You’ve probably heard the MMA crowd making jokes about traditional martial arts, haven’t you?
Just go to Bullshid
o.com and you’ll find 1000’s of posts making fun of traditional martial arts. There even used to be a popular BJJ T-shirt that said “Your Kung Fu’s No Good Here”. Really, the negativity in the BJJ crowd about traditional martial arts is epidemic.
So… I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a pretty controversial statement…
… that the people making those comments are probably not really qualified to do so. They were probably never true, long-time practitioners of a high quality martial art other than BJJ or MMA.
Disagree with me? Listen, here’s why I’m saying this…
…I’ve been on both sides. With my 44 years teaching and training in a variety of martial arts, my education in Chinese Medicine (yes, I’m a licensed Doctor of Oriental Medicine), my studies of Eastern philosophy, and plenty of BJJ & MMA training, I’ve seen a lot.
Yes, MMA will often produce better overall fighters. But ask yourself these questions…
Ever been injured? How many MMA teachers teach you healing techniques? (I’ve recovered from serious knee, neck and back pain with the ones I’ve learned).
Has your MMA instructor taught you how to meditate? (You do know research shows you’ll have MUCH better health if you meditate, don’t you?)
Has MM
A really helped you understand health preservation? A healthy diet for longevity? “Balance” in life? Will you be able to train into older age?
Has MMA taught you good, TIME-PROVEN philosophies that really enhance your quality of life?
Maybe you answered yes to all the above… but probably not. MMA doesn’t teach too much of that.
However, traditional martial arts learned from someone who’s a legitimate expert definitely does teach you those things (I’m talking about the good stuff… not the martial arts franchises). So, what’s my point?
“Mixed” Martial Arts is about INTEGRATION of martial arts… so integrate, don’t segregate.
Don’t be “For or Against”… (remember my earlier blog post about that?)
It’s not a “one or the other” type of thing. Think “And”… not “Or”.
“Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” (as my mother always said, bless her soul!)
It took other societies hundreds of years to come up with some of those great concepts and knowledge they developed.
MMA & BJJ has definitely improved the fighting, but let’s evolve the martial arts…
…not throw out everything that came before and start all over again. It’s just the smart thing to do.
Keep Training!
Bob