Cage fighting is a
martial arts sport that
has come to be synonymous with mixed martial arts, although mixed
martial arts can be fought in any type of arena. The cage in this case
refers to the high metal wire enclosure that surrounds the fighting
platform.
Practitioners of the sport typically come
from many different disciplines, and cage fighting techniques
usually
involve everything from boxing to kicking to wrestling holds and take
down maneuvers, and in some cases, even street fighting techniques.
It
is one of the most brutal and physically demanding combat sports around
today, and the potential to suffer a permanent injury or even to be
killed in the ring is ever present.
There are three distinct phases to combat in
cage fighting. These are stand-up, clinch and ground. Each of them
requires entirely different sets of skills, and most combatants
typically excel in only one or two of these.
There are fighters
however, who have worked to develop their skills to an extraordinarily
high level in all phases. These are the most dangerous fighters of all,
and for them it doesn’t matter what stage of the game they
are in: they will find a way to turn it to their advantage.
A fighter who is versed in only one or two
styles on the other hand, may focus all of his or her efforts in the
cage into getting their opponent to “fight their
game”, so to speak.
The best cage fighters in the world are
equally strong in all disciplines, although they may have one or two
that they favor or specialize in. It is common for fighter who are
lacking in one area to strive to develop cage fighting techniques in
other areas as well, in order to become a more well rounded fighter.
A thorough grounding in the various cage
fighting techniques can be of tremendous use not only in the
competitive arena, but in the real world as well.
When faced with a
real world life-threatening situation, these techniques can actually
spell the difference between you walking away from the situation or
being carried away.