MMA is the closest thing to street fighting.

I wrote this a while ago and thought it might be worth posting here. Hope at least some if you enjoy it,

Is it, really? How many times have you heard this? Well I have heard it quite a bit over the years, usually from those that would label themselves “cagefighters” and tend to have a liking for Tapout t-shirts, hoodies, pants and knickers etc. Or those that possibly do not have quite as much experience outside the chippy as they would have you believe. Not always, but more often than not in my humble opinion...

Ok, so how close is it to a tear up in the street? Well I don’t think anyone can deny it’s a lot closer than Tae Kwon Do or suchlike if for no other reason than you can and will regularly end up on your arse and have to fight to get back on your feet or at least for dominance on the ground. Imagine that, how unfair! I mean, is that not cheating?

Some bad news I’m afraid, It’s not cheating and to add insult to injury (injuries) in the street it gets even worse.

Ever had a passer-by stick the boot in while your rolling about with some coked up drunk? Or had a complimentary bat in the gob from a bored onlooker, probably no surprise that I have given how much I’m loved for my sarcasm and interesting points of view on a few subjects. Mainly the RBSD scene admittedly but I’m sure you get my point.

I have never seen a third party steam in to one or both of the fighters during an MMA bout but I have on countless occasions seen it in the street. And been on the receiving end to boot, no pun intended….well maybe a bit.

So how similar is an MMA fight to a streetfight/straightener/pub brawl etc? Two entirely different animals…completely. Before I give my reasons why I think this let me tell you how I felt stepping in the cage. When you walk out in front of a few hundred people and then step into the cage and go to your corner you feel like your fighting everyone in that venue. The pressure is most definitely on and all the bullshit and claims you may have made are now going to be tested for all to see, thankfully this is not prevalent at all in MMA, one of the reasons I took to it and love it so much.

Completely at odds with the current RBSD scene which seems to be entirely based on tinterweb for most followers, but I digress… Now imagine that feeling of fighting every onlooker in the street and praying none of them decide to start punching or kicking your mallet while your trying to deal with the original problem……yes it does happen.

And no they don’t even have to know your opponent to feel justified in having a pop at you. Don’t believe me? To put it bluntly, I doubt you have ever been there in that case.

The MMA fight has a massive margin of safety, comparatively speaking, to a scrap in the street for many many reasons. Here’s some of the huge comfort zones and rules designed to protect an MMA fighter.

1: Time limits.
2: Gum shields.
3: A nice clean impact absorbent floor with no rubbish or broken bottles lying around if/when it goes to the floor.
4 : A referee to step in if one fighter cannot intelligently continue to defend himself.
5: No eye gouging.
6: No biting.
7: No groin strikes.
8: No small joint manipulation.
9: No throat strikes.
10: No head butts.
11: No shredders.
12: No kicking to the head of a downed opponent. (just have a think about how relevant that really is)
13: Groin guards and as much time out as required if struck in the nuts to recover. If only!
14: A cage side Doctor or paramedics.
15: Being able to win on points alone.
16: Cornermen to shout advice on what you can’t see.
17: A rest for a minute, a drink of water and maybe even a sit down after each 5 minute round.
18: Having background on your opponent.
19: Your opponent generally doesn’t pull out a blade or a duster etc at any point.
20: Gloves/mitts.
21: Submissions have a “tap out” option.
22: Fighting starts from touching gloves and more often than not getting a “feel” for pace, strength, style etc. As opposed to launching themselves at you mid argument or from behind/the side or with mates.
23: Your opponent tends to be sober and compos mentis.
24: Your fighting for a title or plastic trophy not your life or the ability to walk, talk and speak when the final bell goes.
25: Win lose or draw his mates don’t set about you in the carpark afterwards.
Closest thing to street fighting or a violent all out attack? Not in my experience or considered opinion. Obviously I could now list all the things that could happen in violent encounter/situation in the street, like weapons, being outnumbered, getting your head kicked about like a football whilst unconscious and such like but the possibilities and variables in such a scenario are endless. And hopefully if you can see how “safe” MMA is (comparatively speaking) from the 25 points listed above then it’s obvious why I’m not going to bother.

This is not to take away at all in anyway how tough MMA fighters are mentally and physically. MMA is an extremely hard game to compete in, with all manner of fitness and conditioning required even at base level. But it’s the huge margin for error allowed here I am trying to convey, you with me?

As part of RBSD training I rate MMA highly as it has so many ranges techniques/defences you can add to your armoury. But it is not street fighting, it’s not as close as some would tell you or like to believe, closer than a lot of stuff out there that has the cheek to claim “good form of self defence” but it’s still an entirely different animal if the truth be told.

Not sure how this will be received and I’m sure it will upset a few as I always (obviously entirely inadvertently) seem to do, but Tapout clothing is pretty reasonable these days and as we all know, if you wear Tapout and call yourself a “Cagefighter” nobody will ever test you....

Good, down to earth article. Mix MMA with Krav Maga and I think you'll get the best street fight preparation that can be.



Respect to the MMA fighters

Thanks mate, I'm glad you like it.

I would have to disagree with MMA and Krav being some sort of perfect blend of tricks for street fighting.

The sort if instant full on messy violent and committed altercation you are likely to experience in the street is a different animal altogether and so must be treated and addressed as such.

An MMA fighter is certainly better prepped to deal with such a situation but MMA is nothing like a street tear up if we are being totally honest. And Krav isn't even in the running in my humble opinion.

Take a highly ranked Krav student/instructor that has little or no real world hands in experience and ill put my money on any council estate pissed up seasoned scrapper with no formal training.

Same seasoned scrapper against a highly ranked MMA fighter and is be more inclined to possibly put some cash on the MMA guy but not by much, and not very often to be fair.

If you look at the countless violent street fighting encounters captured in CCTV on YouTube they are all messy, people miss, fall over etc. the dynamic of a real world physical altercation is entirely different than even a nice full slugfest in the cage or ring. And so this must be trained for, make the training fit the fighting as you simply cannot make the fighting fit the training if you really want something that is fit for purpose. It's a real bastard......

Good thread!

I practice MMA and in fact last year had my first ammateur fight. I like it mainly because it adapts you to be able to look after yourself standing, or as most fights end up there, on the floor.

If your assailant is handy with their fists, then a swift take down to the floor is enough on a hard floor to knock the wind out of them. This leaves you with multiple options. In the street I would suggest walk away at that point, if they are no longer a threat to you!

I dont like the stereo types for guys and girls that train in MMA either. I was a police officer when I started training MMA and my training partners ranged from graduates, to doctors, lab technicians, nurses and a teacher.

Ted, very valid points made exceptionally well.

Chris Turnbull wrote:
If you look at the countless violent street fighting encounters captured in CCTV on YouTube they are all messy, people miss, fall over etc.

That is what Krav Maga is supposed to train people for !



But I agree about too many people among krav maga students, simply not having the right mindset.



I also agree about a lot of the techniques being very difficult to apply in a real situation. From my limited personal experience, I admit having screwed up the kick in the nuts, and the knee breaking kick ... but I still won both fights in question, because my krav maga training had prepared me well to the messy dynamique of missing, etc...



As I already said on this forum, I really want to start with MMA when I have time, I am sure it could teach me a lot of things. Unless someone can recommend me anything better.

Woedendstier wrote:

Chris Turnbull wrote:
If you look at the countless violent street fighting encounters captured in CCTV on YouTube they are all messy, people miss, fall over etc.

That is what Krav Maga is supposed to train people for !

Apparently so, like just about every other MA/System out there this is the claim.

But it staggers me how addressing this very fact is conveniently ignored in favour of what looks good and would impress the naive and opposite sex at a party, as you ran through it step by step with yet another compliant realxed individual......

If you were to really truly apply proper scrutiny through objective and constructively critical thought process to Krav Maga and then actually find someone to test it on that had no interest whatsoever in allowing you even a split second or millimetre to look good how do you think it might pan out?

For example, take your average Krav practioner and then find someone reasonably fit and strong, put a pair of 16 oz gloves on him and understand that this guy is only interested in driving forward full speed and power whilst trying to bash the Krav guys grid in.....do you really think much of that stuff will even come to bear?

And what if the same guy with 16 0z gloves on was also allowed to use his knees, feet, head etc?

In fact, take off the gloves and put on a pair of 4 oz MMA mitts so he can grab him or take him down, tying up those hands and elbows from doing all that impressive counter and strike stuff, surely nobody really believes that it would pan out anywhere near as favourably as the Krav youtube vids?

The sheer momentum, energy and impact generated by somebody that comes crashing into you whilst fully committed to bashing your head in is overwhelming and as such has to be countered by an equal or larger amount of force if you want to utilise a high percentage option. And not hope for things to be presented just exactly so enabling you to pull off that flashy, minimal effort counter move or strike.

I think a lot of people miss the point and don't have the right mind set.

They start Martial Arts wanting to be super heros thinking that following a few months training they will be able take on anyone in a street fight including multiple attackers.

It just doesn't work like that anymore in 2013.
Many years ago people had more morals and ethics than today and they would sort things out with fists one on one and then drink a beer together afterwards.

These days its all bottles, knives, and guns, and multiple attackers jumping on your head.

The truth is you can be Mike Tyson or Fedor, it just doesn't really matter how tough you are in the ring or cage because in a street fight against 3 or 4 determined attackers with knives or guns, you will still go down as we are still all human.

Fights occur most of the time when the person accepts the fight, we don't have to accept the fight if we can avoid it.
Its all a mindset, and Krav Maga doesn't teach you to be a super ninja, it also teaches you to save your own life.

For instance if you sense a few attackers are coming towards you with that determined "We are now going to sort you out" look, just leave that zone as fast as you can.

If you see a knife, then run.
Simple as that, no matter how good you are with knife fighting, Israeli experts are categoric on this, "If you are in a knife fight, you will be cut".

Obviously, sometimes the fight for your life cannot be avoided, if you have a wall behind you and the attackers in front you will need to try anything you can to stay alive.

Before training in martial arts its important to have a good attitude towards other people, not to be cocky, not to get lippy when drinking, respecting other people, learning about psychology and human behavior, learning about combat indicators, learning combat breathing also.

Whilst I don't see MMA as a life saver, I see it as a very good sport, its a tough sport and it will definitely help you if no weapons are involved and if you are one on one.

Good post Ted.