Is the UFC and other such TV events a true reflection of martial arts/?

Question

IS IT REALLY MARTIAL ARTS OR MARTIAL SPORT..

LOOKS LIKE A CRUDE EXPLOITATION OF MARTIAL TRADITION FOR THE FINANCIAL BENIFIT OF A SELECT FEW TO ME...NO HONOR, NO HUMILITY NO RESPECT. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Answer 1

i personally think they are just for fun. sometimes for $ and also there is no honor, no humility and no respect just as you said. thanx

Answer 2

it is what it is at the moment. it is a sport. respectful or not depends on the individual players. The true fighting tournament is the platform fighting in china a few hundreds years ago. When there was no rules, when you let your action do the talking. The Chen style Taichi grandmaster, fought over 200 people over 18 days, sometimes he would fight 3 or 4 people at a time to save time.

Unfortunately, people do die on the platform and the Chinese government banned it.  Even though, it can be very risky, but that is the only way to truly determine what martial style and which fighter is the best.

Only the strong survive, and only what works will stay around. Any style that keeps on losing will eventually disappear.

Today our society will not accept that sort of no rules tournament, yet we accept wars and casualties of war.  Is that stupid or what.  What about extreme sport where people die all the time, yet we accept it. But when two individual want to risk their life proving something they believe in, i say let them.

If only some crazy enough government in some third world country is willing to open the platform fighting again, no rules. Like in Blood sport, or Fearless.

Answer 3

It is a martial sport, which is one of the reasons many people do not consider it a true martial art at all.  You see no katas/forms in MMA, no true lineage, no tradition, nothing that really defines the culture of martial arts as they were hundreds of years ago. What you see today is simply the most effective moves mish-mashed into what people know as mixed martial arts. It basically serves its purpose, but like you say, there is often no humility or respect involved. Personally, I dislike it, but some find it the only way to prove their fighting skills.

Answer 4

it makes money. and it has its roots in from the past. imagine the gladiators of rome.

Answer 5

i really do share your opinion i do think that all martial arts these days are for profit only not for the sport if we went back 1000 years ago we would truly know the meaning of knowing martial arts but now a days its nothing so big people have took it as a good way of making quick $.

Answer 6

Martial sport...that's what it is, you hit it right on the button.

Answer 7

It's true martial arts, finally we can see what works and what doesn't. Doesn't get any more real than that. Sorry if you thought it should be more like the kung fu movies you watch.

Answer 8

i feel the ufc,mma is not a true reflection of real martial arts.the guys involved on the ground level are very dedicated excellent exponents of there fighting arts.the whole concept of fighting to entertain,getting badly injured is unpalletable,lining the pockets of manipulaters of humanity unacceptable. i have dedicated my whole martial life to improving the quality of life for my students and all the martial artists i meet,which then reflects on me and improves my quality of life.

Answer 9

Yes I totally agree with you.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground.

Modern mixed martial arts competition emerged in popular culture in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Initially based on finding the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations, competitors of various arts were pitted against one another with minimal rules or concern for safety.

This is also one of the reasons that participants in this forum think that MMA should be in a separate section, not in the traditional martial arts.

Answer 10

I think it is a true reflection of the fighting techniques of many different styles, however I do not feel it is a true reperesentation of Martial Arts as a whole. Understand that most of the guys in the UFC, fighting is their job, just as mine might be driving a truck.

They are paid, through their contracts and any endorsments, not to mention if they have their own school, to train to fight. I do not know many martial artists that have this luxury. I know I don't because between my job, taking care of the house, my other interests, I get maybe 8-10 hours a week of actual physical fighting training or class time. I am lucky in that my wife trains also, or I wouldn't have that much time. I think about martial arts all the ime and run through stuff in my head, but actual physical training is limited.

I think it would be like comparing a recreational runner with an olympic marathoner. The olympic marathoner is not truly representative of the population as a whole.

The UFC also shows only the physical side of martial arts. I see a lot of respect for the fighters from each other, and most of them seem humble and respectful, and not all "traditional" people I have met are that way either.

the main difference I see is that the UFC breeds many fans who's only knowledge of martial arts comes from what they see on tv, which is a very scewed idea of everything that martial arts reperesents. Then they feel free to come on here and answer questions they are really not qualified to answer.

As for the UFC fighters, and people that actually train MMA, I have a lot of respect for them, because any style if trained right takes a lot of focus and comitment and discipline. It's mainly the posers and fan boys I have a problem with. The little punks running around in tapout gear that you can tell have never set foot in a school in their life.

Answer 11

It's definitely a true reflection of martial arts.  To be good at MMA, you have to truly be good in several different styles.  If you're a boxer and you get taken to the ground by a wrestler, you're in bad shape.  But if you're a ground guy who tries to win with strikes, you're putting yourself out on a limb.  You have to be overall good at several martial arts, making it a true reflection of the arts.