Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is revitalizing the world of martial arts.  It is bringing a newfound interest, new practitioners, and new media attention.  The question is, is it also destroying martial arts as we know it?  This might seem like a silly question, but it is on the minds of traditional martial artists everywhere.  MMA is in danger of becoming something of a cross between professional wrestling and professional boxing, and dragging the rest of martial arts with it, whether we want it or not.Is it too late?  Maybe, but maybe not.  Let’s see what got us here in the first place.

MMA started out with something interesting.  A bunch of guys of different martial arts backgrounds were getting together to compete – to see who was the best.  This was great, and very in keeping with what martial artists have always done.  Gradually, it started being more about just winning – regardless of what style you used.  Right around this time, the migration to Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu began.  Someone found a combination that worked – that won – and everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.  Now we have competitions of a bunch of people all doing the exact same thing – it is now just about who is the strongest.  Now, strictly speaking, there is nothing wrong with that.  If that’s what they want to do, more power to them, right?

Unfortunately, life isnt that simple.  With things like UFC, mixed martial arts started getting a lot of attention.  Special MMA schools started opening up.  Traditional martial arts schools found themselves unable to get new students, because everyone wants to train for MMA and if your school cant do it, it must not be any good.  So of course, schools started adding MMA programs.  As a result, traditional martial arts programs have been falling by the wayside.  The spirituality, and the combat effectiveness (depending on the particular style) are being lost, and what we are winding up with is another sport.

Of course, to some people this is a good thing.  To me, it is not.  I want martial arts to be more than a sport.  I want it to keep some of its old glory.  Maybe we’re becoming too modern a society for real combat arts, but I dont think so.  I think it is just a continuation of the monetization and greed that permeates the world these days.  All hope is not lost, however.  There is something that can be done.  The teachers and the schools (and hopefully the MMA bodies like UFC) need to establish something – that MMA IS a sport: proclaim it from the rooftops – and that Traditional Martial Arts are not the same.  The schools need to resist the urge to make that extra buck and try to keep their arts/styles pure.  Otherwise, us regular martial artists, with no desire to compete, will be driven effectively underground – and that would be a shame.

Tags: hype, martial arts, mixed martial arts, mma

This entry was posted by Damen on Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Editorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.