MMA stands for mixed martial arts. That means that competitors combine different martial arts together to do combat. MMA is a combative sport that combines elements of different full contact martial arts. MMA is done in a cage or a ring where the combat is done one on one, with a referee, and judges for scoring. To win a mma contest a person has to make the other contestant go unconscious or give up due to strikes. Also the contestant can make his opponent give up due to the application of a submission hold. MMA combines the best martial arts for one on one combat. These arts usually are Boxing, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Judo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Some other arts can sneak in but the effectiveness is usually based on the combat athlete not the style. Usually the simplest techniques are the most effective but some flashy moves do show up but not often.
Boxing is the martial art or science where one person uses his fists to knock out or make his opponent give up. Boxing is known as the sweet science because it involves strategy, head movement, and control of distance to hit the opponent and not get hit as much in return.
Wrestling is a form of grappling that uses various techniques to make a person trip, be thrown to, or fall to the ground and be pinned there. There are different styles of wrestling such as Folk style and Greco-Roman style. Folk style is what is taught in grade school to college. The goal is to grab the legs, head, or arms to throw, trip, and pin the competitor to the ground. In Greco-Roman style the competitors can't attack the legs with their arms. The competitors can only grab the upper part of the body and trip. This style is reminiscent of Judo without the Gi.
Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand, is a form of martial art that uses elbows, knees, fist, forearms, shins, and feet to cause a person to be knocked out or give up. Muay Thai is known as the science of eight limbs because of its use of multiple limbs in combat. It is also known as the sport of kings for its popularity with the Thai Kings of old who held Muay Thai events during festivals. Because of it various techniques and skills needed to master it, muay thai is popular in many countries besides Thailand.
Judo is a Japanese martial art like Wrestling but the players wear heavy cloth uniforms called Gis and they have a limited amount of submission holds. The goal is to pin, have a perfect throw where the opponent lands on his back, or submit the opponent. There is a ranking system with throws where a competitor landing on his back earns the highest ranking. Pins however happen the least in competition. There are no leg submissions in Judo and chokes and arm bars occur the most.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an art form based on the ideas of leverage and techniques where a smaller skilled person can beat a larger unskilled person. Jiu jitsu has joint locks, throws, choke holds, and moves known as sweeps to control an opponent and make them submit. There is a point system but submissions beat everything. If a competitor gets the submission he wins. A person however can win by gaining points due to superior positioning and control.
Another style that sometimes is seen in MMA is Sambo. Sambo is a Russian martial art using elements of Wrestling, Judo, Russian folk wrestling, and other forms of Japanese Jiu jitsu. It is seen in MMA competitions sometimes but it is not as prevalent as the other styles. Competitors wear heavy gi like tops called Kurtkas, with belts, shorts, and special shoes. There are no chokes in Sambo, leg locks happen sometimes but not as much, arm bars happen the most. There are different types of Sambo. There is regular Sambo which is done without striking and Combat Sambo which allows strikes while grappling. Combat Sambo practitioners wear head gear and gloves similar to mma gloves. The matches are five to six minutes and the goal is to submit, knock out the opponent, or have a perfect throw.
MMA is held on many different venues but the most famous organizations are UFC in America, Dream in Japan, and Art of War in China.
MMA is not a style of its own. It is a mix match of different styles and ideas. It comprises multiple outlooks and ideas from various systems. These ideas in the cage clash and compete to make sure the strongest styles survive and that is why MMA is one of the most interesting and compelling sports of the modern century.
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