One eye jab and it all goes to hell

During a recent UFC match I saw one of the guys get poked in the eye. The whole fight stopped. Now, I’m not sure, there may have been a little acting involved, but a hard, well trained fighter got stopped in his tracks with a move a 12 year old girl could have pulled off.

The whole sport vs. martial art thing came into focus. I think the difficulty has been that the MMA guys are dangerous people, they train hard, they are (usually) in amazing physical condition. They also continually test their techniques, to a level that martial arts cannot. This is not a group of individuals that I’d want to get angry.

Now imagine a world where those same guys train just as hard, are just as disciplined, but train in a martial art that includes the intent to mame or kill. Although the techniques cannot be tested, it’s good to have an awareness of them, and they can be practiced in a controlled and safe setting.

As with every great debate, there is truth on all sides. And I believe that the majority of the Martial/Fight community respects and learns from each other. Unfortunately it’s those that are the loudest that have the most visibility.