And he is already so far in his career. Doesn't this scare you at least a little bit, that the trend might go exactly into this direction?
No, because one guy isn't a trend.

There was, for a long time, one successful judoka in MMA outside of Japan (Karo Parisyan) but we were all still skeptical that judo could be made to work in American MMA. It turns out, at least so far, that the skepticism was warranted. Karo was an exception, not a rule.

Rich Franklin already was one of those guys who made it. Good that you mentioned him. But then of course Anderson came by and destroyed him.. because Anderson isn't just somebody and had a sigificant background in Muay Thai plus a gift from somewhere else to become a fighter. But Rich was at the top for so long, without any signifitant background as a child.
But then he ran into a guy like Lyoto and later Silva.. who had just the superior striking because of there strong backgrounds. So the two guys with the TRUE Martial Arts backgrounds at only one dicipline won there fights at there strenghts. So if this truly remains in the Future, then MMA will always shine. I just hope this will still be the case.
.

Again, I want to be clear: Rich is a single case in the sport. We don't have a trend to look at. We have a few fights. So it's all speculative.

When we start to see more guys like that, we can talk more, but right now, it's really impossible to say with any certainty.
 
#43 ·
Oh ok^^ I am glad you proved me wrong!

Guess I don't have to worry that much about the future anymore now lol^^ I hope you are all so right and that the Sport stays the way it is. Any changes from now on would disappoint me somewhat.. but we can't really prevent that.
 
#45 ·
well as you know it takes a very very long time to get black belts in martial arts and my guess is people just don't either have the time,money or patience to do 2 black belt martial arts every week instead of learning everything at one place every week
 
#44 ·
^^^Really? I'm hoping for major changes. Open up a few strikes that are fouls now, legalization and sanctioning in more regions, high caliber athletes coming to the sport, more public acceptance... This sport is in its infancy and needs to continue to change and grow.
 
#60 ·
They need to make kicks and knees from your back legal but I don't really think anything else need to be legalized. I don't think the sport is in its infancy anymore either more like middle school. I really don't see the sport changing all that much in the next 20 years aside from more great athletes being involved and more depth to all the divisions.
 
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