Hey.
Ando here from Happy Life Martial Arts.
Traditional Martial Arts and Mixed Martial Arts.
The trash talking between these two camps has been going on for decades now.
Personally, I’ve been training in traditional martial arts for most of my life, but I’ve
also bought more than a few UFC pay-per-views.
Yup.
I’m a fan of both.
Which is why I end up arguing with myself all the time...
< MMA, welcome to the show.
< Thanks for having me, TMA.
< Okay.
First question.
Let me ask you this…
MMA sucks.
< That’s not a question.
< Sorry.
Why does MMA suck?
< It doesn't.
< But people say it does.
< Yeah.
Those people are idiots.
< Let me ask it this way-- in your opinion, why doesn't MMA suck?
< Come on, man.
MMA is the greatest thing to happen to human beings since fire.
It’s the evolution of martial arts.
< Say what now?
< MMA is the evolution from the stupid techniques of TMA that don't work to realistic techniques
that do.
< I see.
So, you're saying that before the first UFC in 1993, no one had ever seen a punch, a kick,
or a choke before.
< No.
I’m saying MMA figured out how to test punches, kicks, and chokes in a realistic setting.
< Ah.
So, you took techniques that had already been tested and proven to work on battlefields
for thousands of years and you put them on TV.
That’s your “evolution".
< Are you crazy?
Look—be honest.
Traditional martial arts might have been tested on a battlefield a thousand years ago, but
for the last hundred years, it’s only been tested in shopping malls.
< You’re calling traditional martial arts "mall fighting".
< Hey--call them whatever you want, just don’t call them real fighting.
< Real fighting.
You mean in a cage, one on one, with an opponent the exact same size and weight, rules, a ref,
no weapons, and a time limit, because that always happens in a real fight.
< Yeah?
Well, it’s more realistic than tag sparring or doing forms and fighting the air.
< Huh.
You know, it’s funny that with over 20 years of so-called real fighting, I still lots of
people in MMA getting knocked out by a big overhand right, which my research shows was
the first technique invented by the caveman.
Hey--maybe in another 20 years you guys will evolve and figure out how to block a punch.
< And maybe you guys will learn how to throw a punch at an actual person instead of one-inch
boards.
< For the record, I can break three or four one-inch boards.
At the same time, I mean.
Let’s tie this up.
On the question of tradition versus evolution, you vote for evolution.
< Yes.
Unless you want to continue the tradition of getting your ass kicked.
< You know, one thing that’s still bugging me—when the UFC started, you could wear
a jacket, pants, even shoes.
Who decided to strip down and grease up?
Do you find yourself fighting a lot of male strippers in the real world?
< Hey—the only stripping going on in MMA is the stripping away of all the nonsense
you find in TMA.
< You mean like respect, integrity, and discipline… nonsense like that?
< Oh, please.
MMA has just as much respect, integrity, and discipline as TMA.
Just because we don't bow all the time doesn't mean we don't respect each other.
< You sure about that?
Seems like there's a lot of trash talk, brawling, and steroid abuse over there in MMA.
< Really?
That’s funny.
Because last time I checked, you guys have 1,000 different styles and 10,000 different
federations because none of you can agree on whose fake fighting is the best fake fighting.
< Well, self-defense is an art form, so naturally, we all want to do things our own way.
< Even if it gets you killed, I get it.
Hey—can I ask you a question?
< Sure.
< Have you ever been in a real fight?
I mean, like, ever?
< See, there’s the big difference between us.
As a traditional martial artist, I wouldn’t brag about being in fights.
I’d rather brag about all the fights I’ve avoided.
As a traditional martial artist, I don’t seek confrontation.
< You mean like confronting reality.
< Right.
No not right!
How do I explain this?
It’s like Steven Seagal said, “Learn how to heal people to be great.
To hurt people is easy.”
Hard to Kill?
< Don’t.
Just don’t.
< Moving on.
What do you see as the biggest difference between TMA and MMA?
< Easy.
TMA was developed for children who want to earn stickers and grown-ups who want to play
ninja.
MMA was developed for anyone who wants to learn how to really fight.
< And by “anyone" you mean high school dropouts and people who couldn’t cut it as professional
boxers?
< No, that’s just dumb.
Anybody can train in MMA, whether they want to compete or not.
< I know.
I was just kidding.
Like you were kidding about the stickers and ninjas.
< I wasn't kidding.
< Let’s switch gears here.
Why don't you tell me something you like about Traditional Martial Arts and I'll tell you
something I like about MMA.
Cool?
< Cool.
Let’s see… what I really like about TMA—Karate, Kung Fu, TaeKwonDo--is how you guys think
you can bite your way out every bad situation.
I mean, do you guys take time to brush and floss in every class?
< What I really like about MMA is that it gives ex-cons a way to make some money.
< What I really like about TMA is how you award black belts to 6-year-olds.
< And I like how MMA gives permanent brain damage to everybody.
I also like how MMA gives people the chance to be mediocre at several martial arts instead
of just mastering one.
Hey--maybe MMA should stand for Mediocre Martial Arts.
< Well, better to be mediocre at multiple arts that really work than master one art
that doesn’t.
Are we done here?
< Just one more question.
Why do wanna-be MMA guys feel the need to cover their bodies in tattoos?
Is it because it’s easier to look tough than actually be tough?
< Probably for the same reason that wanna-be Karate guys feel the need to dress up like
Okinawan fisherman from the 1800’s.
And what’s up with that red jacket?
You look like a candy apple.
< It looks cool.
< Nope.
< Goon.
< Fool.
< Animal.
< Candy apple.
< It’s an art for life.
< It’s a sport for life.
< The goal is wisdom.
< The goal is glory.
< I just want to be the best I can be.
< Did we just agree on something?
< I think so.
That was weird.
No, it’s not weird, it’s actually the point!
MMA or TMA, we spend so much time talking about what makes us different, we forget to
talk about what makes us the same.
I mean, we all believe in hard work and dedication.
We all believe in standing on our own two feet.
We all believe that punching and kicking and choking is somehow a path to a better life.
So, let’s stop trashing each other and start supporting each other.
Modern, traditional, mixed, classical, professional, amateur, full-time, part-time—we’re ALL
martial artists.
Remember—the biggest difference isn’t between the people who practice TMA or MMA.
The biggest difference is between the people who practice martial arts and the people who
don’t.
Think about it--wouldn’t it be cool if all of your friends and family trained with you?
Wouldn’t it be cool if every good person out there learned to fight back against bad
guys training in some art at some level?
Well, maybe if we show them how we’re living healthier, happier lives, and maybe if we
show them how we treat each other with respect and understanding, they’ll want to join
us instead of thinking we’re all crazy.
Keep building bridges, not walls, my friend, and keep fighting for a happy life.