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Mixed Martial Arts

The American Strength Training Institute offers training in mixed martial arts, or otherwise commonly known as MMA. For the novice, mixed martial arts is a combat sport whereby two competitors try to gain dominance over one another by using a wide range of endorsed martial art techniques, such as striking and grappling.

The original basis of mixed martial arts was pitting various martial arts and fighting styles against each other, and only applying a small amount of rules. The purpose was to try to establish which method would be the most successful in a real, uncontrolled combat situation. A similar form of mixed martial arts was the Greek ‘pankration’, and was first introduced to the Olympic Games as early as 648 B.C. Other no-holds barred fighting tactics took place in the late 1800s when wrestlers used a wide variety of fighting styles, such as various catch wresting styles and ‘Greco-Roman’ wresting.

However, the modern mixed martial arts taught at the American Strength Training Institute is an evolution of such practices and certain rules have been implemented to encourage approval of the sport, but a great deal of the ‘no-holds’ barred concept remains in place.

In mixed martial arts, there are two types of techniques used, these techniques fall into two groups; namely striking (which includes kicks, etc.) and grappling (which are clinch and submission holds, sweeps, takedowns and throws). Illegal combat techniques, such as biting and eye-gouging are banned, but head butts and spinal locks may be considered acceptable and the acceptance varies from each competition and organisation.

Through mixed martial art competitions, it has become clear that there are three distinct phases in unarmed fighting, namely stand-up fighting; clinch fighting and ground fighting. In the early years mixed martial arts included a broad variety of styles i.e. everything from sumo to boxing, however through the development of the sport it has done away with less effective styles, generally because a fighter specialising in one particular style was lacking in skills to defend themselves from other techniques used.

It was only in 1993, that mixed martial arts gained substantial international exposure and publicity when Royce Gracie won the first ‘Ultimate Fighting Championship’ which ultimately sparked a revolution in this ‘new’ form of martial arts. The attention to mixed martial arts led to birth of the ‘PRIDE fighting Championships’ held in the United States. Training for mixed martial arts embraces a variety of styles, which have proven to be successful in the ring. While the mixed martial arts fighter will try to use their own exacting specialities in ring, they must anticipate the encountering all types of various techniques and different situations.