Mixed Martial Arts in New York.

Mixed Martial Arts also known as M.M.A., is a relatively new sport in terms of age. In New York state, the sport of m.m.a. is currently illegal, because it is considered far too brutal and has been labeled a blood sport. Being considered by some as no holds barred fighting. The sport is currently illegal in the state as well as in 5 others. As a practitioner of the sport on an amateur level I have experienced what it is to actually be involved and let me say that there are far more rules and regulations than we find in traditional boxing.

 Being a new sport it is experiencing exponential growth as well as popularity.It should be made legal everywhere, especially in the state of new york. Take the economy for instance. the state is experiencing many budget cuts, fare hikes for the mta and a slew of other difficulties. Any one living in NYC can tell how the economy is effected. Now we all know how much money boxing has brought to NY in the past via Madison Square Garden and we know thde slump that the boxing world is in. if we were to have mma legalised here in ny. imagine the revenues that would come to city.  It would also improve the tourist trade as well. who wouldnt want to see their favorite mma fighters go toe to toe in madison square garden. with many paying top dollar to see them and paying god knows how much for a stay at a hotel nearby for a chance to see a fighter? This sounds like a win win to me.

Critical thinking is to me, thinking under pressure. Like how to take information and ideas from

something and applying it. This class is going to be interesting and  I think it is going to help a lot of

people extract and apply information more easily.

for me as a fighter/martial artist i have to think critically under pressure on a daily basis. During a fight the 

main objective is to beat your opponent by damaging them while receiving as little damage as possible i

n the process.in order to do this one must use critical thinking. lets say i know my opponent punches very 

hard, i have to figure out a way to neutralize his punching . I'd think about the how the why the what and 

the where all in a matter of moments. first the how, I have to keep my hands up 1. because i know hell 

hurt me. i know i kick as hard as he can punch so Ibegin to kick him. why because i know my legs are 

longer than his arms so it will keep me at a safe distance and he keeps all of his weight on the front leg 

to punch. then comes the what. The what would be,what kick could i use to stay out of his range but at 

the same time hurt him and I would choose a low leg round house. which is basically a semi circular 

motion of my leg starting from the hip an making contact with my shin The where? would be his front 

leg just above the knee. I would  in the same place repeatedly because I know that power comes from the 

ground up so interrupt the link between the ground and his hands causing his power to dwindle and at 

the same time reducing his mobility. all of this occurs in a matter of seconds in my head while under 

pressure. This to me, is critical thinking but it can be applied else where not just in the ring learning to 

take in information like me noticing that my opponent keeps all the weight on his front leg. 

hypothetically speaking lets say we are driving and we see a red ball roll out from behind a car. i am 

driving and i abruptly stop. the passengers ask why did you stop all of a sudden? shortly there after a 

child runs out to get the ball. had i not had stopped i probably wouldn't have seen the child and hit 

him/her.  By way of critical thinking I averted an accident. how did i know that a child would come 

out? by using critical thinking. first of all a ball doesn't move on its own. so i saw the ball,And started 

thinking, what business does a ball have in the street it doesn't and judging by the way the ball move I'd 

say it got away from someone. Now I am an adult and i know adults don't play with balls on the sidewalk 

for the most part and if it was an adult they would know better than to just jump out into the street after 

it. But recalling many experiences as an impulsive child I stopped the car expecting that a child would 

be rushing out after the ball. This how I extracted the information in front of me and applied it it an 

ordinary situation. Via critical thinking.