In competitive combat, it is normal for both fighters in the ring to be applying the same martial art, be it sumo, boxing or karate. Both fighters will have spent years studying the same techniques and adapting them to suit themselves, but what would occur if a wrestler were matched with a karate fighter?
In fact, fights of this form were common in the late Nineteen Century. There have been a couple resurgences since then, but they never captured the public's attention again until mixed martial arts started in the mid Nineteen Nineties.
Mixed martial artists try to gain an advantage by learning a number of styles of fighting. The most common styles are: boxing, wrestling, karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu. The more techniques you know, the more opportunity you have of surprising your opponent and overpowering him.
Obviously, it takes far longer to learn three or four martial arts well than it does to learn one well. It takes immense fitness to be a professional fighter and absolute dedication, but even more so to become a mixed martial artist. You could go as far as to say, that you need to dedicate your life to fighting, if you want to be successful in competitions in MMA.
Changing a standard lifestyle takes immense self-sacrifice and absolute dedication, but it is not only the fighter who suffers for his or her art, their friends and family do too. There will not be too many boozy parties and all night revelling for the professional fighter and the diet will have to be stringent. In order to help the fighter keep to his diet, he may ban some foods like chocolate and beer from the house completely.
The family of an MMA fighter may hardly see their loved one, as he could easily spend more time in the gym than he does awake in the house. Add this with getting lots of sleep and you have one very busy individual indeed.
A fat individual can get thin, but that does not mean that a slow person can get agile. Faster, yes, but truly fast reflexes are probably born with you. Lighter-framed individuals tend to be faster than big-framed people. This does not preclude anyone from learning any martial art but it might have a big influence on how good he may be in sure disciplines.
Tae Kwando is well-known for its aerial attacks and high jumps. That would be hard for an 18 stone man, whereas that size and weight would benefit a wrestler or a boxer. In martial arts training, you learn to make the most of what you have and do not try to be what you are not.
Financial cost is the least price of training to be good at mixed martial arts, think more about mental self-discipline and time for working out to say nothing of what it will cost your family in terms of backing.
In fact, fights of this form were common in the late Nineteen Century. There have been a couple resurgences since then, but they never captured the public's attention again until mixed martial arts started in the mid Nineteen Nineties.
Mixed martial artists try to gain an advantage by learning a number of styles of fighting. The most common styles are: boxing, wrestling, karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu. The more techniques you know, the more opportunity you have of surprising your opponent and overpowering him.
Obviously, it takes far longer to learn three or four martial arts well than it does to learn one well. It takes immense fitness to be a professional fighter and absolute dedication, but even more so to become a mixed martial artist. You could go as far as to say, that you need to dedicate your life to fighting, if you want to be successful in competitions in MMA.
Changing a standard lifestyle takes immense self-sacrifice and absolute dedication, but it is not only the fighter who suffers for his or her art, their friends and family do too. There will not be too many boozy parties and all night revelling for the professional fighter and the diet will have to be stringent. In order to help the fighter keep to his diet, he may ban some foods like chocolate and beer from the house completely.
The family of an MMA fighter may hardly see their loved one, as he could easily spend more time in the gym than he does awake in the house. Add this with getting lots of sleep and you have one very busy individual indeed.
A fat individual can get thin, but that does not mean that a slow person can get agile. Faster, yes, but truly fast reflexes are probably born with you. Lighter-framed individuals tend to be faster than big-framed people. This does not preclude anyone from learning any martial art but it might have a big influence on how good he may be in sure disciplines.
Tae Kwando is well-known for its aerial attacks and high jumps. That would be hard for an 18 stone man, whereas that size and weight would benefit a wrestler or a boxer. In martial arts training, you learn to make the most of what you have and do not try to be what you are not.
Financial cost is the least price of training to be good at mixed martial arts, think more about mental self-discipline and time for working out to say nothing of what it will cost your family in terms of backing.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is now concerned with the academy of mixed martial arts. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Mixed Martial Arts Quotes