Do you consider Pro Wrestling a martial art?

[47MartialMan]

road driving

 

race driving.

 

both involve cars.

 

both involve driving.

 

they are not the same.

 

They are indeed. You get killed by a mistake resulting from a crash

[Drunken Monkey]

so?

 

hit someone with a karate move.

 

hit someone with a wrestling move.

 

hit someone with a tennis move.

 

result=someone is hit.

 

does that make tennis a martial art because it improved the guy's hitting/swinging technique?

[47MartialMan]

Would you agree that a martial art is a system of fighting under one category?

 

Per analogy, sports is the system of athletic activties under one category.

[Drunken Monkey]

yes.

 

but then so what?

 

can't a martial art be an athletic activity?

 

aren't there any sports that are martial arts?

 

how about tai chi?

 

traditonally, it is a martial art

 

but

 

today there are far more people just learning the slow forms without practice of it's use.

 

i don't see what they do as a martial art

 

even though the same moves can be used for fighting purposes.

[47MartialMan]

So a pro-wrestler, whom trains in the many methods of physical conflict, cannot be considered a martial artist or practicing a martial art?

[Jinxx0r]

So a pro-wrestler, whom trains in the many methods of physical conflict, cannot be considered a martial artist or practicing a martial art?

 

I guess the true test would be how practical their techniques are outside of TV land.

 

*shrugs*

 

IMO, no it's not an MA, but a sport (and I use sport loosely). I think pro-wrestling lacks depth of technique, practicality, philosophy and the discipline to be a true MA. I see a true MA as a search for harmonizing mind and body... these guys come off as crush/kill/destroy in a steroid rage for no other reason than TV ratings.

 

If you put these guys up against a true MA, they wouldn't last, IMO. They're big and intimidating... but it's not the size that matters... oh, wait... that's something else.

 

[47MartialMan]

So a pro-wrestler, whom trains in the many methods of physical conflict, cannot be considered a martial artist or practicing a martial art?

 

I guess the true test would be how practical their techniques are outside of TV land.

 

*shrugs*

 

IMO, no it's not an MA, but a sport (and I use sport loosely). I think pro-wrestling lacks depth of technique, practicality, philosophy and the discipline to be a true MA. I see a true MA as a search for harmonizing mind and body... these guys come off as crush/kill/destroy in a steroid rage for no other reason than TV ratings. Hmmn UFC, shoot fighting, boxing, MT, etc., fall under this?

 

If you put these guys up against a true MA, they wouldn't last, IMO. They're big and intimidating... but it's not the size that matters... oh, wait... that's something else.

 

Are you sure? How can you tell for certain? One of "this" vs "that"

 

[Jinxx0r]

I guess the difference between these would be the practicality of their techniques, the discipline in the training of those techniques for a practical use. I don't think a scripted event is training for real, physical conflict... there isn't really a conflict here if you know exactly what is going to happen the whole time.

 

For the second one, I don't... it's just a gut feeling and I could be wrong.

[47MartialMan]

Yeah, but isn't some boxing "scripted"?

 

Aren't some MA tournaments "scripted"?

 

The training of the methods that they do can be used for fighting applications.

 

Now, here is where I must confess-I can't stand WWE or TV wrestling. But I had watched these guys train. I had watched their methods-mostly JJ and Judo. Although a stupid thing to do, I had seen, heard of, and read where people actually get hurt using these methods.

 

The point is to define what a martial art is.

[jarrettmeyer]

The point is to define what a martial art is.

 

By definition - karate, TKD, judo, aikido, kung fu, etc. - in their purest form, aren't all of these martial arts? These all have technique, kata, application to self-defense, and an obligation to make yourself better.

 

That said, the rest of this is editorializing. Feel free to disagree.

 

Martial arts are only to ever be used to defend yourself or defend your loved ones. There is an active, present threat to life or well-being. You may get killed. And you may have to kill. If you HAD to, could you take a life because of what you know and how you have trained? If you DIDN'T have to, but were given the opportunity, do you have the control to injure but not kill. Physically, emotionally, philosophically, religiously (if that's your thing) - these are all required in the martial arts.

 

Suppose you're training in Goju Ryu, and you do it to get in shape. Self-defense happens to be a handy byproduct. You practice technique up and down the mat. You start learning kata and bunkai. A year later as you walk from a downtown night club to your car in a parking garage, you and your wife are threatened at knife-point. You and your wife have both learned karate, so it's 2 on 1. You turn tail, let your wife stay in front of you, and run back to the club and call the police. The police find no one, and you go home safely. Are you a martial artist? Let's see. You met an encounter. You and your loved ones are still alive and well, without a bruise or a scratch.

 

On the other hand, any competition where there is a necessity of safety protocol in any measure is a martial sport. Point sparring easily falls into this category. There are dozens of people in my dojo who go to competitions. None are in fear of their life. Maybe a pulled muscle, a bloody nose, or a black eye, but never their life.

 

Same thing with the extremely elaborate competition gymnastic routines.... er, modern kata. These are, like it or not, martial sport.

 

Back to the post, I remember back in the 80's, Andre the Giant was quoted as saying something similar to, "The punches are fake, but the bruises are real." I think if you allow yourself the difference between martial art and martial sport, there's really no trouble in classifying the WWE.

 

Osu.