The sport of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is a combination of striking and grappling techniques. Striking techniques include kicks, knee strikes, elbow strikes and punches. Grappling techniques include clinch holds, submission grappling, sweeps and throws. MMA is a modern style of martial arts and fighters often cross train in a variety of disciplines to improve their skills and give them more tools to defeat an opponent. MMA is a popular sport in which athletes compete for huge paychecks and is televised on pay per view.
MMA’s roots can be traced back to combat sports in Ancient China and Ancient Greece. The Chinese form of MMA was called Leitai and combined elements of kung fu, boxing and wrestling. In ancient Greece, the sport of pankration featured fighting disciplines like boxing and wrestling and was used to train Spartans for hand to hand combat. Modern MMA is most closely associated with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
In MMA, there are certain rules that all competitors must follow in order to keep the safety of themselves and their opponents in mind. These include no biting, headbutting and eye gouging among other things. It is also important that each competitor fights within their weight class in order to avoid injury. Each fighter is assigned a coach that will help them prepare for each fight and will analyze their opponents strengths and weaknesses.
Most MMA matches are judged by a panel of officials. The judges will add up their scores at the end of each round and determine a winner. If there are no knock outs or stoppages in the match then the judges will make a decision based on who scored the most points.
In addition to the judges there are also referees who monitor and control each fight. They are responsible for ensuring that each fight takes place within the rules of MMA and they are also in charge of judging the unique MMA scoring system.
In the early days of MMA, fighters would concentrate on one discipline and were solely strikers or grapplers. As the sport became more popular however, fighters began to recognize the need to cross train in a variety of styles to increase their chances of success. Today most MMA fighters will have expertise in multiple disciplines including, brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing, tae kwon do and wrestling. By training in a variety of fighting styles, fighters can take advantage of their opponent’s strengths and create unique strategies for each match. This helps to ensure that every MMA match is a thriller for the fans.