This is the trickiest bit. My local BJJ club had a beginners judo for BJJ class taught by a double commonwealth gold Judo champion. If he chose to skill up in MMA, but chose not to enter any competitions. could he still teach MMA? Having been taught by the guy. I am sure that he had a huge amount to teach anyone. What about someone who had competed with MMA rules but only within a club with low standards of teaching, and poor quality 0pponens. could they still teach MMA?
This is the trickiest bit. My local BJJ club had a beginners judo for BJJ class taught by a double commonwealth gold Judo champion. If he chose to skill up in MMA, but chose not to enter any competitions. could he still teach MMA? Having had some lessons from the guy. I am sure that he had a huge amount to teach anyone. What about someone who had competed with MMA rules but only in competitions run by a club with low standards of teaching, and poor quality 0pponens. could they still teach MMA?
I would say no, MMA has not become a style, because it's inherently a mix of other styles. It is fair to say that it is purpose based cross training taken to a competitive form. Yes, there are common styles in the Mix of Mixed Martial Arts, but there are outliers in those. For even 100 muay thai and BJJ guys, you'll have one guy with a sanda and shuai jiao background, or Karate and Sumo. Does this mean their striking and grappling is the same? Not by pedigree it doesnt.
I always love how much credit the Gracie's and Bruce Lee are getting regarding MMA. Just thought i put one out there too. Jon Bluming, Europe’s first Mixed Martial Artist - Historical - Realfighting Organization Bluming was always straight to the point. You will see that when you read this interview.
Blumming was a hard man and a great martial artist whose influence is massive. But the UWF was fake, predetermined, not saying Doleman his student wasn't a bad man he obviously was but those fights were predetermined. They also had a number of rules if I remember rightly like no punches to the head, no strikes or head shots on the ground, break if you got the ropes and so on. It wasn't true NHB or true MMA in that regard the Gracie's brought something unique and not seen before. Also they may or may not have been the first but they were the ones who made MMA popular and helped make it a mainstream sport around the world
I'd also argue Bartitsu was a step in the direction of what became MMA. Thing is, Gracie's BJJ and that first UFC, coupled with the reach of Bruce Lee in the west appears to have been most people's exposure compared the Bluming and Sir Doyle's reach, so I assume that's why people focus on them. They were basically heading in the same direction, but didn't have that huge scale of people knowing them... or a tournament series that gained public ire which led to increased publicity.
not seen by a large modern western audience before. people have fought for personal pride, to test themselves, for the entertainment of others, and as something to bet on, for millennia all across the world. MMA is just one ruleset of many. the unique thing is the way that MMA has been so effectively marketed to a wide audience.
If we go by the so called roof top fights in Hong Kong, the semi contact karate point fights in Japan, not seen in Asia either. To argue anyone was doing anything like the NHB the Gracie's brought to the mainstream audience on any kind of large scale is silly. All other forms off full contact fighting in the world at the time had rules, safety equipment time limits and so on. Even sambo and sport sambo. No one else was doing what the first NHB competitions did, even the Pancrase fighters in Japan were shocked to see full contact strikes to the head on the floor for example.
The art of MMA is the tactical combination of stand up, clinch and ground. For example.... Can't stand like a striker or you are vunerable to grappling. Can't stand like a grappler or you are vunerable to striking. What stance to take? What alignment to make? Just like the art of boxing or Muay Thai the art of mma is underappreciated.
You had me agreeing with a lot of this except the notions that boxing and muay thai are underappreciated.
