Don't get me wrong, I love MMA. I really do. It's how I make my living, and I have no intention to bite the hand that feeds me. But the red flags are going up a lot more lately. Tell me I'm not the only one who fears that the sport of MMA is seriously lacking in the traditional principles of humility, respect, and self control. Everywhere I turn there's that brash, immature, in-your-face garbage that undermines what I think the martial arts are all about. For instance: fighters talking crap about their opponents; The Ultimate Fighter television show (just mentioning the name conjures images of young punks getting drunk and vandalizing property); and forums full of bickering kids overflowing with misguided angst, most of them clueless.
MMA has shown the world, hopefully, that you have to be an integrated fighter if you're going to be as effective as you can possibly be. Hopefully MMA has woken people up from their dreams of kata and dead routines. In this respect, MMA has done wonders. But when we strive for effectiveness, is it truly necessary to jettison tradition? When we throw out every last visage of tradition, don't we throw the baby out with the bathwater? Why can't we have combat effectiveness while retaining the principles upon which the martial arts have stood? I'm not saying we should all bow, speak Japanese, and eat rice with chopsticks. But come on people. I see students in MMA gyms all the time being discourteous, unsanitary, and just plain rude. And the instructors just go on like it's business as usual. Sad thing is, it IS just business as usual.
Maybe I'm just getting old. Maybe I'm just pining for a past that's long gone. Maybe martial evolution has no place for the concerns of yesterday. But I hope I'm wrong. I hope we can reduce the mud-slinging and take a higher road. Quit turning to violence (or the threat of violence) just because someone pissed you off. We should be more than just fighters. Fighters fight for themselves, warriors fight for a higher good. Well don't they? Shouldn't we work toward becoming warriors and not merely fighters? Anyone can fight. Fighting doesn't take a special person.
I hope someone can find a balance between function and tradition. It's got to be out there somewhere. I just haven't found anyone who seems to get it yet.
