Poll...are the MMA's and UFC's good or bad for martial arts?

[Rich67]

While there are some true sportsmen in the UFC (Randy Couture comes immediately to mind), there are some people that seem to be opposite of what a true martial artist should practice/behave like. They are rude, obnoxious, foul- mouthed, and cut regularly on other fellow martial artists not only out of the ring but in magazine articles (Ken Shamrock on Royce Gracie, for example). Some look like thugs and gangsters, and act like they rule the world. Do you think this is giving martial arts in general a bad name, or do you think it helps the exposure? Are these slams are just part of the act? Or do you think they show a lack of the martial arts code that many of us strive to attain?

 

Personally, I like to watch them purely for the competition and tactics. I could care less how they act, since I don't care for those fighters anyhow. But I have the utmost respect for the Gracies and for Couture.

[TJS]

most of that exixt's outside the UFC and mma...do you think there are no closed minded rude and obnoxious traditional or non competetive martial artists?...Trust me there are plenty you just dont hear as much form them.

[Karateka_latino]

most of that exixt's outside the UFC and mma...do you think there are no closed minded rude and obnoxious traditional or non competetive martial artists?...Trust me there are plenty you just dont hear as much form them.

 

That's True, i know some of those people. But the things is, since the MMA are getting the media coverage (TV, magazines, movies, PPV events, etc..) they are the ones on public eyes and if they have attitude, people will think they are ALL like that. Even with the fact that some of them are just playing characters.

 

Is Like in the movies when you start to hate the bad guy when in fact, its just an actor playing a role. And like the movies, the Young people start to Mimic and copy those bad attitudes. That's one of the reasons why you see a lot of bashing from the MMA fans to traditional styles.

[SevenStar]

there are some people that seem to be opposite of what a true martial artist should practice/behave like.

 

Who says what an MA should behave like? Not all arts have codes like bushido or wu de.

 

They are rude, obnoxious, foul- mouthed, and cut regularly on other fellow martial artists not only out of the ring but in magazine articles (Ken Shamrock on Royce Gracie, for example).

 

That applies to several TMA also.

 

pb[some look like thugs and gangsters, and act like they rule the world.[/b]

 

The majority of the population acts/dresses this way. It's a fad.

 

Do you think this is giving martial arts in general a bad name, or do you think it helps the exposure? Are these slams are just part of the act? Or do you think they show a lack of the martial arts code that many of us strive to attain?

 

Once again, you can't assume there is some "code" that all MA follow. Many train only for health reasons, self defense, to compete, etc. My aims are self defense and competition. I care less about an MA moral code. That's what church is for.

 

The majority of the bad attitude I've encountered is from TMA guys who don't compete. Competition tends to humble a person - there's just something about a butt kicking that keeps a person's ego in check, ya know? Some TMA who don't compete in anything other than forms or point sparring will never understand this. The general attitude af MMA guys is that if you can make a style work, then they respect it. If you say "yeah, my 500 year old longfist style can be used to destroy grapplers", then they will ask you to prove it. If you can back it up, cool. If not, you get ridiculed. It's that simple. When I first started BJJ, the guys were like, "Oh, you used to train kung fu? what was it like? What did you do?" They had a genuine interest. My TMA friends were completely against me training in bjj. I've since left the TMA (longfist) school and gone back to judo, bjj and thai boxing.

[JohnnyS]

I'm not really that interested in MMA anymore. I'll watch the UFC if there are good fights on, but otherwise I don't really care. I do think it has been good for the martial arts. I think the last ten years have seen an unprecedented jump in the evolution of martial arts with regard to what people see as effective, training methodologies and fight tactics. Hopefully this will start to trickle down to ALL schools in the future.

 

Obviously some people won't change due to either ignorance or because they do martial arts for non-martial reasons, but the majority of people want to learn how to defend themselves effectively, and I think the UFC has been and will be a major catalyst of change for self-defense courses and martial arts in general.

 

As an aside, I think it's unfair to call Royce Gracie rude, obnoxious etc. Apparently he is a very humble and friendly guy.

[Treebranch]

I think UFC's have helped many TMA's get with it and train more realistically. I don't know when the training methods turned into dancing, but it did. The sad thing is that many TMA's have lost a lot of respect because of the few BOZO's who got creamed in the early UFC's.

[SevenStar]

Apparently he is a very humble and friendly guy.

 

yeah, he is.

[karatekid1975]

I'll watch the UFC once in a while. Mainly for grappling moves. I hear the early UFC was hard core. But now it's so much like wrestling. Most of it is an act. They wear the silly outfits and enter the arena through these entryways that have flashing lights, ect. The fight itself can be real, but they all put on an act. The big bad tuff guy on TV might be the nicest guy in real life. And some people don't realize that.

[SevenStar]

I don't know when the training methods turned into dancing, but it did.

 

It changed when humans turned into pansies. The average person simply doesn't want to undergo the training that was given back in the day. And actually, the people back in the day may not have wanted it, however, some of the HAD to go through it due to the times they lived in. Also, back then, they didn't have access to TV, games and other things that most people would rather do as opposed to train. That's why McSchools are flourishing. They cater to what we want. Then, they produce black belts who teach in the same crappy manner that they were taught. It's a never endig cycle.

 

another thing is lack of competition. It's rare to see McBJJ for example, as competition will weed that out. Many TMA schools either only enter point tournies or try to piggyback on the rep of their founders, or talk about how lethat they are...it's a copout.

 

The sad thing is that many TMA's have lost a lot of respect because of the few BOZO's who got creamed in the early UFC's.

 

because they represent some percentage of the TMA community. You know how to fix that? compete more. You didn't lose respect because you lost. you lost respect because you lost and quit competing. BJJ guys lose all the time. so do wrestlers. so do MT guys. it's competition, somebody always has to lose. BUT, the MMA guys have the balls to come back. Also, remember when TMA guys would say "I would just use technique X to counter a grappler"? they tried and failed. but some of them still say that mess. some still say they are to deadly for the ring...they are discrediting themselves.

 

Look at Jason DeLucia - he gets respect from the MMA guys and he's a CMA guy. but he also cross trains in grappling, and he kept competing.

[Treebranch]

Yeah, but I don't think competing makes the MA any better. What it does do is give the school a reputation in the competitive world. I think the important thing here is to train realistically and with resisting opponents. The only thing is that there are certain things you can't practice full speed and they are useful in real situations. It doesn't mean you should get rid of the techniques you can't practice full speed. I feel lucky to have a good teacher who trains us well. Again the training methods of many TMA's need to be looked at and changed for reality.