Ultimate Fighting Championship.
I find it interesting that the UFC was created to make Gracie Jiu-Jitsu look good. Not hating on Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, but that was clearly the point of UFC 1.
But now, the successful fighters need to be proficient in many martial arts, and implement as many as possible. You need to have as many tools in your belt. And that’s what many of the current UFC champions have- they are well rounded, constantly evolving and willing to learn new things.
UFC was created initially to figure out which style martial arts is the best. However, I think that it is now obvious that to become successful in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, you need to be able to master & implement multiple forms of martial arts.
I’m tired of hearing people say “Wrestling cancels out Judo in MMA” or “Judo is not effective against Wrestling”. I think it is a highly ignorant over-generalization. I think part of what determines the outcome of a fight is not necessarily the style of martial art, but how good they are at it. Moreover, how they implement their style into their game plan to their advantage.
I’m obviously ranting about this because I have heard a lot of those kinds of comments because Ronda Rousey (Olympic Judoka) and Miesha Tate (amateur wrestling champ) are fighting for the 135 women’s championship belt soon.
And while I think both wrestling and Judo are great styles of fighting, the style is just one component of a fight. It’s what the fighter DOES with the style that is important. And how highly specialized the fighter is in that style also makes a huge difference.
Anyways, this is not me saying that Judo is the best, or Ronda Rousey is going to take Miesha Tate’s arm home. It’s just me being annoyed that people who have never even trained Judo are so ignorant towards it.
“But most of all, it’s not what you are- it’s what you can be….so I fight hard, but I train harder”
You should all take the time to check out this short Muay Thai commercial that my teammates are in since it’s pretty dope!
After sparring Muay Thai today. It was mad crazy- I totally felt like shit, both physically and technically. I spent 9 hours in college, didn’t eat much, didn’t sleep much and went straight to training. I was tired after doing grappling and Judo work but I figured some “light sparring” would be good.
HOLY SHIT. No bueno. I kept getting my ass kicked, especially towards the end. I kept getting thrown, and as much as I wanted to just lie there and catch my breath- I had to force myself to get back up and keep fighting. I mean, my partners were tired as well- which was probably the problem, because when two people are tired & gassed, they have less control. And since I was the smaller person fighting more advanced people, it definitely was not good for me.
I lost a contact in the beginning so I couldn’t see properly and my hair came undone so it was all in my face.
Then I got nicely kicked in the lip. I was bleeding and my instructor was like “Divya come here, let me check that out”, but I ignored him & kept fighting till the end of the round.
I honestly don’t think I’m good at anything- but I do everything I can to not give up; to keep pushing on regardless of how shitty I feel. That’s got to count for something in life right?
Strength from struggle.
Breathing heavily, I stumble as I attempt to wipe the dripping sweat from my face. My burly male sparring partner continues to pummel me with a flurry of punches and debilitating leg kicks. My eyes well up in tears- partly because the sweat stings my eyes, but mostly because I feel disheartened. This is my biggest problem- I constantly compare myself to other people. When I get frustrated with my progression in martial arts, I have to remind myself that I have come a long way in relation to where I was before I started. Five years ago, I was an emaciated sixty-five pound girl who was hospitalized for an eating disorder.
Eating should be a seemingly facile task to accomplish. After all the body does require a certain amount of food in order to function properly. However, for me eating caused much trepidation. Whenever food was placed in front of me, I calculated the amount of calories that I was about to consume whilst having an anxiety attack. At the time, I was unaware that starvation is a dangerous addiction that could potentially suck me into a self-destructive black hole.
I was admitted into the hospital my sophomore year of high school after passing out while climbing the stairs at school. The doctor told me that my body was shutting down due to severe malnutrition, and it was vital that I gain weight. I simply rolled my eyes, mostly because I secretly did not mind the idea of wasting away. I felt like throwing in the towel and accepting my future as a pathetic, fragile girl. I ate enough to get myself out of the hospital, but still continued my struggle with food at home. Despite my attempts at getting healthy, I still had abhorrence for food, a lack of motivation, and a dysmorphic image of myself.
However, one day I turned on the television and saw the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. I felt fascinated by the dedication and drive that these fighters had. As I stared at my television in awe, I decided that it was time to make a change in my life. I found the nearest martial arts school which taught Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Initially, the instructors were incredulous that a 4’11 scrawny girl could truly be interested in fighting. Regardless, in three years I gained thirty pounds as well as a vast amount of technical knowledge. Now my instructors have me demonstrate Judo throws in front of the class on partners twice my size. I am able to hold my own when sparring or grappling against bigger guys. My greatest accomplishment to this date was getting invited to go to Thailand along with the best students in the school. Learning from prominent Muay Thai champions and enduring the grueling workouts is something I take pride in, especially since five years ago I was too weak to climb up the stairs.
Now I realize that no pill, therapy or amount of support could eradicate my eating disorder, because in the end, I had to fix it myself. Overcoming an eating disorder and becoming a martial artist shows that I am resilient enough to pull through the hardships that I face- both physical and psychological. When I have a goal or a dream, I do everything I can to make it happen, regardless of those who doubt my abilities.
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Fighting reveals…that manhood, that endless test is a sham, an illusion of sorts; because when you start fighting, you realize there’s never an end to it, there’s always somebody better — stronger, faster, bigger, younger, whatever, something…The quest to be the toughest in the world is an empty quest, and fighters realize that pretty quickly, I think….There’s always someone out there who can beat you. It’s about being the best you can be, bringing yourself closer to the perfect version.
A Fighter’s Heart by Sam Sheridan
98-year-old woman becomes first woman ever to earn Judo's highest-degree black belt
She described the Jiguro’s school, known as the Kodokan, as “old-fashioned and sexist about belts and ranks.” In fact, an edict that prevented women from achieving any higher than a fifth-degree black belt kept Fukuda at that level for thirty years. She was finally elevated to sixth dan in 1972 when a woman’s division was created.
Fukodo said she approached Judo and her life with the intent to “be gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically.” Fukuda says this kind of beauty is decidedly not external. “A compassionate soul is inner beauty,” she explained to the paper. “I believe this is true beauty…All my life this has been my dream.”
Here is my latest tattoo for those of you who do not have me added on Facebook.
Yesterday I went to this music & tattoo convention in SoCal called musINK. Originally, I had no intentions of getting tattooed, I just went to go support one of my favorite artists Cam Rackam and watch him do a live paint battle. However, after wandering around and seeing all the wonderful tattoos I decided to get one of my own (which is weird because I am usually way too indecisive to make such an impulsive decision…especially one that is so permanent).
Fighting is something that means a lot to me because even if I do not end up sticking with, the decision to take up martial arts is what forced me to recover from my physical & psychological issues. I hate to admit that I was coming close to death when I was hospitalized, but I was seeing as my body was basically shutting down. I’m glad I stumbled upon the amazing world of Mixed Martial Arts and that I decided to get healthy again so I could train in it.
Inner strength, staying calm amidst chaos, determination, and being able to constantly move forward despite the barriers placed in front of me are all concepts that I learned from fighting that relate to my life, even if I am not in a ring/cage.
No Easy Way Out
Every step I take hurts. Every motion my body does hurts. But it makes me happy because it reminds me that yesterday I was able to complete my one and a half hour physical fitness test (I won’t go into the details but it was very grueling and involved a LOT of effort and physical exertion on my part) despite the fact that it was the first day of that time of the month for me and my back and stomach ALREADY in so much fucking pain and I didn’t have any medicine to help it (One of the joys of being a girl athlete). Not only that but after that I was able to do Muay Thai and Judo class as well.
Divya: 1 Body: 0
TAKE THAT 300ish pound standing bag.
I finally kicked you down. Yes, it took me at least a hundred times to successfully kick you over. But I did it, despite my size.
You have no idea how much this means to me. I actually cried after I saw everyone else successfully do it seemingly effortlessly when I was unable to do it despite my many attempts. Normal girls cry about guys not calling them. I cry about not being able to kick down a bag.
Anyways next goal: Knock it down with a cross punch.
This just showed me that I should not be so quick to give up. That my efforts will eventually pay off.
Haha I love conversing with fighters. But now I am beginning to wonder if everyone doubts the fact that I do martial arts, and just thinks that I am all talk. Or thinks that I’m trying to show off to impress guys and that I’m not really serious about it.
I AM serious though. You would not believe how happy and smiley I was the day I learned a flying armbar. It is pathetic. And the reason why it’s so difficult for me to have a boyfriend is because guys can’t comprehend that training plays a major role in my life.
And one day I will prove that little tiny me can excel at something like fighting. So all of you can stop your incredulous thinking.
What is your motivation as a fighter? Mine is my size. I am 4’11” and training to be a dangerous, lethal weapon ;)
