Has Martial Arts died... in mma?

TeeKay-O · 05:18 PM

One last attempt. If people STILL respond to the title and not the actual thread, it's not my fault. I am talking about the honor within Martial Arts NOT the techniques. READ CAREFULLY PLEASE!

I was reading a thread yesterday about Joe Rogan creaming his pants about BJJ and not enough love for the stand-up. Someone commented that he was a TKD practitioner and someone else retorted that TKD was for little girls. Many others made similar comments about TKD and other martial arts.

Then today I was rewatching Anderson/Henderson and saw Anderson being so respectful, as always. But I got to thinking... Even if it isn't completely dead, is true martial arts dying in MMA?

I see people disrespect certain Martial Arts in a MMA forum. I see and hear a huge majority of these fighters disrespecting each other and I can't help to think how the corner stone of Martial Arts is fading. Honor. Martial Arts is a means of self defense and one of the first things they teach is NOT to use it to bully people and be respectful of your opponent. Although there are guys like Anderson, Fedor, Franklin, GSP, among others that do respresent this aspect of Martial Arts, they are an overwhelming minority in the sport.

I have loved and studied Martial Arts since I can remember, and seeing these guys that are in a sport where Martial Arts is in the name, I feel they should have a little more honor for themselves, each other, and the sport that has made them who they are.

These views do NOT represent the opinions of Sherdog, Sherdoggers, or the 24 inch rims currently spinning on one of 50 Cent's rides.

Flame on!

Edit: PLEASE go back and read this ONE more time before you post. I had to go through 20 pages of posts and I read MAYBE 5 posts that actually understood what I meant. I am NOT saying that the actual Martial Art is gone, I am referring to the honor and code of Martial Arts.

spirez · 04-10-2008, 09:57 AM

Well considering 4 out of 5 UFC belts were acquired/defended with a submission win i'd say traditional MA is still pretty much alive.

People just adapt and find what works best, which tends to mean a lot less flashy stuff on show.

Did you see tyhe Cung Le Vs Shamrock fight though? Le showed awesome TMA technique.

JiuJitsuZombi3 · 04-10-2008, 10:02 AM

True martial arts... so like, someone who trains in a gi, right? Oh, well there's BJJ.
So I guess martial arts as in something really really old... OH, wrestling! Oh wait... um...
ASAIN! Oh, Muay Thai...

Douchebaggery · 04-10-2008, 10:02 AM

I think there are some guys that don't give a shit about respect, budo, etc but then as you stated they are balanced out with people like Silva, Machida, Nog, Hamill(representing the newb). just like any other sport, mma has it's fair share of arrogant pricks and honorable men. the cream will inevitably rise to the top

TeeKay-O · 04-10-2008, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spirez

Well considering 4 out of 5 UFC belts were acquired/defended with a submission win i'd say traditional MA is still pretty much alive.

People just adapt and find what works best, which tends to mean a lot less flashy stuff on show.

Did you see tyhe Cung Le Vs Shamrock fight though? Le showed awesome TMA technique.

I'm not saying the fighting itself. Obviously these guys are still very much martial artists in their technique. I'm talking about the way they carry themselves.

And yes Cung certainly did. I believe Frank will win the rematch though.

Thanx for posting.

jmarion · 04-10-2008, 10:05 AM

I think MMA is just an evolutionary form of martial arts... its true combat. I agree fighters often don't follow the traditional ideologies of martial arts but i think that is just a part of the MMA experience.

i don't think martial arts or their ways are dead, just not as prevalent in MMA.

Howard-33 · 04-10-2008, 10:09 AM

It's not entirely dead, but it’s certainly suffered a stroke or two.

Currently, MMA is an amalgamation of pieces of 4 or 5 arts. Occasionally you get an extra one thrown in like Machida or Le. What's important though is that currently each fighter is typically coming from a primary art. Not only do they absorb that particular art to a certain degree, but they also absorb the martial philosophy that comes with it also to a certain degree.

A time will come though when MMA will literally be its own art that, much like Krav Maga or any other "piece-meal art", has chosen what it considers the most effective techniques for its purposes discarding the rest.

When that time comes, the fighters will take in the martial philosophy developing around MMA. That's a particularly depressing proposition when you currently have antics like the in-House crap on TUF, the pre-fight hype, Promotion spokesmen making questionable comments to the media and that element of "Just shut up and Bleed".

Hopefully these are just symptoms of the growing pains of this relatively new sport and attendant Art.

yodaman · 04-10-2008, 10:11 AM

It's not a mystical cult anymore. It's a lifeset, a skillset, like boxing, wrestling, etc. The mysticism of martial arts is dead, yes, but that's something we hoped would expire anyway. The arts, the skillsets, are very much alive.

Yanoush · 04-10-2008, 10:13 AM

This is athletic competition you pussies, not pattycake

M0ney · 04-10-2008, 10:17 AM

MMA is about effectiveness. Being nice doesn't make you any better or worse a fighter..

Honor and all that bushido is most heavily propagated by guys who practiced ineffective arts as a way to justify avoiding conflicts imo.

"Sorry man, I'd teach you a lesson but I have HONOR and my art is TOOO deadly"
-Drunk aikido guy