| This is the first part of three in a short Mixed Martial Arts trilogy, a display of various martial arts styles... Mixed Martial Arts or MMA, is a new term for combat sports which has been performed for thousands of years; even before the first Olympics. As relief carvings depicting fist-fighters and spectators in the ancient Egypt show, fighting as a sport or prize money has been a part of our societies and cultures since the dawn of man. The first forms of no-holds barred competition on record were the ancient Greek pankration matches which were later adopted by the Romans into their gladiatorial games. Martial arts grew as a result of mans desire to become better at combat sports, resulting in a new and different style of fighting growing as societies and cultures evolved from one another. All traditional martial arts forms and disciplines have had their own mixing of other influences over time, as different methodologies, ideals and masters added other styles to make new ones. For example, the Korean art of taekwondo is heavily influenced by Okinawan karate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a modified art derived from Japanese judo while Chinese kung fu and the Thai art of muay boran are both influenced by Indian kalarippayattu that were brought from India to China and Siam. All in all, martial arts are, in a sense, Mixed Martial Arts... "Every person has different skills and abilities, that's what makes us all so unique. No matter what goals we set, the path we choose, or ... |
