Why mixed martial arts is the greatest sport in human history

I've been a fan of combat sports for as long as I could remember. Boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, thai boxing, judo, jiu jitsu, tae kwon do were all on the menu and more. I have personally been a marial artist for 19 years of my life, mainly spent in northern shaolin fist, tae kwon do (WTF) and Uechi-Ryu Karate-Do. Then I saw Mixed Martial Arts for the first time at the very first Ultimate Fighting Championship. Like most American's, I was solely introduced to the sport of MMA through the UFC.

From that first UFC event, spawned a love of MMA in me that has only grown with the evolution of the sport. Through the UFC I learned of other MMA fight clubs such as, Vale Tudo, submissions competition (Brazilian and Abu Dhabi), shooto etc... and I couldn't get enough!

Many people have labelled MMA as "Human cockfighting" but in reality, MMA is safer then a lot of sports that are widely accepted. Boxing as it is known today, has been around a little over one hundred years and has seen 1,000 reported deaths from the sport. Hockey and American football are also incredibly dangerous sports having deaths occure nearly every year since their inception. MMA has NEVER had a serious injury or death occure during a sanctioned MMA event or bout.

For now I will use boxing as an explanation of how much safer MMA is then a mainstream supported sport. In boxing, fighters wear very thick protective gloves, which allows them to throw thousands of punches in a fight with wear on their hands. In MMA, gloves are much smaller, causing the fighter to make every punch count. The inclusion of submissions and ground fighting also assist in making the sport safer, as the fighters will take even less punishment on their head.

Another feature of many MMA events that make is much safer is that there is no count after a fighter is knocked down/out from a blow, the fight is just over. In boxing, get up before a ten count and there's a good chance the referee will let the fight continue, this can lead to brain damage.

Mixed martial arts bouts generally consist of three to five round bouts at five plus minutes a round. Matches are won by knockout, technical knockout/referee stoppage, judges scorecard or submission. Irregardless of what many of the unenlightened may think, Mixed Martial arts is NOT without rules and restrictions either. The unified rules of mixed martial arts were created in 2000 in New Jersey by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission.

The unified rules of mixed martial arts competition restrictions are:

* Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
* Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
* Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
* Grabbing the clavicle.
* Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
* Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
* Stomping a grounded opponent.
* Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
* Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
* Spitting at an opponent.
* Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
* Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
* Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
* Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
* Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
* Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
* Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
* Interference by the corner.
* Throwing in the towel during competition. (forfeit)

The unified rules are all adhered to in MMA bouts and in some cases (via some MMA organizations), more rules are added to the list!

Other then being safe what makes MMA so great? One word...Exciting! MMA fights are generally fast paced, sometimes bloody contests that end as abruptly as they start! Unlike MANY boxing matches, you wont see fourteen rounds to a judges decision with an ocassional knockout. In MMA contests, a fight is over in a round or two and when a fight does go to the judges decision, it is generally only a fifteen minute match and not an hour.

Mixed martial artists train day and night to hone their craft and to finish a match and ALL MMA fighters want to end a match quick and put on a good show for fans. Mixed martial artists are also by far the finest trained and conditioned atheletes in the entire world, bar none!

Fighting is a part of us all, it's in our genes and in our testosterone and estrogen. It's why as a child, when a school yard fight broke out, all of the other children circled around and cheered and hollered. I view MMA today as an extension of classical gladiatorial combat sports, though modernized and with more rules and restrictions. The excitement of MMA, the quickness of MMA matches, the skill of MMA fighters, the personalities and the roar of the frantic and frenetic crowds make MMA what it is...the worlds best sport!

I'll be thirty years old this years, marking my own twentieth anniversary of when I started doing Shaolin Kung Fu and my seventeenth year doing Tae Kwon Do and Ueichi-Ryu Karate-Do. I am expanding my reportoir of martial ars beyond traditional arts and will soon be studying MMA and hopefully will be fighting soon.

As for my own past experiences, 20 years of predominantly striking martial arts. I hold a second degree black belt in northern Shaolin Fist, a first Dan in both Tae Kwon Do and Uechi-Ryu Karate-Do. I was the founder alongside Neil Fromm of the J.P.F.L (Junior Pit Fighting League), which was pit fighting to keep kids off of the streets and out of gangs. I founded the J.P.F.L when I was fourteen years old around 1993 and was Champion for the first two years, only losing the title because I stopped fighting and started judging fights. MMA is a lot different from pit fighting however, MMA is a sport...the best sport there is.

I've already found several gyms and schools here for MMA and am starting my 20 year journey all over again.