There has been a lot of discussion lately about how certain traditional martial arts and older movie actors would fare in modern MMA.Those more traditional martial arts and movie fiction doesn’t get in the way of my enjoying MMA. In fact, it’s why I love MMA.
When I was a kid growing up in the 80’s, there was this idea that a true martial arts master would win any fight, no matter how big or tough his opponent was. It’s part of the reason why I started taking Karate as a kid.
In Isshinryu Karate, a lot of the focus was in ‘katas’, choreographed sets of moves you practiced over and over, almost like a dance. Katas put you through all the techniques you should have been learning at that level. White belts would focus on basic punches and kicks while the upper ranks performed more advanced techniques and stances. This allowed the teacher to critique your style and made sure you learned everything at that level. The problem is that in these routines, you would punch a guy to your left–which would supposedly take him out–and then turn to your right and take another guy out using a different move. But it never really tested the true power in these techniques. Perhaps it was because I was a kid, but full contact was pretty rare in martial arts, and when we did spar, you got points just for hitting the guy (or coming close), not for actually knocking him out.
Anyone who’s watched MMA knows that it’s pretty rare to knock a guy out on the first strike. Action movies perpetuate the myth of the one punch knockout. It always seems really easy to take out a bunch of guys with a single strike. Unless of course it’s the supreme evil bad guy, in which case dropping a ton of bricks on him only mildly fazes him. I don’t resent action movies for doing this. In fact, I still love watching them–as most people on this forum, I would guess.
When you look at MMA, you realize that real fighting isn’t just theory. It’s experience in real fights. It’s the toughness of the competitors (these guys are pretty fucking tough). And it’s vigorous training. Most importantly though, it is testing within a competitive environment.
People talk a lot of shit. It’s not anymore as much “my style is better than yours” (said with audio not syncing to lip movement). It’s MMA fighters saying “I’m gonna take that dude out.” Or fans speculating that traditional styles or long-dead fighters would clean up in MMA.
But what happens in the ring is a lot different than the fantasy. Real fighting turns out to be A LOT messier than the movies. When two men are allowed to do almost anything in the ring, tricks, schemes, and things that supposedly work give way to reality. Some stuff looks pretty cool, but it doesn’t do much to take out an opponent in real life.
That’s the beauty of MMA. It is as close as it gets to throwing two guys in a pit without weapons and letting them try to kill each other. It’s what really happens.
I love the fact that you sometimes see unorthodox styles like Machida bringing Karate back. Or Jones using crazy throws. There is a focus on things that are known to work, like Ju-Jitsu, wrestling and boxing. But if a fighter were to use Kung Fu, it would get its fair test. If it worked, it would be added to the MMA sport. And the sport would evolve.
This is exactly why I love MMA. It all comes out in the wash. Whether it’s the street fighting of Kimbo Slice or the motormouth of a washed up boxer who thinks he can box his way through MMA. Step in the ring. Two men. One fight. When the bell rings, all myths crumble.
Eric Monse
