Traditional Martial Arts Training in a world of MMA

There is an interesting phenomenon transpiring in our society at this time, the rapid rise of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition. MMA is one of the fastest growing sports around, whether on television or in training halls.

The athletes that compete in MMA fights are in incredible shape, and they are serious fighters, to be sure. Pound for pound these are some of the most intense fighters on the planet.

Yet I am asking you to consider is that all there is to martial arts? With all due respect to the athletes in the cage; I do not think it is even a quarter of what traditional martial arts training has to offer.

I am a 4^th Degree Black Belt in Tukong Moosul and a Certified Instructor. I have trained and taught for nearly a quarter of a century. It is from this experience that I would like to open a respectful discussion of the value and the drawbacks or challenges of each system. I do believe each system has value, but I also believe each system has limitations and challenges.

Traditional martial arts training is about more than fighting; in fact advanced martial artists know that it is NOT about how hard you hit or how hard of a hit you can take. There is a point in your training where you start to realize that the true growth and challenges are an internal issue, not an external/physical component. I have realized that in traditional training, no matter how hard I train physically it is only 10% of the real effort I have to put in to the training.

Traditional martial artists learn how to generate incredible power in their strikes and throws, just as MMA practitioners do. Martial arts in general are a discipline where one learns to the application of physics in real world conditions. But in the traditional form of training one learns to apply the lesson of the application into one’s life outside of the ring or school.

In the traditional forms, or kata, one learns to develop precise power, balance, grace, fluidity of motion and this is all a reflection of a deeper internal process that is ongoing in life.

An MMA fighter is likely to respond “You can’t use forms in a real fight!” There is truth in that to be sure. However no one ever said you would use the exact move or sequence in a fight, what is being said is that by training as realistically as possible with the sincere focus of a life-or-death move the traditional martial artist will develop the type of power one will need to survive a real fight. He or she will develop the focus, power and intent that are needed. I also know that it can not be just kata training to develop the fullest application of all the martial arts has to offer. Traditional training will also have to include controlled sparring.

I say controlled sparring for several reasons. First of all one has to be aware of, and concerned about the probability of brain injury from all the repetitive blows. Just look at Mohamed Ali, he has a boxing-induced form of Parkinson’s disease. If you watch his fights you will see that he took his fair share of blows to his head over his years of training and fighting; but the impact of a boxer’s punch has been proven to be less than the impact of a MMA elbow strike. Especially if the person receiving the hit is already on the ground and his head cannot move away after the impact, thereby causing at least a double impact on the brain tissues.

My concern for the health of the MMA fighters is twofold. First of all many of the delayed consequences of repetitive brain injury will not show for a couple of decades. More immediately one sees that the MMA fighters that are 40 years old look a LOT older; their bodies are reflecting the intensity of their experiences.

In contrast a traditional martial artist can actually be getting stronger well into his 60’s and can keep training into his or her 70’s or 80’s.

The other reason I am a supporter of controlled sparring is that if one is training in the martial arts with the intention of self-defense it is critical to have experienced real aggressive force and intent. What passes for ‘attacks’ in some schools is a pathetic imitation of an attack; a ten year old girl could defend herself against these attacks. So there must be a real attacking energy, but this attack has to be controlled so that if the person is not able to defend against it there is not serious injury. A black eye or sore ribs is par for the course in traditional encounters. I always told my students “Do not hit me any harder than you give me permission to hit you back.” That worked very well.

One area that MMA and traditional martial arts both share is the ability to focus. When one steps in to a ring to fight, or enters into kata training, the rest of the world seems to disappear. But within this extremely keen level of focus very different things are occurring. For the MMA fighter it is a matter of utmost danger; if their focus is lost for too long they will suffer the consequences in physical injury. For the traditional martial artist, unless they are using weapons or they are sparring, the consequences of losing their focus will not be as dramatic.

Because of the potential for injury the MMA fighter is very focused as I said, but this focus is all a reactionary focus; your opponent does this and you react by doing that. It is not a free focus where you can delve deeply into the mechanics of a move and repeat that move time after time to gain insights into its depth and power. In this sense traditional martial arts is proactive, seeking depth, insight and meaning, while mixed-martial arts is reactive; responding to conditions as they evolve.

The main difference I see between traditional martial arts training and MMA is in the area of Philosophy. Traditional martial arts’ training has incorporated philosophy into its teachings throughout its long history. The inclusion of learning higher more evolved ways of thinking will lead one to the consideration of deeper aspects of life, one’s place in society and the challenges facing society. By contemplating these subjects the traditional martial artist will develop a higher understanding of life and will probably act in ways more conducive towards society. This higher level of thinking can lead to a spiritual awakening; if it is within your interest this spiritual awakening can lead to seeking a Spiritual Discipline. But be clear that traditional martial arts training IS NOT a Spiritual Discipline.

I am not sure that developing higher levels of thinking is the case for MMA fighters, my concern is expressed clearly in the old saying: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem begins to look like a nail.”

With the exception of true, real life self-defense I have never seen a situation that is improved, or resolved by the application of violence.

As I stated in the beginning of this article I believe each system has value and limitations. What I would ask any one considering training in MMA is “What are you specifically expecting to gain from this training?” I think this is a very important question, and it is one I asked all of my students. Learning to be a tough fighter does have an appeal to some people. But I would also ask, “In what ways do you believe this will improve the quality of your life? And in what ways do you think it could hurt the quality of your life?”

Traditional martial arts training have been involved in all societies over the course of history. It has helped create society in some cases and improved the leadership of that society in other cases. The time-honored traditions teach us to act and react in ways that are beneficial to our society. Traditional martial artists have been the keenest of Warriors throughout history; whether in China, Japan, Korea, India or the Americas. A warrior is absolutely different than a fighter; a warrior’s battles are primarily within. A warrior commands the deep respect of all who interact with him or her, not just a courteous form of respect, but a deep primal-instinctual respect.

I hope this short article causes you to think about the differences between traditional martial arts and mixed-martial arts competition. The deeper you go in a traditional form of training the more clearly you will see and appreciate the vast difference between the two.

In closing I would remind you of the words of Yamaoka Tesshu: “Train as if your hair were on fire and the only way to put it out is to TRAIN HARDER!”