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.