Let's pretend that the left hook isn't very useful...

Here's to another shitty MMA vs. Boxing thread. :cheers

In reality that's all this thread is.

 

And to answer the thread seriously, I don't think it will ever have "basic" anything, hence the name mixed martial arts.

 

I say its gonna get worse as mma advances.

Certain fighters will implement a "safety 1st" style.

for example fighters will improve their half guard position

Basic kick boxing stick and move strategy, while avoiding the sprawl entirely by throwing themselves to the ground before any attempted takedown is in play. They will "assume the half guard position" . Example is what Thales Leites tried to do with Anderson Silva with the backwards takedown. Only this technique will be used against wrestlers. Which will render takedowns useless.

Kind of like the boxing clinch . only from the ground.

 

I think a lot of fighters now employee a striking coach rather than just a boxing coach; usually the striking coach either runs an mma gym himself or is a part of a big team, and are there purely to teach striking as it relates to mma.

Mark Dellagotte and Shawn Thompkins for example work nearly exclusively for mma, so if something isn't working they would pick up on it pretty quickly just due to the sheer numbers of fighters they work with. There are plenty of other guys, Ken Hahn, to name another who's clientele is MMA fighters, so I think it would get picked up fairly quickly.

 

Just take the frills off each sport and you have MMA at it's most effective. For example, in boxing you could (generally) discard shoulder roll. In BJJ discard the moves where you would manipulate the fighter by using his Gi against him... and so on.

MMA is now reaching boxing's stage of finding the most efficient and effective mode of fighting. Boxing for hands, Muay Thai/Kickboxing for strikes, Wrestling and BJJ for the obvious. I also think Judo fits in nicely with some very effective throws.

I'm intrigued to see what also works i.e. Karate.

 

My bad, I guess I read it wrong the first time.

 

CT what's your conservative estimate on MMA reaching "al dente" so to speak? That is, more or less plateauing in developmental terms if it hasn't already? Do you see anomalies like Machida (who even in today's integrated landscape are able to utilize one hyper-focused discipline to great effect) disappearing or maintaining a niche in the "final draft" MMA world?

 

I think MMA is on the fast lane to evolve into it's own style. I think MMA will be a misnomer in near future. There will be no mix, there will be just one style which includes everything.

Even "anomalies" like Machida will be mixed. Which he is right now. Machida karate doesn't exactly include BJJ and he has to train that separately.
In fact any type of striking is just it, striking. Saying that "Machida" karate is something unique and special, I think, is pretty far fetched. It's like saying Rampage boxing is what Rampage uses.
Styles will ALWAYS vary depending on the person. Machida's style suites him because he's fast enough. If Rampage was to try learning his style it would exactly work because of how he functions physically at the core of it all.

Basically, there will ALWAYs be differences just like there are in boxing. Some like to be the aggressors some like to be the counter-punchers. Some like to be on top in guard some will like to work from the bottom. etc.

 

I don't know what the future holds for mma. "Well rounded" can quickly become "hodgepodge" in today's scene. I'm not saying that with complete negativity. Forrest Griffin is a hodgepodge guy, and he has accomplished a lot in mma. Forrest Griffin is also extremely durable, shows up in great shape, and is trying to win as long as the fight lasts.

Many fighters do not possess Griffin's durability nor will, and could struggle without a specialty.

I truly believe that your better fighters will be masters of one aspect of fighting, and competent in all aspects of the game. They will find a niche, and excel; but be competent everywhere. Randy Couture excels in the clinch, but understands every area of the sport. Machida understands the different ranges of the sport well, but he knows how to steer a fight with his athletic talents.

The most well rounded fighter in mma is arguably Georges St. Pierre. GSP is competent everywhere, but excels at takedowns. Pierre takes down opponents, and lands in favorable conditions as well as anyone.

I think that fighters should explore the different worlds of effective martial arts, and attempt to master the form they excel at. After mastering said aspect, wrestling for example, the fighter could then compliment that fighter's game with more aspects. This way a fighter like Sherk only tries to outbox someone that is out wrestling him, for example.

 

I think this is basically the opposite of whats true.

Dan Henderson would never have been the wrestler he is unless he devoted himself to it for all those years. Cro Cop the striker, Nog the grappler etc.

The phrase 'well rounded' can **** off :twisted:

ps, **** joe rogan