Mixed martial arts
From Mixed Martial Arts Wiki
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is term used for no-holds-barred, full contact, Combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts traditions and non-traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground. Such competitions allow martial artist of different backgrounds to compete. The term may also be used however less correctly to describe hybrid martial arts styles.
Modern mixed martial arts competition emerged in American popular culture in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Initially based on finding the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations, competitors of various arts were pitted against one another with minimal rules or concern for safety. In the following decade, MMA promoters adopted many additional rules aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with pay-per-view reach rivaling boxing and professional wrestling.
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History
Pre-modern
Some of the earliest forms of widespread unarmed Combat sports with minimal rules were the Shardana and Egyptian freefighting, followed from Greek pankration, which was introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 B.C. Greek pankration was less violent than Etruscan and Roman pancratium, perhaps one of the best pastimes of the Roman Colosseum, the largest Arena in the ancient world. Even as late as the Early Middle Ages, statues were put up in Rome and other cities to honour remarkable pankratiasts of Rome.
No-holds-barred events reportedly took place in the late 1800s when wrestlers representing a huge range of fighting styles including various Catch wrestling styles, Greco-Roman wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall challenge matches throughout Europe. In the USA the first major encounter between a Boxing and a wrestler in modern times took place in 1887 when John L. Sullivan, then heavyweight world boxing champion, entered the ring with his trainer, Greco-Roman wrestling champion William Muldoon, and was slammed to the mat in two minutes. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European Greco-Roman wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. Reportedly, Roeber suffered a fractured cheekbone in this bout, but was able to get Fitzsimmons down on the mat, where he applied an Armlock and made the boxer submit. In Europe, around the 19th century the Italian Giovanni Raicevich skilled in Greco-Roman wrestling defeated Akitaro Ono, a Japanese heavyweight fighter that was skilled in Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and Sumo, throwing him on the mat by one-arm shoulder throw.
In 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinsky and veteran professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in a mixed match, which Steele won in 35 seconds.
Another early example of mixed martial arts combat was the martial art of Bartitsu, founded in London in 1899, which was the first martial art known to have combined Asian and European fighting styles, and which saw MMA-style contests throughout England, pitting European and Japanese champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles.
The history of modern MMA competition can be traced to mixed style contests throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s; the Gracie family's vale tudo martial arts tournaments in Brazil starting in the 1920s; and early mixed martial arts matches hosted by Antonio Inoki in Japan in the 1970s. The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity in the United States in 1993, when Brazil fighter Royce Gracie handily won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, submitting three challengers in just five minutes, sparking a revolution in the martial arts. Meanwhile in Japan the continued interest in the sport resulted in the creation of the PRIDE Fighting Championships in 1997.
The movement that led to the creation of the UFC and PRIDE was rooted in two interconnected subcultures. First were the vale tudo events in Brazil, followed by the Japanese shoot wrestling shows. Vale tudo began in the 1920s with the "Gracie challenge" issued by Carlos Gracie and Hélio Gracie and upheld later on by descendants of the Gracie family. Recognition of its effectiveness as a test came as the United States Army began to sanction mixed martial arts with the first annual Army Combatives Championships held by the US Army Combatives School in November 2005.
The sport reached a new peak of popularity in North America in the December 2006 rematch between then UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former champion Tito Ortiz, rivaling the pay-per-view sales of some of the biggest boxing events of all time, and helping the UFC's 2006 PPV gross surpass that of any promotion in PPV history. In 2007, Zuffa LLC, the owners of the UFC MMA promotion, bought Japanese rival MMA brand PRIDE, merging the contracted fighters under one promotion and drawing comparisons to the consolidation that occurred in other sports, such as the AFL-NFL Merger in American football.
Evolution of fighters
As a result of an increased number of competitors, organized training camps, information sharing, and modern kinesiology, the understanding of the combat-effectiveness of various strategies has been greatly improved. UFC commentator Joe Rogan has claimed that martial arts have evolved more in the ten years following 1993 than in the preceding 700 years.
The early years of the sport saw a wide variety of traditional styles - everything from sumo to kickboxing - but the continual evolution of the sport saw many styles prove ineffective, while others proved successful on their own.
In the early 1990s, three styles stood out for their effectiveness in competition: Brazil, Amateur wrestling and shoot wrestling. This may be attributable in part to the grappling emphasis of the aforementioned styles, which were, perhaps due to the scarcity of mixed martial arts competitions prior to the early 90s, unknown to most practitioners of striking-based arts. Fighters who combined amateur wrestling with striking techniques found success in the standing portion of a fight, whilst Brazil stylists had a distinct advantage on the ground: those unfamiliar with submission grappling proved to be unprepared to deal with its submission techniques. Shoot wrestling practitioners offered a balance of amateur wrestling ability and Catch wrestling-based submissions, resulting in a well-rounded skillset. The shoot wrestlers were especially successful in Japan. As competitions became more and more common, those with a base in striking became more competitive as they acquainted themselves with takedowns and submission holds, leading to notable upsets against the then dominant grapplers. Subsequently, those from the varying grappling styles added striking techniques to their arsenal. This overall development of increased Cross-training resulted in the fighters becoming increasingly multi-dimensional and well-rounded in their skills. The changes were demonstrated when the original UFC champion Royce Gracie who had defeated many opponents using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fought the then UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes at UFC 60 and was defeated by a TKO from ground-and-pound.
Olympic recognition efforts
It was thought that Olympic recognition would be forthcoming for the 2004 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, under the banner of pankration. However, the International Olympic Committee was unconvinced that Greece could handle the total number of sports proposed. To placate the IOC, the organizers removed all new medal sports and pankration was excluded.
Rules
- Main article: Mixed martial arts rules
The rules for modern mixed martial arts competitions have changed significantly since the early days of vale tudo and Japanese shoot wrestling and UFC 1 and even more from the historic style of pankration. As the knowledge about fighting techniques spread among fighters and spectators, it became clear that the original minimalist rule systems needed to be amended. The main motivations for these rule changes were protection of the health of the fighters, the desire to shed the image of "barbaric, no rules, fighting-to-the-death" matches and be recognised as a sport.
Rules included the introduction of weight classes, as knowledge about submissions spread, with more fighters became well-versed in submission techniques and avoiding submissions, differences in weight became a substantial factor. Boxing were introduced to protect fists in punches, reduce the occurrence of cuts (and stoppages due to cuts) and encourage fighters to use their hands for striking, to enable more captivating matches and time limits were established to avoid long fights with little action as competitors conserved their strength, matches without time limits also complicated the airing of live events. Similar motivations produced the "stand up" rule, where the referee can stand fighters up if it is perceived both are resting on the ground or are not advancing toward a dominant position.
Today, mixed martial artists must Cross-training in a variety of styles to counter their opponent's strengths and remain effective in all the phases of combat. For instance, a stand-up fighter will have little opportunity to use their skills against a submission artist who has also trained take downs. Many traditional disciplines remain popular as a way for a fighter to improve aspects of their game.
Popular Disciplines
- Stand-up: Various forms of Boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and forms of full contact karate are trained to improve footwork, elbow, kicking, kneeing and punching.
- Clinch: Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, Sambo, and Judo are trained to improve clinching, takedowns and throws, while Muay Thai is trained to improve the striking aspect of the clinch.
- Ground: Brazil, shoot wrestling, Catch wrestling, Judo, and Sambo are trained to improve submission holds, and defense against them. These styles are also trained to improve and maintain ground control.
Some styles have been adapted from their traditional form, such as Boxing stances which lack effective counters to leg kicks and takedowns, or Judo techniques which must be adapted for No Gi competition. It is common for a fighter to train with multiple coaches of different styles or an organized fight team to improve various aspects of their game at once. Cardiovascular conditioning, speed drills, strength training and flexibility are also important aspects of an MMA fighter's training.
While mixed martial arts was initially practiced almost exclusively by competitive fighters, this is no longer the case. As the sport has become more mainstream and more widely taught, it has become accessible to wider range of practitioners of all ages. Proponents of this sort of training argue that it is safe for anyone, of any age, with varying levels of competitiveness.
Hybrid Styles
The following terms describe hybrid styles a fighter may use, over the course of a fight, to achieve victory. While some fighters, such as BJ Penn or Fedor Emelianenko, can score victories by striking, ground-and-pound or submission, most fighters will rely on a smaller number of techniques while adopting a style that plays to their strengths.
Sprawl-and-brawl
Sprawl-and-brawl is a stand-up fighting tactic that consists of effective stand-up striking, while avoiding ground fighting, typically by using sprawls to defend against takedowns.
A sprawl-and-brawler is usually a Boxing, kickboxer, Thai boxer or full contact karate fighter who has trained in wrestling to avoid takedowns to keep the fight standing. Often, these fighters will study submission wrestling to avoid being submitted, should they find themselves on the ground. This style can be deceptively different from traditional kickboxing styles, since sprawl-and-brawlers must adapt their techniques to incorporate takedown and ground fighting defense. Chuck Liddell and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović are examples of sprawl-and-brawl fighters.
Clinch fighting
Clinch fighting and 'dirty boxing' are tactics consisting of using a clinch hold to prevent the opponent from moving away into more distant striking range, while also attempting takedowns and striking the opponent using knees, stomps, elbows, and punches. The clinch is often utilized by wrestlers that have added in components of the striking game (typically boxing), and Muay Thai fighters.
Wrestlers may use clinch fighting as a way to neutralize the superior striking skills of a stand-up fighter or to prevent takedowns by a superior ground fighter. The clinch of a Muay Thai fighter is often used to improve the accuracy of knees and elbows by physically controlling the position of the opponent. Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva are examples of effective clinch fighters.
Ground-and-pound
Ground-and-pound is a ground fighting tactic consisting of taking an opponent to the ground using a takedown or throw, obtaining a top, or dominant position, and then striking the opponent, primarily with the fists. Ground-and-pound is also used as a precursor to attempting submission holds.
This style is used by wrestlers or other fighters well-versed in submission defense and skilled at takedowns. They take the fight to the ground, maintain a grappling position, and strike until their opponent submits or is knocked out. Although not a traditional style of striking (it was first demonstrated as an effective technique by UFC and PRIDE grand prix champion, Mark Coleman), the effectiveness and reliability of ground-and-pound has made it a popular tactic. Today, strikes on the ground are an essential part of a fighter's training. Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz are examples of effective ground-and-pound fighters.
Submission grappling
Apart from being a general martial arts term, submission grappling is also a reference to the ground fighting tactic consisting of taking an opponent to the ground using a takedown or throw and then applying a submission hold, forcing the opponent to submit. While grapplers will often work to attain dominant position, some may be more comfortable fighting from other positions. If a grappler finds themselves unable to force a takedown, they may resort to 'pulling guard', whereby they physically pull their opponent into a dominant position on the ground.
Submissions are an essential part of many disciplines, most notably Catch wrestling, judo, Sambo, pankration, Army Combatives, MCMAP and Brazil. Josh Barnett, BJ Penn, the brothers Antônio Rodrigo and Antônio Rogério Nogueira, Shinya Aoki and Fedor Emelianenko are examples of submission grapplers.
The Abu Dhabi Combat Club and International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles Grappling World Wrestling Games are examples of submission grappling tournaments.
Lay-and-pray
'Lay-and-pray' is a pejorative term for a strategy whereby a fighter can control their opponent on the ground, but is unable to mount an effective offense. They simply seek to negate the offense of their opponent, "praying" for a decision victory. In some MMA promotions, penalties may be imposed for 'lay-and-pray' techniques if the referee determines that a fighter is stalling.
Safety
While competition in the sport is occasionally depicted as brutal by the media, there had never been a death or crippling injury in a sanctioned event in North America until the death of Sam Vasquez on November 30, 2007. Vasquez collapsed shortly after being knocked out by Vince Libardi in the third round of an October 20, 2007 fight at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Vasquez had two separate surgeries to remove blood clots from his brain, and shortly after the second operation suffered a major stroke and never regained consciousness.
