Mixed Martial Arts is the ultimate challenge
Scattered across a mat-covered floor, a dozen figures are locked in combat.
One pair — Cpl. James Tomko and Spc. Josh Winter — are a frenetic whirl of movement. Feet and fists weave a chaotic tapestry of arm bars, submission holds and leg locks.
They’re hitting each other, but they’re not boxing. They’re grappling, but it’s not exactly wrestling. What they’re doing is not like any specific martial art, either.
Winter goes for a combination: arm bar to triangle to oma plata.
Tomko counters by stacking, passing the guard and changing angles.
Sgt. Jeff Yurk looks on with pride as his students practice the goals of the Army Combatives Program: Close the distance, gain a dominant position, finish the fight.
As the non-commissioned officer in charge of Modern Army Combatives for the 82nd Airborne Division, it’s Yurk’s job to prepare soldiers for hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield. But when he’s not wearing camouflage, Yurk trains civilians and soldiers in mixed martial arts at Team Roc, a local MMA studio on Yadkin Road.
“These two guys are incredibly talented fighers,” said Yurk, pointing out the skillful techniques the pair execute within seconds.
As a fighting style, mixed martial arts includes everything from karate to boxing, Muay Thai to Greco-Roman wrestling, and taekwando to jiujitsu.
As a form of entertainment, MMA has quickly evolved into a mass-media phenomenon that has surged in popularity to rival professional boxing.
“Mixed martial arts has the spectacle of the WWE and the excitement of boxing; it’s the greatest sport around,” said BJ Penn, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion.
The roots of MMA can be traced back to the Gracie family of Brazil, who began holding mixed martial arts tournaments in the 1920s.
In the 1990s, the Ultimate Fighting Championship pitted fighters of different disciplines against one another in a no-holds-barred format to see which style was dominant in “real” combat situations.
Royce Gracie’s ground-and-pound brand of jiujitsu dominated the early days of the UFC. His victories against fighters of all styles helped elevate the UFC to a worldwide phenomenon.
As safety regulations and rules were added to protect the fighters, who began incorporating other styles into their arsenal, MMA evolved into a sport that has found enormous success with pay-per-view audiences.
In 2005, cable’s Spike TV created an MMA reality show, “The Ultimate Fighter.”
The Washington Post reported that the 10 pay-per-view MMA events in 2006, including UFC 66, generated $250 million in revenue. That’s more than the $234 million the Boston Red Sox pulled down in 2006, according to Forbes.
“MMA is bringing people in from these other fan bases — and competitors, too,” said Urijah Faber, the featherweight champion for the World Extreme Cagefighting league.
“A lot more people are checking out these other disciplines and they’re realizing just how technical this sport is.”
Today, there are several independent MMA leagues in addition to the UFC. There’s a cable channel dedicated to showcasing MMA matches (Versus), and even Chuck Norris is getting in on the action. Norris created the World Combat League, which is a team-oriented system that’s a bit more family friendly.
Household names
The sport’s explosive growth has led to the creation of thousands of MMA-style gyms, schools and studios. And it’s made household names out of fighters like Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Penn and Faber.
Penn, who was also a coach on the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and Faber held a free MMA clinic on Fort Bragg in July.
Approximately 150 men, women and children attended.
From the atmosphere and enthusiasm — and flashing digital cameras and camera phones — one could easily have mistaken the the clinic for a fan-soaked professional sporting event.
“I think every woman needs to know how to protect herself,” said Claudia Robinson, who brought her son, Nathan, 8, and daughter, Nicole, 16, to the clinic.
Nathan, reluctant at first, eventually put Penn in a headlock, complete with a picture for proof of what he did to the former champ.
“This is cool stuff that kids can learn to do, and after watching these guys work with the kids as well as the adults, this might be something I, as a mother of two, can do,” Robinson said.
Being approachable was important for Kevin Brynn, who attended the clinic to brush up on his skills.
“These athletes are down to earth; people are tired of the Michael Vicks of the world,” said Brynn, a father of two.
“It’s great to see these guys are professional, and they respect each other as martial artists. There’s no animosity after a fight.”
Seventeen-year-old Ben Meyer came to the clinic to enhance his martial arts repertoire — he’s studied taekwando, wrestling, boxing and jiujitsu.
“I learned a lot from just watching these guys,” said Meyer, who is considering a career in MMA.
Meyer looked at home on the mats, practicing the exchanges Penn and Faber taught the crowd.
“They had some great advice for me,” he said. “They told me to keep working and don’t be intimidated, but it’s going to be a lot of hard work and take a lot of practice.”
Penn’s no stranger to hard work on the mats. He may have an advantage, though.
“I’m Hawaiian and Irish; my people have a history of fighting,” he said.
He attributes the sport’s growth to what it offers the crowd — a mixture of high-octane action and chess-match strategy.
Unlike boxing — dubbed the “sweet science” — where opponents only have to worry about getting punched, mixed martial artists must focus on three very different, and equally important, areas.
“You’ve got striking, takedowns and transitions, and then the ground game,” said Yurk.
“You need to find what you’re best at, and then perfect that — whether it’s striking or whatever,” said Penn. “The most successful fighters round out their skills by cross-training in other disciplines.”
Faber is a product of that philosophy. A natural wrestler and grappler, Faber spends time perfecting his wrestling and jiujitsu techniques while honing his kicks and punches.
“A complete fighter has a lot of discipline and knowledge,” said Faber. “But the best guys can adapt and are always trying to seek out weaknesses.”
“More than anything else, this is a thinking man’s game,” said Penn. “The champion isn’t the toughest guy; he’s the smartest.”
Mixed reactions
Expounding on the values of physical and mental fitness is something Hanchi Lioni Velasquez can appreciate. But he’s not exactly a fan of mixed martial arts.
“I have great respect for those guys and what they can do,” said Velasquez, head instructor for the Musha Dojo martial arts school on Stamper Road.But, Velasquez says, MMA leagues lack an appreciation for the history of martial arts or its traditions. More importantly, Velasquez doesn’t feel MMA fighters hold honor in high regard.
“When you see these guys on television, they’re drinking and making a bad example,” said Velasquez, referring to the Spike TV reality series.
Inside the ring, Velasquez fears that MMA doesn’t teach good fundamentals.
“I had a kid come in and try to choke me out from something he watched on UFC,” said Velasquez. “He couldn’t do it, because he only saw 10 percent of what goes into that technique. He didn’t see the other 90 percent where a guy is getting his butt kicked, bleeding, sweating and putting in the work.”
Lessons from the past
While MMA is raising awareness of the martial arts, boxing trainer Alfonso Smith worries about the sport’s future, and its impact on professional boxing.
At 60, Smith has trained amateur and professional boxers for more than 30 years. An Army veteran and former boxer himself, Smith has helped train such boxing champions as Roy Jones Jr., Evander Holyfield and Ray Mercer — who later entered the world of MMA.
While he said he doesn’t have anything against mixed martial arts, Smith worries that the newborn sport will peak and fade if it doesn’t evolve.
“The only downside is that it’s not as safe as boxing is now,” said Smith. “I’ve seen boxing’s bad old days, where guys were getting really hurt. If the MMA doesn’t create stricter safety guidelines, they’ll suffer just like boxing did.”
The MMA would be wise to learn from the mistakes of its older, more-established, cousin, Smith said.
“Boxing has already gone through all of this — all the fights with medical boards and even Congressional oversight,” Smith said.
Despite the well-earned brutal reputation surrounding boxing, Smith said it’s safer now, and much safer than MMA.
“In MMA, the gloves are lighter, so they have less protection,” said Smith. “And you’ve got to worry about kicks, wrestling, submissions — not just punches.”
“They’re on top of the world right now,” said Velasquez. “But where are they going to be five, 10, 15 years from now?”
Right now, the future’s looking good in Yurk’s eyes.
His training successes both on and off Fort Bragg mirror the successes enjoyed by the MMA world as a whole — which has just expanded to include North Carolina.
On Aug. 2, the state legislature passed House Bill 1786, which defined mixed martial arts matches and will allow for their regulation, as well as for the Alcohol Law Enforcement division of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety to establish and raise fees.
This translates into legitimacy for the sport here in North Carolina, something Yurk, and hundreds of other MMA enthusiasts, were desperate for.
“This is a huge step for us,” said Yurk. “I’ll bet you that someone, in the next six months, is going to put on an MMA show at the Crown Coliseum.”
Right now is a great time to know how to choke someone out.
But for Yurk, it’s an even better time to know how to mold young soldiers.
“These guys are soldiers first, fighters second,” said Yurk, whose six-foot-three, solid-wall-of-muscle frame stalks like a tiger while watching Tomko and Winter during a heated exchange.
Their sparring match has gone on for several minutes.
Yurk senses the end is near; one of his sweat-drenched fighters will tap out soon. He should know. He’s got an undefeated record (7-0).
But it doesn’t matter who.
Both are going to be representatives on the All-Army Combatives Team at next month’s Army and Air Force Combatives tourney on Sept. 22 at Ritz Epps Physical Fitness Center.
And both are well on their way to successful careers as amateur fighters. Winter is 4-0, and Tomko’s 4-2 — his only losses coming in amateur title fights.
“These men embody the best qualities of the Army Combatives program,” said Yurk. “Being a great fighter is just a natural extension of being a great soldier.”
And Yurk can’t ask for much more than that.
MMA is great discipline