MMA Is The True Global Sport

Who knows how the concept of combat sports began. Maybe it came from the caveman days when groups of people found competitive ways to practice for hunting or battle. Or, maybe rather than two guys having to kill each other for the chick, they figured out some display of dominance to win her affection. Either way, MMA is a true global sport that can be easily practiced by every human on earth. It is non-discriminating on all levels, able to be studied with equipment that can fit in a bag and go anywhere, and is practiced on nearly every continent. In my opinion, the craziest thing that makes it a global sport is that forms of it were practiced by humans across the world, before there was ever a concept of sports.

I’ve wondered why the U.S. started off so slow in recognizing this sport. Hell, it’s still a controversy in some wack ass circles today, I imagine. I remember the MMA of my childhood. It consisted of names like Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, The Junk Yard Dog and The Million Dollar Man (with the Million Dollar Dream as his finishing move)…and it came on Saturday mornings…I always wondered why they allowed people to get hit with chairs, or legally jumped by a mob of people. Maybe we Americans just weren’t ready for MMA yet.

Remember Bloodsport with Van Dame? Regardless of the allegations on its accuracy, the idea was good, and I’m sure it opened a lot of eyes in the U.S. martial arts world. On a global scale, lots of people give credit to the Gracie family for sparking the interest in MMA that we see today. The historical “Gracie Challenge” in the 1920’s brought fighters to Brazil from across the world. Those who were brave enough to make the trip into the ring usually got beaten by a scrawnier Gracie in front of a large crowd.

The sport of MMA has exploded across the globe and vast amounts of knowledge are available to those who have the ability to seek it. There are many training camps that current and future champions of all nationalities are attending. Each school has its own personality, along with its respected city, region, and country. If that doesn’t make it global enough…this sport is growing.

How can I prove it? Quick…who’s the current World Heavyweight boxing champion?...oh well, doesn’t matter because MMA is on.

~Ghetto