You can think whatever you want about the sport. But one thing is unquestionable, the MMA’s worldwide audience is growing incredibly, according to many sources of all sports, the fastest. Following this, we could immediately describe how the financial rewards for wrestling in the professional ring increase or how dads (as well as mothers) and not even ten-year-olds lead children to the gym, saying that they “want to do MMA”. The list of reports, however, prefers to go to someone who knows the environment of martial arts and especially what everyone calls MMA today, helps to better understand the context and also points to athletes who could soon establish themselves in this ultimate martial discipline not only in Czech Republic, but perhaps at the international level.
–
Petr Macháček is by far the most successful Czech martial arts coach. He first devoted himself to boxing and karate, later wrestling in freestyle. He was one of the first in the Czech Republic to devote himself fully to Thai boxing, but also to jiu-jitsu and other combat disciplines, which gradually surpassed the MMA in popularity. Today, he is truly a legend of Czech martial arts, runs a gym and runs the Hanuman Gym Prague club, which is the oldest martial arts club in the Czech Republic.
–
MMA at the Olympics?
MMA so far, unlike boxing, judo, karate, Greco-Roman wrestling and taekwondo, is not an Olympic sport. However, intensive negotiations are under way to present itself as an exemplary sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and in the next four years, Los Angeles could be the first to compete for Olympic medals.
–
Who is of the opinion that the “rough rapists” do not belong to Olympism as a celebration of sport, because they would spoil the image of other sports, needs to be taught a little bit. “At the first Olympic Games in Greece, they competed mainly in disciplines related to warfare and combat. They ran in war armor, they threw a disk, a spear… And among other things there was also pancreas, ie the fight of two men at close range, without weapons, body to body. Over time, this discipline began to be divided into a fist fight, ie something like boxing, and a fight without a punch, which from today’s point of view was a Greco-Roman match, “gives Petr Macháček a brief insight into the history of martial arts.
–
Further development, according to the different preferences of the fighters, created other split martial arts. “Some people prefer speed, dexterity and tend to karate, some people are more powerful, they want the maximum contact where shots can be dealt, so they do boxing and some people prefer to fight on the ground, so they are a good judoka or wrestler,” calculates the legendary Czech coach. The so-called attitude disciplines, which were originally represented by boxing, developed more. “Kicks, elbow punches and so on began to be added, kickboxing, Thai boxing were born, but completely contactless taekwondo and many other disciplines were created on the same line.”
–
It is logical that as the family of martial arts grew, it began to compare which of the sports is the most effective in combat, which is the toughest, which is the most demanding… And because everyone has something, they finally started fighting again in full contact, from which the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) discipline was soon born. Everything is included there.
–
Petr “Khru” Macháček
There is one piece of advice to staunch opponents of this certainly very tough contact sport if they want to find their way to MMA. Look at MMA like this: not everything is allowed, but you need to know everything. “MMA is a decathlon of martial arts,” says Petr Macháček.
–
From a wrestler to a professional
An interesting aspect of the MMA discipline is, on the one hand, the clear affection for the show. Those who don’t like MMA might say circus. And even a degree of speculation in terms of choosing the best for the title fight. It is not always completely transparent, it is somewhat subjective, but only until those in question meet face to face in a cage. And that’s exactly what MMA is all about. An MMA fighter longs for a single – fight for the title. And win.
–
The young MMA fighter will first start fighting in matches organized more or less regularly for non-professional athletes. In the Czech Republic, it often starts in matches organized by organizations such as GCF or I am Fighter.
–
Whoever is good, so he constantly wins, can try the Octagon. Oktagon MMA is the largest organization that organizes martial arts tournaments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It organizes several tournaments a year, often in well-known sports arenas in Czech and Slovak cities. The owners are Pavol Neruda and Ondřej Novotný, who must point to a talented fighter. To say: “Yes, you are already attractive enough, come and show up for the event we organize under the Oktagon brand.”
–
The career of a professional MMA fighter is heading in the right direction.
–
Anyone who wrestles at the level represented by the Czech-Slovak Octagon, but also the Polish KSW or one of the leading Russian organizations, or more precisely wins the matches of the above-mentioned organizations, can hope to be pointed at by a scout from Bellator (the second most important American organization). ONE Championship or from the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) itself. These are the three most respected organizations under whose wings the best professional MMA wrestlers in the world compete. Whoever meets their conditions and stands up to the match in their cage can say, “I’m good.”
–
Czechs in the UFC
The Czech MMA is not wrong in the global context. Several Czechs have already introduced themselves in the matches organized by the American UFC, while Karlos Vémola has gained the greatest reputation at home. Of the women, Lucie Pudilová made it to the first MMA World League in the past, but she also left the famous organization after four defeats in a row. David Dvořák and Jiří Procházka are currently fighting under the wings of the UFC.
–
Jiří BJP Procházka, a 30-year-old Brňák, has extensive experience and also a semi-heavyweight degree from the Japanese organization Rizin. The culture of Japanese samurai is very close to Procházka and he will certainly rely on its values even in a struggle that could be his life battle. He should fight for the UFC title earlier this summer. “I have goosebumps, because there is nothing more than fighting for the UFC title in our sport,” says Petr Macháček.
—
