MMA fighters have plenty of dangerous moves in their arsenal. However, there are some martial arts moves and techniques that you’ll never see in UFC!
Mixed Martial Arts has changed a lot over the years. With the rise in popularity of the UFC, it’s not at all surprising that MMA techniques and styles that are regarded as the best of the best have been refined.
Most MMA fans can point to the likes of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and boxing as the big three styles for most fighters. Three major styles that tend to lead to victory don’t mean there aren’t any other options, but some options are better than others. There are tons of martial arts that many MMA practitioners would never even attempt to put their time and effort into training.
10 Kung Fu
Plenty of action movie fans likely think of kung fu as one of the best possible martial arts for fighting, but that’s a pretty big misconception. While it’s entirely possible for aspects from kung fu to make it into MMA training, few would dare to focus solely on that discipline.
There are some pretty big holes when trying to utilize kung fu in general MMA competition. One of the biggest problems is that it doesn’t prepare a fighter for any form of ground game. Pair that with the fact that it isn’t typically practiced on a live opponent, and those are two key issues.
9 Tai-chi
People all over the world have begun to engage in daily tai-chi for exercise and relaxation. Though it has been somewhat popularized in the general public, that doesn’t mean it’s a form of martial arts that would do well in actual competition.
Even many tai-chi experts say that anything other than two tai-chi practitioners facing off would be almost impossible. In the world of MMA, being unpredictable is highly sought after, and a rather stiff, predictable, and highly traditional fighting style doesn’t do much to help many fighters.
8 Baguazhang
Baguazhang has a deep and fascinating history in Chinese martial arts. The issue is that something being interesting doesn’t mean it’s useful in a fight against other MMA styles. The biggest problem with this form of martial arts in terms of competition comes from its repeated use of circular motions.
Knowing an opponent is always going to be moving, striking, and defending in relatively circular patterns puts any fighter at an advantage. Knowing something like that could also allow a fighter to bait a Baguazhang practitioner into doing exactly what they want.
7 Wing Chun
There are a lot of ways that Wing Chun could potentially be beneficial in MMA competition, but that comes down to each individual practitioner. The style itself is incredibly dangerous as many strikes are actually focused on vital body parts like the throat and eyes. MMA fans will of course know that strikes like those are illegal.
The technique could be useful in its kicks that target weak areas in the ankles and knees, but when targeting those areas, a fighter has to weigh the idea that they could end a career in an instant against the idea of being the greatest.
6 Aikido
Anyone who knows a lot about Aikido should know exactly why it isn’t used in MMA. The martial arts’ entire philosophy revolves around the idea of not harming opponents. In a world where most of the fights end by inflicting more pain than an opponent can handle, it’s hard to see where Aikido fits in.
The art form’s use of controlling the opponent’s hands and wrists is also something that isn’t allowed within the current rules of most MMA competitions. Odds are, most fighters stay away from it when they hear it’s not about harming an opponent, though.
5 Capoeira
While a fighter could make use of various Capoeira techniques, using it as a fighter’s only fighting style would almost certainly spell disaster. It would be a surprise if you made it through an MMA event where a punch wasn’t the first strike thrown in at least one match. Capoeira discourages the use of punches.
While the dynamic fighting style would be beneficial in spicing up a fighter’s roster of moves, simple is usually more effective than flashy. Trying to land a flashy strike may end up leaving a fighter open to an even more brutal counter.
4 Jeet Kune Do
Bruce Lee fans will recognize Jeet Kune Do as the martial art that he created. While the style actually embodies what has made MMA great, it has become mostly obsolete in competition. Apparently, Lee was interested in ensuring that all Jeet Kune Do techniques were useful in real situations.
It’s that focus on real-world fights that gave Jeet Kune Do more than one technique that is banned in the world of MMA. If a fighting style isn’t already highly viable for competition, and some of the skills a fighter has to learn aren’t useable, it’s hard to justify spending the time to learn it.
3 Sumo
While sumo fighting can be one of the most thrilling things to watch, it’s not a skill that translates well into MMA. The biggest issue is that sumo wrestlers are focused on pushing their opponent out of a ring rather than inflicting serious harm to their opponent.
Someone utilizing sumo techniques would have a hard time being trapped in the octagon with a world-class striker. Most sumo fighters would be competing against super heavyweights who are already notorious for their devastating striking power. While it could make for some unique fights, those fights might not necessarily be all that fair.
2 Kyusho Jitsu
On paper, Kyusho Jitsu actually sounds like it could be beneficial for just about any MMA fighter. It focuses on the use of pressure points to further injure and defend yourself from an attacker. While that sounds useful, if a fighter has the opportunity to focus on a pressure point, they probably have the opportunity to focus on a devastating submission hold instead.
Much of Kyusho Jitsu is focused on self-defense rather than actively advancing on an opponent. Those self-defense pressure points aren’t nearly as useful as a hold that can end a fight in just a few seconds.
1 No-Touch/Chi Martial Arts
Anyone who has spent their time in the online MMA communities has likely come across the fantastical no-touch martial arts videos that go viral from time to time. Usually, the video focuses on a single man repelling or defeating multiple attackers without ever touching any of them.
Just about every fighter on the planet knows that these videos and therefore this style of martial art is absolutely useless. Fights would be very different if fighters didn’t even need to touch their opponents, but no one is capable of a feat like that in the real world
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cameron Miller (80 Articles Published)
Cameron Miller is a writer with over five years of creative writing experience – both personally and for clients around the world.