Fight fans like to wonder how certain athletes in other sports would do if they made the jump to MMA. Reporters believe that a day will come when more and more athletes come into MMA because it is a lucrative option and is gaining popularity. There is some truth to this. However, it is not because all of these athletes are primed to switch over. It is because a few out of the many will turn out to be martial artists.
Athletes are impressive. They are the peak of physical excellence and are so talented at what they do that they get paid very well to do it. They are competitive and know what it takes to win and have the drive to do it.
However martial artists are not athletes. They are the men and women who have dedicated themselves to a lifestyle that permeates every part of their existence. They have learned to be the best even if genetically, they weren’t given the best traits.
Whenever a reporter or announcer makes a claim of how great an athlete a certain fighter is they make a subtle inference too.
That it’s only people with good genetics who have a chance of winning.
Not the person who has trained all their life in martial arts.
Not the person who has devoted all of their time to this pursuit.
Someone who could have been a football player or a golfer is fine.
To some degree this is true. A fighter must be able to use all four limbs effectively and have decent cardio to be able to fight.
However that is far different then having to be an athlete.
In martial arts I’ve seen athletes who were imposing and strong last less than a week. I’ve seen girls who couldn’t have been over five feet tall get their black belt.
These people will never be athletes. They will never have a football player’s sprint, or a basketball player’s jump. They won’t be able to hit a home run or score a goal.
They just will keep fighting because that is what they know how to do.
This article isn’t meant to disparage athletes. They are impressive, but martial arts takes a little bit more than genetic gifts and a drive to win to be good at. It’s the something that allows men who are undersized to beat those who are genetically superior to them.
And every time a reporter or a journalist uses the term athlete on the competitors in MMA they ignore this and make the statement that any athlete can compete.
And that some martial artists can’t.
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