winning without sacrifice is no victory.

for the uninitiated, TMA = traditional martial arts.
MMA = mixed martial arts.

As the name TMA implies, it stands for arts such as

taekwondo
jiujitsu
karate
muay thai
silat
savate
arnis
hapkido
boxing
aikido
(and so on so forth)

however, each art has its limitations.
for example, most arts mentioned above,
with the exclusion of jiujitsu, are stand up striking arts.
taekwondo for example, utilises the legs,
with the arms largely untrained for attack.
as such, their AoE (Area of effect) is between mid range and long range.

another example, boxing would be close range.

so, why mma?
basically mma fighters are trained in arts with vicious, powerful strikes.
some excellent striking arts would be muay thai,
kyoushin karate and lastly, a very new offshoot of karate,
ashihara karate (not sure abt the spelling.)
(and one look would tell you that aikido definitely doesnt fit the bill.
- its too non-violent. oops.)

next, they would train in a ground art, such as jiujitsu (frankly, i havent
heard of another ground art near jiujitsu. just variations of jj.)
and no judo doesnt count.
judo is a sport, not a martial art. yeap.
in fact, judo was an offshoot of jiujitsu which ppl believed was too violent
and dangerous to be in competitions.

anyway beware for some slight biaseness.
(i think taekwondo is damn fei)

so comparing a TMAist to a MMAist, in a fight,
the range of attack would be very limited.

the taekwondo fighter will be taken out by kicks to his thighs and
be taken into close range combat, with the MMAist giving punches
to which, most tkd fighters would b unused to.
(disclaimer: however, i still respect tkd as an art. just look at how the
koreans perform 720 turn kick. its amazing athleticism. however,
we have to question the practicality of tkd as a tool for self def)

if you are fighting a muay thai fighter, obviously the MMAist would
take some damage given muay thai's reputation for its damaging
strikes. however, a mmaist trained in grappling would take the
muay thai fighter to the ground,
rendering him useless and easily submitting him on the ground.

or if u are an MMAist fighting a grappler, you would be able to match
him on the ground.
but he would nt be able to match you standing up. simple as that.

however, MMA is not as easily learnt as jsut learning two arts.
there is much more need to control your opponent, and at the same time,
be able to throw punches.

in many ways, its like a refereed brawl.

ok its damn late alr. i think i shld sleep soon.
cant wait for matt serra vs GSP.