# Do you support mixed martial arts for women?



## Ralphy1

The recent win by Ronda Rousey of the championship has brought this "sport" to the forefront.  I don't support it for men let alone women.  Learning how to defend oneself makes sense, but not to just fight for money, fame, and glory...


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## QuickSilver

So you are for banning boxing and wrestling?


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## Ralphy1

Certainly boxing, wrestling is a grey zone...


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## oldman

Absolutely I support these sports, whether it be women or men. It takes a real sincere dedication to the sport to achieve greatness. A person has to be both mentally and physically up to the challenges of these sports. One without the other won't work. And to get to be in a championship bout requires the participants to have many wins in some very tough fought battles. If the fighter has not cheated by taking illegal drugs and has fully committed themselves to the sport, which in my opinion, Ronda has, then these matches are for real and the viewer can see the hours of preparation that has taken place prior to the fight and is then taking place on the canvass.  

Now, if we are talking about wrestling as an "exhibition sport", then that's a horse of a different color, although it is still entertaining to watch for those that like that kind of stuff. My Grandfather came from Greece as a professional boxer, but later turned to wrestling because of head injuries. He did OK and well enough to make a living and open a bunch of Greek restaurants, which he prospered in. My Grandfather taught his sons and me how to fight. I was the only Grandson that he taught because the others weren't interested. Actually, I think they were cowards, but that's another story for another day.


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## Ralphy1

Your grandfather experienced head injuries!  And you still think that punching people is great?


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## hollydolly

Yes absolutely I support it...

My daughter is a martial artist ( bu jitsu and karate)  and a  kick boxer as well as a Kick boxing Judge in the past. She has always used it as a discipline sport rather than an attacking sport and I am sure that is the ethos really..

My son in law is an ex Royal marine, and an MMA fighter. ...although it's called cage fighting I have never seen him fight in a 'cage' it's always been in a ring.

Both of them do this as a sport which they enjoy.., and not for a living..ironically my s-i-l has always been the one who out of the 2 of them has suffered the more injuries..in fact my daughter has never apart from the odd bruise been injured while being involved in martial arts..


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## oldman

Ralphy1 said:


> Your grandfather experienced head injuries!  And you still think that punching people is great?



Absolutely. His head injuries weren't like the injuries we hear about today that cause nerve and cervical damage. He wasn't the best boxer and kept getting knocked out. Back in those days, they didn't have MRI's and such, but they understood that too much trauma to the brain was not a good thing. Fighting in the ring was all that he knew, so he ended up meeting a man in Pittsburgh that was willing to train and support him as a wrestler, which turned out to be his better sport. He did fairly well and spent his winnings wisely. He later opened five restaurants that served American food and did quite well. He only lived to be 65 when he had two back to back strokes, which was probably a result of his fighting. 

I always like Mohammed Ali. I saw him on some talk shows and have watched all of his professional fights, including his fights in the Olympics. I have also seen his movie and read his book. There are some people that believe this man to be dumb, but believe me, he is anything but that. Mohammed Ali is a very wise man. He knows what he likes and what he doesn't like and he doesn't mince words when saying so.


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## oldman

Ralphy, I don't think you completely understand what fighting is at the professional level. It isn't all about getting in the ring and knocking some guy's or gal's brains out. It's a professional sport and should be respected for the participants that have invested so much time preparing for their matches and bouts. Fighting requires strength, endurance, intelligence and toughness. One has to be able to over-come the many injuries and be able to keep pushing themselves up one more rung on that ladder to achieve greatness. No one gets on a ladder on the top rung; it's a one step at a time approach. Thousands of hours of training go into becoming the fighter that they are. 

I would agree that if a person is afraid of being hurt physically, then this sport is not for them. When my Grandfather taught me to fight, the first thing he did was punch me pretty hard in the stomach. I was 11 at the time. He asked me if I liked that. I told him no. He then asked me what am I going to do about it. I told him I didn't know because he was my Grandfather and I didn't want to hit him. He said not to let that stop me, so I punched him square in the nose making it bleed. (He already had a pug nose.) From there, we began training, not to become a professional fighter, but he wanted me to learn how to take care of myself as they would say back in the day.


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## hollydolly

oldman said:


> Ralphy, I don't think you completely understand what fighting is at the professional level. It isn't all about getting in the ring and knocking some guy's or gal's brains out. It's a professional sport and should be respected for the participants that have invested so much time preparing for their matches and bouts. Fighting requires strength, endurance, intelligence and toughness. One has to be able to over-come the many injuries and be able to keep pushing themselves up one more rung on that ladder to achieve greatness. No one gets on a ladder on the top rung; it's a one step at a time approach. Thousands of hours of training go into becoming the fighter that they are.
> 
> I would agree that if a person is afraid of being hurt physically, then this sport is not for them.



Couldn't agree more..


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## SifuPhil

Ralphy, you're asking a martial arts instructor if he supports MMA?

...

Yes and no.

Yes, I support it as a sport. Ronda Rousey is an amazing woman and is a great advertisement both for the sport and for women in general. As Oldman said you have to show some amazing dedication to rise in the ranks, and she's done it. 

Yes, you can get injured - that's the nature of combat sports. If you don't like to see blood and guts don't watch, and if you don't have the wherewithal to mix it up in the ring don't participate. No one is forced to.

But no, I'm not crazy about MMA on a professional basis, because all too often it is being held up as the ultimate self-defense method. Yes, some of the fighting techniques and certainly the physical training are useful, but rolling around on the ground isn't the best strategy when you have multiple opponents and an alleyway filled with broken glass. 

So yes and no.


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## Shalimar

I agree also.


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## Ralphy1

oldman, is this a joke?  I have heard that the family that prays together stays together but not about families that punches each other...


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## jujube

I support MMA for women as well as men.....as long as I don't have to watch any of it.


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## Lon

Yes I support all sporting activities for both men and women, professional & amateur.


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## Davey Jones

Ralph,you need to take a second look at Ronda.


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## Linda

I have always loved boxing.  I think because it's something my dad and I listened to on the radio together back in the 50s.  My second oldest son won a silver metal (NOT in the Olympics) a couple months ago for some sort of martial arts competition in Denmark but I can't recall what it was called.  He emailed me a photo of him in his white outfit with the metal around his neck and I wondered why he wasn't smiling and then later he called and told me he'd ripped loose some tendons in his shoulder or arm and he's been in a lot of pain trying to recover.


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## Ralphy1

It seems that pain is part of the problem in this "sport" for those who inflict it on others or on themselves while training...


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## SifuPhil

Ralphy1 said:


> It seems that pain is part of the problem in this "sport" for those who inflict it on others or on themselves while training...



Oh, please - name one sport that _doesn't_ involve pain. 

And a _real_ sport - not chess or midget tossing.


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## Glinda

This is not a sport that I'd be willing to "support" by participating or paying money to go see someone do it.  It's not my idea of entertainment.  But men and women who do like it should be able to participate or watch it.  I prefer yoga.  To each their own.


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## SifuPhil

Glinda, do you believe that yoga qualifies as a sport?


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## Glinda

Good question, Phil.  It is supposed to be non-competitive but not all practitioners of yoga adhere to that.  And when I observe some of the "stars" of the yoga world, I can't help thinking maybe it should be a sport because the flexibility, dexterity, balance and skill equals or exceeds that of any expert gymnast.  But, of course, that's just the physical aspect.  To answer your question, my instructor would probably prompt me to say "no".  But I'd love to see it in the Olympics!


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## WhatInThe

It's a combat sport or sport in general. And like other sports one should be allowed to participate as long as the competition is fair. And unlike a lot of traditional sport athletes you don't see too many or if any MMA fighters crying before a congressional committee complaining about how they were supposedly not officially told about the consequences of a sport they played & watched for years or being pressured to voluntarily decide to play injured. Like any sport the corruption needs to be kept out and the integrity high which goes for the promoters & leagues that promote these events.

The only problem I see in women's sports now besides drugs just like the men are the transgenders wanting to participate as women. That is in unfair. And athletes who speak honestly about that are being chastised including Ronda Rousey who simply said exactly that, transgenders shouldn't be able to participate as women because it is unfair.

http://www.infowars.com/sjws-go-after-baddest-woman-on-the-planet-for-transgender-comments/


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## SifuPhil

Glinda said:


> Good question, Phil.  It is supposed to be non-competitive but not all practitioners of yoga adhere to that.  And when I observe some of the "stars" of the yoga world, I can't help thinking maybe it should be a sport because the flexibility, dexterity, balance and skill equals or exceeds that of any expert gymnast.  But, of course, that's just the physical aspect.  To answer your question, my instructor would probably prompt me to say "no".  But I'd love to see it in the Olympics!



Great answer!

Interesting that it isn't generally considered sport, but I see what you mean about making it one. I have problems of the same sort with Taiji - there they HAVE made it a competitive event (which isn't so bad considering it began as a martial art) but the _way_ they have changed it to make it one is disheartening - they've drained most of the essence out of the art and completely disregard the more spiritual aspects.


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## Butterfly

It's not any of my business to either support it or not support it.  If people want to participate, fine, if not, fine, too.


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## SeaBreeze

I think martial arts is good for men and women to learn for self-defense.  I did a little of it when I was younger, and learned a few defensive moves...but I wasn't dedicated enough to pursue it at the time and earn a black belt.  Here's a lady who started at the age of 68, and she spars with her daughter in this clip.


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## tnthomas

> Do you support mixed martial arts for women?



Sure, can I get a jersey or ball cap?


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## SifuPhil

tnthomas said:


> Sure, can I get a jersey or ball cap?



Sure!


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## QuietMouse

I practice Taoist Tai Chi...does that count ?  hehe....


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