MMA is well-known today, and ever since it became relatively famous, through the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its popularity, mixed martial arts studios began popping up throughout the world.
There are plenty of reasons why MMA is popular and why it is considered an art form. To start with, MMA allows expression and individual talent to come forth and show what a unique perspective on different martial arts and their combinations looks like. Even punters, who spend most of their time betting on MMA find these fighters to be artistic in the way they move. Here are a couple of reasons as to why MMA should be considered an art form.
Expression – The Foundation of Art
In its core, art is all about individual expression and just like you have the foundations of painting set a long time ago, the story is very similar to MMA. Other martial arts have defined the rules and ways of fighting, moving and striking, not to mention the philosophies behind each and every one of them.
But, in the end, every MMA fighter expresses their own style, which is often a combination of at least two and in some cases, up to five or six different martial arts. Whether you take grappling from judo, or defence from aikido, the leg movements from tae kwon do and punching from boxing, or anything else which you enjoy, you can still make a complete fighter and more importantly for art, a unique one. Every person has their own set of moves, even within the same discipline, but MMA allows for that uniqueness to be expressed even more, which is why some of the fighters are known for their trademark moves.
The Whole is Better than the Sum of its Parts
Having a complete fighter, one who does everything, is much more satisfying to the viewers than just knowing a bit of punching and kicking and grappling. Just like with great teams which are made of good individual talent but also camaraderie, so is a good MMA fighter made out of different styles, yet a complete story. This also requires that element which binds, which you find in good teams.
It Takes Skill and Practice
There are fighters which are talented, but the best ones practice a lot. Fighting in its core is a physical effort, and even though a well-placed punch might win a match, to get to the point of being able to do that with a single punch takes years of experience. For a musician to be able to play wonderfully on their instrument, years of practice are also necessary. In that regard, the work and attention to detail which goes in to MMA workouts is immense. This is why great fighters are easily distinguishable from the amateurs.
With this in mind, it is not difficult to imagine why MMA should be considered an art form. From its expressive nature to its attention to detail, MMA allows people to create art on a physical and exciting level.
