So I want to start a few posts and have some discussions about traditional martial arts in MMA.

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We all know that MMA has come a VERY long way since the beginning. Arguably, some could say it all started with Vale Tudo in Brazil, BJJ, the underground fight scene, or the legendary Kickboxing vs Muay Thai fight. 

Either way, I want to talk about how effective we think traditional martial arts are today.

Taekwondo

Now, I know what many people think (including me), that Taekwondo is a great impressive martial art, but it really doesn't do much in the fight game. Bear with me, and lets just talk about stand up fighting today. 

I started out with Taekwondo and achieved my black belt when I was super young at 12 years old, around 15 years ago. Looking back, many of us achieved it pretty young, so I could argue it was more of a business model. Either way we all had fun and loved it. 

Plus, one time when I was about 12 years old, and I got into a fight with someone in the school year above trying to mess with us, a head kick certainly did the trick!

Taekwondo really has some impressive movement, and kicks. In my opinion, I feel it is a great base to start with for younger kids (as most classes are aimed at children) but also for adults - here's why. You get great movement and flexibility, and learn discipline. 

Sure, striking with your hands is not used as much as in other martial arts, but I still feel this is a fun way to learn some cool techniques and generate some serious power in your kicks!

Thoughts

Today, MMA is a sport in its own. There are specific MMA gyms everywhere, where you will learn 'MMA'. 

Is this the best route to go? Probably, but it can't hurt to learn some other techniques and have fun with them!

What do you think? Maybe I am a bit bias to Taekwondo, but I would say it gave me a good base to learn other martial arts quicker, and also... HEAD KICKS!

Let me know what you all think!

Just to add...


I am not saying Taekwondo is the best martial art or by any means the most effective, I'm just giving my opinion on it :)