For those that train MMA, what attracted you to it and moved you away from TCMA

[goju]

well at the CSC school we did spar with out any protection too which was stupid in retrospect.

they just didnt like it when a lower belt partcilartly a teenager was making their adult BBs look bad.

[Iron_Eagle_76]

Goals and team mates. TCMA attracts old women and little kids. Neither of which groups make for very good sparring partners. Martial arts is an interactive process. You are only as good as your partners can push you. Don't matter how determined you are, if you have no one to train with, you won't be going very far.

This times one hundred.

[goju]

Its odd that these days that the tmas seem to just atract those kind of folks

i knew a tkd master from korea who had a dojang here wanted the place to be run like an actual gym not a belt factory or day care center, He was serious about it to the point where he would tell people to leave if they werent taking the training seriously

and his school closed down because he expected more from people than they were willing to give

[SAAMAG]

Simply put--I moved away not from TCMA--but from un-proven methods of training to proven methods of training.

[Laukarbo]

I do not train in mma but Im also not blind...

I train in cma since 14 (several styles) since 1990 I learneded Hung Kuen from 3 different teachers,it was always in private...before that time I fought in Judo,karate,kickboxing and sanda and of course that stuff will stick...

Since 4 years Im teaching and run a school,been teaching in asia for 3 years and since a year Im in Germany.
The way I teach is probably different then the average cma school..
I dont believe in 2 man drills where both fight in same style,yes we have forms but not as many,also do liondance and weapon forms..but my school opens everyday and we do a lot of partnerwork..sparring,padwork,bag work etc.
we train in 2 different ways for fighting..sportfighting (sanda) and selfdefence fighting ..so our techniques will be trained vs. jabs,hooks,uppercuts etc.
also on a monthly basis I invite different practicioners of other styles to give seminars..this weekend having a russian wrestler...nxt month a thaiboxer etc.

we do not join mma fights but sanda/sanshou so we train cma with a modern twist...still keeping it traditional...

[Shaolin]

So I was attracted to MMA (and grappling in particular) because it makes no pretences about what fighting should look like, it simply accepts what it is and trains to overcome what is out there: it grows and learns all the time and you know where you stand in terms of how good you are at stand up clinch and ground fighting there is no guess work about how good you might be or how you might do if facing this or that opponent, you learn from direct experience. All the training is linked directly to how you perform on the mats or in the ring. Most of the class time is spent with a partner for the most part strength and conditioning is built into your practise so you are alwys growing and learning and getting in better condition.

I started in Kempo Karate when I was a kid, moved to Chen Tai Chi, then to Shaolin temple martial arts. Since changing to Shaolin (which I still do) in my spare time I've trained in Krav Maga, Boxing, BJJ and Muay Thai. I keep with the traditional arts because there seems to be more depth and knowledge but I love training in the modern arts because it brings everything together filling in the holes and gives me the freedom to express myself and not be conformed to any "style".