Mixed Martial Arts are exploding on the scene. The undisputed king of the genre is the UFC. They deserve to be where they are. They endured while the league struggled with lack of interest, economic viability and lawmakers who wanted to shut them down. Like a true MMA champion they survived it all to thrive. Even though I am a martial arts purist, I confess to enjoying the UFC. I don't watch their reality show because I don't care about the private lives of the fighters, but I like watching these amazing athletes show off their skills. They are professionals and highly trained. Unfortunately, wherever there is success there are cheap imitators. Several inferior leagues have popped up trying to cash in on the UFC's popularity. Some of them are downright sad.
For example, I was watching HD Net Friday Fight Night. It was worse than amateur hour. The fighters are pathetically bad. Some are downright fat. They look like they just put down their beer and pried themselves off the couch to fight. Predictably most of the fights last just a few minutes since they have no skills or conditioning. The winners then have the nerve to parade around like they've vanquished Mohammad Ali in his prime. I saw one guy with a 1-6 record win and act like he was the champion of the world. I witnessed another guy with a 6-5 record act like a punk taunting his downed opponent. The worst part about watching it on high definition is that it's crystal clear how pathetic the whole scene is. It made me wish I had an old blurry black and white TV.
By Kent Ninomiya
Aikijutsu Academy of Indianapolis | Senso-Ryu | Ted Hanulak Sensei