What happens when trained martial artists get so heated that they forget they know how to fight and start doing things nobody expects from them? here are 9 examples of when martial arts fail in real fights, and it is all because of the “fighters” rather than the arts themselves.
Martial Arts Work… Until They Don’t
The big thing about martial arts is that not all of them will save your a** in a street fight. Some work better than others, but then again, non are going to work unless you apply them.
Managing expectations vs reality is a big thing when looking at the efficiency of martial arts in real fights. Expecting things to go smoothly like in training is what expectations are, but in reality, nothing goes as planned. Fighting is like competition on steroids if adrenaline stood for steroids in this analogy.
When the adrenaline starts pumping people abandon all their “knowledge” and revert back to flailing around, only to claim that marital arts fail in real fighters later on. The following examples will show you that people fail rather than martial arts.
When Martial Arts Fail During A Real Fight
What happens when even highly trained, professional martial artist abandon their craft and start brawling like drunk Irishmen in a pub?
MMA vs. Tai Chi
This first example went viral when n an MMA fighter challenged a Tai Chi master to a fight. As you can see, the Tai Chi master lost all his skills when the fighting started and quickly succumbed to pressure and violence.
There is sadly more than one example of traditional styles like this failing in real fights against trained MMA fighters.
Real-Life Kung Fu Fight
What happened when two martial arts masters decide to fight it out in the streets? Well, after the first punches connect, they forget all their mastery, it seems, and revert back to playground tactics and headlocks.
Both men were masters in their respective styles, but the one that won did not do so because of his knowledge, but because of luck and ending up in top position on the ground.
When Judo Is Not Enough
There are many examples where martial arts fail to be the first choice of people who do them for a living. This Judo match is a great example, with things unraveling quickly after the competitor in the blue Gi seems to strike his opponent.
What follows is a good old fisticuffs trade, that the referee had to stop. Were they just being tactical and trying to beat the other guy in an area that this out of the scope of his proficiency?
MMA Brawls
Brawling at weigh-ins or even in the cage has become quite frequent throughout the years, and no longer surprises people. What is truly fascinating, though is seeing fighters abandoning their skills and opting for haymakers and trying to headlock one another, oftentimes with respective camps joining in other madness.
It seems that if there’s no referee, then there’s no real need to use martial arts. Fighters, they might be, but professional? Certainly not.
When Boxing Goes Out The Window
What happens when boxers lose their cool? You’d expect them to throw technical, crisp, fast punches, Instead, it is as if adrenaline only allows people to punch using haymakers push, shove and pull each other’s shirts, even if those people are highly trained professional boxers.
Boxing, But With Kicks
As we saw in the Judo example, it is always an option to spice up a martial arts match turned into a real fight, because of illegal punches, with elements from other martial arts. Like kicking. However, you should probably know how to kick if you opt for that option, unlike the “fighter” below.
“Combat” Wrestling?
Combat Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most entertaining competitive applications of BJJ. However, these Russian wrestlers demonstrate their own take at slaps, with the occasional front kick thrown in and the inevitable team vs. team brawl that is the real mark of a martial arts fail, at least when conduct is in question.
Boxing Is Better With BJJ
Even the “sweet science” is not the first choice when the atmosphere gets heated. In this example of a martial arts fail, boxing great Floyd Mayweather reverts to takedowns and BJJ in what seems to be an exhibition sparring match with fellow champion Romero.
Capoeira Works In The Street… Right?
Capoeira quickly turns into a brawl when both fighters seem to forget the Jinga and everything associated with their art and use a bit of grappling to descend into unruly chaos.
Stay Real
If you have to fight a real fight and are a martial artist, try and keep your head. Otherwise, adrenaline will make you forget all your training and make you a star of one of these martial arts fail videos.
