Your opinion on MMA these days?

[Takusankage Soke]

Some of the MMA can teach you effective self defense and discipline, but others will only teach you to be aggresive and dishonorable. You need to be careful with MMA, know who is teaching you and what his / her curriculum is all about.

The same can be said of Traditional martial arts as well. One instructor of shotokan went to jail not too long ago. He was a pharmacist that was selling pharmaceuticals out the back door without a perscription. My point is that it's not a MMA vs. Traditional thing...it's a good person vs. bad person or good instructor vs. bad instructor thing.

I agree. The reason that MMA gets such a negative appeal is because it is in the spotlight all of the time. If any MMA guy gets into trouble, the world is going to hear about it, because of its popularity as a sport. But if the local TMA school owner gets into trouble, it isn't heard about to the masses....because they have no spotlight. It may make local news, but in the end, it doesn't get near the publicity.

I know of a TMA instructor that got into big trouble in my area, involing his line of work, and he ended up leaving the area completely.

Yes, I apologize. I didn't mean to say that MMA instructors were the only ones who got into trouble. Anybody TMA or MMA can get into trouble. You have to be careful about how you learn from TMA or MMA. There are those in the MMA who promote honor and respect and the same can be said for TMA.

[bushido_man96]

Yes, I apologize. I didn't mean to say that MMA instructors were the only ones who got into trouble. Anybody TMA or MMA can get into trouble. You have to be careful about how you learn from TMA or MMA. There are those in the MMA who promote honor and respect and the same can be said for TMA.

I agree with you. It is just going to depend on the person. Everyone is different, and their attitudes are affected by their goals and ideals.

[YoungMan]

Question:

Do MMA fighters bow to each other before a match? I don't recall ever seeing the fighters bow to each other before starting. This, to me, is a problem. Again, it is indicative of MMA fighters who take the techniques of various styles but seem to disdain the philosophy that underlies martial arts. A quick glance at the fighters on Spike TV would seem to confirm this. You can't tell me they don't represent MMA fighting. If not, what do they represent?

[username8517]

Do MMA fighters bow to each other before a match? I don't recall ever seeing the fighters bow to each other before starting. This, to me, is a problem. Again, it is indicative of MMA fighters who take the techniques of various styles but seem to disdain the philosophy that underlies martial arts. A quick glance at the fighters on Spike TV would seem to confirm this. You can't tell me they don't represent MMA fighting. If not, what do they represent?

Since it's a sport does it really matter if they bow before a match or not? They almost always touch gloves at the start which is their way of showing respect towards each other.

Personally I have seen a UFC fighter bow before the fight (it was one of the contestants on The Ultimate Fighter, but for the life of me I can't remember who he was), but the vast majority of them do not appear to.

However, I fail to see how this is a problem. "MMA" is a term used primarily for the sporting aspect, but if you want to get technical mma means simply that--mixed martial arts.

I know a very skilled karateka up in Canada who holds a 5th degree in the style he teaches. He also has a blue belt in BJJ and takes private lessons from a 3rd Degree black belt in JJJ, all of which he passes on to his students. Technically this would make him a MMA fighter. And in his dojo his students follow the traditional bowing (among other things) that was mentioned.

In my dojo, we blend kali and silat into our karate. Since we are incorporating other styles into our karate you could say that we were a mma dojo. Not the MMA that comes to mind when you first hear it as we don't really touch upon grappling on the ground all too much, but we do mix together martial arts including striking and clinching.

Which brings me back to my point, "MMA" is just a term used to describe a control sporting environment where two people fight to see who comes out on top. Many of the top MMA fighters have history in traditional martial arts (Chuck Liddell is a black belt in Okinawan Kempo and George St. Pierre got started in martial arts through karate just to name the first two that pop in my head).

In the end if and when you need to use your martial arts training, philosophy and religion are going to be the least of your worries.

[Elky]

Question:

Do MMA fighters bow to each other before a match? I don't recall ever seeing the fighters bow to each other before starting. This, to me, is a problem.

Eh? Why is it a problem? Why should they adopt the traditions of east Asia for their sport? I've seen guys shake hands of hug each other after a fight to show mutual support. I really don't see why they should have to bow.

[bushido_man96]

Question:

Do MMA fighters bow to each other before a match? I don't recall ever seeing the fighters bow to each other before starting. This, to me, is a problem.

Eh? Why is it a problem? Why should they adopt the traditions of east Asia for their sport? I've seen guys shake hands of hug each other after a fight to show mutual support. I really don't see why they should have to bow.

I agree with Elky here. The bowing aspect is an Eastern cultural adaptation that we have continued to use in the West. Do you think the Greeks bowed to each other before entering the Pankration? Or their Boxing matches? Or their Wrestling matches? I don't think that they did. Fighting and the Martial Arts are not unique to the East. Just about every civilazation that ever existed had some form of fighting that they used to train their armies, warriors, etc.

[ps1]

Question:

Do MMA fighters bow to each other before a match? I don't recall ever seeing the fighters bow to each other before starting. This, to me, is a problem.

Eh? Why is it a problem? Why should they adopt the traditions of east Asia for their sport? I've seen guys shake hands of hug each other after a fight to show mutual support. I really don't see why they should have to bow.

I agree with Elky here. The bowing aspect is an Eastern cultural adaptation that we have continued to use in the West. Do you think the Greeks bowed to each other before entering the Pankration? Or their Boxing matches? Or their Wrestling matches? I don't think that they did. Fighting and the Martial Arts are not unique to the East. Just about every civilazation that ever existed had some form of fighting that they used to train their armies, warriors, etc.

Wow!! You guys beat me to this response. I couldn't agree more. It's kinda silly to expect them to bow. As mentioned before my post, they touch gloves, hug and so on. How is this disrespectful? My question to you is this...If every MMA bout suddenly began with a bow, would you like it any better? I am going to guess not.

Additionally, lets look at many TMA events that go on. I've traveled the US and seen many of them. Some were traditional Karate, others were open events. Most of the sparring events started with a referee telling the opponents to bow to him (which they usually did well) then to each other. The bow to each other was often just more of a quick nod or bob of the body. How is that anymore respectful than not bowing at all? They treat it as though a good bow takes just too much time! IMO... that's just a mockery of the traditional bow and the culture from which it comes. Once the ref says "go" they usually touch gloves anyway! Just an observation.

[bushido_man96]

The bow to each other was often just more of a quick nod or bob of the body. How is that anymore respectful than not bowing at all? They treat it as though a good bow takes just too much time! IMO... that's just a mockery of the traditional bow and the culture from which it comes. Once the ref says "go" they usually touch gloves anyway! Just an observation.

That is a good observation. Martial Arts don't only come from the East; fighting styles have existed in all corners of the world, with different cultural and philosophical aspects. Different cultures show respect in different ways; bows, hugs, kiss on the cheeks, hand shakes, etc. It just depends on where you are. I don't think Thai fighters bow to each other, do they?

[baronbvp]

Thai fighters perform a fairly extensive and exotic pre-fight ceremony, often together. Many traditions of respect and competition exist throughout the world. MMA fighters might be most likely to buy each other beers and talk about the fight afterward. MMA is a relatively small (though growing) community. There is plenty of respect - and trash talk - to go around.

On a side note, I have bowed many times in training but never bowed before a real fight. So....does that mean I don't respect my opponent?

No.

[YoungMan]

And it just proves my point. Sport TKD fighters always bow to each other before a match, as do, I'm assuming, sport karate fighters. They are not engaging in traditional martial arts, yet retain the traditional Oriental act of bowing to the opponent as a sign of respect. Americans somehow find this distasteful, yet trash talking is okay.

The fact that MMA fighter train techniques borrowed from Oriental fighting arts but don't practice the act of bowing as a physical sign of respect is one more way we have Americanized Asian fighting styles by removing the philosophical underpinnings that support them. The fact that they are sports is irrelevant. Judo is largely a sport, yet judoka still bow to each other.