Unfortunately, mixed martial arts does not always receive the warmest of welcomes in anime or manga. There are plainly some biases against it, even to the point of contradiction. Mixed martial artists are often portrayed as mere sportsmen, just playing at real combat (which I will allow this argument to a degree, but I will qualify it) or that they are strong, but have horrible attitudes and are beaten out of principle it seems.
In History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, there is a scene that shows Odin, right before he meets Ogata Isshinsai, where he had just won a martial arts match that looks very similar to an MMA competition. He appears to make light of the competition and you do not see him use any common MMA skills in his later fights. Ryouzanpaku itself is set up to be for pure non-sport Masters. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, the problem lies in the fact that it dismisses the combat effectiveness of MMA or its components just because they are used in sport.
Even Judo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu are made to seem less than other martial arts. Ukita is a judoka, but always seems to be the weakest fighter in the group. And during the D of D tournament, the BJJ team got slaughtered by the Ancient Pancration team... Which should include wrestling as part of its skill set, but is never showcased. This is challenged slightly by the Command Sambo users, but it is an exception to the rule.
In Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru, Minoru learns Karate and a little BJJ and does very well and then Mutou just does Karate and is ridiculously more powerful; however, a fighter from the MMA club is taken down by a single front kick (mind you, from a very strong karateka, but all the same). In general, if someone does MMA in manga or anime, expect to see them get slaughtered.
There are exceptions to this in Grappler Baki, Tough, Teppu, All-Rounder Meguru, and some others, but in general, MMA catches a bad rap in anime and manga. There's nothing wrong with just Karate or just a style of kung fu or just boxing or whatever, but the problem is when an author belittles the fact that MMA has fundamentally changed martial arts for the better (another article) and that mixed martial artists defeat traditional martial artists on a regular basis. I've said this before and I'll say it again, if you want to be a pure karateka or boxer or wrestler or whatever you have got to push the limits of your fitness and strength and find ways to deal with your style's shortcomings. Don't blame your art. Pick your path and charge full speed ahead, but prepare for the trials and tribulations and don't expect to win just because you train hard. Scissors always beat paper, no matter how much you don't want it to.
In History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, there is a scene that shows Odin, right before he meets Ogata Isshinsai, where he had just won a martial arts match that looks very similar to an MMA competition. He appears to make light of the competition and you do not see him use any common MMA skills in his later fights. Ryouzanpaku itself is set up to be for pure non-sport Masters. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, the problem lies in the fact that it dismisses the combat effectiveness of MMA or its components just because they are used in sport.
Even Judo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu are made to seem less than other martial arts. Ukita is a judoka, but always seems to be the weakest fighter in the group. And during the D of D tournament, the BJJ team got slaughtered by the Ancient Pancration team... Which should include wrestling as part of its skill set, but is never showcased. This is challenged slightly by the Command Sambo users, but it is an exception to the rule.
In Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru, Minoru learns Karate and a little BJJ and does very well and then Mutou just does Karate and is ridiculously more powerful; however, a fighter from the MMA club is taken down by a single front kick (mind you, from a very strong karateka, but all the same). In general, if someone does MMA in manga or anime, expect to see them get slaughtered.
There are exceptions to this in Grappler Baki, Tough, Teppu, All-Rounder Meguru, and some others, but in general, MMA catches a bad rap in anime and manga. There's nothing wrong with just Karate or just a style of kung fu or just boxing or whatever, but the problem is when an author belittles the fact that MMA has fundamentally changed martial arts for the better (another article) and that mixed martial artists defeat traditional martial artists on a regular basis. I've said this before and I'll say it again, if you want to be a pure karateka or boxer or wrestler or whatever you have got to push the limits of your fitness and strength and find ways to deal with your style's shortcomings. Don't blame your art. Pick your path and charge full speed ahead, but prepare for the trials and tribulations and don't expect to win just because you train hard. Scissors always beat paper, no matter how much you don't want it to.
4 comments:
Very interesting post but i have to disagree with parts. Paper, like all things, can grow strong and defeat scissors. I study MMA myself, its great for developing strength and skill but i mainly do it because its the closest thing you can get to measuring your fighting capabilities, without the fight becoming illegal.
But mixed martial artists only beat traditionalists in an MMA ruled fight. Traditionalists, if they could, would use moves that are deemed too dangerous for MMA. What i like to think of as real fighters would simply give them a whack in the balls and stomp on there head. Its not pretty but its effective.
Sorry, lost track of what i was talking about. I was talking about things that you hadn't even mentioned.
there's just to much about fighting to rant about in a blog comment.
Interesting post, keep up the good work
I appreciate your input and am inclined to agree to a point. Consider this, though. Anyone can kick in the balls or poke ries our punch someone in the throat. MMAists are capable of these things, too. In a real fight, if they remember that there are no rules, a MMAist is just as capable of "illegal" techniques as a traditionalist.
The primary differences are that traditional fighters are often not as conditioned or athletic as MMAists and MMA fighters have a wider skill base to pull from, which gives then an edge.
And if you read my other posts, you'll find I'm quite fond of TMA and sport that a well-trained TMAist can beat a MMAist as long as he is aware of the MMAist's capabilities and fights with those in mind. It's just a much harder road, which is all I'm saying.
Also, no matter how many times you throw paper in Rock-Paper-Scissors, scissors will always win. It was just an analogy, albeit an imperfect one.
Thanks for reading and thanks for the comment!
Dont worry, ive read all the other post's, This blog is my second most visited website ;).
I personally prefer the Hanma's way of doing things. Strength and conditioning of sportsman and skill of traditionalists. The best of both, to a certain extent. But unfortunately, This way if doing things is impractical in the real world. In my personal experience anyway. Also, i didn't mean MMAists would do moves only effective in MMA, just that they hadn't practised techniques to the extent of a real fight. If that makes any sense :L. And i to was using an imperfect analogy in my comment, it was just for arguements sake, as i truly believe that with enough training, anyone can beat anyone.
Definitely appreciate your input and insight. Feel free to comment any time or leave suggestions for posts or additions to Real Anime Training.
Thanks again for your comments.
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