Tag: MMA

There has been a lot of bad press surrounding MMA fights and the UFC. Many critics say that mixed martial arts are barbaric and gruesome and are nothing more than amateur street brawls. The beginning of the MMA movement in America and the inception of the UFC did not help matters at firs as they promoted the sport as the most violent combat sport available and only helped to further the negative stereotype. Originally, MMA fights were banned in many states but after stricter rules were put in place and new UFC owners worked to change the barbaric stereotype, the MMA movement has gained huge popularity.

But are mixed martial arts dangerous, at least any more dangerous that other combat or contact sports? Sure, in the beginning the sport itself claimed to be extremely violent but things have changed since then. To really answer the question of the danger in MMA fights, one would have to understand the rules of the UFC and compare it to other sports.

Mixed martial arts is just that, a mixture of many different fighting styles from boxing to wrestling, to jui jitsu, most of which have ancient roots and were at some time a part of the Olympic Games. Critics against the UFC and MMA fights say that it teaches kids that fighting is ok or honorable. Some of these same critics agree that all combat sports are bad and other single out MMA. The truth is, when compared to boxing MMA is not as bad. The object ion boxing is to beat your opponent until they are unconscious or so badly injured that they can no longer get up. In MMA a victory option is knockout, but fighters can also win by submission or referee stoppage, two options not available in boxing. Instead of going at it until irreparable damage is done, many MMA fights end when a fighter submits or the referee stops the fight before serious injuries occur. This seems like a much safer option.

Critics that say that MMA is barbaric and dangerous must not realized that there have been no deaths in sanctioned MMA fights ever. No MMA fighter has ever died during a fight; the same cannot be said about boxing a sport that has lost hundreds of fighters. Injuries are also infrequent, as well as brain damage because submission and referee stoppage is a victory option. The same is not true in boxing, many fighters end up with long term problems, brain damage, or have their careers halted abruptly because of injuries. Even non combat sports like football and hockey see more serious injuries than MMA fights such as broken and fractured bones, spinal damage, and concussions. While MMA fighters do receive injuries, they are not usually severe.

Critics that initially called the game barbaric and dangerous spoke of the lack of rules and regulations. MMA fights have over gone rule changes and additions, and although still allow for a great variety of fighting techniques, the fighters well being is considered. No matter how many people think that MMA fights are dangerous, the sport will continue to grow and attract fans.

The core ingredient of a meaningful self-defense program is considered to be anger management. However, there are not many martial arts programs that have this comprehensive approach in training. Instructors have not been given proper guidance on how to incorporate anger management in their training program. But now, many martial arts academies including those in Maryland teaching Mixed Martial Arts, are teaching anger management alongside the basic techniques of martial arts.

Anger is essentially rooted in feelings of frustration, fear, failure, stress, rejection, and so on. These feelings are experienced by men, women, children, and elderly. We all go through moments of rage time and again. It can be due to peer pressure, unhealthy competition, financial crises, dissatisfaction in personal or professional life, or some other reason. Eventually anger takes a toll on those who are getting angry and the party bearing the brunt of the rage. Anger is known to increase the chances of high blood pressure and heart attack. It also affects a persons capability to think logically and make meaningful and correct decisions. In some cases this can even cause long lasting and even permanent damage to relationships. Proper anger management can help a person use his feelings in the right direction to solve a problem rather than wasting time and filling oneself with negativity.

Mixed Martial Arts can be more than just an art of self defense. It can help the mixed martial arts practitioner in anger management too. The practitioner learns the art of showing restraint, respect and resilience. Like other martial arts, even Mixed Martial Arts discourages an athlete from attacking an unaware or unprepared person. Techniques such as biting, eye-gouging, fish hooking, clawing, twisting and pinching flesh, small joint manipulation, attacking the groin area, using abusive language, spitting, and hair-pulling are illegal and unethical. MMA athletes are strictly discouraged from using techniques that aim at injuring the opponent. Athletes are responsible for the safety of their opponent. While applying any of the submission techniques, MMA athletes must apply the pressure slowly. They must stop the moment they feel that any further pressure can injure the athlete. This teaches the MMA athlete the clarity of purpose, which is to make the opponent submit and not to hurt him. It also teaches them to respect their opponents strength.

If you are planning on learning Mixed Martial Arts with a focus on dealing your anger issues, it is a great idea. You will learn to be self disciplined, avoid losing your temper constantly, avoid using profanity during a match or practice and control your negative emotions. All these are positive qualities that are worth imbibing in your life and not just while you are learning a sport or a martial art such as Mixed Martial Arts.

Find out whether your preferred Mixed Martial Arts , academy in Maryland or nearby areas such as Virginia and Washington D.C. offer a comprehensive learning course that includes anger management.

You have seen your first mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, and now you are determined to get into MMA fitness and training. You are completely hooked. You are determined to train, master the sport, become a champion and live happily every after. Right? Never.
You may have gotten infatuated with this sport, but like in marriage, infatuation is poor quality fuel for long term dedication to mixed martial arts. This is serious stuff and the journey doesnt start the first time you enroll into an MMA fitness and training school.
Mixed martial arts is not like other forms of martial arts. MMA is more complex, because it combines the strengths of many other martial arts and makes it all work together. What you end up with is an extreme sport that not everybody can play, much less play well.
Other forms of martial arts involve limited body contact, but mixed martial arts is a full body contact sport. It can get mean and while you may love it now, in the long (and even in the short) term, it may not be a good fit.
To find out if you are suitable for MMA fitness and training, assess yourself. Even before looking for the right school, consider a few things about yourself. You will be spared needless pain, disappointment and expense if you consider the following:
1. Assess your weight. There are weight categories for MMA fitness and you cannot be overweight or underweight. Training will help you to lose or gain weight for your category, but you have to be ready to maintain that appropriate weight in the long term. This could involve drastic dietary changes aside from your physical regimen. If you are ready for that, good for you.
2.Are you flexible? MMA has standards for flexibility, and when you train for flexibility, it requires mental as well as physical flexibility. There are stretches that are done gradually on a regular basis for body flexibility. However, mental flexibility is called for during the actual training as well. You may think you want to immediately get into the grappling and kicking, but that is simply not going to happen. You have to go slowly and at times the pace may seem excruciatingly slow for you, and you may burn out.
3.How is your heart? This is not a sport for the weak of heart. To be a mixed martial artist you absolutely must have solid anaerobic and aerobic cardiac levels. I think this is self explanatory.
4.Do you have sensitive feet? Just to give yourself a taste of what is in store, you might as well get used to mats. Your feet and knees will be on these mats a lot, so you may want to get started and do a few moves on the mat now. If you start getting calloused and you dont mind, then maybe you are okay with mixed martial arts and ready for MMA fitness and training. However, if at that point you dislike the calluses, then maybe it is best that you be an MMA watcher. Which is okay, since this sport would not survive without people like you.
5.After all of the above, how do you feel? Do you still feel just as strongly about going into MMA fitness and training as you did at the start? If the answer is yes, then go for it. But if you are wavering, better think about it some more.
Chances are at this point you may even feel totally burned out. In that case, lucky you, because now you know for sure. You have also saved yourself what might have been lost time and useless expense. Lessons in MMA training can cost about US$100.00, and the price goes up over time. Plus in the long term you will need good gearhigh quality shoes, a good mouthpiece, headgear, body protectors, groin protectors, ankle guards, etc. MMA fitness and training is the real deal.

How soon things change. It seems like yesterday we were talking about how fast the fan base for Nascar was growing. Some people even foolishly talked about it possible taking over the NFL in popularity someday. Nascar’s growth and fan base has since taken a hit, most likely due to the recent economy problems over the last couple of years. That said, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA is the new reigning “worlds fastest growing sport” as we enter 2010, and looks to be for the foreseeable future.

Don’t get me wrong, the NFL is still the 800 pound gorilla when it comes to total fan base and world popularity, but MMA has shown substantial growth over the last decade, and even faster over the last 5 years. No growth like this ever lasts forever, but it’s hard to say how long it could last for MMA, given the momentum the sport has, and more specifically, the UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The UFC is currently MMA’s biggest promotion, and therefore has the world’s best stable of fighter’s. The UFC has also become the new darling of Las Vegas much to the chagrin of the powers that be in the boxing world. But instead of being bitter, the sport of boxing needs to take a look at why that is. For one, you can’t get any big fights for free anymore when it comes to boxing. The UFC on the other hand, air’s free broadcast’s labled “UFC Fight Night” on Spike ever couple of months at least, and usually more than that. And these are normally big main events that the hardcore fans want to see, not fighters that nobody knows.

And more recent, news of StrikeForce’s signing of the worlds best fighter Fedor Emelianenko shook the MMA world, and now Fedor will hope to become a household name by way of free network broadcasting of the sport’s most popular fighter in a contract with CBS.

The key to enjoying the excitement of the sport though, is to understand all the different aspects of the sport, and to recognize the transitions that you see throughout a typical fight. The least understood of these being the “ground game”. To the casual observer, this might seem boring compared to striking (the term used in MMA referring to the stand up phase of a fight). And sometimes it is with average talent. But when you have two world class grappler’s going at it, its the most exciting part of a fight in my opinion.

What a new fan should watch for on the ground is the use of “the guard”, and the escape from this position for the other fighter, also known as “passing the guard.” The guard position consists of the fighter on bottom to control his/her opponent by wrapping his/her legs around the waist of the fighter on top while controlling the head, keeping him/her off balance, making it easier to sweep or submit the other. Normally the fighter on top or “in the guard” will try to get his/her legs around the leg’s of the opponent, or to “ground and pound” the other fighter with strikes from the top position. There are usually no submissions from inside the guard.

It’s impossible to cover all the nuances of the sport in this article, but once the more common ideas of the grappling part of MMA is understood by new and non fans, the more enjoyment will come out of watching great fights and understanding how technical these fighters are, not to mention the level of conditioning that it takes to compete in this sport. Most think it rivals that of their counterparts in the NFL, or any other sport for that matter. So the next time you are around a new fan, take a minute to explain the fastest growing sport in the world. See you at the fights!

There is an ongoing craze worldwide to put premium on health. People of Tampa are in the front line when it comes to this health consciousness trend. With the increasing number of existing lifestyle diseases, we should really change the way we live.

One way that we can do this is through an active lifestyle. Engaging in sports, recreational activities, and exercise programs such as jogging, aerobics, and going to the gym are some of the things that we can do. But for those who like taking it to the extremes, you can take martial arts training sessions and classes.

Contrary to what our common assumptions are, martial arts is not only about engaging in combat, competitions, tournaments and self-defense. Martial arts like brazilian jiu jitsu, gracie jiu jitsu, karate, judo, muay thai, kickboxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts or MMA instill values such as focus, respect, discipline, concentration, self-control, teamwork as well as improved coordination, memory, and balance.

Aside from these, martial arts is also known to have lots of health benefits. The British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that adults in the 40s and 50s age group who engages in martial arts training exhibited astonishing levels of physical fitness compared with people from the same age group who do not engage even in the slightest forms of exercise. Results also showed that the participants of the study who practiced martial arts have 12% less body fat, can do twice as much sit ups, have enhanced leg strength and flexibility, and most importantly, showed a stronger immune system.

Here is a list of common martial arts classes and the health benefits that accompany them:

– Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Gracie Jiu Jitsu–physical strength, endurance, flexibility and speed

– Mixed Martial Arts–aerobic and anaerobic cardiovascular endurance, cardio health, muscle endurance and muscle strength

– Karate–cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health, exercise for the heart, mucles, and bones

– Judo–Weight loss, reduced risks of obesity and heart diseases, increased metabolic rate and muscle growth

-Muay Thai–Core strength, balance, flexibility, and functional strength, cardiovascular benefits, blood circulation, combating type 2 diabetes

– Kickboxing–Cardiovascular and aerobic workout

– Wrestling–Faster metabolism, increased caloric expenditure, burns fat, gains lean muscles

These martial arts namely brazilian jiu jitsu, gracie jiu jitsu, karate, judo, muay thai, kickboxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts or MMA are but a few of the wide array of martial arts type available in Tampa, Florida. One place that offers classes on brazilian jiu jitsu, gracie jiu jitsu, karate, judo, muay thai, kickboxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts or MMA is Evolution Martial Arts. Evolution Martial Arts is an institution that offers after school pickup programs as well as adult classes. Their after school pickup classes is very student and child friendly. Evolution Martial Arts pick up your child at school, work on homework, then teach them martial arts! Their adult classes are rigorous yet fun, giving working people a stress reliever activity that gives mental and physical benefits.

There you go people of Tampa. Improve your health conditions in a fun, relaxing, and enjoying way!

Evolution Martial Arts
14436 N Dale Mabry Hwy
Tampa, FL 33618
(813) 961-5245
www.graciebarraevolution.com