History of MMA

Mixed Martial Arts is all about using any move or technique learned in basically any martial art to defeat an opponent, therefore it can be difficult to place its exact creation or inception in history. Of course, the earliest contact sport or martial art with very few rules (or a no holds barred concept) was called pankration and was started in Greece around the year 648 B.C., taking its place among other sports in the Olympic Games.

It can be safely said that while pankration may have been the parent sport of other full-contact combat styles, it was too early a form to have any direct influence itself. However, it has taken on many techniques from the sports and martial arts that pankration had spawned.

Wrestling is one of its greatest influencers and to the untrained eye, a Mixed Martial Arts competition or match can be mistaken for a modern wrestling match. It was during the late 1800's that wrestling and boxing became popular and participants such as John L. Sullivan and William Muldoon were well known for some of their no holds barred antics.



A large contributor to the explosion of Mixed Martial Art was people's interpretation of the legend Bruce Lee's martial art. Bruce Lee different styles and systems of Martial Art like Wing Tsun or Wing Chun which was the place he started, but before he could complete this Chinese kung fu system he moved on, so he found what he knew had it's limits, so looking else were was the obvious answer, looking at styles like karate, fencing, boxing, wrestling, Jiu Jitsu and so on, using what worked for him from each, to defend against different attacks. In 1993 the first UFC was won by Royce Gracie, since then it has generated a massive following across the planet.

Competitions increased and got bigger and bigger around the world as Mix Martial Art and UFC got a bigger following both as a Martial Art and a form of entertainment. As time went on more and more people learnt to take different moves from other Martial Art styles to fit their needs to win in competition. There doesn't seem to be any signs of the explosion for this Martial Art slowing, in face quite the opposite as both participant and spectator are being entertained.

Sifu Lee Jacobs
www.leejacobs.co.uk