By Director Al Collins
Does mixed martial arts (MMA) work in the real world?
Back in 1995, some other Combat System Black Belts and I attended UFC 7 in Buffalo, NY.
MMA was a new term back then, born from Brazilian Ju-jitsu (BJJ) and the Gracie Family. It was certainly entertaining, watching traditional martial artists getting pounded by those more capable in multiple skillsets. There were no weight classes or weight limits and no rounds. Fight was over by submission, knock-out or throwing in the towel. The rules back then were simple. No biting and no eye gouging. Actually, many rules went unsaid because they were assumed in a non-combat, sports venue.
Rules such as no throat attacks; no neck breaks; no knee breaks; no ankle breaks; no elbow breaks; no ear rips; no weapons; no multiple opponents; no maiming and no death strikes. Fight fair.
The rules have multiplied now with 5 minute rounds; weight classes; no knees or kicks to the head allowed; no shoes; must wear UFC gloves; no fingers pointed at the opponent’s face/eyes allowed; and a referee that can pull an opponent off another and stop the fight.
Fighters train themselves for a controlled entertainment environment, not combatives… life or death with no rules.
Any amateur can quickly realize that professional boxers and MMA’s who hit opponents dozens of times each in the head and body typically fail to achieve a knockout. Now, imagine using that tactic to survive against multiple, armed threats. Now, imagine surviving with broken hands.
Punching:
- Isn’t remotely dependable, which is requirement when you have multiple, armed threats to finish
- Danger of broken hand/fingers/knuckles/joints/wrist, muscle/ligament/blood vessel/nerve damage, cuts, open wound infections and permanent hand/wrist damage
- Weapon functionality loss with hand/wrist damage
- Punching is tense/slower and takes too much time to achieve a result, which is a survival threat when you have multiple, armed threats to finish
There are 27 bones, 27 joints, 34 muscles, over 100 ligaments and tendons, many blood vessels and nerves in your hand and 8 bones and 4 ligaments in the wrist that can break, tear and/or be strained, so never use your fists in combat.
Never do failed MMA grappling nor their strategies and tactics using knees or elbows either, due to finishing unreliability/failure especially against multiple, armed threats. Dependable options should be your survival no-brainer.
And… CAMP X, Jedburgh, Castle Commando, The Devil’s Brigade instructors Fairbairn, Sykes and O’Neill were black belt experts in grappling but they told all those they taught (Commandos, Saboteurs, Spies) to “never do grappling.”
We enjoyed watching the fights over 20 years ago, but we all knew that this was just entertainment, not reality.
Many MMA and BJJ training clubs have sprung up around the world, with people flocking to them thinking that this is the ultimate survival system. But is it? Would you trust your life and the lives of your family to your skills in MMA or BJJ?
Military Special Forces don’t train in or trust their lives to MMA skillsets. Combat isn’t sports entertainment.
In the real world, predators will attack you with weapons, no rules, no referees and no mercy. After many years of hard training, you may be a skilled MMA fighter, but combat against blades, clubs, guns and/or multiple predators is a common reality in the real world! You will also have to overcome your own psychological and physiological phobias, before you will be able to instantly take real action in combat to finish predators. Training not provided in MMA.
COMBATIVS will quickly train you to defeat larger, younger, armed predators. We will teach you close quarter combat Special Operations Forces battle-tested tactics and show you how to overcome a handicap that’s in almost 100% of people, even trained soldiers, law enforcement and MMA cage fighters, to give you an overwhelming opportunity and advantage over the most ruthless of predators. Protection against home invasion; against rape; against attack/kidnapping on vacation; against violent assault, even by multiple armed attackers.
MMA can be a fun sport to watch. COMBATIVS is a lifesaving skillset.