by Tyson Abaroa

Created on: October 30, 2009

Though there are thousands of martial arts to mix for MMA, a fighter has to choose the arts that make up the three main focuses in MMA. Some have compared MMA to a triathlon because success revolves around mixing these three focuses. The first is the ability to strike. Second, a fighter must either know how to take his opponent down, or defend from being taken down. Last, the fighter must be proficient and effective in ground fighting.

The second and third focuses are easily narrowed down. Wrestling and Judo seem to be the most practical martial arts for MMA. These arts are all about takedowns and takedown defense, although aikido and karate also have techniques for take down defense. With any variety of Jiu Jitsu, a fighter will cover will have the knowledge on how to submit, or how to gain a dominant position and ground and pound till there is a knockout or referee stoppage.

It is the first focus of MMA that involves a variety of styles and strategies. Striking is the first focus and priority in MMA because while most of the fights end on the ground, they all start on their feet. Muay Thai, traditional western boxing, dirty boxing, Karate, and Kung Fu strikes have all been seen in the cage. The successful Mixed Martial Artists knows how to use them all and when to use them. That is where the term, Brawl a boxer, and box a brawler came from.

This term really dates back to the early days of the UFC when athletes were just learning to mix their martial arts. This was a time in MMA when athletes could win by knowing just enough wrestling to escape takedowns, and just enough Jiu Jitsu to escape and get back on their feet where they would throw heavy wild punches and simply brawl with their opponent. Sometimes these powerful but inaccurate strikes would be so wild they seemed to break though all conventional boxing defenses and find the right mark for a knockout. They would brawl with a boxer.

An athlete that knows the sweet science can't be kept down for long. Many of the boxers knew they couldn't afford to continue the aggression. Their brawling counterparts weren't only good at wild aggressive fighting; they were winning because of it. So the boxers went back to work to perfect their counterstriking. In the cage or ring they would watch, wait, and avoid the wild punches or kicks until the perfect opening. When the moment came they would land the strike with surgical precision. They won by boxing with a brawler.

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