I'm sure you understand boxing, but what do you really know about Mixed Martial Arts? Perhaps you've seen the UFC on cable or caught a pay per view at a local bar, but do you really understand what you're watching? Don't be too quick to judge this complex sport until you have a better understanding of what really goes on.

There are still quite a few people under the misconception that MMA fighting, as seen in the UFC®, EliteXC, and WEC™, is nothing but a bunch of barbarians locked in a cage clubbing each other like a bunch of animals. This couldn't be much further from the truth.

First of all the men, and in some cases women, of mixed martial arts are well trained, elite-level athletes who desire to compete in a very complex and difficult sport. They thrive on competition, and possess a warrior's spirit that allows them to endure pain and continue even when they are exhausted. They play their sport as if their life is on the line.

It's true they must protect themselves at all times, lest an injury occur. After all, their opponent is trying to injure them within the rules of the sport. However, it is not the brutal sport that many try to paint it as. It may seem difficult to believe, but the sport is actually very safe for those well-prepared. There is a vast amount of strategy and years of training required to really understand the nuances of MMA.

What is difficult to comprehend is that western boxing has become an accepted sport in contemporary society, yet mixed martial arts is sometimes struggling with the same distinction. It is only recently that the UFC® has managed to influence athletic and boxing commissions across the country to start adopting their unified set of rules for competition. This allows them to bring their events to new states and even other countries.

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As boxing declines, the athletic commissions are finally convinced by the economic value of a sport such as MMA. Upon reviewing the data, and I can assure you there is more than ample medical data that shows beyond a doubt that MMA is safer than boxing, they happily begin the process to change the laws to allow this sort of competition.

So I'd urge you first of all to take a hard look at boxing versus MMA. Boxing is by no means an easy sport, but it is far simpler than Mixed Martial Arts. It is much closer to two men (or in some cases women) clubbing each other with padded fists. There is certainly technique and skill involved, but the degree of training required is nothing compared to that of an MMA fighter.

In boxing the combatants beat each other until one falls down and cannot get up. They are given a count of 10 to stand up and get beaten some more. Because of the padding they wear (i.e. boxing gloves) a boxer can take many direct blows to the head, each of which jars the brain. Boxers also coat themselves in grease to help the blows slide off so they don't break the skin. All of this allows a boxer to continue for long periods of time, absorbing powerful blows from their opponent.

MMA is a far different animal. First of all, the gloves used contain about one-quarter the padding of boxing gloves. This really is just enough to slow many cuts, and prevent some injuries to the hands and bones when punching. Regardless of their training, no person can take repeated blows to the head with these lightweight gloves. While this may sound more dangerous, it's actually healthier to take a sharp blow and have the referee stop the fight immediately rather than take many padded blows (each jarring the brain) until the fighter falls down, gets back up, falls down again, and finally is so dazed that he cannot stand up within 10 seconds of falling down.

Not all MMA fighters are looking for a knockout or a stoppage due to unanswered strikes. Often they are looking to cause their opponent to quit by "tapping out." When a fighter is locked into a hold that endangers a joint or is cutting off blood flow to the brain, they will tap out and submit, signaling an end to the contest.

Referees are also familiar with the various arm, leg, and ankle locks to make sure no injury will occur even if the opponent does not tap out. In the case of a choke, the opponent will simply pass out and the fight will end. Medical studies have shown that being choked to unconsciousness is much safer than being knocked out due to blows to the head or jaw.

MMA fighters must be well-versed in all strikes, including punches, kicks, knees, and elbows. Because MMA involves fighting from standing and ground positions, they must also be familiar with grappling and wrestling from various positions on the ground, against the fence, and standing in the open ring. They must also know a myriad of submission moves, even if not to apply them, but to defend against them before they become hopelessly entangled in them.

Further, MMA fighters must be very familiar with wrestling and judo concepts to take their opponents to the mat, or to avoid being taken down. Once on the ground, they must not only avoid submissions, but also be able to strike and inflict damage or move to avoid being hit.

Many fighters employ a specific strategy for their style of fighting. Each strategy should highlight a fighter's strengths. For example, a good wrestler will usually try to close in on a striker to take away their punching and kicking range, and then attempt to take them to the mat and work from there. Whereas a fighter with excellent kickboxing skills will attempt to defeat the takedown attempts, create distance and use his superior striking ability.

This is just an oversimplified example, because each person may excel at specific types of strikes, such as close in strikes (knees and elbows) or specific kicks such as leg kicks or even high kicks. Wrestlers often work on striking from top positions on the ground because they can often dominate the takedown game and end up in that position. On the other hand, grapplers often train to deal with a superior wrestler from the bottom position by applying submission holds such as armbars and chokes from their backs, all while avoiding punches and elbows to the face.

As you can see, there is a lot more to this sport than just a couple of big brutes trying to beat each other up. There is extremely sophisticated strategy that involves style-versus-style match ups, plus strength, agility, coordination, conditioning, and overall athleticism. The sport has maintained an excellent record for the past ten years with regard to safety, and in my opinion it's much more exciting than boxing.

Go to www.nhbma.com for more information on mixed martial arts and MMA fighting.