After re-reading my MMA sucks posts and then “From the Octagon to the Street“, I’m coming to the point where there doesn’t seem much left to say on this topic. I’ve tried to argue my points clearly, citing my reasoning and how I come to those specific conclusions. At this point,  like Austin Powers says “I’m spent”.

The sad thing about the Internet is how people read two sentences and then pass judgment on an entire article, forming conclusions based on limited information. I guess it’s something to do with short attention spans or information overload because it seems to become more prevalent as time goes by.  It’s like looking at the first two minutes of a movie and then feeling qualified to praise or bash it…

In the real world, there often aren’t any easy explanations. Topics are complex and so are the answers to the questions regarding them. That  means you have to put a lot of things on the table to give an accurate reply, show both the forest and the trees. And then explain how they interact.

I like that approach. When I’m interested in something, I want to know all about it and especially the “Why?” part instead of only “How?” That’s just how I am and it probably shows in the way I write. I absolutely loathe the elevator pitch mentality. Sure, it has some benefits but it needs to be followed up by research and study to see if your original assessment is even in the ballpark. All too often, that’s just not the case.

I guess I’m getting older because I don’t have much drive anymore to explain the concept of “Debate” to those who are only interested in screaming “It is so because I tell you so!” Or worse: “It is so because my great-mega-ultra-grandmaster says so!!!” What I have even less patience with is spouting off an opinion while being too lazy to even think it through or research it: [Read more…]

This is an article I wrote for Black Belt Magazine  and it got published in the January 2009 issue. I edited it a bit to make it more blog-friendly and cut it down in size. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the  comments section.

“From mixed martial arts to the street: Practical grappling skills for real-life self defense”

by

Wim Demeere

The first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993 started a revolution in martial arts competitions: Very few techniques were prohibited:

• Vicious elbows to the face.
• Joint locks carried out to the fullest.
• Strikes to the back of the head
• Even kicking a downed opponent.

But the biggest upset was the fact that having a ground game and solid grappling skills proved an absolute necessity to leave the Octagon a winner. The Gracie family proved the effectiveness of its ju-jitsu ground techniques by placing one of their lightest fighters (Royce Gracie weighed a whopping 175 lbs.) against primarily heavyweight opponents. More often than not he managed to submit or choke out his opponents with an almost disheartening ease.

Nowadays, MMA competitors no longer fear the ground and are well-rounded professional athletes. They are masters of full-power striking techniques, grappling, groundwork, and most of all, they flow effortlessly from the one to the other when the situation demands it. This makes them formidable opponents and places MMA as one of the most well-rounded combat arts in the world.

The sport itself also changed; it turned into a multi-million dollar industry, eclipsing boxing and other martial arts in popularity. With the increased public awareness came a rise in misconceptions about not only the sport but martial arts and violence in general. The cage is viewed by many practitioners as the ultimate proving grounds for martial art styles. They argue that if exponents of any given system cannot beat an opponent in the cage or Octagon, then that system is worthless. They reason that MMAs have proven they can take down anyone fighting solely with traditional martial arts and then beat or submit them with ground fighting. The seemingly obvious conclusion is that the Mixed Martial Artist is the ultimate fighter in both the cage and the street. But is this statement true?

To a certain extent, it most certainly is: [Read more…]