For those who do not know, I am a mixed martial arts fighter. Mixed martial arts fighting is “a sport allowing a wide range of fighting techniques that include striking, kicking, and grappling.” (www.merriam-webster.com) It is a compilation of forms of different martial arts. Two fighters will face each in the rings (known as the octagon due to its shape) for three to five five-minute rounds. I started taking martial arts classes when I was six years old. I wanted to be a mixed martial arts fighter all my life. I loved the thought of stepping into the octagon and pounding somebody senseless as a sport. My mother and father, at first, did not want me to take the Taekwondo classes because of this fact. It took a lot of begging to finally convince them to let me do it. They realized that it is very important for any child to learn some type of martial arts. It is essential to use for defense. Mixed martial arts are the thing that helped me cope with my rough childhood and mold me into who I am today. Over the past twenty years, the sport of MMA has revolutionized and has become very popular throughout the world. Despite this being said, other people very hesitant about accepting mixed martial arts. The sport of MMA is gradually becoming a safer sport. Even though it is considered a dangerous sport, other sports at proven to be more dangerous.
Martial arts classes and training consist of lessons and drills to improve strength, speed, cardio, footwork, and flexibility. The first martial art I ever learned was Taekwondo. Taekwondo strikes primarily include kicks, but also contain punches and chops. Learning Taekwondo increases speed, cardio, footwork and flexibility. Taekwondo is considered one of the more brutal mixed martial arts, it...
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"New York MMA Bill Falls Short of Vote." Bleacher Report. Web. .
"Quick Quote: Dana White Says a Proper MMA Regulation Will Prevent Deaths." LowKick MMA. Web. .
Washington, Tim. "Cheerleaders Are Risking Serious Injury and Death to Support Their Teams." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 04 Oct. 2008. Web. .
"Which Is More Dangerous: Boxing Or MMA?" AskMen. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. .
Many schools turn him down until he comes across a retired American veteran that was witness to what happened at the fight between his brother and Tong, who also knows someone that could train him. During the time they are heading to the trainer’s house. It’s discovered that the veteran used to be only ever on the offense, causing him to have one of his great friends perish due to his carelessness. This can be attributed to the stances of kickboxing and Muay Thai, both having great offensive moves and combos but requires you to be in a position as to defend yourself without leaving yourself
Have you ever wondered, “What is the difference between MMA and boxing?” Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights originated as hand-to-hand combat performed as a sport called Pankration from the greek words Pan and Kratas, meaning “all powers” (Shamrock). Often a practitioner of one of the skill groups in martial arts challenged a practitioner of a different skill for ultimate bragging rights (Shamrock). In 393C.E. Roman emperor Theodosius the first banned the Olympic games,spelling the end of Pankration as a popular sport (Shamrock). This style of fighting later resurfaced in the twentieth century in Brazil via a combat sport known as vale tudo”,anything goes” (“Encyclopedia Britannica”). MMA
A study has found and proven that as a result of the amount of contact activity involved with cheerleading, “two thirds of very serious sports injuries suffered by girls in the United States” (Global Issues in Context). This inevitably highlights the rigors and risks cheerleaders endure as a result of their participation. In effect of cheerleading not being recognized as a sport and cheerleaders not being recognized as athletes, there is little awareness and support for the injuries cheerleaders encounter. Furthermore, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, “cheerleading is also among the top 20 sports with highest rate of head injuries” (Huffington Post). These head injuries include but are not limited to skull fractures, cervical spine injuries, brain injury, concussions, paralysis, and in severe cases, death. Nonetheless, as a result of cheerleading lacking recognition, injuries are typically underestimated despite their severity. It is important to consider the exertion a cheerleader must put in when completing a stunt. Being tossed or held in the air is the flyer who is then supported by two bases and a back spot. Despite being held up by a minimum of four people, one wrong move can result in the stunt collapsing, which can sometimes result in injury to both the
Boxing in the early and mid-twentieth century had an appeal that captured the eyes and ears of millions of Americans. Championship fights and popular fighters were on national television and in newspaper headlines. At the time, boxing was relevant in the American sports world. However, over the past 30 years, boxing has regressed and lost its popularity. Spectacles like the graceful Muhammad Ali and the hard-hitting Mike Tyson are gone and have been replaced by lackluster fighters and greedy fight promoters who only care about their profit cut. On top of that, an increasing pile of evidence is starting to show more clearly the dangers of repeated head trauma and how corrupt the business of boxing has become. Lastly, boxing is pressured by the rapidly growing sport, mixed martial arts (MMA), because of its safer nature and a strong corporate leader. These causes combined will finally cause boxing to die as a sport in America unless serious steps are taken to reform the sport.
To a person not conversant with this art, Jujitsu may be considered as a foul or derogatory term in Japanese. However, Jujitsu us one of the most effective and deadly forms of martial arts taught today. Unique among other forms of combat, Jujitsu holds the position of a “parent art”, of from which other forms of martial arts such as Aikido, Judo and several Karate styles were extracted. Jujitsu is a combination of all levels of combat. It incorporates chokes, striking, grappling, nerve and pressure point attacks, joint locks, redirection of momentum and throws.
Cheerleading is more than pom-poms, short skirts, and bows. Bill Pennington, an award-winning journalist, sportswriter, and author, articulates the need for aggressive training and a strengthening of regulations to minimize the number student-athletes injured subsequently to cheer activities. Pennington’s article, “As Cheerleaders Soar Higher, So does the Danger”, first published on March 31, 2007, in The New York Times. Incorporated in the article he describes cheer in this way, “For decades, they stood by safe and smiling, a fixture on America’s sidelines” (Pennington). This article appeared in the sports section of The New York Times and the distribution to readers included print as well as the internet. Although this newspaper targets the
Contact sports in America, like football and boxing, carry a rich history of the spirit of the game, and the feeling of victory. These games bring us together as we cry out and cheer for our team or fighter as they deliver the winning touchdown, or the knockout that brings them the undisputed champion belt. However, these players are facing injuries that can destroy their career and affect their brain for the rest of their lives. We shouldn’t outlaw contact sports, but we should force safety to become more important. If we want to keep our players safe and continue the tradition of the contact sports we enjoy as a country, then we must evolve our safety in sports, and change the way we view contact sports as a country.
This article is about the views of mixed martial arts, commonly known as MMA, on whether it promotes violence or discipline as it gains popularity among children. Kahn states, “In the 1990s, mixed martial arts was marketed as a blood sport… [However,] MMA is now promoted as a competitive combat sport and has crossed over to popular culture” (“Violence…”). In 2004, Gracie Tampa, an academy of MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, consists about 10 percent of children but now consists about a growing 50 percent of children. Those who instructs mixed martial arts “emphasizes sportsmanship, respect, and safety” (“Violence…”). Parents like Dawn Baker and Ken Bland supports MMA and believes that mixed martial arts is good for their children because it promotes discipline, good sportsmanship, better confidence and self-esteem, and good self-defense. Critics like Nenad Omerovic, instructor of traditional tae kwon do, view MMA as too aggressive and violent. Omerovic comments that all he sees on television of MMA was kicking, punching, and hugging each other. However, Rodriguez, “lead instructor and co-owner of the school's youth program,” believes MMA teaches realistic self-defense (“Violence…”). He states that it is not realistic for a person to do a jump spin kick to defend himself from an aggressor who is trying to hurt him; it is more realistic to teach MMA, which includes ground defense, because majority of the fights will end there on the ground. This article can be connected to cultural anthropology through the themes of emic vs. etic, ethnocentrism, and enculturation.
Every day I felt the Sweat dripping down from my face, heart banging against my chest while punches come “bang, bang, bang”. That was an everyday experience for me at Franklin Smedley Elementary School, the kids no taller than five feet, embracing the eye of the tiger every day on my face, and I would ball up wishing I had some courage, some wisdom, some knowledge of confidence, self-defense. Days, weeks, months, even years went past with this repetitive taste of salt from the sweat and search for oxygen as my heart continued to beat faster and faster. In the entire school, I had one friend named Nicholas Whales, who just joined boxing in Northeast Philadelphia. The Jack Costello Boxing Club. Costello’s.. This experience had a positive impact because it was what made me want to start boxing, and it’s what gave me the drive to what to succeed. Also, allowed me to unleash a drive in boxing that I never thought I have
Mozes, Alan. "As Cheerleading Evolves, Injuries Mount." Health.US News. N.p., 28 Jun 2013. Web. 16 Feb 2014. .
I was born in Lima, Peru, raised in a middle class family, and moved to the USA in 1999. My father, a fan of martial arts enrolled me and my brother in different martial arts styles Karate, kung Fu and Judo. I can say that most of my younger years I practiced more martial arts than playing our national sport called soccer. At the age of thirteen I was going to watch on TV something that will impact in my future. On November 12, 1993, my father and I were watching a show called Ultimate Fighting Championship also known as UFC. This event on TV was about a group of eight fighters from different martial arts like Judo, Karate, Sumo, Kung Fu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Sambo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, who will fight each other to see who is the ultimate fighter and the best martial art of all (The UFC history). Royce Gracie originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and weighting no more than 170 lbs and five foot nine inches tall. He won every single fight by submission, and was proclaimed the first UFC champion of the world. His opponents outweighed him by more than fifty pounds and most of them were taller than him. We were amazed of how easy and quick he beat them without a single punch or kick. I asked my father if he can find a place in the city where I can train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but at that time he could not find any academy or gym where they teach the art. Nobody knew about that martial art, and the only two places to train were in Brazil and USA.
Through my advanced training in the martial art of tae kwon do, I have come to realize the numerous benefits that this sport has to offer. I have gained many things including knowledge of self-defense, excellent physical conditioning, and a refreshing outlook on life. The rewards are abundant, however they require an immense amount of effort to achieve. Each martial art is unique and has distinct contributions of its own. This is why it is difficult to hear people generalize they are all the same. What people do not realize is the enormous difference between the individual martial arts. Today, the two most popular martial arts in the world are karate and tae kwon do. On the outside, they both seem very similar, in actuality they are on opposite sides of the spectrum.
Boxing is more than just a sport. It’s also a trendy way to get fit. It might not seem so awesome to get punched, but taking boxing classes is beneficial to your health and wellness. Boxing classes are more than getting into a boxing ring and punching it out with a sparring partner. It involves training elements like jumping rope, heavy bag punching, speed bag punching, squats, pushups, and hook and jab pads to practice punching.
Individuals that choose to join Martial Arts can help relieve stress while at the same time help other individuals choose their actions and life choices cautiously. Martial Arts can help any type of individuals hopefully only good but bad as well in critical situations that unfortunately happens at uncalled wrong or right times. For instance, many individuals join martial arts due to bullying or wanting to learn how to defend and attack against enemies for their own desire or even to learn how to find balance in their lives. There are many types of individuals that want to join Martial Arts because of movies based off actors that end up being the winner of a fight. Others go for winning the female hero’s heart as if something great had just occurred unexpectedly at a staged time and place thanks to the help of Martial Arts. These as well as movies where the individuals that seek vengeance and revenge by Martial Arts or critical injury just to put off what they may think are right at the moment in time. More or less individuals join Ma...
It was drilled into me that karate was for self-defense only. In fact, if a karate instructor heard that I used karate for anything else they would kick me out of class. I learned a lot of self-defense techniques that could save my life. Some of the thing I learned were how to get out of different kinds of choke holds, knife disarms, stick disarms and much more. I am lucky enough that I have never had to use any of these techniques; no one had better mess with me.