You'll have to forgive the description, but it seemed apt somehow

I'm going to play Devils Advocate here for a minute.......

It was suggested to me recently, that Karate - or at least most schools - were held in somewhat less than high esteem by certain MMA and BJJ stylists. I can only assume that this view would be held because of karates rather regimented format, or lack of ground-fighting techniques ( Goju - and other chinese influenced styles - apart possibly? )

It was also said that MMA schools have taken a little bit from here, and a little bit from there, to create a fighting style that works and evolves, rather than one that has remained pretty much unchanged for decades. I'm not going to disagree with this though - I think its a fair point.

Certain styles come and go over the years, Kung-Fu, Karate and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu have all had their moment in the Martial-Arts spotlight, now it seems that its the turn of Mixed Martial-Arts and Cage-Fighting.

My point is this.... Do - or should - the two schools mix? Is it possible to successfully train in one style whilst drawing on the abilities gained in another?

Some do mix. I understand that one of Gavin Mulholland's students has been doing well for himself in MMA competition. But you're right, its unusual.

I think its too easy to pigeonhole people into particular arts, people are all individual and their arts are individual too. A lot of people in MMA have cross-trained several arts. Potentially Karate could be useful in this environment. However, the fact that its rarely drawn upon I think says something about its effectiveness in a full-contact environment.

Mike

MMA is exactly that - MIXED martial arts. It isn't an art in itself. Does it even qualify as a school or style? I dunno. But I can see space in MMA for karate - I see the strikes and kicks, the locks, holds and throws I've learnt through karate coming out in MMA.
BJJ is the predominant basis of MMA technique at the moment but I don't believe it will stay that way. The current fighters and students know that the fight will be won or lost on the ground. I think that as more stand up fighters recognise this, they'll either focus more on their ground fighting skills, or hone their stand up skills to give a better chance of finishing a fight before it hits the floor.
My 2c.


I like that. Very true. Every person I know who trains in MMA trains in at least three different styles in order to bring those skills to the MMA mat. Karate is as valid as any other style although I guess some schools of karate will provide many more useful "abilities" than others when it comes to mixing it up.