This trend started to change though when the no holds barred competitions became popular, especially the UFC. At this point everything started to change and what was becoming a peaceful martial art’s community was once again in turmoil. In my opinion this had good effects and bad. In one way it showed that a lot of arts were lacking in the self-defense aspects, but on the other hand it caused frenzy among the martial arts world. 

People that had studied in a system their whole life were seeing that students that were quickly defeating their techniques only studied grappling for a few years. Of course every instructor blamed the guy that had been defeated on improper training techniques. It seemed to really demonstrate that grappling was superior. 

And still to this day grappling still rules out in NHB competitions with the exception of only a few strikers and stand up fighters doing well. I would like to add the fact that a lot of traditional martial arts have been changed and watered down over the years. This means that a lot was simply changed to accommodate sports type tournaments and many people are ignorant to this fact. 

What most hard-core grapplers do not realize is that there are art’s that have remained unchanged and are combat arts. In reality this is why grappling has been so effective. 

If you have ever seen a no holds barred competition you will notice a lot of punches and kicks are thrown without a lot of effectiveness which leads people to believe that traditional martial art’s are not effective. Now I pose a question, what would the grappler do if one of these hits cracked his skull or severely damaged his central nervous system or even ruptured a vital organ? There is no defense to this type of technique, and that is why you don’t see it happening in the NHB competitions.

There are many fighters who could accomplish such feats as mentioned above and defeat their opponents, but then there would be the possibility of severe injury or even death to their opponents. This would leave the practitioner open to all kind of legal problems such as lawsuits and even jail time. I myself have trained in many arts including more traditional arts and grappling for many years on an everyday basis. I can tell you I would rather fight a grappler any day of the week than a master of a combat art such as the Mew Hing 18 Daoist Palms System.

When fighting a grappler you will likely have injuries to the body but they will heal. On the other hand if you fight an internal master your injuries would be much more severe, maybe even lethal! In my opinion every art has its place on this earth. Some are more effective than others are but you have to choose what is best for you. Don’t go for what is popular because chances are you will never be satisfied.
 

Lohon Mac Waters is a Personal Fitness Trainer, a Martial Arts Instructor (with years of professional grappling experience), and First Place winner of several NHB competitions.

Mew Hing Productions
42499 Old Highway 80
P.O. Box 427
Jacumba, CA 91934-0427 USA