When you think about contact sports the main ones that probably pop into your head are football, boxing, hockey and mixed martial arts. Of all of these sports the most hated currently is Ultimate Fighting. People tend to criticize it as barbaric and potentially deadly. And while there is considerable potential for bodily injury there are a myriad of factors that help to keep it safe. In its nearly 17-year history there have only been two verified mortalities. Further there is evidence to suggest that the two individuals who died were the victims of pre-existing physical ailments that contributed heavily to their untimely deaths. The other sports listed above with MMA have been directly responsible for more deaths in their histories, both in total and on average, than MMA.

Take hockey for an example. Hockey players can skate as fast as 25mph. Consider that that is top speed. Even when two players skating toward each other at less than top speed, maybe 20mph each collide, that is a 40mph collision. At that speed it is easy to leave someone unconscious. Hitting an unforgiving surface like ice while out cold can be deadly. There are more than a handful of players that have died from on ice head injuries. There are players that have died from taking a frozen puck to the chest also; And this is not old school hockey, this is modern-day hockey. Graham Christie died in 1997 from having his heart stopped by a puck in the chest. And what about Miran Schrott? He died on the ice after being slashed in the chest by an opposing player, stopping his heart. The swiftness of the players and the swiftness of the puck, combined with player-to-player and player-to-surface (i.e the boards or the ice) contact are bound to collect more lives.

Football’s history is much more violent than that of hockey. The origins of football are littered with fatalities. (This is not to mention all the career ending or other crippling injuries such as paralysis that have occurred) According to The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury, 325 men and boys have died either directly or indirectly from playing football at the high school and college level between 1982-2008 (26 years). Direct injuries are defined as those fatalities, which resulted directly from participation in the fundamental skills of football (such as tackling and blocking). Indirect injuries are those injuries that are caused by systemic failure as a result of exertion while participating in football activity or by a complication, which was secondary to a nonfatal injury (such as heart failure and heat stroke). 1990 was the first and only year there was no fatality in any level of football from the years 1931–2008.

It is remarkable to think that football goes largely uncriticized as a potentially hazardous sport while a sport like mixed martial arts is still referred to by people, ignorant of the rules and practices of MMA, as “barbaric” or “human cockfighting.” This basic misconception of the sport is a detriment to its legitimacy as a high level athletic endeavor.

The worst sport to this day for deadly injuries and certainly life altering injuries is boxing. Boxing gloves are 14oz – 16oz and are designed to protect the hands of the puncher and not the head of the punchee. Oddly enough it does a great job of protecting the punchers hands to the extent that he can deliver far more blows to his opponents head and thus cause much greater cerebral damage than if he were simply able to knock his opponent out with smaller gloves like MMA participants wear.

MMA gloves are 4oz. They protect the hand to a moderate degree, but still allow knockouts to occur. I bet you never thought a knock out would be safe. But in comparison to repeated blunt force trauma, it is by far the safer alternative. The main goal in boxing is to hit your opponent until he is unconscious or unable to continue from repeated blows to the head. Further, it is unusual that a fighter’s corner will throw in the towel to save their fighter. It is considered embarrassing and unmanly. Mixed martial arts, however, has a variety of ways to end fights. Furthermore there is no stigma to submitting whether it is to a Brazilian Jujitsu technique like a choke, joint lock or due to strikes. It is actually considered intelligent to submit to joint locks or strikes to avoid serious injury. Maybe that makes boxers (and football player and hockey players) tougher than MMA guys. I guess you can just keep stacking those tough dead guys on top of each other while the less tough, but smarter MMA guys live to fight another day. There are many places to train to be a fighter or participate in MMA St Louis, Chicago, New York, Las Vegas, Bettendorf, IA or even Appleton, WI. Simply make sure you find a solid, safe school in which to train.

About Rodrigo Vaghi: Rodrigo started his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 14, in the original Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro. Vaghi’s instructors were Grandmaster Helio Gracie and his sons: Rickson, Royce, Royler and Rolker. After many years of training with the Gracie Family, Rodrigo has become a close family friend and black belt instructor representing the undisputed champion of the Gracie’s: Rickson Gracie. Rodrigo Vaghi is the proud owner of Vaghi Martial Arts and head of its Brazilian Jiu Jitsu St Louis Program.

Mixed Martial Arts, known alternately as MMA has taken the world by storm in the past few years, making regular appearances on pay-per-view and regular cable channels as well as live shows around the United States and the world. Mixed martial arts events may have local, amateur fighters, or national professional fighters, or appearances by both!

Article Title: MMA using boxing and Muay Thai strikes until knocking their opponent out or onto the ground. Muay Thai training is good for mixed martial arts training, not only for its strikes but, for the clinch. The clinch is a position in which the fighters are in close contact on the feet, trying to control the head or the arms of their opponent. Not only can the clinch be a great position and set-up for knee and elbow strikes, the clinch can also be used to control the opponent against the cage and set-up a takedown attempt.

When choosing a training center to begin your cage fighting training, it is best to choose a school that has a number of different martial arts styles taught separately from the regular mixed martial arts class. Many schools have websites that outline the various training styles that are offered and the focus of the school. Schools in cities across the country offer MMA St Louis, Milwaukee, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami included. Do your research first to make the most of your training time!

About Rodrigo Vaghi: Rodrigo started his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 14, in the original Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro. Vaghi’s instructors were Grandmaster Helio Gracie and his sons: Rickson, Royce, Royler and Rolker. After many years of training with the Gracie Family, Rodrigo has become a close family friend and black belt instructor representing the undisputed champion of the Gracie’s: Rickson Gracie. Rodrigo Vaghi is the proud owner of Vaghi Martial Arts and head of its Mixed Martial Arts training Program.