Why Kung Fu Loses Against MMA
If you go to any bar on a Saturday night, you might encounter a room full of people glued to the TV, watching Pay-Per-View coverage of the latest big-name title fight. From humble origins, mixed-martial arts (MMA) fights have come up to be hugely popular, often getting tons of attention from people around the world – and more often than not, drawing parallels with the more traditional martial arts from which MMA is descended.
What’s more, on the rare occasions when a modern MMA fighter goes up against a student of kung fu, it can appear extremely lopsided! While being totally different styles, they are both rooted in attacks and defense, and thus it is tempting to think that they are roughly equally matched. So, when faced with the fact that kung fu fighters often lose when pitted against MMA – how can we explain that? Is one discipline better than the other? Is kung fu useless in a real, ruthless fight situation?
Well, not exactly. It’s not nearly as simple as that, and here’s why. Simply put, MMA fighters win more often in the ring because that is exactly – and only – what they train to do, whereas kung fu is much more broad in its focus and its moves. Kung fu was not developed to “win in a ring”, after all. It was developed out of principles of meditation, balance, mental discipline, and the necessity of self-defence in situations where the fight likely would not be fair. What does that mean? Well, it means that we teach kicks, punches, and other hits that are effective in an emergency situation, when they need to be – but would never be allowed in an MMA fight. Downward elbow hits, reverse roundhouse kicks, open-hand strikes, and glove-free blocks are good examples of this – they are all very common in kung fu, but not used anywhere near an MMA ring. In a street situation where you need to end a conflict fast, fighting “according to the rules” is not going to help, so we train our students to do what is most effective, with the least amount of harm inflicted. MMA, on the other hand, is about beating up another person until they are completely subdued and usually unconscious – as long as they stay within the rules. It may be more entertaining to watch, and more brutal in its execution, but it lacks the real versatility and adaptability of a true self-defence discipline; it can’t accommodate unexpected weapons, or illegal kicks and punches, or the ability to stay calm and focused for hours at a time instead of short three-minute bursts. It is a sport – one that requires a lot of time and talent and passion, yes, but a sport nonetheless – whereas kung fu is a philosophy, an art, and a way of life. Another way to say it? MMA fighters train to get into fights and give 110% toward conquering their opponent. Kung fu fighters train to stay out of fights, unless there is literally no other way out – but if it’s all on the line, they are equipped to approach any escalation with a clear head and a quick response. So don’t be so quick to judge if a kung fu martial artist has lost in the ring – real fights don’t have referees or rules, and it would look much different in a street situation!
10 Comments
Kung Foolish
6/7/2020 07:54:38 am
Everything you say just blatantly exposes your ignorance on the topic of combat and combat sports. It's fine if you want to remain oblivious to reality and do your LARPing on your own, but when you're a martial arts instructor, this type of thinking passed along to students is dangerous and irresponsible. The fact of the matter is, there are no "deadly, secret techniques" you can shill anymore without having your claims verified. Endanger yourself, fine...but stop endangering your trusting and unknowing students.
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TRUTH
4/1/2021 08:01:23 pm
Yours words are the real Kung Fu!!!!!!! Hiyaaa!!!!
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ricohflex
7/24/2020 08:37:28 am
MMA has rules and a ring. Some MMA fighters wear gloves. MMA fighters love to grapple someone to the ground. After which they pummel the opponent with gloved punches. That is how they train to fight according to the rules of MMA in the ring. Maybe it is supposed to be a clever way in jiu jitsu.
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LOLOLOL
4/1/2021 07:59:02 pm
What year in the past are you living???? Thats like saying my grandpa was a boxer so I can beat you up. Are you that ignorant??? Next you will say the Chinese Boxers could defeat bullets with their Iron Jacket training.....except the enemy used bullets they didn't train for........I have trained since I was a kid and kung fu is awesome but full of people thinking that just because they are doing kung fu that that somehow makes them a part of some ancient deadly tradition of heroes walking the earth just waiting to unleash their magical mystical kung fu on that one evil person who pushes them too far...........MMA would wipe the floor with Kung Fu for Life.
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Fat Panda
4/1/2021 07:41:43 pm
The ignorance of this article is very profound. Temple Kung Fu Lies.
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WTF?!?!?!?!?!
4/1/2021 08:09:51 pm
You basically just said that a kung fu person will lose to a MMA fighter because you can't poke eyes, grab throat, break arm, kick to groin........sounds like you are not good enough to not fight "dirty". A real master of kung fu would be able to handle himself. Like my master said,"Train everday as if your life depended on it, someday it might." Thats how an MMA person trains, because their life does depend on it. And that is why you are fake, your body language in the video betrayed your bitter feelings over the issue. plus everyone knows with a belly like that you eat more calories than you burn, idiot. Enter a tournament show your students what you are made of, or don't you have what it takes?
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Delusional
9/4/2021 04:34:53 am
You can use open handed strikes and reverse roundhouse kicks and open hand handed Kung fu/wing chun style blocks in mma. No one uses them because they suck.
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Keyboard warrior
2/3/2022 06:52:14 pm
Keyboard warriors unite, and fear. My glock 9mm kicks all your asses. And while you're trying to gay mount me with you mma, my battle buddy shanks your ass from behind with a 9in knife. Later we both bang your mom as she cries over your sorry dead ass.
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Archaic
5/27/2023 06:30:18 pm
"Downward elbow hits, reverse roundhouse kicks, open-hand strikes, and glove-free blocks are good examples of this – they are all very common in kung fu, but not used anywhere near an MMA ring."
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