This is absurd. How can you come off saying such things. What makes boxing "better" intrinsically than MMA competition. Certainly MMA is a much better way to test martial skills, pretty much the only logical way without allowing things that would leave both fighters crippled. Would you like the UFC better if they were gloveless, mouthgaurdless, and had to fight to the death. Many fights of this nature could show a lot about martial arts, but the loss of life and perminent damage to even the winners of such fights would make this kind of competition unrealistic.
You must understand that MMA is a philosophy of training. Some people will train only kata, some will claim only in a sprotive manner, weather it be grappling and/or striking. This kind of live training, like randori, is VERY logical and can be done safely to allow someone to really feel fro technique and the struggle of combat. People who only know kata are flower-fists, I hate flower-fists.
I beleive that there is certainly more to the martial arts than UFC allows, but logically the UFC only allows so much, I can't ask too much more than what they allow. However, it is possible to train in the modern live fasion (randori style) and still have knowledge of self-defence, "dirty" techniques not suitable for the ring, such as gouges, groin attacks, certain strikes and join techniques, tendon removals, throat attacks, ect... These techniques can not be sparred with, obviously, but one can gain a knowledge of such pratical self-defence moves and learn how to work them into a real situation without actually having to do them on a training partner.
This issue of training in technique that is not safe is the general problem of martial arts training. Some people will train only kata, some will train only sparring, some may try to get the feel of technique by working with another person lightly (logical when trying to learn self-defence moves), but I beleive there is truth in all methods, and that one should try to develope and grow as best they can, without placing gospel truths in certain moves for certain situations or certain stances or certain training methods.
Grow
(Also, MMA fighters should not be any less respected than boxers, and as far as martial arts go, they should certainly be put in much higher regard, because they perform martial technique to the farthest sportive limit, which is respecible in its own right, and though MMA competition does not contain all of the MA spectrum, MMA competition can teach us a lot and most MMA fighters are legitimate martial artists, who are better prepared for street confrontations than most of these teacher of "deadly" technique. In a fight to the death between an everyday karate master or kung fu master and a UFC competitior of thier weight, my money is on the UFC man. Unless the karate guy can pull off his "one hit, one kill" philosophy, which I assure you, is illogical.) |