mmamississauga

Where did MMA start?

MMA has actually been around since ancient Greece. Back then, it was called Pankration. It was introduced in the Olympic Games in 648 BC. Pankration means "a complete contest". It involved both boxing and wrestling. Pankration was also used by Greek Hoplites (single units of an ancient Greek army called the Phalanx) in battle and in their training. The term ‘sudden death' actually came from Pankration. In the event of a tie, each contestant gets a ‘free blow' to his opponent. This stops until one gives up or dies - hence the term ‘sudden death'.

Through the years, everyone has always wondered what martial arts is the best one, or the one that could beat all. Movies like ‘Bloodsport' and others were created to give the martial arts audience some sort of satisfaction with what art would beat all. It was inevitable that someone would sooner or later create an arena in which martial artists from all disciplines could prove themselves against other. In the early 90's the Ultimate Fighting Challenge was born. At the time, there were not very many rules and there were no weight categories. It was as simple as: get in the octagon, use your style of martial art and prove that yours can beat all the rest. Some of the few things you couldn't do were bite, gouge, or fish hook. Of course those rules still apply today, and the sport of mma is now a lot more organized and complex.

The UFC or Ultimate Fighting Challenge almost did not survive. Because of the nature of the sport, there were many people who did not approve of the sport and deemed it to be too extreme. Of course, human nature is to fear what you don't understand. Luckily, the UFC was able to survive and now continues to become more accepted by the general public. It is still to be accepted all across Canada, although that is also changing slowly. Every year, more and more organizations are popping up and giving opportunities for athletes to prove themselves against others. This sport truly is "a complete contest" as you cannot only be a good boxer. You must also learn how to defend from grappling attacks or else, get your punches neutralized, taken to the ground and be submitted.

So that's just a short version of what I know about the history of MMA. I really hope I can continue to educate everyone out there so that this awesome sport could be accepted everywhere as time goes by. I'm really hoping it keeps taking off and that there will be more ‘leagues' to hold mma events both amateur and pro. If you wanna learn more about MMA in Mississauga, try it out for a week free, and get more insight into the mixed martial arts world, check this link out: http://www.kombatarts.com/Classes/MMA/index.html Also there's another small article on: http://mmamississauga.wetpaint.com/