Why MMA And BJJ Destroy Egos (And Traditional Martial Arts Don’t)

MMA and BJJ fighters are some of the most humble and nicest people around. On the contrary, many people you meet in Traditional Martial Arts are arrogant. In fact: there is a good reason behind this phenomenon, which we will explore in this Martial Arts Explored episode.
Find more martial arts explored episodes here: • The Truth About Steven...
Learn why MMA fighers are some of the most humble people around: • The Big Myth About MMA...
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Welcome to the Martial Arts Journey KZbin channel!
My name is Rokas. I'm a Lithuanian guy who trained Aikido for 14 years, 7 of them running a professional Aikido Dojo until eventually I realized that Aikido does not live up to what it promises.
Lead by this realization I decided to make a daring step to close my Aikido Dojo and move to Portland, Oregon for six months to start training MMA at the famous Straight Blast Gym Headquarters under head coach Matt Thornton.
After six months intensive training I had my first amateur MMA fight after which I moved back to Lithuania. During all of this time I am documenting my experience through my KZbin channel called "Martial Arts Journey".
Now I am slowly setting up plans to continue training MMA under quality guidance and getting ready for my next MMA fight as I further document and share my journey and discoveries.
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If you want to support my journey, you can make a donation to my PayPal at [e-mail]
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Check the video "Aikido vs MMA" which started this whole Martial Arts Journey:
► • Aikido vs MMA - REAL ...
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#MMA #UFC #BJJ

[@aaronhumes2615]

When it comes to fighting either you come humble or you get humbled

[@lookit87]

Or both! 😂

[@panagiotisk.8699]

@@lookit87 Sugar Sean didn't tho 😂

[@Guy-wl8jk]

Okay there, mike.

[@Ant-speakingfacts]

Nuff said👍

[@damienthefuelman]

Colby Covington: "Hold my Maga Hat"👍😎

[@dxmakina]

winning and losing builds character. never losing or never accepting loss or believing that you will always win builds arrogance.

[@derek96720]

To be honest, arrogance can be grown even in people who lose occasionally. They just pick a different class of people to feel superior around, eg. Non-mma practitioners. Experiences can humble you. But they won't MAKE you humble if you don't have the right character for it.

[@dougyeefresh87]

I think trained fighters are humble to because they know they beat up or kill the average joe. They don't have to worry about being beat up anymore.

[@derek96720]

@@dougyeefresh87 that's called complacency, not humility. Only a fool thinks they have nothing to fear from the average Joe. A humble warrior understands that everyone is a threat, given the right circumstances.

[@hornetc5585]

@@derek96720 That's why I prefer Hapkido over MMA. In Hapkido, your teacher is always making you think of life or death situations. MMA doesn't really focus on that as much.

[@idurisu930]

@sean o malley

[@NapoleonBlownapartMMA]

BJJ breaks down your ego continually. Just when you start thinking youre getting the hang of it, some kid will come along and tap you out in seconds. You never really get room to grow your ego at all. I do think you find arrogant assholes in any group tho, BJJ/MMA are not immune to this, but sparring and rolling are definitely a filter that weed out the worst ones

[@adoboFosho]

Especially when a tma is a mcdojo

[@team3gaming749]

Napoleon Blownapart I agree. I can say the same for Boxing as well. There have been very egotistical people in the sport but more times then not we see people get humbled.

[@NapoleonBlownapartMMA]

@@team3gaming749 And then Toney got humbled again when he tried MMA!

[@comradeluke2721]

Yeah it’s breaks down your ego and builds your character.

[@nolanrossiter4588]

Yeah, and with General mma and mostly ufc fighters, nearly all of the undefeated fighters are so full of themselves and every time they lose they just call it a fluke. (Ahem TJ Dillashaw)

[@driver3899]

This is why people believe their aikido will work perfectly "in the street" even though they have never fought anyone They just don't get exposed to any data that shows them otherwise

[@atatekeli9295]

I’ve done Krav Maga for 3 years and Aikido for 1,5 years and I can tell that most aikido practitioners are not ready for street combat

[@silvergiovanni5336]

@@atatekeli9295 what do you mean? Steven Segal can woop anyone in a street fight

[@atatekeli9295]

Silver Giovanni street fight is quite different

[@silvergiovanni5336]

@@atatekeli9295 Not with Steven Segal's Bulshido and aikido

[@atatekeli9295]

@@silvergiovanni5336 You're right in my opinion because hand to hand combat in the street require strenuous training and a shift in the mind

[@geiletoni764]

I was pretty cocky, overconfident and arrogant during my 10 years of karate, when I started Muay Thai I got extremely humbled. Still on the way to humbleness, which really is the goal.

[@anthonymullins329]

bro, back when i was younger, i did taekwondo and the entire time, i was called a prodigy and i got super confident, so when i went into an adult level Muay Thai class at 13, i got destroyed and all of my confidence went away

[@at3396]

What karate?

[@geiletoni764]

@@at3396 first shotokan then wado ryu, but it's not solely karates fault, it's simply the lack of full contact sparring.

[@at3396]

@@geiletoni764 oh ok I do a different karate

[@at3396]

@Gerardo Ojeda what karate?

[@Killahbeez79]

In my first week training with Maromba BJJ I asked the instructor a question while he was rolling and the white belt he was rolling with immediately closed a triangle and made him tap. Instead of the instructor getting pissed he was actually beaming with pride for his student for being able to close the triangle so quickly.

[@isalehyan]

I have done traditional karate, Judo, and BJJ. Part of the issue is also western interpretations of Japanese culture. Bowing to the front of the room and the hierarchy of belts imparts a sense of superiority, and potentially rigidity. As a Judo instructor, I also try to keep things light hearted and friendly, to break down some of the barrier between dan and kyu ranks. Thanks for the video!

[@braydoncraig6418]

ohh hello i would like to ask is doing Judo alongise Karate good, i have been doing Goju Karate for almost 2 years and i have been considering doing Judo alongside it, just wanted to get some insight from you.

[@isalehyan]

@@braydoncraig6418 I think once you get a solid foundation in one style, cross training is a benefit. But dabbling in a little of this and a little of that is worse than sticking with one style, getting to a high level of proficiency, then opening the doors to new systems

[@braydoncraig6418]

@@isalehyan Thank you very much for your comment, i shall do that.

[@braydoncraig6418]

@@isalehyan Oss

[@goukeban6197]

"Bowing to the front of the room and the hierarchy of belts imparts a sense of superiority" I got the opposite feeling in my time during Karate. To me bowing was a way of assuring me that I wasn't tough shit, that others had put more time and effort on it than me and deserved respect for that.

[@corvus5964]

when i started MMA i came from a 12 year long taekwondo background and so this whole time i thought i could fight and so when i walked into the MMA gym for the first time i thought that all these skinny kids would be super weak and bad compared to me but when class started and i saw a kid way smaller than me but similar age kick the pad and i heard and saw how much force came from it, I was shook but I was also hooked because i knew that my training sucked in comparison and so I've been doing it for about 3 weeks at this point and I've already learnt so much and im really enjoying it, i was also very surprised because everyone was so nice to me but in tykwondo people were only nice to me when i was a first degree black belt but before i was people treated me like they were better than me so its so strange how the no belts and the training can affect how people act towards you as a new person

[@Juel92]

Did you train WTF or ITF?

[@GoogleHelpYou]

I was also from TKD. I switch to MT. It is true. TKD uses hand mitt and focus on speed and accuracy, whereas MT uses harder target and kick with shin. This allows for harder kick. Back in TKD, there was a hierarchical system based on belt level and position(student/coach). The coach always misuse the term respect when he actually mean authority/hierarchical.

[@BootyBot]

This is true to an extent, depending on the gym. There are certain MMA "bro gyms" where the environment is more like this: You are allowed to have an ego if you are better than most of the people there. If you have an ego or start shitting on people when you don't have the skillset to back it up, the enforcer will kick your ass until you shut up. If you are among the "top dogs" then it's socially acceptable for you to be self centered, arrogant, abusive towards others, ect. Most BJJ gyms aren't like this, but a few are.

[@junichiroyamashita]

I believe this is partly right,if one wants to act like hot shit he better back it up. Unless openly damaging or disrespectful against others it would be fine with some ego from the best students.

[@tafua_a]

MMA fighters with an ego might be rare, but when they have an ego they're dangerous. Not "this guy is awesome" dangerous, but "this guy needs to be locked up" dangerous. I will never forget the story of the Bianchi brothers, two Italian MMA fighters who were harassing someone, a kid tried to stop them, and they deliberately beat him to death in front of witnesses who did nothing, and then were outraged by their arrest.

[@stefanbornhoft2258]

You are right. I experienced the same thing after training aikido for 13 years and I loved that. Its true, you have no idea where your limits are. You manage most of the techniques in an adequate way and they tell you, that will work in the street. How can you know better? Than I heard that my instructor got punched in the face by one of his students in a `just for fun free fight´, who was a 2nd dan Karate. I was wondering, how could that be. I talked to that Karate guy, who was a very nice person and he said, its unrealistic the way we train aikido or lets say the way we train real fighting situations. Today after having seen lots of your videos - Rokas - I think I understand better. Thank you. In TMA we train in a certain way - cooperativ, non resistant partner, traditional attacks ... Thats ok and its really interesting, makes you fit and sharpens your perception but its not a free fight with no rules... Instructors should know and tell this. Otherwise it leads to wrong imaginations of your abilities and to arrogance and ego.

[@MartialArtsJourney]

🙏

[@CecilRyuTaekwondo]

I think he got punched in the face because he was fighting a second Dan Karateka.

[@KentPetersonmoney]

what they should do is keep the aikido moves that work then mix it with another martial arts to make it more effective.

[@SonicFast23]

I agree with everything you say except the portion that you said its ok to train without resistance. My take on TMA is not that the techniques wont work in a real life situation it's the fact that how can they work if you have no resistance to sharpen those techniques and make them applicable. All TMA's are missing full contact sparring to flush out techniques that just dont work under typical circumstances and find ways to make moves easier , faster and more accurate to today's meta. If boxing stayed the same way it was in the early 1900s then I would be useless in today's age.

[@Starexe97]

In short: coz in MMA and BJJ, we got beaten up... A LOT... (in real life sparring ofc, unlike scammy sparring in most traditional martial arts)

[@lionsden4563]

@people1st, In combative arts, you spar or grapple a lot. You sometimes lost and that will humble you. In TMA, most do not do live training. Only drills. That gives a false confident and makes you ignorant.

[@Jenjak]

people1st To learn of course !

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

@people1st without pressure testing, it's impossible to understand the practicality of the technique. One could never know a technique actually work or not only through words and drills

[@JoaoPereira-jt9ur]

Nothing like getting your ass handed to you to humble you. I do traditional karate but with real sparing, including grappling techniques. When I start to get cocky it's when I get "beaten"

[@humann5682]

Here's my problem with what the OP said: I agree about MMA. I disagree about with BJJ. BJJ today is nothing like a real fight. Sure, you might sweat and get put in some painful positions, but you can also just coast without any danger. It can create delusion in its practioners. MMA is always a fight. It's as close to a fight as you can get within the realm of safety and sanity.

[@SMH54000]

As a TMA teacher I find this video and your whole channel very inspiring :)

[@MartialArtsJourney]

Thank you. That means a lot to me

[@donelrico1688]

In boxing cardio broke my ego after punching and skipping for almost two hours you are gonna hate fighting

[@nikeimizhongtomasch1880]

It's much easier to fight the air in TMA and think of yourself as an unstoppable killing machine if you ever snap...lol

[@cheshire_skatkat9093]

This is so true.

[@nappyheaded]

Everyone has an ego. Its basic psychology. The key thing you have to remember in combat sports is that you dont have to be modest if you can back it up.

[@t-roy13]

Even if you don’t compete in BJJ, rolling will humble you. I mean seriously, sometimes the warmups humble you.

[@Tretusentre]

Yeah haha my club does clinch work as a warmup, and when a smaller person gets the hooks in your ego gets destroyed haha

[@rev0luci0n]

BJJ and Judo warmups are insane, no choice but to get fit!

[@rayaneali7239]

@@rev0luci0n lmao that's so true

[@MassAmorphous]

Strange, I have found that the opposite is true. Even then, the proportion of martial artists with big egos have been relatively small in both realms in my experience.

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

Exactly correct. Tho as you said it certainly goes both ways and like I mentioned is definitely more dependent on the individual, their personal mentality etc rather than on what they train or don't. A jackass will be a jackass wether they are worth a shit or not

[@nagyzoli]

Ego is a matter of education. Pushups are a good way to cool down the star player, any sport involved. You were disrespectful? Do 200, counted. Classical army style. He will do it at most 3 times until brain registers it is bad :)

[@rocmiraclepallares7504]

man I really loved this comment

[@deeboot9057]

That was the approach of my Karate instructors both were military vets. It was 100-500 pushups or running depending on what you did. Sweat the ego right out of you.

[@DundG]

But is it really humbling or do you train your students to just shut up? The push-ups don't show you that you are the not one of the biggest fish in the ocean, you can still think that you are an badass while being nice and on the surface "humble"

[@nagyzoli]

@@DundG Well this is more for teenage or early 20's people, who are a little bit cocky. I am not an advocate of beating the kid to prove a point anyhow. Experience shows it works well. Also it is used if the guy/girl is bullying or disrespecting another kid, not for questioning the teacher for why stuff xyz is like this and not like that. No teacher would punish anyone for that kind of question.

[@DundG]

@@nagyzoli Well, so it is more a tool to encourage a certain behavior towards other individuals. This is important to, so they know when they go to far. But it is rather the teaching how to work in the group or community. But true humility comes from the realization that in the wast world, you probably are not the toughest, that you can loose to others although you beat every one in your dojo. That is something that only works if you test it.

[@aikiwolf84]

I treasure my time in aikido as my first martial art experience. It saddens me that it ended up so "lost". Now I love muay thai. And have been humbled often!

[@nn-pk9zj]

The example at 3:10 literally happen to me. With 59kg I had been training for 2 years but was the smallest in my bjj class, the next guy was 70kg, so sometimes it was hard to feel that I was progressing. A new huge pumped guy came in, when it was time to roll everybody formed pairs and we were the only ones left. I looked at my instructor and he said we're good for each other, I was very confused, the guy's arm was bigger than my leg, but the instructor doubled down and said, yeh yeh, go ahead. I ended up submitting him 3 times during that roll. That was the moment I really felt my training was really working, and motivated me a lot to continue. Unfortunately the guy probably had a big ego and never came back. And yes, everybody was really friendly, since then I no longer live in the same city but I still consider the instructor as a friend.

[@michaelmcnamara1839]

Would add the boxers and kickboxers I've met to this. Without ego I mean.

[@xpeter1000]

Not sure about kickboxers, but most boxers are know are very cocky

[@xa1313]

I boxed for over 10 years ans Met very different people there...

[@royalcommoner3873]

3:14 Yeah this happened to me last monday. And I didn't think "what an insult" I thought "let the next guy get this one, I'm not getting tapped by a cheerleader in front of a bunch of strangers"

[@junichiroyamashita]

I am a lot into anime and manga,and one of the most common cliches is that the very petite/thin woman is the one known for destroying skyscrapers with a weapon ten times is size, or similar stuff. So when i started martial arts i was always much more careful against women,even though i was proven wrong most of times.

[@comradeluke2721]

Yeah once you learn what the actual heck your doing size and strength come back into the playing field. That first time getting tapped by a girl tho, lol super surprising for me lol.

[@Docinaplane]

The toughest man I ever met was a 10th Dan Goju practicioner under Peter Urban. He was totally humble, kind, and respectful towards everyone.

[@jdt8983]

Yes but many traditional students dont get to fight which means a lack of reality

[@johnsrobin7681]

I started lifting in 2017 and did for two years and was able to put good muscle mass and whenever I walk in the streets, I consider myself very tough and I was over confident on myself that I can take down anyone and then in March, 2020, I started mma training and man, the sparring, the cardio, the grappling that I have gone through has made me humble and also have realised that size don’t matter in fight and even now I hit gym and lift weights occasionally to increase my strength and there I see many muscle guys posing and thinking they are the toughest out there and I just smile and tell myself, that was me a couple of years back...mma has made me humble and confident in myself and at the same time has made me realise, “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

[@KalebSDay]

Nothing wrong with posing if it helps push someone to their fitness goals. Don't think it is best to assume they're arrogant just because that helps pump them up to keep training towards what they want to achieve. As for your general sentiment about size not mattering in a fight, I completely agree. Someone who knows even a little technique and weighed many tens of pounds less than me could probably mess me up haha.

[@Meta_Meech]

I literally experienced this very thing tonight with my uncle (tradional kung fu and silat) and me (Muay Thai, San shou, Capoeira, Folk Style Wrestling, Boxing). He demonstrated a technique from a kata where the guy punches you and you block and dislocate his shoulder before taking him down. ALL I DID, was ask wouldn't it be much more efficient to simply slip and counter with a uppercut to the liver. He literally said his technique was more efficient cause it leaves the opponent disabled and I said well punching someone in the liver leaves them disabled and disagreed stating if a professional fighter punched him in the liver he would get right back up. And then told me how am I gonna argue with a master(him). Smh

[@thomasgrable1746]

I remember my first day at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I had visions of what a phenomenon I was going to be. That illusion vaporized the first time I trained with an opponent. It's a cold dose of reality that many traditional schools lack.

[@bryantharris5914]

Just looking at Rokus physically you can see a huge transformation. In his Aikido days he likes lean, almost frail, now he looks strong (particularly in the neck area). I realize that much of his journey has been mental, but he looks significantly more formidable now.

[@limxuanyi5398]

The people in my school(Singapore Polytechnic) Judo Club, most of them are arrogant and toxic individuals

[@tigerrclaw3772]

Yo I’m in SP too. I’m in MMA.

[@limxuanyi5398]

TigerrClaw congrats

[@Daniel-ld7xs]

@@limxuanyi5398 lolll y liddat ah

[@Candle-m5s]

I can agree, many people in my Judo class are exactly how you describe your school. Why do you think are they like this?

[@limxuanyi5398]

ᚱᛖᛞ᛫ ᛫ᚾᛖᛟᚾ the belt system

[@christophergrant5705]

Connor McGregor and Rampage Jackson - very humble. Said no one ever

[@MartialArtsJourney]

😆

[@outlawstarjoseph8064]

Conor is traditionally humble, he just likes to sell his fights

[@quabledistocficklepo3597]

@@outlawstarjoseph8064 Oh, so that's what he was doing when he attacked that old man in the bar.

[@angelocruz9476]

@@outlawstarjoseph8064 lol

[@lilminer69er]

@@quabledistocficklepo3597 thats different nobody refuses a drink from the double champ he does what the fook he wants

[@malakatan3235]

Someone forget BJJ is traditional martial arts & Gracie family isn't known for their humbleness

[@janhiguel7194]

That's true and also they would take charge of the rules so that the fight would go in their favor!!!

[@BrandonGiordano]

I've been training jiu jitsu/MMA for 3 years now and although it'd be a bold face lie to say everyone I've come across was a cool person but it's hard to be an asshole or full of yourself when you're constantly getting beaten beat up by people you train with or have more experience. Constantly getting humbled is good for the soul

[@joelkronqvist6089]

7:53 Well, I have been completely beaten at a taekwondo sparring match with a lot of blows in the head, maybe not dangerously hard but still hard enough to make me feel very uncomfortable.

[@comradeluke2721]

When you accidentally give your friend a concussion during sparring lol. (True story)

[@me3851]

Maybe it humbled McGregor last night.

[@JohlorBJJ]

Very true words, I was a traditional martial artist myself before I started BJJ. With that said, your movement in Aikido are still very beautiful too see. Even if it is more a dance between two people than a fightingsystem It is pleasing on the eyes to watch.

[@michaciemniewski9791]

I train judo for a year and I am the smallest of the adult group (77kg, 182cm) and I get defeated by 16YO blue belt, 110kg yellow belt (I am yellow belt myself) guys I train with A LOT. Not to mention randori with our black belts (then I get beatten smaller, older guys in a blink of an eye). I get better over time and I sometimes get a win here and there. This is pure satisfaction but doing randori 3 times a weak teaches You to be humble and... Realistic.

[@seerthefool]

77kg and u were the lightest?💀im done for if I learn these, I'm 17 and 67kg ;-;

[@michaciemniewski9791]

@@seerthefool I was visiting a nearby club during summer and they did have one 70ish guy there but the rest was 90+ (all teens). I must say I slowly improve. I was able tap few guys few times. Smaller players are usually faster! But the BEST part is we have a 60 YO black belt. He is 67kg and he kicks out buts NON STOP :D Tomoe Nage on a 110kg guy is awesome.

[@jkphilosophy]

I agree with this. I trained Karate for 7 years and my ego got destroyed in less than a week of boxing

[@AdobadoFantastico]

I think ego is more about how you interact with the world and the feedback you receive(whether other people encourage/discourage it), rather than your hobbies or professional pursuits.

[@garymasterson1174]

Thank you. Your channel is first class and your words of honesty resonate loudly with me. Ego is nothing more than a substitute for confidence when a person hasn't had the real-life experience of using their experience on the street or in the ring. I have trained in a traditional karate for many years but I was lucky in that my instructor always based his teachings on reality and focused on the more useful techniques in self defence. He taught me awareness, the reality of real life scenarios and that ego is simply counterproductive. I have dabbled in some pressure systems (including BJJ) as well and like you was humbled as an experienced karateka in the BJJ arena. This simply amplified what I already knew that in general traditional martial arts are sometimes misunderstood by those who practise them. They can offer an advantage in real life self defence but they don't work in the ring/octagon unless pressure testing is practised routinely. Unfortunately I have reached a stage in my life at which it's too late to address the deficiencies of my learnings. For me it's more important to accept them and make do with what I have available. I also dabbled in Tomiki Aikido briefly and although I didn't even scratch the surface, it was clear that the instructor and "senior" students were living with unrealistic expectations of their capabilities in the real world. What I'm trying to say is that it's absolutely fine for a young student to study any art but she/he must be aware of its limitations (psychological, technique, etc) and to appreciate that he/she has the option to cross train (including reality & psychological training as offered by Ian Abernethy etc) in other arts to optimise ability. if your sensei/sifu/instructor disagrees and tells you that you this approach is wrong or unnecessary, then walk away! ATVB

[@dfpguitar]

judo always gets left out of these discussions. Judo is traditional martial art, which involves live grappling in every session. Actually BJJ is a traditional martial art too, with a history as long as the likes of TKD and complete with Gi, belt rankings and bowing. The distinction between these branches of martial arts really is "conceptual" Vs reality.

[@Candle-m5s]

Would you say people from judo are arrogant too?

[@dfpguitar]

@@Candle-m5s no, because as the video explains. Live "real" grappling or sparring is massively humbling. more of the conceptual martial arts tend to be refuges for men with deep insecurities about themselves. They both believe and depend on the concept that all the time spent developing their ranking , increases their importance as a human and gives them authority and a right to ultimate respect from others. They really really want others to be in awe of them, fear them, envy them and listen to orders. If they can achieve this as a reality whilst in the dojo, they will. Oh boy, they will. The judo world has always been more like a conventional sport, like soccer or gymnastics. There is strong emphasis on competition. And in competition you immediately get shown your "place" regardless of your belt and years invested. The movements / curriculum is not overly complicated and never hidden behind mystique. And straight forward strength and speed is emphasised, not magic spells. The studs are the young, explosive and strong, just like football. Not the 45 year old weaklings who claim to be a third Dan black belt.

[@dominiknowaczyk9633]

@@dfpguitar I train judo and bjj, I think bjj is way more technical and way more fun to train but judo is way more useful in a real fight and super tough on the body, I always get home all beat up after judo training.

[@everypersoneverywhere7955]

As a Judoka who has also practiced several years of MMA and BJJ, I tend to agree with most of these points. I think what it comes down to is the ability to pressure test your skills. Traditional arch they don't pressure test or have sparring usually tend to have some of the most arrogant people, I have found. And, although there is a lot of elitism and perfectionism in Judo, I feel that getting routinely ragdolled by upper level practitioners has definitely helped me to put myself in place.

[@chevchelios5668]

Humble, in Bjj, yeah, but not named Gracie right.

[@formamateriae6674]

I was about to say the same thing.

[@egehannalbant5572]

Just a detail ; it'd be more accurate to divide between "Martial Arts that include honest sparring" and "Martial arts that don't include honest sparring". Plenty of TMA include good sparring and competition too. Kendo has a crazy amount of sparring which is very humbling even at the higher dan grades ; Taekwondo, Karate, some styles of Kenjutsu, some Judo/Jujutsu dojo and so on include pretty good sparring.

[@owenc2314]

And some Kung Fu has honest sparring

[@bookknight]

@@owenc2314 most kung-fu are TMA

[@owenc2314]

@@bookknight I know that's why I said some Kung Fu offers sparring

[@martialartshustle7301]

I never had an ego doing Kung Fu for 14 years. I think part of it comes from the fact that I actually never felt confident in my skills I probably knew deep down inside that most of it was not effective in an actual fighting situation.

[@heavymeddle28]

When I started judo 1981 my first litte competition was a club championship. Think I weighed 32 kg had a white belt and met a girl. Blue belt and she tossed me around like a ragdoll. Ippon, after 30 seconds or something. That put my ego in place 😄

[@aeso3555]

Before I got into an mma, I was an insecure loser who tried to play tough and get into fights, even though the other guy would've easily kicked my ass. After learning in an mma gym, I'm terrified of fighting at all and would rather do anything but pick fights.

[@hornetc5585]

MMA does not shatter egos, rather it builds them more so than most TMAs. I've known many TMAs and MMA guys who have used their martial arts on the streets. Most of the MMA guys who found themselves in these ended up in in some kind legal trouble, in some cases, jail. The TMAs didn't and there was a reason for that. In legit TMA schools, appropriate use of force is emphasized and you are trained only to use the required amount of brutality. In more TMA than MMA schools, I've seen teachers cover the legal side and how to put you in the best position in the aftermath of a defensive confrontation This is why those TMAs got out of their situations, they knew how to fight without getting in trouble. MMA guys just wanna be tough then cry like a bi*** when they're facing 2 years for assault or excessive use of force.

[@punlovingpacifist]

OK, but at the same time, just because someone do that, that doesn’t mean that MMA fighters in general just do that

[@hornetc5585]

@@punlovingpacifist And guess what? Most of those MMA guys who are like that are the ones with solid TMA who transitioned to MMA.

[@humble_integrity]

i totally disagree; everybody has ego. even mma fighters. someone without ego will be very unhealthy.

[@renebarbis5304]

Traditional martial art are not made for sparring, are made for kill your opponent, mostly with weapons. And first lesson is don't fight if you can evade it. Not BJJ, MMA even TMA prepares you for a real fight with knives and broken glass, 3 guys against you. In my experience i have seen more ego in MMA than in TMA. If this opinion is of any use.

[@EffectiveMartialArts]

Words of wisdom. I practiced and taught traditional Kung Fu for 10 years before transitioning to a more modern, MMA-based training regimen, and can absolutely attest to the cultivation of large egos in the higher ranks of TMA. The opposite tends to happen as we are exposed to real knowledge and skills; we realize how much we still DON'T know, which is essential to continued progress. Acquiring real skills builds strong confidence balanced with humility. Otherwise, it's just arrogance. Thanks for sharing, Rokas! - Patrick Fulop

[@giannibleya7690]

It's not true I know some nice MMA fighters, but most of them are bullies, I had to learn to fight to be able to defend against them, there's no reason a fighter would be respectful and nice to everyone, they seek every moment to use that skill

[@Krissada1000]

Because the one who has to defend ineffective martial art a lot, will be under stress and anger 😠😠😠

[@owenc2314]

I had an experience. I started a new style of martial art and after doing Aikido for some time, i was pretty confident in myself. Then I sparred for the first time (since aikido does not spar) and I was instantly 'humbled' lol

[@crustymcgee6580]

What about boxers and wrestlers? Are they arrogant? They do a lot of sparing as well.

[@pancrase9048]

If BJJ destroys ego then explain the Gracie's behavior for the last 100 years of their wonderfully clean history?

[@MartialArtsJourney]

Because they did not acknowledge failure. Would that be a reasonable explanation?

[@rnin1754]

Because they believe that jiujitsu is superior to any combat system, it is a kind of martial supremacy.

[@filpi93]

R NIN yeah but is not true,they met failure several times,beginning with Helio.

[@zacplanko2735]

That picture you put up when you said "the little lady is choking you out", I had the honour of having her teach one of my first bjj classes not even knowing who she was 😅 she is a legend

[@Sinekyre14]

Great video. Good to see you back.

[@MartialArtsJourney]

😊 Thank you!

[@To0t]

Noone ever meet gym enforcers??? Like the guys who are really good and handles ones with egos or bad attitude

[@Whenwhatwheree]

Traditional martial arts destroy your ego too if you practice to perfect it. The fact that you have to train like crazy and really dedicate yourself to the art will humble you when you realize it’s gonna take more than a few months to use it how you really want. If you practice or want to practice a traditional martial art, I urge you to find a *real* master of the art then ask to spar so you can see just how far you are from mastering it. There are some pretty amazing people out there, they aren’t all on KZbin.

[@jamescobrien]

I don't get this. Isn't Jiu Jitsu a traditional martial art? Wrestling is one of the most ancient martial arts, so isn't it traditional? I see tradition in these two, even Muy Thai has traditions. Humbleness is a very important wisdom virtue because the fool has no honor.

[@Matt-ou2ns]

Did TMA - Kyokushin Karate - from 15-20 years old. Their training pushes to extreme levels. Heaps of sparring, full body conditioning, full contact knockdown training camps and full contact fighting tournaments. You get belted when going for senior Belts (they push each individual to their individual capabilities) I never felt they were meat heads. You always get the times when tempers and emotions boil over but it always has to end with respect to your opponent. I didn't have a rude awakening when moving into boxing and mma gyms. Training was same same. In fact I'd say the full contact Kyokushin knockdown training camps were bordering psychopathic levels in hardness 😆...Maybe because they were fighter camps though. I can't speak on behalf of current Kyokushin dojos as its been over a decade since I trained but I am about to start training again so i'll find out very soon. Maybe you just had a bad experience in Aikido brother.

[@WalterWorldSkills]

Things may be different in Europe and/or the US nowadays, but here in Brazil, at least in the 90s and early 2000s, every now and then we'd hear in the news about a BJJ practitioner who'd lose his temper and attack someone over a minor traffic accident, or even BJJ gangs that would roam the streets looking for trouble. Of course, that might be just the result of biased media coverage, but I wouldn't say BJJ had a good image back then - I remember being interested in ground techniques back in the day, while at the same time being put off by the bad reputation BJJ had. As for BJJ destroying egos, it might be the case that you simply happened to have met the right people. After watching your video, I came across Hong Nguyen's account on why he switched from BJJ to Judo. He talks about how much better Judo is in terms of teaching, sparring, progression, etc. as well as how much more humble black belts are towards white belts. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5K8oIGZeaynoZI Of course, I understand both your account and Nguyen's are based on personal experience and don't necessarily represent the whole of either MMA/BJJ or Judo. But they're food for thought all the same.

[@gusjeazer]

I think a lot of fighters in general have a big ego. I mean, the sport is about dominating over another person. That attracts a certain kind of person, and to some extent is part of the game. A little ego is needed to want to win a fight. I do know a lot of humble people in fight sports though, but in most, the ego is their motivation to win the fight. I think the worst egos can be found in the 'self defence' and martial arts where they 'train' secret techniques that can take on anyone. Where they train with the mindset 'this guy walks up to you and does this, now I do this this this this and he's dead'

[@josedanielgalvan9237]

those Aikido mouvements were very beautiful, thought. I think the purpose of Aikido was to do beautiful kata, and that's why it's called Aikido (armonic, or beautiful in japanese). Of course it was inspired of real fight joint locks, but then it create an art (or a sport) with aestethic purposes only.

[@jibbobdion5072]

The real trouble traditional martial arts vs sports martial arts is this, people go into mma boxing etc specifically to fight, with karate, kung fu etc you go into it for self defense, preformance, improved health and some to also just genuinely want to fight, if tma were more sparring based it'd be in a better position. But if you're learning any martial art it's about how much effort the individual puts into making that art effective, I don't know what to say for aikido as it's more passive, I think their problem in itself is a lack of power, kung fu struggles with aggression I noticed too, too many footsy matches on youtube.

[@PhokenKuul]

You assert that MMA destroys egos, but all your evidence is anecdotal, in other words useless, not evidence at all really. To disprove your assertion I need to provide just one single example that exists in contradiction to your assertion, so here goes. Connor McGregor. Also watch The Ultimate Fighter, any season for about 5 minutes and you can get at least 5 more examples.

[@filipcesnjak2944]

I would not say that traditional martial arts doesnot destroy egos, I would say that every martial art that does not do full contact sparing in striking martial arts or have resistance in grappling matial arts does not destroy egos, full contact karate (Kyokushin, Ashihara, ...) definetly destroys egoes, unlike shotokan karate and other semi contact karate, and judo is a traditional martial art but it has resistance grappiling so it destoys egoes, unlike aikido.

[@stephanwatson7902]

Page 118 - 123 Tao of jkd has double and single leg takedowns, arm locks, leg locks, heel hooks, calf crushes, Bulldog choke, rear naked choke, Guillotine choke, the Twister, Gi chokes, judo, not to mention kickboxing, elbows, headbutts. Not mma at all

[@jibbobdion5072]

I don't think it's fair to assume that traditional martial arts sensei's and sifu's just pander to their students, in my time of taking kung-fu at White Dragon the students were emphasised to improve their techniques speed and precision. If you preformed poorly you're not going up the system.

[@tomasalbertotorresmurillo9392]

I believe that is true at both sides of the spectrum, the most arrogant people that i have met practice combat sports, but. Many bullies that i met are from traditional martial arts. So i think that arrogance is universal and sometimes, even the discipline, no matter which, can't change an asshole and that change depends solely on him/her.

[@elysianfields1671]

With all the respect, I have to disagree with you. Most fighters I have met were and are very arrogant and they like to fight. So many times I heard black belts say “why would you invest so much in this and never use it?” When you think that the masters are themselves examples, I can tell you that I met personally some remarkable masters in their areas and they are what I call the “fake humble”. They pray that in front of the students but out of the studio they are not like that. It is all fake. You think BJJ practitioners are the most humble ones? Study the history of the development of it in Brazil, mostly in Rio de Janeiro, with the oldest and most representative masters of it. If there is one thing that made me leave martial arts and practice on my own was the amount of arrogance and fake humbleness I have experienced. Little detail: I didn’t start yesterday, nor have I trained just one martial art in one place.

[@jehutymortis6603]

But you are better than anyone. No ego with you of course!

[@lezonnmiller5447]

I take tae kwon do and was never arrogant mostly because my teacher was never like tae kwon do is the best martial art and he also taught us a lil jujitsu and occasionally if I stayed late I could learn sum han mu do ( another korean martial art) so I never became arrogant instead I think I was the opposite cause I wanted to learn all types of martial arts

[@junichiroyamashita]

Nah,never suffered this. I grew up reading manga,and the first thing you learn is the short petite woman that uses a sword long like a skyscraper,so i was always very careful against those smaller and seemingly weaker than me,expecially women.

[@papita69xxx]

Haven't known that many modern martial arts practicioners myself, but what you said about TMA rings true since i'm a 3rd degree black belt in karate and while in the philosophy of karate ego is discouraged, the enviroment itself encourages it. So sometimes it's hard not to get swallowed up in the ego. Only when i started watching more martial arts on KZbin i realized i was just a big fish in a small pond. And the only humble teacher i've known is my sensei. I trained with other people and i see that the system has already inflated their egos so high that they won't accept anything but what they teach as true. I hope once i open up my own school i won't fall into the same pitfalls that i've seen

[@MartialArtsJourney]

🙏👊

[@jona.c.4953]

I can truly attest to this. Good observations.

[@martialartsjoshua8591]

I'm fortunate enough to have found a traditional style Dojo that teaches actual fighting, once you reach a certain rank fighting is mandatory, and hardcore. As you mentioned, we also have a level headed Sensei with lots of combat experience both on the street and in full contact competitions. Juijitsu and Karate being It's main foundation. I hope one day more TMA schools get out of the stone age and evolve before they die out and are lost

[@armiyantomuhamad144]

By martial art can you protect your self even your enemy, martial art it is dedicated to control n peace by power in control even in a war😆

[@allengordon6929]

"No idea truly survives contact with reality." Quote from a game I'm designing. Sums up this idea pretty true. Plus the main characters of that game want to gain ultimate power over the ego which entails being able to destroy it on a whim. They want to be in a state where they don't even need to fail in order to attune both their inner and outer reality. As a bonus, most are HEMA practitioners and the ones that aren't usually come from other....competition-centric TMA's like wushu and kendo.

[@GattoriSancho]

I wouldnt say it destroys ego's then again i always respect my opponents until they give me a reason not to.

[@2livenoob]

This video is so very pious. BJJ has skipped over becoming a TMA and moved directly into being a cult.

[@punlovingpacifist]

from my experience no but that’s probably just because I have a good BJJ school but from what I’ve seen from other experiences that other people had, and from what people have told me, yeah. For the most part it is kind of a cult. I’m not going to lie here and it’s disappointing.

[@timlinator]

I've trained MMA (BJJ & Muay Thai) and TMA. I agree MMA are amongst the nicest people I've met. For TMA if you spar a lot you will also be humble otherwise good chance you will be a jerk. No sparring you just think you are a badass but you're not. Sparring humbles you whether it is TMA or MMA. My MMA was BJJ and Muay Thai, TMA was Karate but we sparred a lot and full contact at the advanced level. Also tried some martial arts like Aikido and TKD that did little sparring and honestly a lot of arrogant jerks.

[@shawdo_yt]

Because u learnt what a real uppercut/choke feels like when you held your chin up around

[@armiyantomuhamad144]

Martial art it is something about practice and control not about perception or talk to much, Im so sorry🤝

[@kmack764]

For me it was getting thrown by a little old lady during Judo class.

[@therandomnomad435]

Same. I tried a friendly sparring with my sister half my size, she just came under me, held my hips tight, and even before I realised what happened, I was thrown on the floor. Mind you, my sister is way shorter than me lol. I really dont understand what happened, and I still wonder what happened.

[@princegaraad7308]

Don't forget Judo.

[@Jarl_egbert]

I trained karate for about 5 years, and i stopped because of the lack of sparring. I realised how none of those forms i've spend hours training would work in a real fight, it's demoralizing. I wouldn't say i didn't get anything out of it though, i learned alot of great kicks that are very practical. I would also disagree with 3:02. Strength and size is NEVER a weakness! The idea that a small framed girl of 55kg could easily tap out a big strong guy at 100kg is absurd, and i think it's something alot of BJJ guys have a hard time understanding. Obviously it's not impossible for a smaller individual to take down a bigger opponent, but it would not be easy, even if they had better technique. I was one of the biggest guys in my karate dojo, and i remember thinking how i could easily just tackle alot of the brown belts, and maul them with my strength and size alone. Sure, i would probably catch a punch or a kick, but that wouldn't stop me when i know i have 20kg on the guy. Once you learn what you're doing, size and strength comes into play for sure.

[@MontyQueues]

nothing ever waste of time you learn something out of it, karate probably taught you discipline and respect

[@jorgep102]

I practice karate in junior high school and we sparring a lot, almost in every class, thats was like 30 years ago? Things changed??

[@ehrenthompson7891]

It has. Glad I took karate than.

[@tjsho417]

Everything you’ve posted here is true except for one truly humbling truth: size and strength DO MATTER. When I first started my BJJ journey, as I white belt I never once tapped out to even a purple belt that I was noticeably bigger and stronger than. But then against even another white belt close to my size with six months of training on me, they destroyed me. It’s a hard truth that BJJ guys don’t seem to want to accept. Size and strength matter.

[@Jarl_egbert]

Strength and size is NEVER a weakness! The idea that a small framed girl of 55kg could easily tap out a big strong guy at 100kg is absurd. Once you learn what you're doing, size and strength comes into play for sure.

[@keepmefromdecay]

aikido is not a real martial art, it is just a weird art of dancing in samurai pants

[@eddiehizo3365]

I disagree. I've seen agro, mean and aggressive altitude in MMA too.

[@overthetopandrewgoal1580]

I think it's mainly got to do with physical competitive sparring and testing as to whether it works or not

[@justoalvarez3940]

Even if they're part of "traditional" martial arts schools, if they pressure test and compete on a regular basis, they'll probably get humble with enough time...

[@gutstomp1146]

No, this video is part of a longer standing "feud" between two camps, MMA vs Martial Arts. Which truly is the pinnacle of ego and arrogance, and that in itself screams insecurity. Where is the respect on either side? The only style that can boast "destroying ego" is Tai Chi. Those people are just happy doing what they're doing, and they never say anything bad about anybody

[@punlovingpacifist]

not quite. There are some people in tai chi, who seriously think they can fight the majority of it. I agree with, however, there are those absolute moron to think tai chi can help them in a fight which newsflash: it can’t it’s not meant for that. Also, another point I want to address just because, a martial art doesn’t teach people how to fight doesn’t make it a bad martial art some people don’t even take martial arts for fighting some people like the aesthetics and art side of it some people like the sports side of it so people don’t wanna just take it to defend themselves also unpopular opinion, martial art literally means war arts, so I do not know if tai chi is really considered a martial art in that aspect but hey, I guess the modern meaning of martial arts is it a little weird so whatever works works I guess

[@mrZavior]

For me it's been the reverse... Specially with MMA, maybe you've encountered sympathetic people because you left TMA for MMA and people just went full confirmation bias. Every time I try to bring a valid point about any TMA (being that I have practiced a few different MAs and love combat sports) I've been shot down by someone with the mantra of MMA does it better... I've met some incredible people in BJJ and some cool guys in MMA but at least in my circles, I've seen a lot of belittling attitudes towards people who don't share the gospel...

[@dianecenteno5275]

I agree. I have been training since the 1980's and I have encountered good people in all camps. However, some of the most obnoxious and ignorant people I have encountered, have come out of those 2 camps ( some of these encounters have come during training and competition with them) The attitudes have been primarily directed at anyone who did not share their belief system. There is good and bad in every group. I hope that we can all get along some day. Just my experience.

[@bashlivingstonstampededojo882]

It certainly does go both ways I've had some similar experience

[@DARHenwood]

The thing is if x y z thing works use it in sparring and they will change their mind. If you can’t make it work then the point is valid. There’s a lot of concepts that sound great on paper but if you can’t use it then you should discard it, there’s even bjj stuff I don’t use because I can’t make it work for me and my game. It’s the beauty of a combat sport, put your technique where your mouth is. I’ve always had coaches who are willing to let people adapt though, they just don’t want the technique they’re demonstrating questioned in front of everyone, you have to trust what they teach then experiment in your own time ask them questions after you’ve tried stuff out.

[@mrZavior]

@@DARHenwood and I agree 100% with you, I'm all for functional martial arts and that's how I train myself. However, there have been situations where the "it's only good if it works" descended into "it's only good if it works within *my* narrow definition of functional (ie only if it works no-gi, or on the cage, etc...)" and that's the trap...

[@LeviathanLee]

Same here. I kinda think this entire concept is an attempt to downplay the egregious arrogance found in MMA gyms. Personally I was glad MMA came out because it gave me a chance to pressure test cqc. Same idea with various tma schools. I've encountered far more ego issues in MMA gyms.

[@Coolbird00]

As a traditional martial art practitioner. A lot of ego become fluctuated based on the hierarchy in the school. Traditional martial arts is run like any other school. You have your freshman, sophomore, junior, and seniors. And just like any School. You have a variety of different characters. That Bass there martial art observation off of movies and entertainment. Which is very arrogant and dangerous. But there is a shape of getting yourself humbling. A lot of time, your humble bye the X amount of knowledge someone knows. And how they can really apply their martial art. In all combat Arena. Other time, you will become humble through the intense workout you senior students go through. As for me who trained in Capoeira. Your humble by the first kick in your face. And you begin to realize, that you're training in a martial art. Not a dance class!

[@aikidovillamadrid4461]

That's why usually traditional martial arts have some kind of philosophy to encourage people to train their minds as well... not only to become a better "fighter". Btw nice vd keep it up!

[@fikriasrofi5312]

But the problem is many TMA only focused on unnecessary thing which has nothing to do with fighting (wisdom,spirituality, etc)

[@DavidTheFlyingGuy2000]

@@fikriasrofi5312 Because those stupid street fights are your only goal in life?

[@fikriasrofi5312]

@@DavidTheFlyingGuy2000 nope, like that video say train modern combat sport also make you have better personality

[@hhattonaom9729]

don’t forget judo and wrestling

[@lulenzemoat]

im a 2stripe bjj blue belt and everytime i think i got the hang of it i get humbled I LOVE IT !

[@MartialArtsJourney]

Same here 👌

[@zorioncosima7786]

Bro, BJJ is a Traditional Martial Art too, BJJ is older than Taekwondo

[@vuxanov]

So are boxing and wrestling but they also aren’t considered traditional. They are all just sports. Which means they have legit competitions.

[@mpforeverunlimited]

Traditional doesn't really refer too the age. Its about the principles of the martial art. A martial art can be old or new but have traditional values

[@OkurkaBinLadin]

@@vuxanov Boxing and wrestling were both castrated beyond recognition precisely, because "the rules" are decided by bookmakers...

[@Orrator900]

Age doesn’t determine whether something is traditional. Otherwise, boxing and wrestling are traditional martial arts as well

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

BJJ if we compare it's birthday to japanese martial arts, it's considred modern martial arts. Everything beyond Meiji era is gendai budo/modern martial arts and BJJ was born half way through ww2

[@fuzzyhair321]

BJJ you get broken down and rebuilt and I love it

[@Mr440c]

Traditional martial arts do. That's the whole damn purpose of bowing etc. Why is it that every video from this channel generalising everything? Not every traditional martial art is a dance school like aikido. You went from one extreme to another with your MMA training.

[@MartialArtsJourney]

If you'll watch the video till the end (I am guessing that you haven't) you'll see that I've specifically said that not each tma school is like that and that not each mma school is "saint". But if you will go over even the comments of this video you will see how many people had the same experience.

[@Mr440c]

@@MartialArtsJourney I did and was not surprised let alone enlightened on anything. Imo you confuse tma with mcdojo's. Real proper traditional martial arts dojo's don't only apply forms as traditions but also the substance. And the substance of traditional martial art can be found everywhere including mma in technique. By substance I mean traditional ways of physical conditioning, drilling exercises, techniques (usually there are no limitations), as well as warming up, stretching etc. If you do all that there is literally no room for ego because you're too busy perfecting yourself. Kung-fu has a translation which says 'hard work' the one who works himself to the bone to become a better version of himself can never be arrogant. And if you're not taught doing all these things chances are it is a modernised martial art at best with some form of traditional one or another mcdojo. Modernised martial arts are all about shortcuts. It's because modern human lives in a very fast paced world where he has no time for extreme dedications like they used to do hundreds of years ago. So many traditional methods are being left behind so there's time for stuff like competitions, tournaments and such. As such aforementioned modern light to no contact karate is only traditional at form. You can frequently find them doing katas to pass the exam or smth having no idea what they're meant for. So these are not real traditional dojos. Only traditions there are are bowing, uniforms and maybe some of the drills and katas that they don't learn any bunkais for. I also don't count aikido as a martial art at all because it limited itself to just something that can be summarised into kanzetsu of most Okinawan schools like Goju-ryu. So it's just a small fraction of traditional martial art that is only taught after you've come pretty long way at that point and have solid understanding of biomechanics and the combat dynamic so you can find application to these movements. To summarize I'd like to say that there are very few traditional martial art dojo's. So few in fact that you probably never visited one. However there are many mcdojos or modernised dojo's that merely adopted traditional form such as wearing gi and doing gestures.

[@AztecUnshaven]

Lol, I'd say this video's title statement is only semi true.... there are plenty of pro MMA fighters (and boxers) that are unstable egomaniacs. I've trained with people with "MMA" backgrounds and some with "traditional" backgrounds. There are definitely ego driven nut jobs in both. Honestly, the most humble fighters I met were the ones that also tended to have a strong "traditional" arts background too (this is noticeable in MMA at the pro level too: George St. Pierre, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Gunnar Nelson, Ryan Hall, Demian Maia, Zhang Weili, Mike Winkeljohn, all have a traditional backgrounds. By that same token, Ricardo Mayorga, Mike Tyson, Jon Jones, Colby Covington, Frank Mir, and Brock Lesnar all had serious ego problems during certain times in their careers (and often abused drugs/alcohol).