MMA Fighting: Mixed Martial ArtsWhat is MMA fighting? The acronym stands for Mixed Martial Arts. This is a type of fighting that mixes a number of different techniques from various martial arts. It is sometimes called no holds barred fighting. Historically, mixed martial arts started around the late 1800s but it was not until the 1970s that MMA became popular through cinema.
Bruce Lee and his series of Dragon films brought his unique combat style of fighting to worldwide attention. His style combined every kind of fighting from Jiu-Jitsu and karate to more western styles such as boxing. Mixed martial arts were not recognized as a sport officially until 1992 with the introduction of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. One form of MMA, Pankration, which has its origins as an Olympic sport in Greece way back to 648 B.C. is currently under consideration for inclusion as an Olympic event. It combines the arts of both wrestling and boxing. Pankration has made a remarkable revival in the last few decades and particularly since the mid-1990s. This revival is mainly due to the increase in mixed martial arts competitions. MMA is today one of the fastest growing sports disciplines which provides added impetus for it to be part of the Olympics. The structure of MMA rules is still very rudimentary and non-standard. In fact, up until approximately ten years ago there were none at all. This at one point meant that mixed martial arts was a brutal combat sport which that posed a high health risk to anyone who took part. The approach of "anything goes" resulted in many serious injuries for fighters. The introduction of rules aimed to make certain injurious moves illegal. This included head butting, gouging of eyes and biting. Other areas that were deemed off limits were the groin, throat and kidney areas. There have been growing calls for a uniform set of rules; but because there is no global MMA governing body, each country has a different set of rules. Usually, professional fights have less strict rules than amateur bouts since amateurs are assumed to require more protection.
A few of the popular fighters are... -Chuck Liddell -Tito Ortiz -Randy Couture -Mirko Filipovic A mixed martial arts contest will consist of three stages. The first stage is stand-up fighting and includes kicking, punching, elbowing and kneeling techniques. The second stage is clinch fighting and entails holding your opponent to prevent them from hitting you. The final stage is ground fighting which is where you hold down and immobilize your opponent by.
There are different ways to win an MMA fight...from straight knockout (KO), technical knockout (TKO) and doctor intervention. Referees may end a contest if they believe that a fighter has taken enough punishment before serious injury is inflicted. Fighters can also be disqualified following a certain number of warnings or use of illegal moves. Have A Comment About This Topic?SHARE IT! Back to "Homepage" from "MMA fighting" page
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The majority of MMA fighters wear small gloves when fighting. Some prefer to use open-finger gloves whilst others prefer closed ones, which are a bit like small boxing gloves. Sometimes the type of glove allowed will depend on the type of fight, which weight category the fight is under and in which country the fight is being staged.
