pay per view. The question it sparked in my mind was,

does mixed martial arts actually apply to street based

martial arts combat?

My humble opinion and answer is two fold, yes they can

help your training but they can also damage your

perspective on life or death street self defense

situations..

Observation #1 - UFC is a great avenue for mixed martial

artists and self defense students to learn and glean the

martial arts nutrition these fighters have. One of my

favourite aspects of UFC 84 was the ability of two

fighters to control their dominant opponents by distancing

themselves and using their footwork and movement as a

tool for leverage and control over their more dominant

opponents.

Observation #2 - Most of the fights that went on the ground actually ended in ground and pound. Now it is a fact Brazilian Jiujutsu is an excellent combat sport however in a real street fight the ground can be a dangerous place. Broken glass, hard concrete and the fact that your opponent may have allies can get you killed if your on the bottom.

Observation #3 - In the UFC they have referees and have a safety system set up to protect the fighters from serious

physical damage. In a real fight there are no rules, no

referees and nobody will jump in when you are getting the

crap beaten out of you. UFC is a sport based martial arts

competition but remember, on the street a fight is a fight

and there are no rules.

Observation #4 - The mixed martial artists have a lot of

respect for each other and aren't trying to seriously

injure each other. In a self defense situation you want

to smash through your opponent with maximum intensity and impact causing as much pain and damage as humanly possible. This includes punches to the throat, eye gouges, kicks to the groin and using weapons.

Observation #5 - The UFC martial artists in these battles

are at top peak physical condition. A problem with street

self defense situations is that the most likely victim of

these attacks are out of shape, are weak, are unprepared

and don't have the skill or the mindset to take punches

to the face or even a crowbar to the head (as an example).

I encourage all self defense students to implement using

weapons, to remain confident, to train heavily and be at

their physical best condition at all times.

I've been a nightclub bouncer for over 2 years and I have

seen guys put their opponent into armbars, only to have

the guy in the armbar's friends smashing the would be

jiujutsu expert gets smashed in the head with glass bottles

or overwhelmed by his victim's friends and associates.

Sorry, but street fights have no rules, no referees and never go to a decision in the end. To best be prepared for self defense always be mentally prepared for fighting and be aware of your surroundings. I also heavily encourage sparring and practicing real life scenarios where you need to utilize explosive power to escape from a real fight.

I encourage you to continue watching the UFC and other mixed martial arts competitions but watch them with a skeptical and educated view for the fighting competitions and sport based combat that they are.