MMA & 'Mixed Up' Martial Artists

For generations, the founders of new styles cross-trained in other styles and fused them into new systems of martial thought. This kind of thinking and innovation in the martial arts world predates Bruce Lee and his maxim of 'absorb what is useful'.

When I came up through the ranks, I studied a hybrid system which included elements of Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Eskrima, along with some dabbling in numerous other styles. I've learned much since then, but even at my beginnings, I trained in unarmed striking, plus grappling, plus weapons....so I've been doing mixed martial arts since before it was cool.

In November 1993, the Ultimate Fighting Championship debuted on pay-per-view, challenging most martial artists' assumptions about the ring effectiveness of their respective styles. Most fighters at the time were specialists in a single discipline and it became a fascinating, albeit violent, experiment - one which intrigued thousands of people and upcoming fighters, while many others, including Senator John McCain, branded the sport as "human cockfighting".

It is undeniable that the UFC and the rise in popularity of MMA has infused the industry with a lot of new people.

It's also attracted the kind of people that are the complete antithesis of what we practice. Where many martial artists stood for honor, discipline, and respect....there are now beer ads, scantily-clad women, and testosterone-overdosed armchair tough guys. There are now people who would cast the 'old' martial arts industry as being fake, in light of their new tv-star gladiator overlords...almost as many as there are people who visualize brutality and barbarism when they hear the term "martial arts". (How coincidental that this change began shortly after the UFC was purchased by boxing promoters....hmmm.)

Despite this, I'm not going to stop practicing MMA, nor am I going to restrict myself to using the narrow view of it that is glorified in the media. To do so is a logical error known as the fallacy of composition: the part is not the whole, nor does it define the whole. For example, even though street racing exists and has an unpleasant element to it, I'm not going to stop driving my car in protest....and the existence of boring classes doesn't mean that college isn't worthwhile.

The hybridization of martial arts can be valuable and useful. The image which has grown up around it is not.

So, like the great Bruce Lee and the masters of old, we will learn what is useful and absorb it. Leave the rest alone. By doing this, we can be high-quality mixed martial artists, and not a bunch of mixed-up martial artists.