What do you think of "Mixed Martial Arts"?

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

There is a "mixed martial arts" special on Showtime right now. I hadn't heard much before about MMA except for the fact that McCain wants to ban it for being too violent. (Which is enough to make me like it -- heh).

Watching it, it seems much less dangerous than Boxing, or even NFL football. There are several officials in the ring who will jump in and break up the fighters at the slightest hint that something might go wrong. IN the first fight, as soon as one fighter was knocked down, they stopped the fight -- before they even would have done so in a boxing match.

It seems like a highly skilled affair as well, with the fighters using all manner of martial arts.

What do you guys think?

[flvegan]

1. Highly skilled, yes.

But still much like a cockfight or dogfight. Just my opinion. Lots of folks relishing in the destruction of another.

Last I heard/read, self-defense was just that. This seems like a little too much offense. To me, it's manipulating the best in the martial arts.

[Fuzz]

2. That one woman was really attractive

;)

[MrSlayer]

3. I like it.

Those are some bad dudes.

[Katherine Brengle]

4. When I have the money, I'm going to take some MMA classes --

I think it rules.

And McCain can lick my butt.

Well, no, but you get the idea.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

5. I wonder where you can take them?

I'd imagine that would be incredible exercise.

[Pushed To The Left]

11. You can find some schools on this website:

www.mma.tv

I am now training at the Shen Wu Academy www.shenwu.com
(except I won't be training for a few weeks due to a nasty abcess on my leg! :( )

[graywarrior]

6. Love it!

[Mojambo]

7. It's become my favorite sport.

I LOVE the contrast in styles and disciplines.

It's kinda like when you were a kid and you would speculate on who would win, a ninja or a samurai.

MMA is like that. I love watching styles clash.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

8. Yikes! (spoiler)

That didn't end very well. And that Frank Shamrock guy seems like a real asshole.

I'd have to imagine that this wasn't very good for the sport. For those who didn't see it, in the final match, Enzo Gracie was dominating against Frank Shamrock, and Shamrock hit Gracie with an illegal blow to the back of Gracie's head, giving Gracie a concussion. They stopped the fight and gave Gracie the win via disqualification. Gracie was taken to the hospital.

This was all live, so the announcers had to keep apologizing for how badly it went.

[Mojambo]

9. You should add a Spoiler warning to this post.

A quick glance away saved me, mostly.

[Pushed To The Left]

10. Just got done watching it myself!

You'll see quite a few MMA threads floating around DU on the nights of big MMA events! I'm about to start another one going over the results tonight so I can give a "spoiler alert" for those who plan on watching it later.

MMA is my favorite sport and the only sport I follow regularly. (I also follow pro-wrestling, but that really isn't a sport!) The people who want it banned probably don't know much about the sport, or are not watching it objectively. I believe that anybody who wants to ban MMA but doesn't want to ban boxing is being very hypocritical!

[Downtown Hound]

12. In my opinion it's less dangerous than boxing

And I've done boxing. This is because in boxing the gloves can allow for hundreds of punches to be thrown and landed in a single match. Every one of those punches causes the brain to be thrown around and bump up against the skull. This is why professional fighters suffer such a high rate of Parkinson's disease.

But when the gloves are taken off, it's impossible to withstand that level of beating. Often they go down after only a few punches. While the initial shock is greater than it would be from getting hit with a glove, the sheer fact that it doesn't happen hundreds of times significantly reduces the damage to the brain.

As for the sport itself, it's okay I guess. Bruce Lee was really the one that popularized the idea of mixed martial arts, which is essentially the philosophy that one shouldn't become so addicted to a particular form that they overlook other possibilities. He said in effect, "Find what works, and use it as often as you can."

MMA is really the ideal form of self-defense because it stresses ground combat such as ju-jitsu and wrestling, which is where most street fights usually end up anyway. Most of us that have ever witnessed or been involved in a street fight will verify that at some point, the fighters end up on the ground. Check out the fight videos on youtube to see what I mean. Boxing and kick-boxing techniques are essentially useless there.

As for MMA being a positive thing in regards to competition, well, human beings do have a violent side to them, and I personally don't see anything wrong with allowing that to be exercised in a controlled environment. One of the things that always struck me about other fighters when I was a boxer was how gentle and sweet most of them were outside of the ring. The stereotypical image of the fighter as a loud-mouthed bully one step away from being a thug just wasn't true. The reason for this is that they work out their aggression in the ring.

That being said, I personally value what's left of my brain cells to ever want to do anything like that again. But to each their own.

[Lethe]

13. i like MMA but ground fighting is boring to watch

when a match degenerates to a couple guys on the ground for an extended period i just get bored

[Mojambo]

16. The more you watch ground fighting the more interesting it becomes

At least that's how it was for me.

Now there's nothing more stirring than seeing an armbar attempt developing or, in defense, a sweep attempt.

Ground fighting is very interesting, but you really have to know what to look for.

[BreweryYardRat]

14. It's awesome, but I don't have the money for PPV.

So I can't catch the really good fights except by downloading them (quasi-legally).

I'd like to give it a shot sometime on an amateur level.

[ForrestGump]

15. I don't like it, in general, if you're talking the UFC kind of thing

and not martial arts disciplines that draw from a number of traditional styles but maintain some basic tenets of Asian martial arts, like humility, honor, respect, and the idea that the best kind of fighting is non-fighting. The UFC thing has always disgusted me because of the attitudes of the combatants. They're fighters, yes, but they define themselves out of the role of 'martial artist' through their behavior. It's very American, in the worst possible way...

In traditional martial arts, the martial aspect is the least of it. Not to say that it isn't gained without a lot of sweat, blood, pain, and tenacity, but it's ultimately a byproduct of more important gains and changes. 'Mixed martial arts,' even more so than its predecessor, kickboxing, has little to no such reward or constraint and to a great degree is a violent sport for braggarts, not that some of those meataxes aren't skilled fighters and many certainy paid their dues in traditonal or eclectic modern martial arts.

In my opinion, if you want the Real Thing, avoid the MMA fad (a few years ago it was all Gracie ju-jitsu) and try something like Krav Maga -- quick to learn, effective, and a good way to go if all you really want is self-defense skills that might actually work in a real situation.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

17. My hubby just watched that. Did you see the main event?

The Main Event just ended with a guy getting kneed in the head while on the ground; he seemed to suffer a concussion, and was declared the winner because using knees while on the ground is illegal.

He actually watches a lot of these shows; some are more violent than others. He likes the ground fighting, because he does Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The ground fighting is in fact highly technical and skilled.

This particular fight tonight was in the US; apparently the ones in Japan and elsewhere have fewer rules and are more violent. I don't care for it much, but I can see the appeal. It's more interesting than boxing, in my opinion.

[liberal hypnotist]

18. It desensitizes the viewer.

Most participants are black belts. The martial arts where developed as a defensive skill. Since arriving in the US in the late forties the whole idea has changed. It reminds me of the Bush Administration. Many fighters in MMA get serious injuries. Notice all the cauliflower ears. That said, I watch these brutal matches. Yes, I am sick and desensitized. Very Roman.

How about people fighting animals in a kill or be killed outcome. Lions? Stingrays? Alligators?