Why

  • I enjoyed hitting the heavy bag every time I’ve had access to one. Punching feels good. Very fun. Great energy burner. Very hard on the muscles and endurance.
  • “Si vis pacem, para bellum.” If you wish for peace, prepare for war. Like Mr. Miyagi said, the best reason to learn to fight is so that you never have to.
  • Pankration was the ancient Greek fighting art that combined boxing and wrestling into one mega-art. Modern Mixed Martial Arts replicate the same thing and create a proving ground for unarmed combat arts. From my limited knowledge, it seems like the MMA meta is specializing in one of the following, but becoming well-rounded in all aspects of unarmed fighting:
    • Striking with arms and legs to damange opponent while standing. Muay Thai seems to dominate because it trains punching, elbowing, kicking, kneeing, and clinches.
      • e.g. Muay Thai, Boxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Dutch Kickboxing, Taekwondo
    • Wrestling to takedown opponents from standing to ground. Seems pretty straightforward.
      • e.g. Wrestling, Judo
    • Grappling for submission once on the ground. BJJ rocked the early MMA world and has been a staple ever since.
      • e.g. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Wrestling
  • Armed fighting is totally different, and basically requires specific training with each weapon. Less generalizable.
    • Rifle fighting is the modern small-arms meta for an individual soldier.
    • Pistol is the modern meta sidearm of choice.
    • Archery when guns aren’t available.
    • Spears are the simplest weapon ever.

“Si vis pacem, para bellum.”