MMA, martial art or not?

answers1: MMA is not a martial art. It is a fighting sport (or
martial sport) that has rules. <br>
<br>
When rules are introduced to limit the actions of people in "combat",
the event becomes a sporting contest.
answers2: I don't think of boxing and MMA as martial arts but instead
as fighting arts and to me there is a difference. Martial arts to me
imply arts with a long history and which are steeped in culture and
embrace various aspects of that culture and a period of time in it.
<br>
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Take a jump or flying side kick for instance which is a technique that
was developed for knocking a samurai or soldier from his horse.
People no longer fight from horses like they once did during the
feudal periods of Japan and China and you now see this technique today
being done and applied effectively in movies and television against a
person standing which would not generally be the case unless they were
blind, stupid, or drunk and just simply stood there and watched you
launch yourself up and hit them with it. <br>
<br>
So there are techniques in martial arts today that are still taught
and held close but there might not be a need for their application
today like there was a hundred or two hundred years ago. The spear
hand thrust is another such technique and I could name a number of
others but yet they all are still largely taught and practiced in
things like kata and students are tested on them. This is because of
custom and embracing things of that culture and that martial art for
that period of time though in which these techniques as well as others
were developed, some of which still have their application today. <br>
<br>
Contrasted with that you have fighting arts which don't revolve so
much around custom and culture or embracing certain aspects of that
culture. Instead they are purely are based on application and you
often don't see any philosophy or religion associated with them either
like you do in martial arts. That is another thing that separates the
two in my mind at least. <br>
<br>
While you can make an argument for the fact that some of those things
in fighting arts come or came from martial arts there are many things
that did not as well. Other than that association they have less in
common with martial arts in my mind and they are exclusive of any
religious and cultural aspects and those ties to them in my mind. <br>
<br>
This is just how I see it and what separates the one from the other
and helps me to keep them separate in my mind.
answers3: Katana made a good point. Those of us that have been in
traditional martial arts for a long time(over 41 years myself) have
been experiencing the frustration that you are feeling now. Only thing
is for serious mma students it is only just beginning. TMA
practicioners have had to put up with one fad after another . Every
few years another martial art becomes really popular. When it happens
every wannabe jumps on the band wagon. The interest then results in
many schools for this MA springing up like weeds in a garden. While
some are legitimate most are simply not qualified. It takes years to
become a knowledgeable/qualified instructor of any serious MA. Yet
shortly after a new one becomes the fad there are thousands of guys
opening schools and claiming to be qualified. Personally I see there
being several problems with the martial arts both TMA and MMA. 1) The
public is ignorant and does not know how to tell the real from the
fakes. 2) Americans and many others don't have the patience to spend
the time to really learn the MA, so schools have watered down the
training. This is because many people simply would not train if they
don't get promoted often, or the classes are not fun. 3) The ignorance
and the greedy open MA schools and will compromise the training so
that they can make money. That is why in the 1960's you did not see
young children in the MA. 4) The MA have become a joke to many because
they see so many 5 and 6 year olds with black belts. Not to mention
the 15 to 18 year olds that are 2nd and 3rd degree black blets and
teaching classes. To sum things up, the problem is greed, the desire
for instant results(promotions), underhanded business practices, and
an increasingly ignorent general public. It really frost my ........
when I meet an adult and as soon as they know that I'm a long time
martial artist, they say something like, "Oh my 6 years old just got
his black belt". 80% of the students in the martial arts in the U.S.A.
are children. So what is wrong with this picture? The public views the
MA as a children's activity, not a serious method of self-defense. Sad
but true.
answers4: MMA is a sport that features a mixture of many martial arts
and fighters who use many different martial systems. <br>
<br>
Boxing is BOTH a martial art and a sport because Boxing was originally
taught for military purposes. did you know that Boxing allowed kicks,
grapples and throws? Boxing we see now is a sport, but Pugilism, is a
very real martial art.
answers5: no <br>
its a training method just like cross training is, since they are the
same thing. <br>
its a method of training thats it
answers6: MMA stands for mixed martial arts. It is not an art,
itself, but a randomly composed mix of techniques from various styles.
I, personally, consider it a very inferior way to train. My
preference is to pick any one traditional style and pursue it into the
black belt ranks, as far as you can.
answers7: Martial art is a very broad term. Anything can be considered
"martial art" as long as it involves self-defense. <br>
<br>
Boxing is a martial art. so is MMA
answers8: No. <br>
<br>
This question is on here too much. Actually it is tiring responding to
such useless things. <br>
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In my opinion there is nothing wrong with mixed martial arts. MMA is a
name associated with a sport under the rules of that sport. Martial
Arts do not have rules. Sports do. Many martial arts have some sports
aspects. In other words the art has been modified to allow for
competition under a set of rules specific for that sport. <br>
<br>
In mma you do not have to know multiple styles but you may compete
against people that may know parts of one or more styles. This may put
you at a disadvantage if you don't know how to defend against such
attacks. <br>
<br>
In most martial sport you only have to compete against someone that
can only do one aspect of fighting such as striking or grappling
depending on the rules. However, in mma it allows for both striking
and grappling in its set of rules. <br>
<br>
In a martial art the goal is life preservation/protection. It is not
to win a contest. In most martial arts your objective is to injure or
use deadly force upon your attacker in order to protect your life or
the life of others. If the attacker is injured enough they can't
continue the attack. You have accomplished your goal. It is not about
winning. You survived an attack. You escaped from an attack.