MMA is full of geeks

a huge internet fanbase....

discuss.......................

mma? *is new*

your reply means nothing

"your reply means nothing "

methinks sum1 is grumpy about their inactive forums:-p

Seems quite active now pal. :-)

Well I'm completely confused.

Please elaborate.

Really.

*eats his words*

guess it isnt all THAT inactive after alll

think because mma is not mainstream as boxing etc and alot of info is delivered via the web, and most "geeks" can type.... thats what i reckon anyway........ think there are a great number of keyboard warriors out there aswell...

Unless this isnt what your getting at?

I go away for a few days and the forum gets busy

'I go away for a few days and the forum gets busy'

cause and effect!

MMA is non-regulated (in the UK in a national governing body kind of way) therefore standards vary, opinions are offered by anyone well-informed or ill-informed, match-ups are often suspect, everybody thinks they are an expert, though not many have ever done anything of significance to add credence to their thoughts....yes full of wanabe fighters, keyboard warriors, big fish in small ponds, whatever....

Anyway Andy why the post?...finally got fed up of reading all the gibberish offered by people so busy writing it that they cannot have much time for actually doing any real training.

That's why I rarely read what's posted or post anymore. I just train at the stuff that I like doing (not bothered what anyone else thinks) and whether I'll ever be any good at it or not...only time will tell, there's more to life than combat sports.

point well taken Andy.... i shall stay away and let the forum grow!

How many martial arts are mainstream? The constant refusal of terrestrial TV to promote martial arts as a mainstream activity (except at around 01.00am, the same time they show classic French films) means that most martial artists can't rely on TV for a fix or to keep up with the world.

In the case of MMA if you don't have SKY etc then you are almost cut off from the wider world (unless you are part of an active competition circuit etc). Even boxing... god knows the last time I saw a big fight because they are usually on sattelite. BBC doesn't even show highlights on the news. Did anyone know Alex Arthur won the European championship... I didn't see it on the news.

Because of this it is not surprising that MA in general and MMA in particular have such a big internet following, geeks or not.

(incidentally, 'geek' comes from the old germanic word 'Geck', which means 'fool' or 'idiot')

Good point trevek, I think MA could grow immensly if there was some sort of TV programme around, it does seem a bit wierd. It wouldn't even need to be 'hardcore' or just on one style. That one on CH5 (i think) is pretty nifty sometimes, something like 'Mind, Body & Kick-Ass Moves'. Something like that but more travelling around the UK with competitions, etc. would be great.

Lovin' the education too trevek! :-))

Thanks, I just happened to look up the word today on an etymology site before I came to UJJ site.

Part of the problem in my view is the image a lot of the public still have of MA. Believe it or not, a few years ago I was turned down for a voluntary position doing social work. One of their concerns was that I did martial arts!!! These were supposedly educated people!

If we want stuff more mainstream we ourselves have to educate the public about MA. Yes, I know not everyone wants MA with pretty gis and positive images, but if this aspect was utilised a bit more then it might give more access for more hard-core things like MMA.

I actually think a chance was lost when they did that kind of gladiators with MA a few years ago. Let's face it, there is a huge 'lycra' interest in MA at the moment with things like Tai Bo etc. This kind of thing could be used as a backdoor for 'real' MA.

Why haven't the MAists who have won things like Gladiators etc been used more by the mainstream to promote MA? I constantly used to read stuff in MA mags about them but relatively little in the mainstream. I think MAists themselves need to organise to get more stuff mainstream.