Blood Sport~

[Sachet]

heyyy! What happened to my thread?
It appears there's been some upgrades, so perhaps it got wiped out. Here it is again, I'll be back Saturday to see if anyone wants to participate this month~

*lol* That's a new one!


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If you don't know, I'm still learning about MAs so you might think this question is crazy~

I recently watched a movie called Blood Sport on TV.
To be honest, I turned it on mainly because I saw Jean Claude Van damme's name in the TV guide.
It was really good in my opinion {except when the fights got ugly since I'm not big on violence and then I missed parts because I wasn't watching them punch each other.}
Anyway, sections of the movie made me realize that the art, philosophy and spiritual aspects of MAs can't be learned through books or through just any of the many MA schools listed in the yellow pages. The disciplines are passed down from generation to generation by way of direct contact with someone truly knowledgeable.

I have also been reading alot regarding MAs during the past year and I'm given the distinct impression that the philosophy behind the art teaches you NOT to fight.
If that's true, why are there tournaments?
Which MA do you practice and have you ever competed outside your training facility? If so, do you think the great masters of past are rolling over in their graves knowing you're competing for prize money and awards?

[Purity]

mma fighters don't do it for money. there's hardly any $$ in the sport.

[Mr. Beelzebub]

Sounds like a troll, but I am gonna respond anyway. Mixed MArtial Arts is an evolution of traditional martial arts; MMA focuses more on training and the physical aspect of MA and not so much on the philosophy and morality side of the art. There are no Katas or dances in MMA, as the sport has taken what works in a sport-like environment and dropped what is considered obsolete.
This is why some MMA practicioners consider traditional Karate, Kung FU or Tae Kwon Do useless in a real life fighting situation.
Also, MMA includes western disciplines like greco-roman and free-style wrestling, boxing and kick boxing and this disciplines do not share the traditional martial artist way of living.
MMA is just a sport just like any other out there. And in any sport you train your ass off and then you test your skills against others.

[GeNeRaL]

The whole thing with martial artists training so they don't have to fight stands true i suppose, for many. Don;t confuse competative sport fighting with street fighting. that's the difference. In something like Pride or UFC, you compete in a sport fight to demonstrate your skill inthe arts you train in.