Youtube Champs, Backyard Brawlers and Internet forum "Experts".

[ssullivan80]

(Posted this as a reply to another thread, as my opinion. I am sure many of you have opinions of your own, im curios to hear.)

As much as both myself and others on this forum like to give these backyard MMA fighters such a hard time, I will admit: when i was 15-16yrs old. I would have been doing the same damn thing (only in a taco bell drive thru at 3AM, if you fight, you know, everyone has been in a taco bell brawl in the middle of the night in High School, soccer game if your from UK/EU).

Here is the difference (Im almost 30), there is no longer an excuse! The rise in popularity of the UFC and MMA in general has provided younger fighters with an opportunity to seek out "decent" trainers almost anywhere in the civilized world ("civilized" being a very broad term). When I started watching MMA (Gracie Days), all you had to be was "tough" to compete and the sport was not nearly as evolved as it is today.

TRYING TO TELL KIDS TO STOP PRACTICING MMA/"UFC" IN THE YARD WOULD BE THE EQUIVALENT OF TELLING US WHEN WE WERE KIDS TO STOP PLAYING TACKLE FOOTBALL IN THE YARD (TOUCH IS SAFER....) WITHOUT PADS.

Truth is: If you really have a genuine interest in the sport (MMA, UFC, K1....ETC), just like in any other sport. Seek out those who can teach you to be better than a backyard brawler or nerf football heisman! It will serve you, the sport and other fighters best interests. Further, you will save yourself injury, bad habbits or worse and ultimately be a better athlete for having the proper training! Just look at the definition of MMA and actually think about it!!!!!! It should sum it up!

M: (Mixed)= as in more than one, multiple. In short, you will need a basic (advanced to be even close to competitive) knowledge of more than 1 (hence mixed) different disciplines. This is not possible in the backyard! Unless your parents have the money to hire multiple (M=mixed) instructor. Knowlegable instructors with experience to train you "poolside", if this is the case, Im for hire! cheap, real cheap! and I am sure I can find other members on this site to join me for a nominal fee! (there are many people on this site with great advice and qualified to give it. Problem is, if you dont have good training....... you wont know how to realize good advice from bad!)

M (Martial)= (websters: soldierly: (of persons) befitting a warrior; "a military bearing"
warlike: suggesting war or military life ) IF THIS IS HAPPENING IN YOUR BACKYARD, YOU PROBABLY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THIS INTERNET FORUM! If you do, your just lucky someone is not shooting live rounds at you, strap on the gloves and please feel free to punch whoever you want! God Bless!

A (Arts)= (Art is the process or product of deliberately and creatively arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. Traditionally, the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery.) NO SKILL OR MASTERY IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT A TEACHER OR TEACHERS TO SHOW STUDENTS HOW TO LEARN THE ART!!!!!!

 

[pimpstrocity]

Problem is with a lot of younger guys is that everyone wants to be a fighter, but not many want to put in the time to train. A lot of young people will want to put on the gloves and brawl but a lot less are willing to go to the gym and work hard. Push ups, rounds on heavy bags, mitt work, ect. is not nearly as glamorous as just having a beer or two and knocking down one of your buddies in front of anyone.

As time goes on though and mma and combat sports become more popular we will probably see this attitude changing, but the for the time being it is what it is.

 

[Boozerguyzer]

I guess I view this the same way I view the war on drugs. People are gonna do this shit no matter what we tell them. Most of them even understand it's not safe and can have potentially detrimental consequences, but they choose to risk it because it's something they enjoy. With that being said, I'd say the best we can do is advise people on how to be safe about it. Wear headgear, sparring gloves, shin pads, and a "gum wrap" or whatever those crazy brits call it and for the love of god just be safe. Use common sense by not allowing knees and elbows, and spar, don't fight.

Just my two cents

 

[mego]

thanks for your input, perhaps you wouldnt mind watching my back yard spar from last year, to which i got flamed for of course

 

[Mef-ninja]

theres no excuse for these stupid fuckin kids.. buying UFC brand mma gloves and fighting in there backyards with no experience but watching ufc on spike and loving the paperviews.. fact is.. these kids barely kno anything about mma past tuf1 and pride Highlights.

im 20 years old.. when i first saw mma i thought it was badass.. i already was training in a TMA.. but i made the transition to start learning muaythai, BJJ etc i took the time effort and money to train in a gym in a controlled enviroment.

its simple kids.. dont buy ufc brand mma gloves cause htey look cool... dont kick that tree in your backayrd cause you saw a guy in thailand doin it on youtube. (ITS A BANANA TREE THEY ARE SOFT)

before you go out sparring in your backyard.. AT LEAST get mouthgaurd and some protection gear.. USE HANDWRAPS. If your not going to go out and properly train you will never learn.. fighting gives you an experience.. but doesnt teach you technique... which is the most important part of martial arts..

 

[dkickboxer]

Hey ts....go fuck yourself. I rag on dumbass kids who post vids of themselves backyard fighting because it is stupid. It can lead to serious injuries and it also leads to really freakin bad habits. If you want to be a fighter go find a gym. Hell, train wrestling in school, find a local boxing gym, hell even find a local mcdojo that has any kind of sparring. Anything is better than the stupid shit I see kids do in their backyard fights.

 

[mikehmike]

I personally find the videos pretty funny

 

[Hit-or-be-hit]

WAR KIMBO! lol

 

[Marvin Covar]

We tell these kids who do these things because they don't need to go the same route we went. Sure some (or even most) of us have done a bit of backyard brawling in our younger years, but that doesn't make it right.

 

[TheGimp]

We have a couple of 15 yr olds in our gym that come regularly, why shouldn't the backyard brawlers just come and train and learn something? I started MMA when I was 14 in 2000, but my older brother was the head coach of the place so he would basically drag my ass to training when I didn't feel like going, and he would grapple with me everywhere. In the hallway when I came home from school, in the yard, in the car and in our gym. My days were spent getting out of triangles, armbars and avoiding sweeps from extremely uncomfortable positions...such as being upside down with the couch pressing on your neck and someone double stacking you and trying to pass :icon_chee
BUT...to the contrary of these guys, we knew what we were doing.

 

[Soul Rebel 2]

A few years back when I didnt know about MMA I used to have these types of scraps all the time. But now that MMA and combat sports in general seem to be making a comeback there are tons of places that you can actually train.

 

[devante]

i agree most people don't really play baseball-football-basketball and yet they go out w/low skill levels and play; we don't hate on them or bash them, their are alot of people who do alot of things w/out necessary training or exp.

this is just one of them, as someone once said in this thread; its easier to brawl, slam and choke your friends casually..than it is to go to a legit place-train-get humbled and learned the finer points of the game. They just want to have fun and pretend to be ufc fighters; just like people want to pretend to be jordan w/2sec on the clock or so on.

also some people who train, might not be very good or tech; but do train, sometimes roll out the mats and spar/train.

a kenpo guy and a wrestler i used to know, we used to roll out mats in the backyard and go at; sometimes we would tape it to see areas we are weak in or openings we left. Now none of us are world or national level, but we are all trained; should we not spar if its cheaper and easier to find a couple of guys and spar outside.

 

[ssullivan80]

Hey ts....go fuck yourself. I rag on dumbass kids who post vids of themselves backyard fighting because it is stupid. It can lead to serious injuries and it also leads to really freakin bad habits. If you want to be a fighter go find a gym. Hell, train wrestling in school, find a local boxing gym, hell even find a local mcdojo that has any kind of sparring. Anything is better than the stupid shit I see kids do in their backyard fights.

Yeah, I will get right on that!

Either way, maybe I was slightly misinterpreted. I don't advise or approve of anyone without proper gear and training fighting in the backyard! If you read the thread I said specifically it does lead to injury and bad habits.

Is it stupid? of course it is! Is it going to stop, NO! as long as there is youtube, etc..... Kimbo wannabes will be popping up all over the place and emergency rooms will get a lot better at treating kids with broken arms, rotator cuffs and crushed windpipes from trying to self teach themselves Jiu-Jitsu.

Fact is, instead of flaming them, constructive advice on how to be safe and where to find a decent gym would probably serve best. For them and for those of us who really do have a genuine interest in the sport.

 

[ssullivan80]

also some people who train, might not be very good or tech; but do train, sometimes roll out the mats and spar/train.

a kenpo guy and a wrestler i used to know, we used to roll out mats in the backyard and go at; sometimes we would tape it to see areas we are weak in or openings we left. Now none of us are world or national level, but we are all trained; should we not spar if its cheaper and easier to find a couple of guys and spar outside.

I spar in my backyard as well! I am not saying sparing in the yard is stupid, if you have had proper training and know how to control yourself. It is stupid when you are trying to mimick the guys on TV, UFC, ETC........ without training to understand the consequences!

I APPRECIATE EVERYONES TAKE ON THIS THREAD, THERE IS A LOT OF GOOD ADVICE IN IT. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN FLAMED FOR POSTING "BACKYARD BRAWLS" HERE IS WHY: BY FIGHTING IN YOUR YARD OR TYRING TO BE A "UFC" ATHLETE WITHOUT TRAINING ALL YOU ARE DOING IS MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO TRAIN TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE, TRAIN AND MAKE THE SPORT GROW. YOU GO GET YOURSELF HURT OR EVEN KILLED IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR TRAINED ATHLETES TO FIND SANCTIONED EVENTS TO COMPETE IN. LAST THING WE NEED IS MAMMA (MOTHER AGAINST MIXED MARTIAL ARTS).

 

[DrBdan]

I spar in my backyard as well! I am not saying sparing in the yard is stupid, if you have had proper training and know how to control yourself. It is stupid when you are trying to mimick the guys on TV, UFC, ETC........ without training to understand the consequences!

I APPRECIATE EVERYONES TAKE ON THIS THREAD, THERE IS A LOT OF GOOD ADVICE IN IT. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN FLAMED FOR POSTING "BACKYARD BRAWLS" HERE IS WHY: BY FIGHTING IN YOUR YARD OR TYRING TO BE A "UFC" ATHLETE WITHOUT TRAINING ALL YOU ARE DOING IS MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO TRAIN TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE, TRAIN AND MAKE THE SPORT GROW. YOU GO GET YOURSELF HURT OR EVEN KILLED IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR TRAINED ATHLETES TO FIND SANCTIONED EVENTS TO COMPETE IN. LAST THING WE NEED IS MAMMA (MOTHER AGAINST MIXED MARTIAL ARTS).

I'm not sure if you put that in all caps because you are pissed off but that's how it comes across (all caps=yelling). I do agree, MMA has enough opponents already without people in backyards injuring eachother.

I think one problem with martial arts training is that by definition it is a physical, contact sport. It's hard (especially for untrained or minimally trained people) to practice it and remove the contact aspect. Take hockey for example. You can play in a full contact league with full equipment and you can also play non-contact shinny on a public rink with minimal equipment and it's fundamentally the same experience. That doesn't work so easily for MMA or the individual arts within (muay thai, BJJ etc).

Another thing is that most people playing mainstream sports "untrained" aren't actually totally untrained since they've probably at least played them in school as kids.

 

[James Fuller]

The 15 year old kids backyard brawling don't bother me nearly as much as the 35 year olds who want to fight anyone in a bar. With the kids you can atl east argue youthful ignorance or enthusiasm or parents who simply will not let their child do something like mma training. now I have been guilty before of my own public fights when the situation dictated it but never since I started training last year and these guys who go out watch a ufc or mma even live or on ppv at a bar and want to fight is the most pathetic thing i have ever seen. the equivalent of going to watch the olympic track and field competition and then racing to your car!
People have said it and i will echo it, everyone wants to win a fight but no one wants to train and work for it. Like in the amateur mma events around here (Missouri) half of the people are like me and I suspect alot of people here; training everyday, watching their weight, giving up beer and cigs (that sucked) and devoting all their free time and money to do it. While the other half are just hometown heros or toughman vets who think they can just sign up and kick someone's ass in front of their hometown. I mean last month our gym (of which I am probably the worst) went 7-0 at the fight night and yet those same guys we beat are still smoking cigs and getting drunk; discussing where and when they will enter their next fight.
But they never win. Ever.

 

[No Quarter]

Problem is with a lot of younger guys is that everyone wants to be a fighter, but not many want to put in the time to train. A lot of young people will want to put on the gloves and brawl but a lot less are willing to go to the gym and work hard. Push ups, rounds on heavy bags, mitt work, ect. is not nearly as glamorous as just having a beer or two and knocking down one of your buddies in front of anyone.

As time goes on though and mma and combat sports become more popular we will probably see this attitude changing, but the for the time being it is what it is.

This is what I see as the issue as well.

At least 5 of these kids will walk trhough our club in any given week. Out of those 5 maybe 2 will stay or come back to try a workout. Out of those 2, maybe one will make it beyond the 3 month period.

Once they find out how much training and dedication is really required, they just dont stay around. The ones that do usually have already been in some competititive organized sport and have already developed the disciplines to train.

 

[KAYNE]

WAR KIMBO! lol

THis is what I was thinking. If you fight in a back yard for money where is that going to get you? I COULD BE KIMBO.

Seriously they shouldnt do it. But it is going to be impossible to stop them, especially over the internet.

 

[KAYNE]

I spar in my backyard as well! I am not saying sparing in the yard is stupid, if you have had proper training and know how to control yourself. It is stupid when you are trying to mimick the guys on TV, UFC, ETC........ without training to understand the consequences!

I APPRECIATE EVERYONES TAKE ON THIS THREAD, THERE IS A LOT OF GOOD ADVICE IN IT. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN FLAMED FOR POSTING "BACKYARD BRAWLS" HERE IS WHY: BY FIGHTING IN YOUR YARD OR TYRING TO BE A "UFC" ATHLETE WITHOUT TRAINING ALL YOU ARE DOING IS MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO TRAIN TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE, TRAIN AND MAKE THE SPORT GROW. YOU GO GET YOURSELF HURT OR EVEN KILLED IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR TRAINED ATHLETES TO FIND SANCTIONED EVENTS TO COMPETE IN. LAST THING WE NEED IS MAMMA (MOTHER AGAINST MIXED MARTIAL ARTS).

You know what the reall issue is for me? I feel like this is why there is no amatuer mma. In Cali you cant fight amatuer mma. And I feel like it is because a lot of people are irresponsible with the non sanctioned fights/Fighting in back yards etc. But on the other side of the coin. If people could fight amatuer mma maybe they wouldnt fight in theyre back yard. I dont know for some reason my mind links these together.

 

[ghost scribble]

I have to agree with the TS on this one. I can remember finding some old boxing gloves and going out with friends and just beating each other up... I don't see anything wrong if you're safe about it (rules, gloves, mouthguards, etc.). Nowadays we all train in different things and spar and learn things from each other, but there's nothing wrong with getting some people together and sparring to learn and have fun.

The point I most agree with is the comparison to sandlot football. I go to parks and watch people playing football and can tell if they've actually played football for real or not... same with guys sparring each other. Sure, those guys on the youtube vids look stupid, but hey, they're having fun, let them do what they want. If they want to hit each other it's their business.