How Useful is MMA in a Street Fight?

photo credit: andriuXphoto via photopin cc

Recently I was reading an article by a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner titled, Why Jiu-Jitsu is Not Suitable for Street Fighting. It got me thinking and,obviously, it reanimates the old dead-horse debate of whether or not combat sports are useful in the streets.

I've taken part in quite a few of these debates in the past. Typically they devolve into name calling, whining, and absurd claims/assertions. For the last couple of years I've avoided such discussions like the plague.

At the same time, though, it's still a topic many people are very interested in. And not just the protectors of various martial arts or combat sports. Beginners, who are new to the martial arts world, are genuinely interested in whether or not MMA is as effective in the street as it is seems in the cage.

The answer is not as cut and dry as some in the martial arts world would have you believe.

The Pros & Cons of MMA (& other combat sports) for Street Fighting -

The debate between martial artists who train purely for self defense and those who train for combat sports (like MMA, Muay Thai, and BJJ) about who's skillset carries over better to a true no-rules street fight has been going on for a long time. With the popularization of the sport of MMA, the debate has grown even more heated and prevalent.

Hell, it is not that uncommon for people from a more traditional martial art (who tend to claim they focus more on "self defense" aspects) and combat sport martial artists to literally come to blows over the debate by setting up challenge matches.

So, this is a big deal for people on both sides.

My personal opinion on the matter is that combat sports can be effective when it comes to a self defense situation. What I mean by that is, a MMA/Muay Thai/BJJ fighter could potentially survive a street fight, but they should be aware of the pit falls of their art(s) and should tweak their training approach when it comes to self defense.

So, let's take a look at the pro and cons:

Pros-

• Realistic techniques - Combat athletes prove, every time they step into the cage or ring, that their punches, blocks, kicks, throws, takedowns, and grappling are useful against non-compliant, agressive opponents. And during a street fight that is exactly what you're going to get - a non-compliant, aggressive attacker. 
• Superior Strength and Conditioning - People who train to compete in full contact combat sports have to be in amazing shape. They need superior levels of strength, speed, and endurance to be able to handle the stress of fighting other competent fighters. An essential element of surviving a violent encounter is often being stronger, faster, and able to outlast your attacker.  
• Better Mental Preparation - Fighting is tough business. Whether it is in the ring or in the street, fighting takes a physical toll as well as a mental toll on people. Repeated exposure to the stresses of fighting allows a fighter to better handle that stress. Especially when done in a safe and progressive manner - as is done by combat athletes. This gives combat athletes a distinct advantage in a street fight because they are more experienced when it comes to dealing with real, full-contact violence. 

Cons - 

• Some MMA Techniques are Dangerous in a Street Fight - I don't mean that they're dangerous for your attacker, I mean that they could be potentially dangerous for you. Take for example, a typical wrestling-style single or double leg takedown: as the fighter shoots in for the take down the leading knee is "dropped" fairly forcefully down into the mat. This is perfectly fine on soft mats, but asphalt or concrete are a different story.
  
  What happens if you miss the shot? Well, you've probably just fucked up your knee, making you a less effective fighter.
  
  Immediately pulling guard is another example. Taking an attacker to the ground and holding him between your legs while you're on your back on the asphalt/concrete/broken glass isn't too smart either. So, if you're looking to apply your skill set to a self defense situation you need to be aware of the shortcomings of certain techniques - techniques that may work well with mats, padding, and a ref but could be disastrous should you try to utilize them outside that safe environment. 
• A Street Fight isn't a Duel - Let's face it: combat sports are essentially dueling. It's always one on one. You always know the rules before going into a fight. Hell, there are rules for the fight. In a street fight/self defense situation there's none of that shit. The guy you're fighting could be trying to kill you. He could have a weapon. He could have several friends waiting to kick your skull in. Training in a combat sport does not prepare you for these situations. That's not to say you couldn't augment or adjust your training to help you better deal with these types of encounters, but you won't typically get that with "vanilla" MMA/Muay Thai/BJJ training. 
• The MMA/Combat Athlete Mindset isn't Violent Enough - To many that may be a weird statement. A lot of folks have this idea that MMA is "violence incarnate" -  that it's the height of our culture's obsession with violence. But this is a misconception. MMA's violent mindset stops well short of "ultimate violence". As a MMA (or other combat sport) competitor you're goal isn't to kill your opponent. Sure, you may want to knock him out. But kill him? No. The thing is, when you get into a real self defense situation, your attacker may very well be trying to kill you. You can't answer that type of aggression with the "I'm gonna knock him out" mindset. You can't waste your time trying to "feel your opponent out" as though you're in the first round of a cage match. No, you've gotta answer that level of violence with an even greater level of violence. You've got to be willing to kill if your life depends on it. This is an easy thing to say, but it's a very difficult thing to actually do. You will need to devote some serious time to developing this type of survival mindset if you are serious about surviving a truly violent encounter.  

Now these aren't huge issues. It isn't like the entire skill set of a mixed martial artist needs to be thrown out the window to prepare for real-world self defense. The biggest hurdle will be a shift in mindset and awareness. But with dedicated effort it can be done. When compared to what many traditional martial arts would have to do to realistically get their art ready for an actual street fight, the adjustment is quite small.

The Other Side of the Coin - 

To be perfectly fair, traditional martial arts are nice anachronistic pastimes but they are in a much worse position than combat sports when it comes to preparing their practitioners for a street fight. Especially, those traditional martial artists who claim to possess techniques that are "t-too deadly", who never or rarely spar, and who focus solely on kata work and pre-arranged, compliant attack/defense scenarios. 

The fact of the matter is: if you're not training with any sort of realism you're light years behind those involved in full-contact combat athletics. Sadly, that is exactly what many traditional martial artists are doing - they aren't being realistic in their training. What's even worse is they've convinced themselves that they are ready for real, violent encounters.

The funny thing is, when it comes bad mouthing other arts and bragging about how effective they are in terms of real-world self defense, traditional martial artists tend to be the most vocal about. Perhaps it's some sort of compensation mechanism, but it's really laughable that people actually believe stuff like THIS is truly useful during a violent encounter.

Perhaps if there's enough interest I'll write a post on what Traditional Martial Artists need to work on to prepare for a street fight...but that'll be a really long post.

Conclusion - 

This blog post probably won't change many people's minds. In fact, it's more likely to ellicit vitriolic ranting than thoughtful consideration. Whatever. The reality is, combat sport do a good job getting fighters to a high level of proficiency at actually fighting. The only drawback is their training revolves around fighting in a relatively safe environment where the rules are agreed upon beforehand. A self defense situation is not safe and there are not rules. So, it takes a shift in one's mindset to prepare properly for such a situation.

Hopefully, this post will help someone in their own training. 

Train Hard, 

Josh Skinner