 There is a long-standing and ongoing debate between the effectiveness of traditional martial arts and mixed martial arts MMA versus TMA and there's a lot of claims on both sides and one of the claims that comes up is that MMA is not as effective in self-defense because it's really mainly a sport and trained for the ring So I thought that that little aspect might be worth pulling out taking a look at and we asked the question Will MMA work in real life self-defense? So my short answer is will MMA work in real life self-defense? Yes, I believe it absolutely could now I want to make the distinction and I'm using the word could instead of would Would didn't know something a little bit more too definitive and when it comes to self-defense and martial arts I don't believe that anything is definitive because everything's contextual Everything is based on scenario and there's a lot of circumstances that can come into play that will affect whether or not You can defend yourself or not. So you're talking about a skill set where you're putting your hands on another person There's a lot that can go wrong. So I want to make that statement that saying yes, I believe they could work I don't believe that any art is definitive any art has pros and cons to it whether self-defense based or not And I think it's worth taking a look at today and MMA is no exception to that Now when we talk about MMA the mixed martial arts the technical definition is just a fighter Who's got multiple disciplines that they're putting together to their own fight style? So it can be a mixture of any arts, but in today's context for the topic and purposes of this video We are referring to the mix specifically MMA that you see in the UFC or cage fighting the sport aspect of it and Typically every fighters a little bit different, but typically you see a combination of judo Brazilian jiu-jitsu Boxing kickboxing Muay Thai or some form of karate and other striking arts That's kind of the core of what you usually see in the UFC So we're gonna kind of for today's video of today's purposes We're gonna use that as a definition of MMA is what you typically see in the cage because when it comes to the discussion and debate between Traditional arts and mixed martial arts people always ask well, how can we never see this work in the cage? So we're gonna take that we're gonna take whatever works the cage and see if it works on the street and Honestly, the truth of the matter is it comes down to each individual person each individual fighter skills Just because you train an MMA does not automatically mean you can defend yourself You still have skills develop. You've got timing. You've got conditioning. You have to have strategy in combat You know, not everybody just takes that naturally or not everybody gets good at that So if you have a person who has trained an MMA, but they're not particularly good at it You know, they could lose to somebody from another traditional martial art. It comes down to the individual person So just because you learn an art or you learn go to a gym Discipline does not automatically make you good at it But looking objectively I do believe that MMA fighters have extreme fighting skills And I do think that they have a high chance to be able to defend themselves in a real-life situation But it goes deeper than that Every discipline has pros and cons and I don't believe that there's a single art or a single school out there that fits The mold of being the best of every aspect of fighting or self-defense and that's why I Encourage mixing and finding the pieces that you like that fit together MMA has pros and cons and we're gonna take a look at them right now in the context of self-defense Now I personally think that MMA fighters have a lot more pros and cons a lot more advantages disadvantages mainly because These are usually trained athletes These are people who many times do this as a career or even as as maybe as an amateur career But they take this very seriously if they're a cage fighter Then they are then they're doing is a pretty significant level of commitment So you have fighters who fight on a regular basis and that right there leads into the first aspect The first advantage is the fighting the sparring MMA training is heavily heavily focused on sparring and Fighting is a big part of the school regimen. It's not like many schools where you go to class You learn causes you learn drills you this you that maybe the last minutes of class You'll fight or maybe two two out of three days a week or three days a week you'll fight It doesn't matter and may the heavy focus on training is sparring whether you're rolling on the floor Whether you're practicing submissions where you're all out boxing It's just a fighting aspect is very large and forefront and present in most MMA gyms And that alone will give somebody fighting skills and that goes for all arts Well regardless of what art you train if you are not regularly sparring and working with a partner and hitting each other You're not going to develop that timing that distance that discipline that intelligence that goes to into a fight So right off the bat I think that's one of the big advantages of MMA fighters is that they have a very concentrated focus on Actual fighting and hands-on with an opponent. They also learn a variety of disciplines So you don't just go to an MMA school and learn how to hit pads You know, if it's a good school, you're gonna learn stand-up fighting. You know good strikes good blocks You're gonna learn ground fighting. You're gonna learn takedowns throws chokes submissions So they kind of take pieces of different arts. They put them together to become a very well-rounded fighter So as someone who's proficient in an MMA school or if you go to the school that's highly effective at training fighters You're not gonna get just one discipline. You're gonna get a good rounded Combination of skills that they're gonna serve you well in the ring So that's one thing is a lot of arts don't teach that, you know You've got arts that are great on the ground, but they might not be as good as standing up or you've got arts They're great stand-up arts, but if they go to the ground, they don't know what to do That's why many people mix arts together, but MMA has that built in so if you look at any UFC fighter Most of them have very strong stand-up skills very strong ground skills and very strong locks throws defensive So just a variety of training is an advantage in itself Also, they are conditioned and this this I think is one of the greatest advantages of someone who trains in MMA Is that that conditioning? Can really withstand a lot you're talking trained athletes that focus on this They put their bodies through some serious abuse to be able to stand up in the fight These are not people who train the fight for just one quick, you know one minute or just a quick defense They're trying to build up endurance to last multiple rounds against heavy abuse and strikes being thrown upon them So somebody who is conditioned as an MMA fighter can usually take a lot of abuse Unless you get that one lucky hit in there or you just happen to hit the precision spot or weakness Which is unlikely you really shouldn't count on it that you have to expect that person's gonna be able to take quite a bit All while dishing it out at the same time So if you do not have a lot of fighting experience and you're going up against somebody who's a seasoned MMA fighter My sincerest condolences to you you're in for a rough time that conditioning is huge And since people like to point out. Oh, it's just a sport. Yes, you see is a sport But let's not forget that sports have rules, you know, there's a referee there that will stop this You know certain abuse over per opponent passes out of opponent taps out That's not present on the street in real life. You don't have those rules You don't have the referee and there's no tapping out, you know I hooks bites dirty fighting happens in the streets and when your life is on the line Anything goes so you take these athletes have this very high level of skill With restrictions and now you take those restrictions off put them in a real life situation where they feel threatened That danger level there their expertise level just jumps up that much more So you have to understand they are not bound by any rules at this point and in many cases They love to fight if it's an MMA fighter who's fighting for the cage This is sometimes a career or at least a very serious hobby or something that they want to do These guys live to fight. So now you are putting a situation in the play where somebody who trains to fight Might even do it for a living has a passion for it now has to use defend themselves You can expect them to bring their a game. So yes I fully believe a highly skilled MMA fighter has a great chance and has a great skill set to defend themselves in a real Situation but as I mentioned before I don't believe that any art or any discipline is to be all end all to all self defense That even even with MMA, there's still areas that they don't focus on that They're worth taking into consideration. One of those considerations is multiple attackers MMA fighters train to be in the ring with one other fighter, you know straight on line of sight They don't train for 360 degrees. Let's worry about a guy's buddy behind them They don't train to handle multiple attackers that doesn't mean the person can't adapt Especially if they've got boxing they've got that footwork then they can move around and adapt to multiple people But it doesn't mean that they've trained to have that mindset and really strategize You know where their placement should be how to use one person against another how to use your position against theirs So that's one aspect that the MMA sport fighting does not address is multiple attackers, especially on the ground You know BJJ and grappling is really huge in the ring But that's the last thing you want to do in real life situations Go to the ground if you don't have to because especially if they've got friends You might not know if they have friends Multiple attackers is just an aspect that isn't present in sport MMA fighting that really needs to be kept in consideration in real life And with that comes environmental awareness We've done several videos on environmental awareness and knowing how to assess your situation But the MMA fighter doesn't train to look for exits look for obstacles scan a room assess possible threats You know any of any of you out there who have been in the military and law enforcement? That's something I'm sure you guys have in your mind all the time You know a lot of people won't sit with their back towards the door because they want to see who comes in They want to people watch the MMA fighter who trains for the ring Doesn't have that mindset or it's not usually ingrained or usually not brought into a school So a lot of that environmental awareness isn't always quite there You know the great at the fighting part of it But your scenario is also a huge aspect and it can be easily overlooked if you're not paying attention to it and with that goes terrain So in the ring you've got two fighters in a contained area Flat surface one-on-one with a judge or a referee. None of that exists in real life You've got gravel. You've got grass. You've got stairs. You've got multiple level trains You've got weather. You've got cars. You've got tables your obstacles all of that Brings in that scenario that I mentioned earlier the code versus the wood is just because you could possibly defend yourself The context plays a great role. So you really really really have to know your surroundings to Perfectively defend yourself. It's not just the fighting skill. It's also your awareness and strategy of where you are And then there's weapons now weapons are very very touchy and a tricky subject to begin with these first of all Let's be real nobody is gonna come up to you with a knife attack and go Overhead into the farm or just stand there with the arm jab weapons are nasty They are extremely dangerous and they're very hard to defend against but that being said they don't even come into play in MMA gyms like I have not personally seen an MMA gym teach any weapon defense at all so That could be a very real aspect of real life self-defense You might be able to punch and kick real well But what do you do if someone produces a knife if you've got no experience on defending or even using the knife So the aspect of weapon defense is something that's missing from most MMA schools and because again, it's not part of the ring It's another scenario that they don't train for so in summary. Do I believe that MMA will work in self-defense? Yes, absolutely. I think someone who's proficient with MMA fighting skills has a great chance at defending themselves in real life So when it comes down to it if self-defense is a goal in your MMA fighter, you're off to a great start You've got the skill set. You've got the conditioning. I just think that there's some supplemental training that you can throw in I'm always a big advocate on mixing arts, you know, sometimes It's more than just knowing where your strengths are But you have to identify your weaknesses and then going and learn the answers to those weaknesses and MMA is no different You know again most MMA schools focus on sport fighting but that doesn't mean you can't take those skills out into a real-life situation and I just think that there's a lot of supplemental training that you can add To give yourselves even the better chance to defend yourself in a real-life situation So as always thank you guys so much for watching any MMA fighters out there who are watching this I would love to hear from you Have you ever had to use your MMA skills in real life? and if so how did that work out for you and If you were to choose or if you there's something you wanted to add to your training or if you felt there's that spec Missing what would it be? You know, this is a great place to kind of bounce ideas back and forth other viewers could have Recommendations and just share your experience. So again, thank you all so much for watching Please like and subscribe and join us on patreon We have a lot of exclusive content for you all there and we will see you next time