Taipei City Government

An aspiration of many that study martial arts is to enter a realm where not only are the techniques of an individual form such as boxing, Sanda (散打), or judo mastered, but, over the course of a lifetime, to learn several forms, and use moves from each in conjunction when fighting opponents. In the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), practitioners of different systems do just that, facing each other in the arena, competing under a unified set of rules. Each athlete is able to incorporate the essence of any chosen schools in his/ her repertoire, utilizing any boxing, kicking, knee, elbow, palm, grappling, or submission technique to master an opponent.

Mixed martial arts emerged when practitioners of different forms of martial arts competed against each other to see which form was more powerful. When brought to the United States, all schools were incorporated. There were no restrictions or rules for fights, which were decided quite simply — through a knockout. The guiding spirit behind the competition was to find out which form of martial arts was most effective in real combat. Later on, the rules in use today were formulated to ensure fairness and the safety and health of the athletes – each bout has three rounds of five minutes each, and a fighter is automatically declared the victor if he/she delivers a KO (knockout), TKO (technical knockout), or submission.

MMA is an extremely challenging sport, for athletes must attempt to master an array of martial-arts techniques. Stand-up techniques include the straight punch, uppercut, front kick, leg sweep, knee strike, and elbow strike; ground fighting moves include the ground pound, mount, knee on belly, arm bar, triangle choke, and knee bar techniques. The sport develops all-round athletes, which has helped it slowly catch on around the world. It has also become fashionable with women, the physical training leading to well-toned bodies and attractive physiques.

The head instructor at the Taipei Mixed Martial Arts (臺北格鬥運動館) center, Qiu Yuzhi (邱郁智), suggests that if you plan to learn the sport you should start by studying a form you like most, such as boxing, Sanda, or Muay Thai. Using this as a foundation, progress onto other forms such as wrestling and ground fighting. This will develop the array of techniques needed to step into the MMA ring. “Generally speaking, Sanda is closest to the essence of MMA, but each person can follow their own interest when choosing their introductory martial-art form. This better ensures you'll both maintain your interest and will progress.” Teachers will instruct beginners in the basics of all sorts of Chinese boxing and martial-arts techniques, and you'll hone your skills using sandbags, hand targets, leg targets, and other fitness equipments to further increase strength.

The development of an MMA fighter takes about two years. Continual training with sparring partners, under the supervision of an instructor, is needed to gain the necessary combat experience. And regardless of the form chosen to enter into the world of MMA — judo, boxing, etc. — students must also train and temper mind and will, to be able to maintain a state of mind that is calm and focused. This allows them to adapt to any attack strategy used by an opponent, and to think strategically. If you're up for the challenge of taking part in the highest realm of martial arts, the fascinating world of MMA awaits you.