MMA has evolved throughout the years and has become one of the fastest growing sports. Though MMA has survived much criticism it was forced to drastically change. The days of fighting bare fisted with limited rules are gone. MMA has become a mainstream sport, which is now legal and regulated in 42 states.
Senator John McCain has now stated that “The sport (of mixed martial arts) has grown up. The rules have been adopted to give its athletes better protections and to ensure fairer competition.”
Although it had a slow start, female fighter has found their place amongst the male competitors. However, there are still only a few MMA organizations that invite women to compete.
My son has played football for the past 4 years and already has suffered 2 concussions and has tendonitis in his knees. The worst injury he has sustained while training in martial arts was a bloody nose.
My husband, children and I love to watch MMA, whether it is Pride, Strikeforce, UFC or WEC. Both my children (16 and 12) have black belts in Taekwondo and currently train in Jiu Jitsu, boxing and kickboxing at a great academy. They are taught fighting skills; however they are also taught how to use these skills correctly. My children love the sport, but have NEVER gotten into any fights outside the academy.
Bolelli, Daniele. "Mixed Martial Arts." Journal of Asian Martial Arts. 12.3 (2003): Print.
van Bottenburg, Maarten, and Johan Heilbron. "De-Sportization of Fighting Contests: The Origins and Dynamics of No Holds Barred Events and the Theory of Sportization." International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 41.3/4 (2008): Print.
http://www.jssm.org/combat/2/11/v6combat2-11.pdf
Downey, Greg. "Producing Pain; Techniques and Technologies in No-Holds-Barred Fighting." Social Studies of Science. 37.2 (2007): 201-226. Print.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Mixed Martial Art Part II
The UFC used the phrase “There are no rules!” though there were actually a limited amount of rules. These rules were similar to the early Greek Pankration where there was to be no biting, eye gouging, hair pulling, head butting, groin strikes and fish-hooking (the insertion of fingers into ears, mouth, nose etc.). These were also judge-free competitions with no weigh classes; no time limits and the competitors did not wear protective gear. Knockout, submission, or a fighter’s corner throwing in the towel is the only way the match would be stopped.
Although MMA has become a popular sport, it has not gone without generating controversy around the world. MMA’s violent nature and “No Holds Barred” (NHB) motto had some critics, such as Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, comparing it to “human cockfighting” and a “visual feast of broken bones and blood”. In 1996, McCain who is a life-long boxing fan wrote to the governors of all fifty states asking them to ban the ultimate fighting. McCain had the support of the American Medical Association and other politicians. Thirty-six states agreed to ban this NHB fighting. The pressure of the political parties led to major cable networks refusing to broadcast any future fights.
In 2001 Dana White and the Fertittas brothers purchased the UFC for $2 million and immediately went to work on getting the sport sanctioned. Throughout the years the UFC and many of the other promoters of Mixed Martial Arts have drastically changed their rules. UFC now has a list of weight classes, bout duration, 31 fouls and ways to win.
Is MMA as a sport too violent? According to a report by the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, (JOSS&M), “Martial arts had lower injury rates compared to boxing and wrestling for all diagnoses. Boxing had lower injury rated compared to wrestling for strains/sprains and dislocations. Boxing and wrestling had similar injury rates for concussions.” The report also states “The findings of the present study do not provide evidence that combat sports have alarmingly high rates of injuries resulting in emergency department visits.”
Although critics say that MMA is dangerous and barbaric, no deaths have occurred in a sanctioned MMA match. Injuries and brain damage are also infrequent due to submissions and referee stoppage as a victory option, which are not an option in boxing. There have been hundreds of deaths in boxing as well as brain damage and long-term injury. The object of boxing is to beat your opponent unconscious or injury them badly enough where they can no longer get up.
Is MMA dangerous for children? Another MMA controversy is whether or not MMA is too violent for children to participate or even to watch. Critics say that MMA teaches kids that fighting is okay and honorable.
Kids that participate in MMA or any sport for that matter are engaging in healthy, confidence-boosting activities, that burn calories, build strength and teaches personal responsibility and discipline. These types of physical activities are much better for a child than sitting around playing video games and watching television all day.
I have watched and met many children who train in different types of martial arts. Besides learning martial arts, they are also taught respect, discipline and self-esteem. They are polite, disciplined, smart, and responsible and are far more mature than most children their ages. These children who are training are supervised at all times by responsible adults. They are also fully padded, train on soft mats and are taught all of the safety rules.
Bolelli, Daniele. "Mixed Martial Arts." Journal of Asian Martial Arts. 12.3 (2003): Print.
van Bottenburg, Maarten, and Johan Heilbron. "De-Sportization of Fighting Contests: The Origins and Dynamics of No Holds Barred Events and the Theory of Sportization." International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 41.3/4 (2008): Print.
http://www.jssm.org/combat/2/11/v6combat2-11.pdf
Downey, Greg. "Producing Pain; Techniques and Technologies in No-Holds-Barred Fighting." Social Studies of Science. 37.2 (2007): 201-226. Print.
Although MMA has become a popular sport, it has not gone without generating controversy around the world. MMA’s violent nature and “No Holds Barred” (NHB) motto had some critics, such as Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, comparing it to “human cockfighting” and a “visual feast of broken bones and blood”. In 1996, McCain who is a life-long boxing fan wrote to the governors of all fifty states asking them to ban the ultimate fighting. McCain had the support of the American Medical Association and other politicians. Thirty-six states agreed to ban this NHB fighting. The pressure of the political parties led to major cable networks refusing to broadcast any future fights.
In 2001 Dana White and the Fertittas brothers purchased the UFC for $2 million and immediately went to work on getting the sport sanctioned. Throughout the years the UFC and many of the other promoters of Mixed Martial Arts have drastically changed their rules. UFC now has a list of weight classes, bout duration, 31 fouls and ways to win.
Is MMA as a sport too violent? According to a report by the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, (JOSS&M), “Martial arts had lower injury rates compared to boxing and wrestling for all diagnoses. Boxing had lower injury rated compared to wrestling for strains/sprains and dislocations. Boxing and wrestling had similar injury rates for concussions.” The report also states “The findings of the present study do not provide evidence that combat sports have alarmingly high rates of injuries resulting in emergency department visits.”
Although critics say that MMA is dangerous and barbaric, no deaths have occurred in a sanctioned MMA match. Injuries and brain damage are also infrequent due to submissions and referee stoppage as a victory option, which are not an option in boxing. There have been hundreds of deaths in boxing as well as brain damage and long-term injury. The object of boxing is to beat your opponent unconscious or injury them badly enough where they can no longer get up.
Is MMA dangerous for children? Another MMA controversy is whether or not MMA is too violent for children to participate or even to watch. Critics say that MMA teaches kids that fighting is okay and honorable.
Kids that participate in MMA or any sport for that matter are engaging in healthy, confidence-boosting activities, that burn calories, build strength and teaches personal responsibility and discipline. These types of physical activities are much better for a child than sitting around playing video games and watching television all day.
I have watched and met many children who train in different types of martial arts. Besides learning martial arts, they are also taught respect, discipline and self-esteem. They are polite, disciplined, smart, and responsible and are far more mature than most children their ages. These children who are training are supervised at all times by responsible adults. They are also fully padded, train on soft mats and are taught all of the safety rules.
Bolelli, Daniele. "Mixed Martial Arts." Journal of Asian Martial Arts. 12.3 (2003): Print.
van Bottenburg, Maarten, and Johan Heilbron. "De-Sportization of Fighting Contests: The Origins and Dynamics of No Holds Barred Events and the Theory of Sportization." International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 41.3/4 (2008): Print.
http://www.jssm.org/combat/2/11/v6combat2-11.pdf
Downey, Greg. "Producing Pain; Techniques and Technologies in No-Holds-Barred Fighting." Social Studies of Science. 37.2 (2007): 201-226. Print.
Mixed Martial Art Part I
Modern Mixed Martial Arts has only been around since about 1993. However, different styles of martial arts have been around as early as 648 B.C. The first documented fighting competition was that of Greek Pankration. It was a full contact, few rules combat competition that became part of the Olympic Games on or around 648 B.C. Pankration had only two rules which was no biting and no eye gouging. Pankration competitors also became known as legends and heroes.
Full contact along with mixed martial arts began in two interconnected subcultures. The first started in the 1920’s and was called vale tudo (“anything goes”) in Brazil. Vale tudo was born of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the Gracie family. The Gracie’s started the “Gracie Challenge” where they, Helio in particular, would challenge any martial artist in a fight with only a few rules. The second was started in the 1970’s and was called Japanese Shoot Wrestling. Its origin is in Japan’s professional wrestling and is also used to describe shootfighting, shooto, pancrase and shoot boxing. These new mixed martial art styles became popular around the world in places such as Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim.
One of the most recognized mixed martial arts matches was held on June 25, 1976 between Antonio Inoki and heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali. Due to Ali’s camps knowledge of Inoki’s grappling skills; the rules of the bout were changed two days before the match (Inoki was only allowed to kick if one of his knees were down). After 15 rounds, the bout ended in a draw. Although, many believe that this match was “fixed”; it did pave the way for the modern mixed martial arts.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a full contact sport, which incorporates a variety of fighting techniques such as striking and grappling. Its competitors come from many different martial arts backgrounds such as Taekwondo, Muay Thai Boxing, Wrestling, Karate, etc. MMA has increased in popularity over the years thanks to promotion company The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The concept of the UFC was to bring fighters with different fighting backgrounds together to find out which style was the most superior. When the UFC began this was the most important reason for fighting. The UFC held its first event at the McNichols Sports Arena on November 12, 1993 in Denver Colorado. There were eight fighters scheduled to fight for a prize of $50,000 for the winner. The event was a huge success bringing in 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view.
Full contact along with mixed martial arts began in two interconnected subcultures. The first started in the 1920’s and was called vale tudo (“anything goes”) in Brazil. Vale tudo was born of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the Gracie family. The Gracie’s started the “Gracie Challenge” where they, Helio in particular, would challenge any martial artist in a fight with only a few rules. The second was started in the 1970’s and was called Japanese Shoot Wrestling. Its origin is in Japan’s professional wrestling and is also used to describe shootfighting, shooto, pancrase and shoot boxing. These new mixed martial art styles became popular around the world in places such as Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim.
One of the most recognized mixed martial arts matches was held on June 25, 1976 between Antonio Inoki and heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali. Due to Ali’s camps knowledge of Inoki’s grappling skills; the rules of the bout were changed two days before the match (Inoki was only allowed to kick if one of his knees were down). After 15 rounds, the bout ended in a draw. Although, many believe that this match was “fixed”; it did pave the way for the modern mixed martial arts.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a full contact sport, which incorporates a variety of fighting techniques such as striking and grappling. Its competitors come from many different martial arts backgrounds such as Taekwondo, Muay Thai Boxing, Wrestling, Karate, etc. MMA has increased in popularity over the years thanks to promotion company The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The concept of the UFC was to bring fighters with different fighting backgrounds together to find out which style was the most superior. When the UFC began this was the most important reason for fighting. The UFC held its first event at the McNichols Sports Arena on November 12, 1993 in Denver Colorado. There were eight fighters scheduled to fight for a prize of $50,000 for the winner. The event was a huge success bringing in 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view.
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