A New Soup

The internet, Youtube, ease of travel, satellite and cable TV ... all of these things contribute significantly to the ongoing evolution of MMA. Of course, all martial arts are a result of the 'mixing' of new ideas with 'older ideas' ... every martial arts in existence was synthesized and developed by someone or some group of people. Further, every martial art was at some time or another, considered to be a 'departure' from the status quo ... even the so-called 'traditional' martial arts were at one time 'brand-spanking-new' innovations built on top of something even more 'traditional' ... it's people who go about 'preserving' things - locking them into their timeless state and labeling them as 'traditional'.

There has always been change, there has always been experimentation, hybridisation, synthesis, evolution .. call it what you will; the only difference is that today - in this technological age we inhabit - this process has sped up dramatically. We can get on Youtube and see what others are doing half way around the planet - we can jump on a plane and head to Bangkok for a week of training (even if we are unemployed!) - thirty years ago, access to other types of training was so much more difficult than it is today.

The ingredients for our new soup are not only more plentiful than ever before in history, they are more affordable - we can 'suck it and see' and the experiment doesn't cost us our pay-check. We can mix things together that have never before been combined - and develop new and ever more interesting ideas. What an age we live in ... JBW