Modern MMA Fighters
Are Traditional Martial Arts Relevant in MMA?
The UFC used to be an exciting clashing of unique fighting styles: the agility and the mystique of the Kung Fu Fighter, the sheer size and power of the sumo wrestler, the amazing acrobatics and kicks of the Taekwondo master, the bone crunching elbows and knees of the Muay Thai expert, and the ground wizardry of the Brazilian Jiujitsu champion among many others. The early UFC gained its legendary status thanks to this unique blend of fighters leaving it all in the octagon.
As the sport evolved, a few of the martial arts stood out as having the most effective techniques for a MMA match, these included: the submissions of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, the takedown and ground control of wrestling, the punches of western boxing, and the clinch and kicks from Muay Thai. This led to the emergence of the modern MMA fighters in which specific MMA oriented aspects of these four disciplines are trained with the sole purpose of competing in MMA events.
Most of the modern MMA fans are convinced that traditional martial arts are not efficient enough to be of any relevance in the context of MMA competitions. Among the most popular of the traditional martial arts which has lost its mystical appeal included all forms of Chinese kung fu, Japanese Karate, and Korean Taekwondo; just by telling MMA practitioners that you are a practitioner of such disciplines can elicit certain degrees of condescendence. The dominance of the proven mix of the four disciplines cannot be questioned until Lyoto Machida and Cung Le came along.
The Rise of Traditional Martial Artists in MMA
Lyoto Machida is the current UFC lightheavyweight champion with an unblemished record. In contrary to the large percentage of the fighters using the aforementioned four disciplines as their base, Machida has practiced Karate all his life. Born to a Shotokan Karate master, Lyoto Machida started Karate at a young age and its elusive fighting style was engrained into his fighting strategy.
In fighting, timing is everything. With good timing, a fighter can counter as well as setting up or avoiding takedowns with more success. Since the majority of the fighters trains in the four basic styles involved in modern MMA training, it is perceivable that the timing of the standard attacks from said disciplines are more familiar to the majority of the fighters. For example, the timing of a jab cross combo of boxing should be very familiar to the regular MMA fighter since it is a combo which they have had to drill thousands of times. When facing a style of attack in which they are not familiar with, however, the timing can be so awkward that the whole rhythm of their attack and defense is disrupted. This is exactly the kind of effect that Lyoto Machida has on his opponents; from his lightning fast snapping karate style kicks, to his leaping in, punching, then retreating karate strikes. His opponents can never get the proper timing down.
The Kung Fu of Cung Le
Cung Le, the Strikeforce middleweight Champion, is another successful MMA fighter with a background deeply rooted in traditional martial arts. Also boasting an undefeated record, Cung Le is a Sanda World Champion turned mixed martial artist. Sanda is not a specific style of Kung Fu, but rather a practical approach of the art in which real life combat situation is emphasized. With Le’s striking based on Vietnamese Kung Fu and Taekwondo, his opponent often falls victim to one of his highlight reel kicks. Again, it is the unfamiliarity of the regular fighter to such techniques that partly contributes to Cung Le’s success in the cage.
MMA - Improving on the Proven Formula
This is not to say that fighters should no longer train in the four base disciplines of MMA; on the contrary, the four basic styles have proven time and time again its effectiveness. Even Lyoto Machida and Cung Le are experts of these four styles. The lesson to be learned here is to always keep an open mind: keep experimenting with other styles and MMA can once again become a true mixture of all martial arts, ancient or modern. And the world of MMA will become a more interesting place because of it.
Kung Fu Master
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