Is learning Mixed Martial Arts just as good as learning one form of martial art?

Question

If so what are the pros and cons of both?

Answer 1

I hear that Mixed Martial Arts get pretty violent. I suggest taking one type of martial art.

I take Taekwondo. The meaning of Taekwondo is "the way of the hand and foot." Lots of schools (called "dojangs") have a tendency to focus of kicks and not on hand techniques.

Aikido is about displacement of energy. It's about getting in close to your opponent and using their body weight against them.

Judo is about joint locks, getting your opponent on the ground, etc.

I don't know much about Karate, but it's as good as the others, and involves a variety of techniques.

Whatever you pick, make sure your school (training place) is about learning, not belt-chasing. You want to learn the techniques, not "get to black belt."

Good luck!

Answer 2

I think single forms of martial arts will always be a good thing because I never want to see the different styles die out. There were times where even jiujitsu was on the brink in Japan and governments tried to kill martial arts out of fear. Having said that. I like the idea of MMA. I don't think that any of you will be too worried about getting into a fight on the street with a world class fighter or kung fu expert. There is the possibility of being in a fight and landing some hits and being taken to the ground, or fighting someone who is just a natural fighter and they are out punching you and you can take them to the ground. Self defence is supposed to be doing enough to get away not to stand there and make a point. I have often wondered though, if there are any MMA schools that offer variations on the style for street defense. Wouldn't that be the point of MMA? I should be highly adaptable and open to include WHATEVER works.

Answer 3

Is learning a little bit of several languages better than learing one language well?

Answer 4

You simply have to ask yourself what it is you want to do. Learning a mixed martial art will give you the ability to be good a variety of moves but you probably won't ever be the best at any of them. If you pick one form of martial arts your variety of moves will be reduced but you will be able to get really good at that form. It is true for most anything. If you want to be great, possibly the best you need to focus on the one that you enjoy the most. If you want to be good in a variety of different forms then pick MMA.

Answer 5

you can do real fighting or form fighting what you get out of it is up to you

Answer 6

Now, I have to ask you first, do you mean Mixed Martial Arts (the sport) or cross-training (the act of training in multiple martial arts simultaneously)?

I'll assume that you're refering to cross-training first. The only con for cross-training is that your attention becomes divided between arts and you could potentially get a little frazzled. However, if you're doing it right, that shouldn't be the case.

An example of crosstraining wrong would be doing Boxing on Monday, Muay Thai on Tuesday, Kung Fu on Wednesday, Judo on Friday, Karate on Saturday, and Krav Maga on Sunday. That's too much and yuo'll never pick any of it up -- especially if you have no previous experience. It's much safer to train in only 2 -3 (tops) arts -- especially if you're a beginner.

Many would still argue against that, saying that you must give each art more individual focus. I disagree. Most of the time, classes will only be held several times a week. So if you practice Karate on Mondays and Wednesdays, but also do Judo on Fridays and Sundays, what harm does that do? Its not like you're skipping Judo for Karate class or vice-versa.

As for the pros of cross-training, you've got to keep in mind that there are 3 ranges of unarmed fighting. There is Free Motion Standup (when no one's grabbing eachother), which is where most striking happens. There is The Clinch (where people are grabbing eachother), from which strikes, throws, and submissions can be performed. And finally, there is The Ground, where pins, strikes, and submissions are to be applied.

(Some compartmentalize further and have like 10 different ranges of combat, but I think that's BS considering how 'long kicking range' can become 'short punching range' within a split second.)

Anyways, most arts will practice in only one or two of those ranges. A real fight or an MMA match can be highly unpredictable, in the sense that it can go anywhere within the blink of an eye. You can be the best boxer in the world, but if somebody pulls your legs out from under you, you're screwed. You can be an excellent grappler, but get knocked the h**l out if you fail to defend a big punch. Point being, just because you're good at one range of fighting doesn't mean you're good at the others.

And considering how even an untrained opponent might get lucky and duck under your punch, grab your legs, and drag you to the ground, it's a good idea to know how to fight from there. On the flip-side, if you don't know how to deal with somebody punching you in the face, you could be in some trouble -- as it is the most common/easy way to inflict pain and damage on somebody you're pissed at.

Cross-training = good idea, if you find that you've got gaps in certain areas.

MMA can be considered one art if you consider it to be an art or style. In this context, I do, because its one type of competition, in which all participants become familiar with certain MMA-specific strategies and techniques (like ground and pound).  Although, most Mixed Martial Artists cross-train, some just take one class that mixes it all together. Regardless, an MMA fighter should be competent in all 3 ranges of combat.

There are other styles that practice all 3 ranges as well, like Combat Sambo, Daido Juku Karate, etc, etc

Either way being well-rounded is ALWAYS better than being one-dimensional.

Answer 7

Personally I would say no, it is better to learn one, however that is my opinion out of preference alone. In reality there are pro and cons of both that make it impossible to say either way for fact.

One martial art:

The pros-

You will gain a high level of skill in that art, you will have more discipline and appreciation for it because it has a name and history. It is easier to learn one martial art for several reasons like there is usually a traditional way to train in that art that has been used for generations (so instead of creating your own practice routines and drills they are already given to you to help make you sucessful), the more advanced moves will be easier to learn when you reach that level because you will have a foundation in the basics already established, finally, each martial art has its own style of movement and attack that is difficult to master and sticking to one art to learn means that you will pick up on this style quicker.

The cons-

whatever art you learn will most likely not have the best solution to every combat situation that exists, some arts are really effective against strikes while others are effective against weapons, and learning only one art means that you have to accept its' shortcomings. Some martial arts are very short and others are long (as in amount of techniques) learning only one means that you have to learn what's given to you and takes away your control of the learning process, also some martial arts have techniques that are very difficult to learn and when training in only one martial art you can't skip or pick and choose which moves to learn so until that difficult move is mastered you are stuck.

Mixed Martial Arts:

The Pros-

Learning multiple arts mixed together lets you choose the techniques you want to learn which means that you can train in a move for every possible combat situation. You can learn any moves from different martial arts that you think are cool. You learn how different martial arts work in combat which gives you more fighting versatility. You learn at your own pace and in your own order since there is no rigid tradition of teaching/learning, and finally you can train/practice how you want instead of following a precreated training method which may be outdated, too difficult, or just plain boring.

The cons-

You have to accept that you will basically be a "beginning to intermediate master," which means that you will rarely, if at all, learn any advanced martial arts techniques because of the afore-mentioned fact that these advanced moves build upon the intermediate moves taught before them in the martial art. If you don't master all the previous moves to that art you cannot learn the advanced ones, not to mention the fact that no teacher will teach you those moves if you haven't been his/her student from the beginning. Though there are things that make MMA training easier, you will still have a difficult time because each art has its own style so mixing them together means juggling your different types of training. Also, MMA is kind of like micro managing, since you have multiple techniques you are trying to learn from different styles, you have to remember each one and and how to train for it.

In my opinion it is better to train in one art for a foundation, and then add a few moves here and there to make up for its' shortcomings, this actually what most martial artists do. I am currently training in Wing Chun as my foundation with some Chin Na standing grappling, Shui Jiao throws, and Krav maga weapons defenses thrown in to complement.

Happy Training

Answer 8

mma is mixed martial arts...arts that are mixed. but it is a sport art...not a street defense art.

even most singular traditional arts...are mixed as well. so theyre all mixed.

the biggest difference is focus. some are street defense arts. some are ancient battlefield arts. some are sports.

some arts focus on striking. some on grappling. both usually have a small element of the other.

mma will teach you how to fight in the cage against other trained fighters following rules.

sport arts will teach you how to win that sport against another proponent of that sport.

traditional arts take a long time to learn but are usually more well rounded and have fewer rules. there is alot of stuff in them that is illegal in mma or other sport events. (because they are dangerous)

modern militrary or police based arts get straight to the point. seld defense. against modern day attacks. without the sport...without the philosophy and history and culture. and without rules and weight classes.

modern self defense arts that are based on traditional arts are sort of like a mis of traditional...with modern ideas.

what do you want to learn martial arts for? what is your goal? what is available to you in your area? ..etc

Answer 9

you don't really learn mixed martial arts- mma is more like a mix of jiu-jitsu wrestling and boxing... it is much more thorough and you will learn how to really defend yourself in practice not just in theory as you would from any specific style of martial art