Weight Classes!

[sensei8]

But to say, because my attacker is taller and/or bigger than me, I've no chance, or very little. Imho, the applied effective knowledge of the MA should eliminate, or at least drastically lessen, that feeling of inadequacies.

In all of the cross training that I've experienced over these many years, Judo practitioners that I've swapped on the floor with have that mindset that size, while important, isn't a concern. Grab me, and I'll do all that I can, no matter physical size, to dump you on your head as hard as I can.

It's that mindset...Mizu No Kokoro and Tsuki No Kokoro for life!!

[bushido_man96]

There probably are Judoka out there that feel that way. Yet still, they have weight classes set up for competition.

Its not that it should be the dominant thing to consider, but it should be one of the factors considered when facing someone.

[tallgeese]

It's been touched on but it bears saying again. It's a sporting event. The weight classes make it fair. Athletes training to fight MMA, at least for the duration of the training camp run up, are not training to defend themselves if attacked. They are training to step into a combat sporting event. It's different. Are there crossover factors? Yes, a lot actually.

Bear in mind as well, stepping into the cage means that you WILL face someone with the same skill set as yours if the match making has been done properly. This ensures a good fight, not blowouts. It's not a random attacker that has not formal training, drill time, or sparring under his belt. It's someone who is essentially in the same boat as you.

I'll take my chances against a bigger, untrained aggressor (the early UFCs showed us how this can work for us) but when skill sets are equal adding the disparity of weight does become a MAJOR factor in a fights outcome.

So, by accounting for weight the sport gets more even bouts. No one wants to see a skilled 135 pounder face off with an equally skilled 215 pounder. With the same technical abilities there is really easy money on this one. It's not a fun sport to watch then, and people would die far more frequently.

The above situation doesn't even really simulate reality all that well. Equally trained fighters? Both athletic specimens? Both with an extra set of eyes nearby to coach them?

See what I mean?

The lessons we can learn from MMA are more about cross training, adapting arts to deal with threats from outside that arts core, ect.

[DWx]

It's been touched on but it bears saying again. It's a sporting event. The weight classes make it fair. Athletes training to fight MMA, at least for the duration of the training camp run up, are not training to defend themselves if attacked. They are training to step into a combat sporting event. It's different. Are there crossover factors? Yes, a lot actually.

Bear in mind as well, stepping into the cage means that you WILL face someone with the same skill set as yours if the match making has been done properly. This ensures a good fight, not blowouts. It's not a random attacker that has not formal training, drill time, or sparring under his belt. It's someone who is essentially in the same boat as you.

I'll take my chances against a bigger, untrained aggressor (the early UFCs showed us how this can work for us) but when skill sets are equal adding the disparity of weight does become a MAJOR factor in a fights outcome.

So, by accounting for weight the sport gets more even bouts. No one wants to see a skilled 135 pounder face off with an equally skilled 215 pounder. With the same technical abilities there is really easy money on this one. It's not a fun sport to watch then, and people would die far more frequently.

The above situation doesn't even really simulate reality all that well. Equally trained fighters? Both athletic specimens? Both with an extra set of eyes nearby to coach them?

See what I mean?

The lessons we can learn from MMA are more about cross training, adapting arts to deal with threats from outside that arts core, ect.

Well said. It's sport not self defense. The goal of self defense is to survive; for a lightweight this might mean incapacitating the opponent long enough to run away. Bit different if we're going to lock 2 fighters in a cage and not let them out until the fight is done.