Mixed Martial Art and Traditional Martial arts, what is your opinion?

Question

Ok, I'm not trying to start an argument here, so just keep these comments PERSONAL.

My personal opinion is that TMA is much better than MMA. In fact, i hate MMA, MMA is just doing almost anything you want to do to force an opponent into submission. TMA (or at least the ones i've taken) teach you to do hundreds of things that MMA can't.

Last time i checked, you would never fight a streetfight on a padded mat, with no gravel, rocks etc. Often your opponent would have a weapon of some sort.

TMA uses all sorts of techniques to get out of a variety of situations.

No thought goes into MMA, it is all just using brute force and overpowering the opponent.

So what do you think?

MMA vs TMA

Answer 1

I respect your opinion but if you really want a truthful answer you should watch UFC 1-4. This is when people stuck to their own style of martial arts without and consideration. You would see people well over 215lbs losing to a guy that was 180lbs. So saying no thought goes into MMA is the same thinking used when kung fu and tae kwon do fighters were getting tapped out.

Answer 2

Depends on what you are trying to do.  MMA training ideally prepares you for an opponent who can strike, grapple, clinch etc.  Yes, that traning does take place on mats, but so does most traditional martial arts training...when's the last time you saw a judo class in a parking lot or on a stairwell?

Consider that not all "MMA" training is done with cage or sport techniques in mind.   Some MMA schools actually train for street combat - think of the krav maga schools or the "reality based" schools that are coming up all over.  They don't just train for boxing, jiu jitsu or Muay Thai...they train for grappling, stick fighting, kickboxing, etc. but in a more realistic environment.  I still call that MMA.

If you take a traditional martial artist out of his element, he is generally at a dramatic disadvantage.  Think of a Karate or Tae Kwon Do striker laying on his back underneath a Jiu Jitsu black belt...the striker has no weapon in his arsenal and is essentially defenseless.  Flip that script - a wrestler who doesn't know how to defend against a muay thai kick is going to be picked apart.

So I think MMA is helpful if you are trying to be prepared for the most situations possible.  I tend to focus on my striking, (Muay Thai and JKD concepts) but I need to know how to get back up if someone takes me down.   So I train grappling as well.  

As far as weapon techniques, how often do you see people carrying sai, nunchaku, katana or bo staffs?  It is valid to train in those arts, but if you are attacked by someone with a sword, you better run like h**l.  My opinion is that Kali is probably the most practical art there, since they use common weapons - sticks and knives.  

All that said, being attacked is rare, being attacked with a weapon rarer still, and being attacked by someone who knows how to use a weapon effectively is almost unheard of.  I think a person should train most extensively to prepare for the most likely situation they will encounter...an angry person who wants to bash your face, but doesn't have the skill set to be effective against a trained martial artist.  It really doesn't take much to stop most guys - ask any bouncer!

Answer 3

Mixed martial arts is not martial arts.

MMA only teaches you how to beat the h**l out of someone, in which case you can use a lead pipe and be fine.

TMA teaches you a way of life, you don't just learn a martial art.

Answer 4

Not bad for somebody that doesn't want to start a war...

Anyway...

It's a fake debate.

Martial arts is a very vast world and you wouldn't have enough with one lifetime to explore everything in it. Martial arts include everything from the UFC to Zen archery. I've met martial arts master with 40 years + experience who were still learning.

This whole debate is based on the idea we're all looking to accomplish the same thing. We're not. Different people are in the martial arts for different reasons. The beauty of it is that at some level, it does connect, because what one master learns in a dojo has applications for the competitive athlete and the immediate reality faced in combat must be taken account by the aging master exploring new techniques even if he himself will never use them in that way.

Martial arts is like a very large city. There are many cultural groups in it and people who live very different lifestyles. People who commit to one aspect and one aspect only are like people who believe their neighborhood is the best and there is nothing else anywhere else worth seeing in this city. Of course you're going to end up living somewhere, rather than somewhere else. But don't limit yourself to thinking everything else is worthless. You can visit people from other neighborhoods once in a while and talk to them, and gain extra insight into what you're doing. You'd be surprised at the insights you could get from other quarters if you just explore a little.

Answer 5

Nothing more adorable than a blatant statement of opinion disguised as a "question". Thought you TMA guys were supposed to be all enlightened and what not. Maybe, God forbid, respectful of all styles and the people who train in them? Whatever Boss,  KEE-YAHH!!!!

Answer 6

I don't agree that TMA are much better then MMA. As a matter of fact most of us end up being mixed martial artists at some point in our training. Either by how Katana said with the dojo's cross training or by you yourself taking a supplemental art to compliment your current style. Ground taking striking and visa versa. I think MMA is a great idea and functions great in the application it's being used in. Do you train constantly in the elements on random footing? I'd guess the majority of the time the answer is no. But you take what you learn from TMA and apply it to the situations you get caught in. Don't you think MMA guys could take what they know and apply it to any situation they get caught in? You brought up the question on weapons.... why can't MMA guys supplement what they know with weapons defense and continue on like we would learning a supplemental art? Yes some of it is brutal with the ground and pound, but being able to defend yourself against someone catching you in that position is probably something they are way better prepared for then alot of us who practice TMA. Respect all forms of martial arts. The individual who practices the art could be someone who deserves no respect but the arts all work at what they are made to do.

Answer 7

I'm not a proponent of MMA (in fact, I find the floor moves boring to watch as an entertainment), but by your own logic, how many streetfights do you see people change into loose white robes with huge collars for the opponent to grab?

Of course, in most streetfights, pride and showmanship still matter, so most would adhere to the "nothing below the belt" unspoken rule.  However, in a life-and-death fight on the battleground (putting "martial" to its purest meaning), how many would not consider biting, eye-gouging, or groin-kicking if those moves may save your life?

Just like all TMAs with their rules and regulations, MMA has its own set, and "survival of fittest" quickly determined that within the MMA universe, a combination of striking and floor moves (including all the submission ones) is most effective in achieving wins.

That's all.

(Of course, some TMAs have elements of philosophy and ethics built in, but the merits of those often matter little in a fight.)

Answer 8

Both of them have value.  And, both of them are phony.   The phony is necessary for us to continue to train without becoming crippled.  

I have accepted that and continue to train anyway.

Answer 9

I do not think either one is necessarily better or worse. In fact almost any style now days could really be considered a MMA because most of them are a blending of two or more styles. Most Okinawin karate styles are a combination of indiginous fighting methods mixed with kung fu techniques that were brought to Okinawa over the years by chinese practitioners.

My main problem lies in the fact that so many think a style is worthless unless it competes in the UFC. I just asked a similiar question.

I think both traditional and MMA are great, and both will get you there, but there are many things that the UFC style of fighting does not address.