| - Marco Antico |
| Copyright© 2008 Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association (CMMAA). |
Tale of the Warrior: Martial Arts vs Self-Defense
by Paul D
All too often, announcers, promoters, athletes and blog writers use the term warrior to describe Mixed Martial
Artists. This metaphor extends itself to describe fights as battles, skill sets as arsenals, and events as wars.
Unfortunately, the prevalence of this continued comparison has blurred the lines between the various
branches and applications of Martial Arts in Canada and the World.
Martial Arts refer to the arts of Mars, the Roman god of war. In its recent incarnation, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA),
began as a competition between different martial artists, in order to determine which served most effectively
in a “real-life” situation. As a result, very few rules restricted the actions of the fighters. Since many viewers
found the throat-strikes, groin-strikes, hair-pulling and other tactics distasteful, most notably US Presidential
nominee John McCain, MMA organisations have since imposed rules to protect the safety of the fighter first
and foremost. As a result of this evolution of MMA, it has become a sport rather than a simulation of “real-life”
fighting.
In some cases, the blurred distinction comes from the warrior class putting on contests of their martial skill,
as with Pankration in the Olympic games of Ancient Greece, or the Jousts of Medieval Europe. In other cases,
warriors could no longer practice their arts of war, for fear of insurrection, and as such, war dances, such as
Capoeira, developed to obscure the intent of their training.
Despite the overlap between the dance, the sport and the combat, a distinction for modern MMA seems in
order. The warrior places his or her life at risk, such that their training imposes no rules beyond survival.
Martial Arts used in combat include unarmed combat against an armed opponent, one person versus many
as well as hand-to-hand. The US Marine Corps Martial Arts Program as well as the Israeli Krav Maga
exemplify Martial Arts designed for combat.
The MMA athlete places their physical body at risk of concussion, strains, sprains, breaks and tears, and a
strict set of rules enforced by a referee, doctor and usually a sanctioning body ensure that athletes adhere to
them. Through a variety of scoring systems, judges rule the contest as a win for one fighter a loss for the
other, a draw or no contest. In this form MMA doesn't represent combat as much as it boils all athletic
competition to its most basic: two ostensibly naked athletes compete at dominating the other physically by
whatever means available. Every other sport becomes a metaphor for this contest, no so distinctly as North
American Football.
Today's environment sees such a high level of specialization, that we have athletes completely dedicated to
the sport of MMA, and warriors completely dedicated to the waging of war. Patrick Cote, a Canadian MMA
fighter, exemplifies a growing number of MMA athletes (though still a tiny minority), who have come to MMA
from the Military.
For the lay person, training MMA has its rewards in terms of fitness and athleticism, however, training in self-
defense has greater rewards in saving life and limb in a situation without a referee as well. It would benefit
both the sport and the military to remember the distinction, and choose metaphors that maintain the clear
distinction between those who fight for sport and those who fight for their lives.
by Paul D
All too often, announcers, promoters, athletes and blog writers use the term warrior to describe Mixed Martial
Artists. This metaphor extends itself to describe fights as battles, skill sets as arsenals, and events as wars.
Unfortunately, the prevalence of this continued comparison has blurred the lines between the various
branches and applications of Martial Arts in Canada and the World.
Martial Arts refer to the arts of Mars, the Roman god of war. In its recent incarnation, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA),
began as a competition between different martial artists, in order to determine which served most effectively
in a “real-life” situation. As a result, very few rules restricted the actions of the fighters. Since many viewers
found the throat-strikes, groin-strikes, hair-pulling and other tactics distasteful, most notably US Presidential
nominee John McCain, MMA organisations have since imposed rules to protect the safety of the fighter first
and foremost. As a result of this evolution of MMA, it has become a sport rather than a simulation of “real-life”
fighting.
In some cases, the blurred distinction comes from the warrior class putting on contests of their martial skill,
as with Pankration in the Olympic games of Ancient Greece, or the Jousts of Medieval Europe. In other cases,
warriors could no longer practice their arts of war, for fear of insurrection, and as such, war dances, such as
Capoeira, developed to obscure the intent of their training.
Despite the overlap between the dance, the sport and the combat, a distinction for modern MMA seems in
order. The warrior places his or her life at risk, such that their training imposes no rules beyond survival.
Martial Arts used in combat include unarmed combat against an armed opponent, one person versus many
as well as hand-to-hand. The US Marine Corps Martial Arts Program as well as the Israeli Krav Maga
exemplify Martial Arts designed for combat.
The MMA athlete places their physical body at risk of concussion, strains, sprains, breaks and tears, and a
strict set of rules enforced by a referee, doctor and usually a sanctioning body ensure that athletes adhere to
them. Through a variety of scoring systems, judges rule the contest as a win for one fighter a loss for the
other, a draw or no contest. In this form MMA doesn't represent combat as much as it boils all athletic
competition to its most basic: two ostensibly naked athletes compete at dominating the other physically by
whatever means available. Every other sport becomes a metaphor for this contest, no so distinctly as North
American Football.
Today's environment sees such a high level of specialization, that we have athletes completely dedicated to
the sport of MMA, and warriors completely dedicated to the waging of war. Patrick Cote, a Canadian MMA
fighter, exemplifies a growing number of MMA athletes (though still a tiny minority), who have come to MMA
from the Military.
For the lay person, training MMA has its rewards in terms of fitness and athleticism, however, training in self-
defense has greater rewards in saving life and limb in a situation without a referee as well. It would benefit
both the sport and the military to remember the distinction, and choose metaphors that maintain the clear
distinction between those who fight for sport and those who fight for their lives.