Mixed Martial Arts Fighting May Seem Complicated, But It's Not

Mixed martial arts training and fighting are gaining status in the United States, but many of us don't know much more about it than its name. MMA is a combination of various styles of traditional martial arts, all rolled up into one and then blended with Greco-Roman wrestling and boxing. Basically, everything. When the sport began, there were two distinct styles of fighters: Stand-up and ground fighters. Their distinctions were fairly obvious. One preferred to fight standing up, the other preferred to wrestle his opponent into submission. Eventually, all fighters learned to use both styles, and the result is a new type of MMA fighting that is, in fact, mixed.

With all of the different moves available from all of the different styles of martial arts, there are still only about six basic moves that exist in mixed martial arts. There are variations and combinations of all of these, and subcategories in all of them, but the main types of move, offensive and defensive are: Striking, Submission, Ground and pound, Acquire Down, Sprawl, and Shoot. Most of them have been named appropriately.

Striking involves one fighter hitting another with a body part like the hand, foot, elbow, knee, or head. Submission is used to take down your opponent in a wrestling-style move to get him on the ground and into your comfort fighting zone. Ground and pound takes submission to the next level. Once your opponent is down, you sit on him and beat him until he gets knocked out or the ref calls the match. Acquire down is a set of moves used to get the opponent into a submission or ground and pound position. Sprawl is a defensive term. If your opponent tries to head rush you, you spread your legs and lean forward into him by grabbing his shoulders, effectively stopping his attack. And finally, shoot is the practice of crouching low and lunging at your opponent's lower body with the intention of taking him to the mat.

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