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Originally Posted by Mike Brewer
And Uke, I think you're losing me. You're vastly oversimplifying MMA, my friend. It has developed, and there have been major evolutions in how the game is played. I can cite for you a very clear example using one man as the common denominator - Matt Hughes. Gracie used to beat everyone, and Matt proved that conditioning and a familiarity with srtiking could supplement the ground game and provide an serious advantage. He ruined the guy who built the sport. Then, along comes St. Pierre. St. Pierre was even more well-rounded, but instead of going to the ground, he preferred to gear his strategy toward shutting it down and hone his strikes. His well roundedness and conditioning paid off. That's not only a difference in strategy - it's an evolution within a sport. The good strikers from even two or three years ago are being outpaced by the good strikers of today. Look at Rich Franklin. Look at Hughes. Saying that MMA is not evolving is like saying boxing hasn't evolved since Dempsey's heyday.
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Exactly.
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Originally Posted by Mike Brewer
Nonsense. I can point out dozens of examples of kickboxers who moved over to MMA, Wrestlers who moved to Sambo, MMA, or Pride, and all manner of martial artisits from different disciplines who felt they had to prove something beyond their style. Ken Shamrock, Keith Hackney, and plenty of others fit this bill. Lu, I don't know if you've ever trained regularly at a boxing gym or not, and I won't make assumptions. But I can tell you that in all the gyms and with all the boxers I've ever trained, no boxer has ever showed the same concern for whether or not his skills would measure up in some other sport as almost every martial artist out there.
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Sure you've got people who compete in different sports and who change disciplines. You didn't even mention one of my favorites, Mirko "Crocop" who made a very successful transition from kick boxing to MMA. There are lots of boxers who have competed in other sports too for that matter. My point is that if you look at MMA competitors they aren't pretending to be wrestlers, judoka or boxers- unless they happen to have that in their background. If you go to an MMA gym they aren't pretending to be preparing themselves for anything other than MMA.
I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with, but you know from our conversations on here that I currently train at a boxing gym. With luck I may be able to come out to your high altitude training center, or if you're ever in Atl. by all means drop by and visit our gym. Seriously, that's a friendly invitation and if you ever do make it I'll spring for a pitcher of beer in the name of southern hospitality. When that happens you'll be able to see my skills for yourself; I'm not anything special but it will be obvious to you that I spend a lot of time training. Until then you'll just have to take my word for it.
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If you need proof, just can through or do a search in any martial arts forum on the web for posts like "Which art would win in a fight?" Then go look for anything of the sort on a boxing forum.
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This is kind of beside the point; you can find morons of all shapes and sizes on the internet. What I'm trying to say is that generally speaking once someone is an experienced sportsman (of any sort) they usually understand what their sport is and isn't. They also usually stop making insecure attacks on other styles/sports. Hell, I would go so far as to say that that understanding is part of good sportsmanship. Unfortunately sportsmanship can be hard to come by sometimes...