Let’s get one thing strait right off the bat. I love MMA. Well, I love Martial Arts and combat sports in general. I’m not in any way putting down MMA, it’s athletes or coaches. That being said, What’s with all the Lame Posturing MMA people? What’s with the “tough guy act”? We all know you are tough (well, the athletes who actually step in the cage/ring are tough). You don’t need the chest pumped out, chin held high, look down your nose at everyone who walks by attitude crap! Believe me. Most fight sports fans are educated on the particular sport they are into, be it MMA, Muay Thai, Boxing, Wresting, BJJ or submission grappling. You don’t have to try to impress anyone. In fact, you are causing more damage to your chosen endeavor then you may understand. You see, no matter what you may think, combat sports are still a “niche” sport. You are not a NFL, NBA or MLB player. Hell, your not even on the same celebrity level as Soccer (to the rest of the world where “Football” is King). Until you make it to the Big Show and rank in the top 5 in a division and most likely need to win a Belt, the average fan won’t recognize you when walking through the mall. There is no reason for all the tough guy shenanigans. By the way, those of us who have been involved in Martial Arts for years know that the majority of the act that you see the top level fighters display on TV is just that, an act. It’s to sell tickets and hype the fight. When you meet them out and about town, they are all so cool and quite the opposite of the “stage” act.
It’s laughable to go to a MMA show. The fans are off the hook crazy. So much trash talk. Everyone with their (insert MMA Equipment brand here) T-shirts on. If you’ve been to a local or Big MMA event over that past decade you surely know what I’m talking about. People yelling “kill him” or “kick his ass” from the back row all the time.
You don’t see this behavior at all in the individual style competitions such as pure Muay Thai, or BJJ events. Everyone is so cool. The same fighters who just went to war with each other, now hug and take pictures with each other, win or lose. They walk across the ring and show respect for the opposing teams coaches and camp.
What’s really sad, is that you see this tough guy Posturing even amongst the gyms in a particular city. MMA gyms talk trash about everyone else in their area. Honestly, this is one of biggest things that attracted me to American Top Team in the first place. Master Ricardo Liborio (former head coach of ATT headquarters in Florida) said to everyone who was training with him, “no matter what, respect the flag”. Now, he wasn’t talking about some political talking point. He was talking about how you represent yourself in public, especially when you are wearing the American Top Team colors. Always act like a family and always treat everyone as such.
No need for all the silly tough guy act.
