The current trend in advertising and design for mixed martial arts has separated some of the very elements that make it unique. Its in the name. The name of the sport should say it all. Yet for many reasons MMA has yet to gain the respect that Martial Arts has had around the world for thousands of years. The image has been disconnecte...d. Its understandable that most people do not respect those that fight. However I believe that this is a lack of understanding of why fighters fight. The current popular mode of design has done its job to break open the market. To force its way into acceptance and to gain the fans that are the type to simply not care how others see their sport. Now its time to reconnect MMA to the essence of Martial Arts and find ways to evolve the identity and image of MMA as a whole.
MMA is not just about fighting anymore. It is about individuals from different cultures coming together to test themselves and working on finding ways to combine the fighting spirit of all of them. Working to understand what each gives the other to be better at what they do both in the cage and outside of it.
No longer is MMA just about putting the individual separate styles of fighting together to find out which one is better.
Its about mixing all the aspects of the Martial Arts, not just the physical but the mental and the heart of all marital arts to become better at all things in life. If you simply want to be a better fighter then thats what it will help you with. If you simply want to be better at your job then this will help mentally and physically. If you want to make a positive difference in the world this will help build your heart to do it. When a fighter truly learns to develop a new level of respect for the fighter that has just defeated him or her, a unique change of consciousness has occurred.
These are the questions to ask.
What happens when you take all the healthy physical and mental disciplines from all the cultures that are involved with MMA? Which is literally the world. Then take those and apply them to not only training but a way of life.
Each of the questions below will have different meaning to different cultures and individuals.
How can these questions not only be answered by applying them to training but to become a better fighter and a better person?
What does having heart mean in life?
What are the mental aspects of MMA?
What are the physical aspects of MMA?
How do you train for all of these mentally and physically?
The idea is to create a living dynamically evolving brand/identity, philosophy of training/life, and message of "Mixed Martial Arts" that will be more attractive to multiple perspectives.
The vehicle for this is the Arete Training Center/Kamal Shalorus branding and identity experience.
Jarrad Connor
