Lower Providence Aikido

What a terrible question to put forth, eh? On one hand you have unbelievable athletic performances, put together with plotline and acting and dazzling kung fu masters. On the other fist you have the ultimate contest, gladiator vs gladiator, steroid using, trash talking tattoo heads putting it on the line in a mixed martial arts fight!

Well, perhaps I have gone a bit too far in my description, but we can live with that. There is enough truth in my sentences. And, the question, to be truthful, is a good one.

Mixed martial arts, or MMA, as it is called, is the fastest growing sport in the universe. While I love the spectacle, I have to be honest, I am not going to learn the fines points of fighting. Yes, there will be stellar examples of boxing, and a distinct style of ring wrestling, or jujitsu, but there won't be the fine study of martial arts technique.

A study of Kung Fu, or any traditional martial art such as kenpo or taekwondo or aikido or whatever, is a journey through endless fine points of technique. It is an education in physics that has no match. It does not, however, except in specific instances, offer a totally combat effective science.

Look a little deeper, and we can define the difference between art and sport. An art is a demonstration of the spirit, a seeking within, a distillation of the human being into finer and nobler purpose. A sport, on the other hand, is the throwing of one human being against the other, and often to the point of badly bent ears, broken noses, and consciousness battered to the point of impairment.

Thus, there are good and bad points that one can see in this comparison of the two fighting disciplines. MMA does result in effective street fighting abilities, though at a cost. Kung Fu results in depths of self knowledge, but is not always street effective.

These strengths and weaknesses do, of course, depend on the ability of the teacher one has. In the hands of a good sensei MMA will not just be tats and insults, but will adhere to time honored concepts of fair play, strength of personality, and the enhancement of the human being. And, a good Kung Fu instructor will understand the aspects of real life fighting that are necessary if one is to survive conflict on the street.

Of course, the initial question to this piece was more than a mere comparison of art, it is a question of which you would rather do, watch a mixed martial arts fight, or watch a kung fu extravaganza. With that in mind, this writer makes choice for watching the kung fu, simply for reasons of learning. However, I believe readers will be split down the middle, and that is perhaps fitting and correct.