Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts - The Ultimate Combat  

By Kevin O’Hagan 6th Dan

November 21st 1993 changed the face of martial arts world forever with the appearence of mixed martial arts. It was the date of the first Ultimate Fighting Championships. This show, and many that followed, had a significant influence on the way martial arts would be practised in the future.

Firstly it woke the sleeping giant called ‘grappling’. 

Brazilian Ju Jutsu was the forerunner, followed later by wrestling. But as these matches continued we saw another change. Once the striker began to learn grappling skills he started to look for ways to counter them and make good his punches and kicks. When this was achieved the birth of ‘the cross trainer’ and mixed martial artist was born and it has just grown from there.

These Mixed Martial Arts contests exposed the techniques that did not hold up under combat conditions. The fancy moves, the killer death touch and all the other martial art myths and fantasy were blown out of the water!

No doubt for those looking to test their all round skills in a limited rules and pressured environment the MMA Contest is the ultimate sporting challenge. It will expose your strengths and weaknesses, test physical conditioning and your mental strength and fighting spirit.

As fighting sports go it is one of the most exciting and toughest, up there with Muay Thai, another incredibly tough sport.

My clubs and myself have participated in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Contests in Vale Tudo, Ju Jutsu Kumite, submission wrestling and Brazilian Ju Jutsu. They have all been great learning environments and a hard test. No room for ego’s, grades or status in these contests!

 As much as I have enjoyed this we must not forget that MMA is still a sport, a tough one granted but still a sport. It is not a street fight and it doesn’t necessarily prepare you for all-out close quarter combat or street self-defence!

Sure it can help in many ways but the mindset for contest no matter how limited, is not the same as fighting for you life.

When I teach the two aspects of MMA and self-defence/street combat I try to make people aware they are two different worlds and being proficient in MMA or NHB fighting does not mean you could cut it in a street situation.

 We must not get confused or brain washed. The two environments are completely different in many ways and if you want to train for both you must adapt and change aspects of your training and mind set totally.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN Mixed Martial Arts AND STREET COMBAT

Mixed Martial Arts  / Street Combat
Set rules (Even if limited)  / No rules what so ever, non-existent.

Known opponent. 99% of time / totally unknown.

Known environment / Environment un-chosen and certainly
not suitable for fighting (space, surfaces, lighting).

Opponent same weight / Opponent can be any age, shape or size.

You will know techniques that can and can’t be used / Attacker will be unpredictable, and will use everything, including weapons.

You will wear suitable clothing and safety equipment to fight / You may find yourself in your best suit  or an overcoat and wellies!

9 times out of 10 fights will be with gloves on and no illegal techniques / Fights will be bare-knuckled, expect  biting, eye gouging and groin shots.

Submission techniques will be concluded with a ‘tap out’ / Any technique will be taken to it’s conclusion, whether it be a broken limb or collapsed windpipe.

Time limit to fights / No time limit. It will go on until it ends.

Referee to see fair play / Just you and your attacker(s).

Fight starts from sparring / Fight will start by a pre-emptive shot.

Fighters will be of sound mind and body / Your attacker could be fuelled by alcohol or drugs, making him immensely strong, impervious to pain and highly unpredictable.

You will be fighting for a medal or trophy / You will be fighting for you life.

Take another look at these, read through the differences of each and then ask yourself will your MMA be enough to see you through in any situation.

The list is no means exhaustive but it should give you an idea of the major differences. You can certainly adapt your training but you will have to work hard to simulate this in the training hall.

Obviously safety is essential in training and you can’t go completely ‘all out’ but you can simulate scenarios and ideas to give you a good idea of what it’s all about.

Street fights don’t start with sparring up. Most street fighters work the pre-emptive shot and if you aren’t switched on you will be out of the fight before you are in it! 

Street predators work behind cunning, guile, dialogue and the sucker punch. 

You can be a victim at anytime. 

It won’t be when you’re warmed up, stretched and in the frame of mind to have a go. 

It can happen when you are walking out of a restaurant with your partner, at the park with your kids, when you are cold, tired, wet or under the weather, getting in and out of your car or on a stairwell. If you go to the floor, you will be stamped and kicked un-mercifully by one or more parties. 

You may be attacked with a knife, a glass, a baseball bat or firearm.

Grappling with a weapon or with multiple opponents is suicidal. Falling or rolling around on a hard and uncompromising pavement is a world apart from a soft training mat.

You can be attacked in bad light or twilight where you cannot see your opponent clearly. Your sight may be impeded by a handful of dust thrown in your face, a glass of spirit or ammonia spray (a modern favourite in some circles). Your breathing may be impaired by choking with your own tie, being suffocated by a plastic bag or ducked under water. All of the above things have happened in street situations and worse. 

Unless you take this on board and train for it, you are not training for the street and MMA will not overlap into this hostile, scary and unpredictable environment. I have worked in, trained and experienced the above scenarios; they are a world apart from sports contests.

So how can you train for this? Well Geoff Thompson had the right idea with his animal day sessions. The environment, conditions and techniques were worked to simulate street reality.

Try starting scenarios with verbal aggression, pushing, shoving and then a pre-emptive shot, then fight from there.

Let the fight start with one opponent then bring one or more in at any given time. Train in full street clothes to feel their restrictions. Litter your mats with objects and obstacles e.g. bags, shoes, weapons, water bottles, pads, etc, so that you haven’t got a clear area. 

Try grappling on grass or concrete (be careful). Switch the lights off and grapple against a weapon. To simulate grappling with somebody on drugs do this by firstly working 3 x 2 minute rounds on the focus mitts or the pads to become fatigued, then grapple a fresh partner or do the same and fight three partners in a row.

You must drill being grabbed from front, side and rear in all manners.

Drill being punched, kicked, kneed, head butted, bitten and stomped and against all manner of weapons. Drill in cramped and confined places. Drill sitting down, kneeling down, pushed against a wall and so on. 

Practise pre-emptive shots; learn about line-ups, action triggers, combat distances, knockout shots, power striking and fear control and all the other unpredictability's of the street. 

Try simulated grappling or being attacked whilst in a bed. The soft mattress, tangle of sheets or a pillow over your face is a frightening situation.

A good doorman, bodyguard or security personnel doesn’t have to indulge in MMA to be capable of defending themselves on the street.

Their mindset, outlook and needs are totally different.

Awesome street fighters like Roy Shaw and the late Lennie McLean who were both good boxers have said on more than one occasion

 “Fighting in the ring and on the cobbles are two different things” and they trained for both. Also check out Geoff Thompson's ‘Watch my back’ to learn the differences if you don’t already know. My own book ‘Grappling with Reality’ explicitly explores the difference between sport and combat grappling.

I have played devils advocate here because I practise street combat techniques and I have taught these principles to many door security staff, army and police, as well as the general public and have done so for many many years but I am also a great lover of MMA.

Competing in it, coaching it and watching and supporting it. 

I have met many fantastic people through the MMA scene and hope to go on doing so. Many of these people could easily make the transition into any arena, as they are natural fighters. But I feel new comers arriving into martial arts who have watched a few UFC or MMA videos think it is the last word on combat and being able to defend yourself. MMA contest is a great sport and one for fighters to test themselves in a limited rules environment. 

It is real and it is hard but when all is said and done it is a sport. 

I would like to think that instructors are emphasising this point and that they can distinguish the difference between the two, and know where some aspects may merge together.

Kevin O’Hagan 6th Dan Check out Website: www.bristolgoshinjutsu.com for details.