THE HISTORY OF MMA
The history of MMA began in Greece, around 648 BC, when a combat sport called pancratium was incorporated into the Olympics.
This sport was marked by the fact that it was also used as training for Spartan military troops, where the blows consisted of punches, kicks and strangulation, as well as fights on the ground that went on until one of the fighters collapsed.
See also – The Main MMA Terms
HISTORY OF MMA: 2500 YEARS LATER
However, MMA wasn’t even mentioned at the time, as it only emerged more than 2000 years later, here in our country. More specifically, in Rio de Janeiro in the 1920s. The history of MMA began like this.
At that time, Carlos Gracie, a jiu-jitsu master, invited several fighters of different styles with the intention that they would compete.
Decades later, in 1993, Carlos Gracie’s nephew, Rorion Gracie, had the idea of organizing what would become the first Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) championship, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) in the United States.
The broadcasting of this championship broke audience records on the closed network and was a success both abroad (outside Brazil) and here in Brazil.
See also – The Jiu-jitsu Belt System
HISTORY OF MMA: WHAT IS MMA
Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, is a combat sport where fights are contested with both standing and ground fighting.
The range of blows can vary, from immobilization and containment techniques to common blows using feet, knees, fists and elbows.
See also – Full article on what is MMA
HISTORY OF MMA: ITS HISTORY SINCE THE FIRST WORLD WAR
When the First World War broke out, the world became tense. Many countries went to confront each other with the simple aim of killing their enemy.
The uprising affected even those who didn’t take part in the war, because there were plenty of resources to support it, such as food and weapons.
When the First World War ended, the struggle that had begun in that same 19th century a few years earlier returned in force. But it returned in two different ways.
These were the real competitions and the famous show fights, full of choreography and grandiose displays. It was from this that professional wrestling originated.
Japan and Brazil have two things in common: they both contributed to the emergence of MMA as we know it today. Japan contributed, even without knowing it, with Shootwrestling and Brazil with Vale-tudo fights.
In 1930, Carlos Gracie decided that he would bring together a number of fighters of different styles to take part in an event that would later be called “The Gracie Challenge”.
Something similar happened in Japan in 1980, when Antonio Inoki decided to organize a series of MMA fights, which served as an impetus for the arrival of Shootwrestling.
Soon after the UFC ‘s success in the United States in 1993, Japan couldn’t be left out and a year later, in 1994, the Free Style Japan Championship was created. Both tournaments soon came to be considered the biggest MMA competitions in the world.
See also – The Basic Rules of MMA
VIDEO DOCUMENTARY ON MMA
HISTORY OF MMA: THE STYLES OF MMA
When vale-tudo competitions exploded, only one martial art was used in the fights. But that wasn’t enough, so the idea of adding more fighting styles to MMA was born.
It was then that practitioners began to fuse a variety of styles and disciplines into MMA. These are as follows:
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-Kickboxing;
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-Muay Thai;
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-Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu;
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-Boxing;
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-Wrestling;
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-Judo;
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-Sport wrestling;
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-Karate;
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-Taekwondo;
- -Sambo.
See also – What is UFC?
CONCLUSION
The history of MMA may have very ancient references from Greece, but the true spirit of MMA began two millennia ago and to this day it attracts attention and is a sport loved by a legion of fans and admirers.
See also – The History of Jiu-Jitsu