HHP 0060 MMA Paper - Grade: B PDF

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Topic Paper on Mixed Martial Arts...

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HHP 0060 An Overview of Mixed Martial Arts

The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has been steadily growing in popularity for quite some time. It is described as a combat sport including elements from wrestling, boxing, judo, jujitsu, karate, Muay Thai and others. The sport is sanctioned in many countries as well as in all 50 states in the U.S. Most people recognize it as the “cage fights.” Dating back to the early 1970s, Bruce Lee ushered in this wave as he impacted the Hollywood screen in several movies showcasing his incredible martial arts skill. Some of his iconic movies include Enter the Dragon, Way of the Dragon and Fist of Fury. MMA is described as a combination of all combat disciplines and some define it as the purest form of unarmed combat. MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Connor McGregor is an Irish professional mixed martial artist and is currently the “face” of the sport today. But to fully understand this combat sport, you need to travel back in time and take a look at its history. Some believe the earliest form of MMA came into existence in ancient China by their military as a form of hand-to-hand combat. Referred to as Shuai Jiao, it incorporated wrestling and kung fu. Ancient Greece developed their own version of this combat-style fighting by the Greek armies around 648 bc and it was called pankration. As a training tool, the Greek armies would have two fighters fight until either one could no longer fight or one opted to submit in defeat. My love for this sport has been developing for quite some time. Playing sports and high school and college, I have always been competitive, athletic and worked out in the gym. As a student at UTC, I work security in downtown Chattanooga. About a year ago, as I was “escorting” someone out that had gotten too drunk, a guy came up to me and said he regularly

worked out a Agoge Combatives in Rossville, GA. He suggested I check out the gym explaining that I could master some techniques to restrain individuals with minimal effort. I have always been interested in jujitsu so I thought I would give it a try. It didn’t take long until I was hooked. I’ve been a member of the gym and MMA training for a year now. I actually just finished competing in my first match in the ARIES 1 Fight Series that took place on October 30th here in Chattanooga. Knowing that my opponent had more experience in wrestling than myself, I knew that I needed to stay on my feet as long as I could. He eventually pinned my down on the floor. While I broke loose, the referee called the fight as I was standing up. Even though I lost the fight, the experience will be something I will never forget. Unfortunately, I sustained a patella dislocation of my right knee during that fight that will now cause me to have to have surgery over Christmas to repair the damage. Regarding injuries, the potential risk with injuries inflicted from competing in MMA fighting can be severe. Unlike in training, MMA fighters do not wear any protective gear except for the gloves. Once you enter the cage, you are subjected to violent kicks (to the face), punches, as well as elbow and/or knee strikes. Fighters can suffer from deep cuts, fractures (broken nose, jaw), concussions and musculoskeletal injuries. They can also sustain injuries with the wrist and hands through throwing strikes or grappling on the floor. Regarding concussions, there is a concussion protocol that must be adhered to with every knockout.

Knee injuries are also a

common injury associated with MMA fighting (as I know all too well) mainly due to the fighting technique call kneebar. This occurs when the fighter will trap the opponent’s leg between theirs causing the kneecap to inadvertently turn inward toward the body. Injuries from this technique include patella dislocation, torn meniscus, torn ACL as well as torn PCL.

For me personally, I love this sport. Regardless of my injury and upcoming surgery, I will continue to participate in the sport. I guess once it’s in your blood, it’s there. This is the main reason why I took this class. In particular, this class gave me the opportunity to learn more about the underlying principles and basics with these different types of martial arts.

References

Dennon, Published by Jake, et al. “The History of MMA: Mixed Martial Arts.” Sportarly, 2 Nov. 2020, https://sportarly.com/the-history-of-mma/

Evolve Vacation, and Evolve Vacation. The History and Origins of MMA. 22 Feb. 2018, https://evolve-vacation.com/blog/the-history-and-origins-of-mma/...