There are many different disciplines of fighting included in the styles of MMA. Wrestling, freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling are some of the worlds oldest sports, possibly the oldest. In these styles, no blows are struck, this is a hand to hand battle to throw down the opponent.

Karate is one of the earliest popular forms of martial arts in the United States, this style is known for powerful, linear techniques but also may use softer, circular techniques. Jiu-Jitsu is an ancient martial art composed of throwing, joint locks, striking and weapons. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a form of Jiu-Jitsu that incorporates skills that use less strength, allowing the fighter to be effective against larger opponents. Judo was founded as a martial art in 1882 and was a derivative of Jiu Jitsu.

Tae Kwan Do is one of the flashiest forms of martial arts, incorporating impressive kicking techniques. It is one of the most common forms of martial arts in the world.

Kung Fu is not just a classic tv show starring David Carradine, It is also a style of fighting that has movements patterned after animal movements. There are many different styles of Kung Fu.

Boxing is a very American fighting sport, the opponents are dressed in silks and wear padded leather gloves. Their movements are quick and often elaborate. It often incorporates ‘mind games’ as the fighters dance around one another looking for an opening. Kickboxing incorporates both boxing and different styles of martial arts such as full contact karate.

Mixed Martial Arts encompasses any moves or techniques learned in any of the martial arts, in order to defeat your opponent. It is difficult to really place a date on the emergence of this in history. The very first emergence of martial arts in recorded history is Pankration, which evolved in Greece around 648BC, it was included in the Olympic Games. Pankration, while it was the first, it was too early a form to have any direct influence on the martial arts of today.

In the late 1800s, wrestling and boxing became popular, when no holes barred matches were held, it was not uncommon to see someone with a wrestling build and background win the competition. One of the biggest driving forces and supporters of the creation of Mixed Martial Arts was Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee had his own style as he mixed styles from Karate, fencing, boxing, Jiu Jitsu and even wrestling. He combined all of these disciplines into his own creation that he found was the best for him. As time goes on, this style of fighting is becoming more and more popular in both forums and shows no signs of waning interest. Students are learning many different disciplines in order to compete successfully in the current day ring

If you don’t belong to a gym, finding a regular sparring partner can be nearly impossible, especially if all of your friends are too busy or they’re not into martial arts at all (or they might be, but they’re too lazy to actually train!).

So what’s the solution for this? Well, there really is none at this point, except to join a club that has regular sparring sessions, but take a look at what’s in development in the world of robotics:

The Martial Arts Robot Project

The most advanced system of its kind; faster yet safer than a human sparring partner….
….The X-1 is a high performance humanoid fighting robot for martial arts training, demonstration, and entertainment. It consists of a mobile unit with 24 degrees of freedom connected by umbilicals to a large compressor and a computer control cart. Many advanced performance and safety features are unique to the X-1.

Images of the Martial Arts Robot’s first bout with a human.

Just as Kasparov beat Big Blue, after a struggle, Wan-Yik won the first ever
martial arts bout with a machine. The Austin American Statesman
described the early prototype as “a reasonable imitation of a karate
expert.”

Ongoing performance and control improvements will focus the robot’s
superhuman speed into greater agility. The next human to sparr the
machine may well lose on a point score basis.

The Hyperkinetic Humanoid

After a two year gestation the Hyperkinetic Humanoid (H2-X) Robot is operational. Widely known as the Martial Arts Robot, the machine is faster and tougher than a human, yet is surpisingly safe.

Self Defense Technologies, Inc.

Self Defense Technologies, Inc. (SDT) has developed the world’s first “true” fighting android. Specifically, SDT’s invention is known as an electromechanical training apparatus or Fighting Android FA1. This android will revolutionize the training and conditioning of participants in boxing, martial arts and kick boxing along with providing both recreation and entertainment for the general public.

Well…these robots aren’t what you would see in the movies or in anime films…but hey, you gotta start somewhere!

Check out this clip of Kyokushin Karate vs Drunken Boxing and Wing Chun Kung Fu.

It looks as though the Drunken Boxing practictioners were putting more effort in looking drunk than to actually hit their opponent!

There’s no knockouts, but there’s a few decent head kicks and a lot of drunkeness.

Enjoy:

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