All Mma Styles
Taekwondo used in MMA (fightTIPS.com) It must be our competitive nature as fighters that we often argue which martial art is the best. According to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles there are four types of wrestling internationally, all of which have influenced the sport of mixed martial arts. In addition, there are two lesser known styles of grappling that have found their way into MMA that must be mentioned.
The first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was organized on November 12, 1993, in Denver, Colorado, with the aim of finding out the most effective martial art through real fights between competitors, each trained in a different fighting discipline. In subsequent fights, the fighters started adopting more effective techniques from other arts. Mixed martial arts (MMA), hybrid combat sport incorporating techniques from boxing, wrestling, judo, jujitsu, karate, Muay Thai (Thai boxing), and other disciplines. Check out our merch/apparel:out our website: us on Patreon: https://www.pa.
Let's put it this way: Freestyle and Greco-Roman aren't the only varieties of wrestling out there.
According to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles there are four types of wrestling internationally, all of which have influenced the sport of mixed martial arts. In addition, there are two lesser known styles of grappling that have found their way into MMA that must be mentioned.
To learn more about these styles of wrestling, read on.
The four varieties of grappling recognized by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles are:
Greco-Roman Wrestling
One of the three styles of amateur wrestling that is still utilized in the Olympic Games. Greco-Roman wrestling is derived from the Ancient Greeks and was practiced by Roman soldiers during ancient times. This style of wrestling sets itself apart from others in that attacks below the waist are forbidden.Therefore, high throws are witnessed regularly in Greco-Roman competitions.
Two of the most famous MMA practitioners with a Greco-Roman background are UFC Hall of Famers, Randy Couture and Dan Severn.
All Types Of Mma Styles
Further, though he never entered into MMA competition, Russia's Alexander Karelin should be mentioned simply because he's the best Greco-Roman heavyweight practitioner in the history of the sport (a three time gold medalist).
Judo
Founded by Dr. Jigoro Kano of Japan in 1882. This sport, one which is in part derived and meshed with Japanese Jujutsu, emphasizes free sparring where half the time is spent on the feet practicing throws, called tachi-wasa, while the other half is spent on the ground ( ne-wasa ). Submissions, of course, are used on the ground. Though leglocks, wrist locks, and spinal locks are banned from competition, they are still sometimes taught in practice.Early on, the Japanese wanted to keep the secrets of their martial arts from the western world ( particularly their jujutsu or jiu-jitsu ). Due to this, the form of Judo the Japanese divulged to the western world, at least initially, was devoid of many of the submissions that jujutsu or jiu-jitsu taught.
Even so, the secrets could not be contained forever. Mitsuyo Maeda brought the pure forms of Judo/ Jujutsu to the western world, via Brazil. In fact, Maeda taught Carlos Gracie initially, which eventually led to the development of Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Judo is still an Olympic sport today. Some popular MMA practitioners influenced by a Judo background are gold medalist, Hidehiko Yoshida, and the UFC's, Karo Parisyan ( a four time international Judo champion ).
Freestyle Wrestling
Unlike Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling allows attacks to the entire body of the opponent. Takedowns and putting an opponent on their back are ways to score points. In addition, pinning an opponent wins a match.Freestyle wrestling teaches single leg and double leg takedowns, both of which are highly ingrained in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Freestyle wrestlers have been extremely successful in MMA. Former UFC Champions, Tito Ortiz, Kevin Randleman, and Mark Coleman all have a freestyle background.
Russian Sambo
Sambo originated from the early work of several people including Vasili Oshchepkov, Victor Spiridonov, Anatoly Karlampiev, and I.V. Vasiliev. In short, it evolved as a result of early Russia's yearning to produce an elite fighting system for military and police personnel.Different Mma Fighting Styles
In trying to do this, the aforementioned pioneers brought together several forms of fighting with influences ranging from the Japanese arts ( Judo and Karate ) to Greco-Roman wrestling. In addition, they drew from the fighting styles of the Tatars, Vikings, Mongols, and native Russians.
Today Sambo is broken into three versions: Self- Defense Sambo ( for use in the street), Combat Sambo ( for the military but now often used in MMA ), and Sport Sambo ( for competitions ).
Sambo is known for it's outstanding takedowns ( much like Judo ), as well as its leglocks ( they allow leglocks in Sambo competitions unlike the other wrestling styles recognized by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles ).
Practitioners with a background in Sambo ( often termed Sombo by the western world ) have been highly successful in MMA. Fighters such as PRIDE Heavyweight Champion, Fedor Emelianenko, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Andrei Arlovski, and former Ultimate Fighting Champion, Oleg Taktarov, were born from the art.
The following two styles of wrestling are not recognized by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. However, their influence on MMA has been paramount.
Catch Wrestling
Appears to have developed as a result of European styles ( catch-as-can, collar-and-elbow ) blending with jiu-jitsu. Catch wrestling is most widely known as the kind of grappling seen at carnivals across the United States in the late 1800's and early 1900's.In short, catch wrestling is all about submissions ( often termed 'hooks' ) in the sport. Therefore, some of the most popular early catch wrestlers - Frank Gotch, Great Gama, and Ad Santel - were called 'hookers'.
In fact, Ad Santel was involved in one of the first mixed martial arts style events when he took on Tokugoro Ito, the World Judo Champion, back in 1914. Santel defeated Ito in that first encounter and had further success in such matches later on.
Striking Styles In Mma
MMA fighters with catch wrestling backgrounds include Kazushi Sakuraba ( The Gracie Killer ) and former UFC Champions, Josh Barnett and Frank Shamrock.
Shoot Wrestling
Shoot wrestling was influenced by a host of martial arts including catch wrestling, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, Pehlwani, Karate, and Muay Thai. However, it was clearly most influenced by catch wrestling through former American and Japanese wrestling great, Karl Gotch (real name Karl Istaz).Gotch learned catch wrestling in the famous Snake Pit gym under Billy Riley. He competed and learned all over the world, but once he got to Japan, he achieved stardom. In fact, he taught catch wrestling to several famous Japanese fighters including Antonio Inoki (the man who fought Muhammad Ali in what many consider a staged match), Tatsumi Fujinami, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Satoru Sayama, Masami Soranaka, and Akira Maeda. All of these students already had a basis in martial arts before learning catch wrestling, which in essence meshed with what Gotch taught them to evolve into something else.
Shoot wrestling.
All Mma Styles Youtube
Later, Inoki went on to pioneer New Japan Pro Wrestling, an organization that promoted these 'strong style,' wrestling techniques. Eventually, however, shoot wrestling found its way into Japan's Universal Wrestling Federation (1984). After the Universal Wrestling Federation broke up, shoot wrestling broke into several disciplines as outline below.
Pancrase - Formed by two of Yoshiaki Fujiwara's students: Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Fujiwara had a background in Judo and Muay Thai before learning from Gotch, and these influences can be seen in the organization. Ken Shamrock, 'The World's Most Dangerous Man,' fought many times in Pancrase.
Shootfighting - Bart Vale (another student of Fujiwara) formed this organization.
Shooto - Sayama's style of shoot wrestling includes Muay Thai style kicks.
RINGS - Akira Maeda's style of shoot wrestling. It focuses on submissions.
Shoot Boxing - Formed by a kickboxer, it emphasizes stand up fighting, including standing submissions as influenced by catch wrestling.
Combat Submission Wrestling - Influenced by leglock guru, Erik Paulson. It is a modified form of Shooto.
Please note that these organizations continue to evolve.
There are many different types of martial arts, including taekwondo, karate, and jiu jitsu, as well as MMA (mixed martial arts). Below are definitions of some of the most popular styles.
With this information, the next time someone asks, “What’s the difference between the different types of martial arts?” you’ll have an answer.
- Aikido: considered a grappling art, aikido is a Japanese martial art performed by flowing with the motion of the attacker rather than opposing it straight-on. This requires much less physical strength, as the practitioner directs the attacker’s momentum with entering and turning motions, followed by various throws or joint locks.
- Hapkido: a Korean martial art which uses joint locks, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. Weapons such as sword, nunchaku, rope, cane, and staff are also used, although their emphasis varies. Hapkido focuses on using circular motions, non-resisting movements, and control of the opponent, using footwork and body positioning to gain leverage and avoid strength against strength. Although aikido and hapkido are thought to share a common history, they differ significantly in philosophy, range of responses, and execution of techniques.
- Judo: a relatively modern Japanese martial art (created in 1882). The goal of judo is to either throw or takedown one’s opponent to the ground and immobilize or subdue them with a grappling maneuver, joint lock, strangle hold, or choke. Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet or weapons are only allowed in pre-arranged forms (kata), and are not allowed in competition or free practice.
- Jiu Jitsu (Jujitsu, Jujutsu): a Japanese martial art for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon. Practitioners neutralize an enemy with pins, joint locks, and throws by using an attacker’s energy against him, rather than directly opposing it (as with other martial arts such as karate). There are five main areas or arts of training: blocking, fulcrum throw, non-fulcrum throw, escaping, and striking.
- Karate: a martial art developed in Okinawa, Japan that stresses striking techniques, such as punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands (karate chop). In comparison to tae kwon do, karate tends to focus more on hand strikes, whereas tae kwon do emphasizes kicking techniques. The major traditional styles of karate are Shotokan, Shito Ryu, Goju Ryu, and Wado Ryu.
- Krav Maga: a hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel that involves wrestling, grappling and striking techniques, mostly known for its extremely efficient and brutal counter-attacks used to keep the practitioner safe and incapacitate the opponent by any means necessary. Generally, there are no rules in krav maga, and it has no sporting federation. In addition, there is no official uniform, although some organizations recognize progress with rank badges, levels, and belts.
- Kung Fu (Chinese martial arts): a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. There are common themes to the various styles (which are usually classified by families, schools, or sects). Some styles include physical exercises that mimic animal movements, while others are inspired by Chinese philosophies, religions, and legends. Internal styles focus mainly on harnessing of qi, while external styles concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness. Some of the more common styles include Eagle Claw, Hung Gar, Five Animals (Shaolin Kung Fu), Monkey, Praying Mantis, and Wing Chun. (The term kung fu is often used in the west to refer to Chinese martial arts, however its original meaning refers to one’s expertise in any skill, not just martial arts.)
- MMA (Mixed Martial Arts): a full contact sport that allows a variety of fighting styles to be used (including martial and non-martial arts techniques). Striking and grappling techniques, either standing or on the ground, are allowed. The early years of the sport saw a wide variety of traditional styles, but as the sport evolved many styles were shown to be ineffective. It is now common for fighters to train in multiple styles, creating a more balanced skill set.
- Muay Thai: a martial art from Thailand which uses stand-up striking and clinching techniques. It makes prominent use of punches, kicks, elbow strikes, and knee strikes, using eight points of contact, in contrast to the hands and feet (four contact points) more often relied upon in other martial arts. Numerous techniques associated with Muay Thai can be found in MMA.
- Taekwondo: the Korean art of self-defense, one of the oldest forms of martial arts (reaching back over 2,000 years), and the most widely practiced martial art in the world. Training involves learning a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and open-handed strikes, as well as varying forms of take-downs, throws, and joint locks, all of which develop strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. Taekwondo is known for its emphasis on kicking techniques, as compared to other martial arts such as karate. In addition to self-defense training, students learn prearranged sequences of techniques known as forms or poomsae (known in other martial arts as kata). Tae kwon do and judo are the only two martial arts included in the Olympic Games.
- Tai Chi: an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits. A multitude of training forms exist, including the westernized, standardized version of tai chi (tai chi chih) which has visual similarities to the Chinese tai chi (tai chi chuan), but no martial arts aspect. Some forms are particularly well known because of their slow movement.