OK for once i will be serious
MMA (mixed martial arts) such a general term. for All types of martial arts are mixed to a degree. As other posters have written here, i wont get into it.
Marketing is not bad ,,but look what is being marketed,,and to our youth,,who are very angry right now. We have events such as the WWF and Now the UFC promoting and endorsing brutalizing of one another. Our youth sees this and they want to be just like them,,A bully.
Man i tell you if all you can do to make money in this world is FIGHT? Then maybe some of these guys need to go back to school or college or whatever to get a decent paying job and do some good for thier community and country rather than what they are doing now. i know i know dont begrudge a man his living, but what message are you sending forth to those whose minds are impressionable? you are saying "yeah lets go and fight and try to hurt one another so that we can command and earn respect as individuals and atheletes.
Take the NFL for instance,,despite the fact that there is corruption in just about every endeavor in this country,,we have strong good hearted individuals who play football,,entertain the crowd and provide a good role model for children and aspiring youths who want to excel at athletics.
when we look at the martial arts what are we looking at?,,,we are looking at combat,,we are looking at the art of killing someone
or hurting them in order to preserve your life or the life of someone who is in danger. you talk about HONOR and RESPECT,
go talk to some veterans of WAR and see what they have to say about these UFC tournaments and the individuals that go to them. Nam Vets and Gulf war vets that i have spoken with have said it best,,,",until you have death staring you in the face and when you have taken another human life in defense of your life and your country",,all you are doing is playing,,and fantasizing.
In the philosphy surrounding the martial arts we see the same thing said over and over,,and why do people not follow this advice? "these arts are for combat and in defense of ones life and should NOT be used for sport or to do harm to others in a frivolous way". is this my opinion? yes. but it is ALSO the opinions of the masters of old that have seen death and conflict and that have created the systems that we now study ,,improve upon and Bast@rdize and turn to cr@p. So i trust what the old masters have to say. Master ueshiba Morehai said it best. "The best technique is to AVOID combat". and this was a man that killed many in the korean war and some hand to hand.
if you want to test yourself,,,do it in the kwoon or the dojo,,and do it in a serious manner. dont play around and know that you will get hurt at times but also know that the ONLY difference between true training and sparring in the kwoon or dojo and the street? is that in the kwoon we have respect for each other and when we hurt each other we do what we can to help heal it.
how many of you who train in your schools have the knowledge to set a bone if it breaks? to stop bleeding of a nose,,,to work out a cramp? i doubt many have that skill. or to do CPR if someone stopped breathing? i heartalk of how its so cool to be able to kick ass,,,,i think its even cooler when you are able to mend and heal as WELL as kick ass.
MRTWS
what makes today different?
well today is not the wild wild west,,although there are some who will say differently,, and even then those matches were not condoned by all.
There will always be an element to martial arts that is less desired by the philosophers and the common folk. but as for the warrior poets of the time who experienced the fear of what it was like to live day to day in defense of thier life, i take thier advice to heart and try to Follow it and not make the same mistakes they have made and have admitted in thier writings.
apoweyn: sorry to make you so angry,,,,,
MRTWS
im not saying that,,,,,,,
competition then was accepted and not now. sport games involving fighting have always been prevalent in society,,doesnt mean that they were condoned by everyone. But the competitions noe are actually alot more TAME thatn they were back then when individuals would walk out either dying the next day due to internal injuries or not walking out at all because they were killed.
Healthy,and honorable exhibitions of skill in forms and demonstrations are good,,,,,,somewhere along the line the rivalry and egos of the different schools came about,,i guess with the advent of Marketing", come join our school we are the best and those guys over there suck". then the competition in the arena to see which school was the best insued and then gambling follows after that and then you have a similar situation to what we have today with UFC back then, anly not as dolled up and maybe there is more of a respect rather than rivalry going on,,but as UFC continued to grow it seemed as though the braggards came out of the woodwork spouting off thier sh!t, and challenging each other in grudge matches. totally inappropriate.
i have watched these UFC and no holds barred fights. the only skill and techniques that i have seen are from the gracies,,and a sense of good spirit and honor. but i think where they have failed and created a bad reputation is actually going and competeing in events such as these,,that really serve no purpose other than to brutalize.
MRTWS