Mixed Martial............Arts?

So what happened to the arts?

With the climactic rise of the MMA scene, where is the focus on traditional values and lessons that are supposed to be the heart and soul of martial arts? The headlines read "Mixed Martial Arts", but I would tend to disagree. Maybe a better title would be "Mixed Martial Fighting" or "Let's Get People to Beat Each Other Up For Money".

Don't get me wrong, I am just like most when it comes to watching, analyzing and critiquing MMA. I love the recent popularity that the UFC has gained and I think it is well earned. But let’s get one thing clear, this form of competition does not represent Martial Arts.

It represents sports. It also represents large end promotional deals that seem larger than life (any one remember Don King in the 80's). For what it is and for what it represents, there is no other spectacle that even comes close. This is the future of sports, that much is clear.

Under the guise that MMA is a representative of traditional fighting techniques, it seems people forgot the history involved. When the UFC started it was a tournament.

It was nothing more than the collision of styles. Is Kung-Fu better than Karate in a (some-what) no holds barred event. The entire spectacle was based off of these questions. One can argue that at this point, it was a good representation of what Martial Arts competitions should be. And then everything changed......

Along comes Royce Gracie and the game changed forever. Tactics and the mentality of superior fighting techniques evolved. With pioneers such as Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn and Keith Hackney (who showed that an average sized man can bring down a giant like Emanuel Yarbrough. And he didn't even use any joint locks or single leg takedowns.... imagine that) the fight game started to become altered.

The questions where answered. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was king. Strength was over rated and if you wanted to be successful, you better know how to fight on the ground. This is when it all began.

Fast forward a few years and you see the transition to striking and take down defense. If he can’t take me down, I can beat him with punches, kicks and knees. So there you have it…… today’s MMA. Either you are great on the ground, or you are great at not being taken to the ground. Punch, kick, shoot, stuff the take down; this is not what Martial Arts represent. This is sport. Period.

Is MMA impressive and fun to watch, absolutely! Is MMA a true representation of Martial Arts in its full capacity…… not even close!

Obviously there needs to be an evolution to anything. This current fighting style proves that. The question is, did the evolution represent the natural progression of thousands of years of tradition or does this evolution revolve around the need for competitive sport, money and notoriety?