Most people only ever see MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) in action at a tournament or pre-arranged event. You don’t often see people hauling out their MMA skills in a drunken pub brawl, so you would be forgiven for wondering whether it’s the type of fighting that’s “just for show” or an actual style of fighting that can be used for self-defense or in an actual street fight. After chatting to a few people, I realized that most people aren’t quite sure what MMA actually is and what its intended purpose is either.
Is MMA effective for self-defense and in a real fight?
Yes, MMA is good for self-defense and in real street fights. The fighting techniques are designed to be precise, effective, and practical. The throws, punches, ankle locks, and takedowns can all prove useful for both self-defense and street fighting. While MMA is effective for self-defense, there are various self-defense experts that claim that MMA fighting techniques cannot be applied to real-life situations.
There are many people who specifically learn MMA techniques for self-defense, but it seems some professionals in the self-defense industry believe it would serve no purpose. I personally believe that MMA fighting techniques can save your life and the lives of those you love; you just have to know how to best apply the learned techniques to the current confrontation or situation. However, it cannot be overlooked there are some ways in which MMA could fail you in a street fight. Want to learn more about how MMA is effective for self-defense and in a real fight and how it might be not so good too? Read on.
How Effective is MMA in a Real Fight or Self-Defense?
It turns out that MMA is highly effective in a street fight. There are various fighting techniques taught in MMA that prove effective in self-defense. When learning MMA, you can expect to be taught several things that will prove helpful in a self-defense situation or a street fight.
1. Fighting techniques.
Learning MMA techniques will put you at an advantage over your attacker who probably just knows how to throw a punch or carry out a few attack and self-defense moves.
2. Confidence.
MMA will teach you the confidence required to protect yourself. MMA fighters are walking weapons. If you are scared to fight, you have lost half the battle. If you are attacked and you are confident to fight back, you may actually scare your attacker off.
3. Skills to back you up.
Learning MMA will put you in a position to never make empty threats or promises. How many times have you seen someone behaving aggressively and then when the fight actually happens, they don’t have sufficient fighting skills to back up their attitude? It happens more than you think. By learning MMA, you are learning a variety of martial arts skills and when in a confrontational situation, you can draw on those skills to protect yourself.
4. MMA will make you super fit.
This is something that a lot of people don’t think about when it comes to self-defense and a street fight. How fit you are could determine the outcome of the attack or fight. If you are fitter than your attacker and have the energy and strength to take them down, you will be able to protect yourself. MMA is a high-powered exercise that will ramp up your fitness levels quite quickly.
Why MMA Might Not Be Great For Self-Defense
There are several reasons why MMA is considered a poor form of self-defense or fighting style in a real street fight by some professionals. They are as follows:
- The pace
The naysayers base their theories on the fact that MMA is not as fast-paced as a real-life street fight. While this is true, it is not strictly a reason why MMA isn’t effective in self-defense. Of course, the practitioner can apply MMA knowledge to the situation and speed up responses and attacks to suit the scenario.
- Weapons
Mixed Martial Arts practitioners aren’t taught how to use weapons or even how to use everyday items around them as a weapon. This might put an MMA fighter at a disadvantage with an attacker who happens to have a knife or other form of weapon.
- Number of Opponents
When in a street fight or being attacked, chances are that there are multiple attackers involved. MMA teaches effective fighting techniques against just one opponent, not several opponents. If you know MMA but are attacked by 3 people, you might not be able to apply your fighting techniques to the situation to save yourself or others.
How Would I Apply MMA for Self-Defense
When it comes to applying MMA fighting techniques to self-defense scenarios, learning groundwork and how to strike is imperative in comparison to other standing fight styles like Krav Maga or Muay Thai. These are the basis of Mixed Martial Arts. If you know how to strike and how to fight even when you are knocked off your feet; you will be far safer in a street fight or when faced with an attacker.
MMA will teach you how to punch and kick as well as use your elbows and knees without hurting yourself and while doing the most possible damage to your attacker. Groundwork is well covered in MMA and is essential to know in a self-defense situation as it teaches you how to fight when you are on the ground. You will learn throws, trips, submissions, and takedowns which will put you at an advantage against your attacker.
How Long Does it Take to Learn or Master MMA?
How long it takes a person to learn or master MMA really comes down to the individual and their unique circumstances. There’s a lot to learn when it comes to MMA as the art comprises of Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, wrestling, and various forms of striking drawn from the likes of Muay Thai or kickboxing for example. There are various factors that come into play when determining how long your training will take. Some of these include:
- How fit/athletic you are.
- If you have previous martial arts or fighting training.
- How often do you train and for how long.
- How easily you grasp concepts and respond to training.
- How skilled do you want to become (do you want to learn the basics or become a pro?).
On average, it takes around 4 to 5 years for a person to master MMA. This would require the practitioner to train 3 hours a day at least 3 times a week.
How Many Levels Are in MMA?
When learning a new martial art or fighting style, the first interest is often in the belt system. The students of MMA are often skilled in various other arts. For instance, one MMA practitioner might be a Black Belt in Karate and a Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while another might be a pro in Muay Thai. It’s hard to standardize the skills and qualifications that all come into play when learning MMA.
Therefore, there is no MMA belt system. Instead, practitioners are placed into 1 of 2 groups; either professional or amateur. When competing, there are several weight categories from Flyweight to Heavyweight with Straweight applying to women practitioners.
The Fundamentals of MMA
Those who are interested in learning a martial art are often concerned with the fundamentals involved. Fundamentals in a martial art are the principles that the art is based on. These are things that must be considered and understood before someone can actually master the art or use it to its full potential. There are 2 main approaches to MMA that include several fundamentals. Let’s take a look at each of these below:
Vertical Approach
There are 3 fundamentals that come into play when thinking of MMA vertically. These are as follows:
Stand-up fighting – this includes punching and kicking as well as using knees and elbows while avoiding strikes.
- Transition – this includes things that help you move such as throws, takedowns, defense moves, and knockdowns.
- Groundwork – this includes grappling, sweeps, transitioning from mounts to side mounts, strikes, guard passing as well as submissions, standups, submission defenses and more.
Horizontal Approach
The horizontal approach helps practitioners control the distance between themselves and an opponent. The fundamentals that practitioners learn include:
- Acquiring a striking distance and maintaining it – this is used to get into a safe boxing distance with the opponent while frustrating their boxing and kicking attempts.
- Closing the distance to enable wrestling and grappling – to wrestle and grapple, a practitioner must be able to get safely close enough to do so while avoiding grappling or wrestling from the opponent.
The Actual Background of MMA
What is the actual background of MMA? What is its history and where does it come from? There’s nothing new about MMA. In fact, its origins date back all the way to the ancient Olympic Games in 648 BCE. At the time “pankration” was a form of martial art training used by the Greek armies and was also considered a combat sport in ancient Greece.
In pankration, opponents would fight brutally against each other using a combination of street fighting, boxing, and wrestling. The only things forbidden were gauging of eyes and biting, otherwise, opponents could kick and strike to their heart’s content. To end the round, a fighter would have to be unconscious or admit defeat and give up. It is said that several of the fighters actually died during these combats which only seemed to spark the popularity of the sport at the ancient Olympics.
In 393 BCE when the Olympics were banned, it was assumed that pankration would become a dead sport, but it resurfaced in the 20th Century in Brazil. The sport only became highly popular in the United States in the 1990s.
Minimal Gear To Get Started With MMA
When starting MMA classes for self-defense, what sort of clothing and equipment/gear do you need? Learning MMA is not going to be a picnic. It is physically grueling and will require you to protect yourself from injury and ensure you can move comfortably.
You need to look into getting the following gear:
MMA gloves – there are 2 types of gloves to look at; gloves for sparring and gloves for actual fighting. The fighting gloves are lighter than boxing gloves and have less padding. If you want to protect your wrists, look out for premium gloves. The sparring gloves have a bit more padding on them because they are used for striking. The gloves you buy should be loose fitting so that you can wear hand wraps underneath them. Hand wraps – hand wraps are a type of glove inner that absorb moisture and add just a little more protection.
Head Guard
This is to protect your ears during grappling and also to keep your head safe from heavy impacts.
Shin guards
If you have watched MMA in action you will know that there is a lot of kicking involved and that the shins are a prime target for kicking. Protecting your shins is important.
Rash guard
Wearing a t-shirt for training is fine, but you might end up with abrasions and a rash. The first few weeks of training especially will add quite a lot of abrasion on your skin. The rash guard will ensure that you don’t get friction burns and that there’s less chance of scratches and bruises. There are both long and short sleeve versions on the market.
MMA shorts
Regular shorts are allowed for training, but keep in mind that MMA shorts are designed to handle the brutality of MMA training. These shorts are manufactured from a highly durable fabric, have strong stitching, are stretchy, and will last many years.
Mouth guard
The mouth guard functionality is two-fold. It protects the teeth in your mouth (of course you don’t want these knocked out) and it also ensures that your jaw is correctly aligned so that the impact of a blow is far less devastating.
Last Word
Learning MMA will certainly teach you some effective fighting techniques that when correctly applied to real-life situations, can be highly effective in self-defense. Size up MMA VS Krav Maga in these 21 comparisons & Differences effective for self-defense article.
