Let's really explore the dominant arts of MMA

**Tom Kagan** · Posted On: 1/10/2012 2:27pm

Originally Posted by Permalost

Show me a successful cooking show where the camera focuses on a slow-cooking crock pot for several hours.

Does cooking a piece of wood in a fireplace count?

**Permalost** · Posted On: 1/10/2012 2:28pm

Originally Posted by Ke?poFist

http://rachaelrayshow.com/show/segme...ckpot-cooking/

**clav** · Posted On: 1/10/2012 2:32pm

Originally Posted by Trinkle Soot

So it has been established that the 3 main domains in MMA are Striking, Wrestling (position control, takedowns), Grappling (submissions). Now would you say it is better to be Very Good in all three or be Great in one and Good in the others.

I often wonder about this too. Should a beginner start his training with an MMA class getting a taste of everything, or concentrate on one avenue in the beginning? Which path leads to a more complete MMA fighter after years of training?

***Omega Supreme*** · Posted On: 1/10/2012 2:34pm

Originally Posted by Trinkle Soot

Back on topic.

So it has been established that the 3 main domains in MMA are Striking, Wrestling (position control, takedowns), Grappling (submissions). Now would you say it is better to be Very Good in all three or be Great in one and Good in the others.

I'm talking about years of pro training here, not some ammy 3 times a week training.

I would say really good at one thing and okay in the others. A strong base in those translates very well to support that which you are not strong at.

***Omega Supreme*** · Posted On: 1/10/2012 2:35pm

Originally Posted by clav

I often wonder about this too. Should a beginner start his training with an MMA class getting a taste of everything, or concentrate on one avenue in the beginning? Which path leads to a more complete MMA fighter after years of training?

I won't let most guys into my mma class without experience in one of the 3.

**Vieux Normand** · Posted On: 1/10/2012 2:40pm

"This isn't some sport where you whack a ball with a stick. This is fighting. This is the real deal".

I'm as aware as anyone else that Dana is simply catering to his bud-lite-filled douchebag constituency with crap like this. The economic imperative is urgent--get as many $ out of them as possible before they wrap their souped-up mustangs around the telephone-pole next to a police station at 3 AM.

However, even a douchebag should know that unarmed combat is not the "real real" as far as fighting goes, or it would have been a determinant of history (as war--with weapons, our species' specialty--has been) rather than being mostly a bread-and-circuses sideshow. Now there's no denying the amount of work that goes into being an elite-level entertainment fighter...but that makes it no different than any other sport at the professional level.

Also, a return to the UFC-1 ruleset (or adopting a Vale Tudo ruleset) would make it more of a "real deal"--at least within the context of unarmed combat.

**clav** · Posted On: 1/10/2012 2:45pm

Originally Posted by Omega Supreme

I won't let most guys into my mma class without experience in one of the 3.

This is my position as well. I think a solid base is more important than lots of exposure.

I ask because MMA classes are popping up everywhere. In my gym I'd say it is the largest class, full of beginners. All of our pro guys seem to attend all the specific classes. Maybe they are avoiding the newbs or maybe they are smartter than the newbs...

Disclaimer......I suck...

**Ke?poFist** · Posted On: 1/10/2012 10:09pm

Originally Posted by Trinkle Soot

Back on topic.

So it has been established that the 3 main domains in MMA are Striking, Wrestling (position control, takedowns), Grappling (submissions). Now would you say it is better to be Very Good in all three or be Great in one and Good in the others.

I'm talking about years of pro training here, not some ammy 3 times a week training.

Well ideally, you'd like to be amazing at all 3. If you are good at 2 and great at 1, and your opponent is ok all around, then it simply becomes the same equation that goes into every fight. Who wants it more? Who is conditioned better? And who executes their gameplan better?

As a fighter you should always be striving to up your game in all areas, and not just focusing on your niche. Now if the question was, is it better to start training and mastering one range/art before tackling a wider range of skill-sets, that creates a whole different argument worth discussing imo.