Every few days we get emails from individuals asking “what can I do?” or posts on our face page asking if there is a training center in such and such city. So for everyone who is interested in bringing MMA into the sport scene I have made a list of what you can do to help out.

1. Hold a fight night

UFC events air live on Show Sports 4. Invite your friends, have snacks and just sit back and enjoy the fights. Simple easy and fun. If you don’t want to get up at 8 am, then download the fights burn them and watch them later that night.

2. Promote the website

Spread the word about the website through internet forums and word of mouth. For those with even a bit of knowledge about MMA, knowing that there is something going on to bring it to Pakistan may set the convert them from casual to die hard fans. For those already training at a school tell your instructor about the website. Remember we are here to promote ALL martial arts. Tell your instructor what a great business move it would be to be profiled on the most viewed site regarding Martial Arts in Pakistan.

3. Bug your local Martial Artists

Call up or visit your local Martial Arts school and ask them if they offer MMA classes. Ask your friends to do the same. Hopefully after seeing that there exists a demand, local martial artists will start looking into what MMA is and offer classes.

The problem of course will lie in the quality of classes, but we all have to start somewhere and because MMA is a competitive sport, charlatans claiming to teach MMA but have no idea what they are doing will be exposed. MMA by its very nature will provide an evolution.

This being said remember ALL arts can provide the tools needed to fight in MMA competition. Remember, MMA IS NOT A STYLE, it is a competitive format but in order to be successful in MMA competition you must master all ranges of combat. Once Pakistani Martial Artists get that part then the Judo instructor will also add in some strikes to make his Judo more effective and the TKD instructor will start teaching take down defense to make his TKD more effective etc etc.

4. Write for the website

The more articles that the Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan website has the more often it will turn up in search results and hence the more exposure the site will get.

We are accepting articles on a whole range of topics. here are some ideas.

- You can go to a local Martial Arts club or boxing gym and do a review

- You can write about a style your interested in

- You can write about some aspect of Martial Philosophy

- You can write about a current event or tournament relevant to Martial Arts or boxing in Pakistan.

- You can write about a certain aspect of physical fitness or diet or include a workout program

The topics are endless. The only criteria being that any entry submitted should be at a certain standard. Articles written as if they are a text message are a no go. Send any articles to info@pak-mma.com.

5. Give DVD’s to your local DVD shop or demand MMA DVD’s

Go to your local DVD shop and ask if they have the latest UFC. When they say they don’t, ask them why the heck not, it’s one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Hopefully the DVD owner will look into stocking MMA DVD’s.

You can also burn them a copy and give it to them so they understand what your talking about.

6. Start your own club

This is probably the best thing you can do to promote MMA in Pakistan. As long as you have an internet connection and a love for the sport of MMA this is possible. You do not have to have a black belt to get some friends together and practice techniques that you get from this website (we’ll be including many of them soon) or off of the thousands of instructional clips available on youtube.

Even better, get videos and pics of you training along with an address of where you train at with times and you can become affiliated with MMA Pakistan. What that means is that your local club (even if it is 2-3 friends) will get listed on the website, get mentioned regularly on the fan page and will receive promo items from MMA Pakistan.

As the website and organization further develops we will have instructor courses available where you can come get certified.

This is not only a chance to do something you love, promote MMA in Pakistan but opens the possibility of having an extra source of income if you start getting a large enough class to warrant a proper school.

7. Send us your training pics and videos

If you are already a member of a club send us videos and pictures of you training. If you want to give back to the clubs that have taught you martial arts what better way then putting them out there and getting recognized.

These are just 7 ideas. There is plenty more you can do. it’s up to all us to work together to get MMA Pakistan off the ground. With some patience and teamwork there is no end to the success MMA Pakistan can have.

The following post does not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan. The post is to give fans of MMA Pakistan an avenue in which to express their opinions on anything Martial Arts. Please use these posts as starting points for discussions on martial arts in Pakistan. We appreciate the time and effort put in by our fans to make MMA Pakistan a reality in the near future.

-What is a practical Martial Art?

Martial arts. Meaning arts of war. Most people who are familiar with flashy martial arts moves, assume all martial arts are Chinese. But there are lots of other kinds too which are non Chinese in their origin. Lots of people around the world started getting martial arts training in the discipline of “un armed” combat popularly known as “karate” in 20th century. But everyone who joins a dojo has his own intentions as to why they join. Some want to get in shape, some need fancy dancy kicks and katas, some get bullied and want to learn how to defend themselves, while others also learn it to make it a source of earning.

But all those, who learn martial arts for self defense, somehow, at some stage, get disheartened- , disappointed coz they get beaten up in the street despite all the martial art techniques. Keeping Pakistan in view, its very common!! The reason this happens, is very simple. Martial arts, is of two types,#1:Sports or fancy martial arts #2:Real life updated martial arts. What happens in the street, is that a person, lets say a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, gets into a fight, he kicks, the opponent being in rage, takes that kick, but what next?? the Tae Kwon Do guy start getting beaten up coz the street fighter has now come close than the space needed by they TKD guy to throw next kick. The street fighter takes him down, and the TKD guy is in more trouble as he knows nothing about ground fight, and the result is, that he becomes the biggest advocate of the phrase “MARTIAL ARTS IS USELESS IN REAL FIGHTS”

But the fact is , he is wrong ,as I told earlier, he is a black belt in the “fancy or sports” martial arts, which is always useless in close range. Now a question arises. “WHAT works on street??” The answer is very simple. Any art, that tells you quick and simple moves and includes ground fights and locks works on street. In a street, no fight lasts long, no fight stays in erect position (both fighters standing), no fight obeys any rule or referee. That’s why, I will advise u ,to ask yourself a very simple question “What is that I need??” before joining any dojo . If you need to be a professional fighter, or know street self defense, never join TKD , YUN JUNDO, KAYOKUSHIN types of arts as they are “awesome sports”, but very bad street fight styles and if you want good stretching, fancy kicks , katas , do join previously mentioned arts , as they got all you need!!

Looking at the craze of UFC around the world, I want to mention, that in Pakistan ,there is no such dojo which can train for Mixed Martial Arts . Except those who practice “jeet kun do” and kenpo. A very experienced master named master Chan (Jackie lee Chan) has his dojo in f-8/4 below Nadra office and a very talented, experienced 4rth degree black belt master Billy Malik trains kenpo in f11 Markaz above Habib bank. Besides that, if there are any, I don’t know about them, but there is a very big need of guiding our youth towards martial arts which can help them on street and also in the ring of mixed martial arts.

But MMA is not only about punching, or kicking your opponent to a K.O. , its also not confined to locking your opponent and getting a K.O. by putting him in pain. What a lay man never notices, is suffocation. Locks which suffocate opponents are more effective than the pain locks as one can stand pain, but not suffocation. The very precious art called Kushti is entirely about locking your opponents. A slight modification to it can prove deadly in a fight regarding suffocating your enemy. And this modification cant occur unless we don’t have a gym of MMA. Dedicated only to improve MMA techniques.

But it doesn’t mean that if you don’t do MMA , you can’t be a good fighter. You can still be a very quick sharp and good fighter. But you should always know, that in a fight, front kick, side kick and back kick are the only three kicks worth something. Rest like tornado,, flying, spinning, and other fancy kicks are too slow to beat a raging street fighter. Regardless of what art u do, remember to keep your guard always up!!. If u closely watch TKD, 90% of the knock outs wont occur if they keep their guards up!! For example, the knockout in TKD gold medal match of Athens Olympic would never have happened if the Greek guy had kept his guard up. And finally, if your art doesn’t teach you ground fight, never let the attacker come close to you, or believe me, you’ll suffer.

Written by Fahad Rehman

Taken from the website of the National Sports Board,

“Boxing is among the very few sports, in which Pakistan has made slow but steady progress despite general deteriorating standards. One is astonished to mark the progress keeping in view the fact that there is not a single gymnasium or indoor stadium of international standard.

The Pakistani boxers also lack necessary equipment and other facilities which have made the other countries leading boxing nations of the world. More surprising is the tact that the Pakistani personalia have climbed up the top berths in the organisational set-up of world amateur boxing by dint of sheer hard-work and individualistic efforts. Mr. Anwar Chaudhry, a Professor of engineering in Karachi University was at present the President of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA). This is no small achievement by any standards.”

This tells me a lot about the future of combat sports in Pakistan. It gives me a lot hope that despite not being given adequate equipment, Pakistani’s are through grit and motivation beginning to make a mark on international boxing. Although the Pakistani government may not be supporting this sport just today Pakistan Boxing Federation was assured by the International Boxing Federation that it would grant 5,0000 US Dollars (4 Lakhs rps) of equipment to Pakistan. So lets see how that goes.

It seems that the Pakistani Boxing Federation has gotten serious because along with securing new equipment from the IBF they only recently hired a Cuban coach for the Pakistani team. Cubans are renowned for having good boxers, great coaches and an overall great national boxing program. Despite being the fraction of the size of Pakistan they consistently put out tough competition in International events. The MMA fighter Rogerio “Minatauro” Nogeuira has also trained with the Cuban boxing team for his MMA fights. The Cuban coach, Francesco Hernandez Roldan is joining the Pakistani team after this weeks AIBA World Boxing Championship being held at Milan (Italy).

Pakistan may or may not develop a domestic boxing scene, although there are promising signs with clubs being formed from the slums of Lyari, Karachi to upscale LUMS University in Lahore. But this rise in interest for combat sports especially one that is so important in MMA competition is very promising. Having good boxing coaches and practitioners means that this nations MMA competitors will have resources to prepare to become the worlds most well rounded fighters. In the coming months and years MMA Pakistan hopes to document the rise of some great Pakistani boxers and a general rise in popularity of boxing to the Pakistani public. Both as a sport and as a form of fitness.

For those living in Lahore please contact 0334 4137706 or visit Boxing Academy in Lahore the timings are 6-8 pm Mon, Wed, Fri or to schedule a time more suitable for you contact the number above

While doing some research on the wrestling history of South Asia. I suddenly remembered a conversation with my uncle that I had a few years back. I had just started out grappling and was telling him about it and he asked me, “Do you know the Inoki lock?” I said I did not. He showed me a lock using his fingers, I don’t remember what it was, it’s not important but what I do remember is him telling me that a Japanese man named Inoki came to Pakistan and defeated a top Pehlwan (wrestler) and that this lock, which was the most dangerous lock in the world, is now known as the Inoki lock and that all of Pakistan had heard of it after this battle that Inoki had with Akrum Pehlwan.

I have mentioned a few times before that I am very much a proponent of supporting our ancient martial tradition and that we have a perfect breeding ground and history for establishing mixed martial arts in this country because of our wrestling traditions. I do not see it to be too difficult to bring back the glories of the local Akhara and join hands and extend it to today’s new complete warrior, the MMA athlete.

I don’t think I have convinced everyone, or possibly anyone of the potential Pakistan has in the sport of MMA because of it’s Pehlwani history. Kushti? A martial art? A Pehlwan, the best fighter in the world? What kind of thinking is that?

Well apparently about 30 years ago, Pakistani’s and much of the world DID consider the Pehlwans and other wrestlers as some of the most dangerous men on the planet. WWF is still very popular in Pakistan as it is elsewhere and people still believe these men as well heavy weight boxers to be the best fighters in the world. For those in the know, the best fighter in the world is the top heavy weight MMA fighter but that doesn’t mean the worlds top boxers and wrestlers are obsolete. No way. They just need to learn a few new skill sets to add to the ones they have mastered.

Back to the point. 30 years ago Pakistani’s considered the Pehlwans of Pakistan to be some of the best fighters in the world. Around the same time a man named Antonio Inoki was going around challenging the worlds top martial artists and combat athletes. In June of 1976 Inoki fought against Muhammad Ali and although the match was declared a draw Muhammad Ali went to the hospital due to the number of leg kicks he received from Inoki who pretty much stayed on the ground scooting on his butt the entire fight.

After the Ali fight, The Bholu Brothers, Pakistan’s top wrestlers arranged organized Akrum Pehlwan whom they claimed to be the best fighter in the world to fight against Inoki.

The fight lasted three rounds and ended with Inoki breaking Akrum Pehlwans arm using what is known commonly in MMA as a Kimura or bent arm lock, known also as a chicken wing because of the angle the arm is at as it is twisted behind the opponents back. Unfortunately, Akrum Pehlwan was not well versed in submission defense although he was versed enough to defend some of Inoki’s earlier tries. Pakistani’s were upset with the loss of their country’s wrestler but gave due respect to Inoki’s skill set. Inoki would later return to Pakistan this time fighting in Lahore against another Pakistani Pehlwan named Jhara. I will save that for a later post.

The point? One of the worlds first and most prominent Mixed Martial Arts matches, that which pitted style vs. style to find the best fighter happened in PAKISTAN and it happened long before the UFC ever came about. Also, Pakistani’s viewed their traditional art as an effective fighting system against other martial artists. Nowadays most Pakistani’s would tell you that a Pehlwan would get destroyed by the local McDojo master, although chances are that that is till far from the truth . The Pehlwan would win 9 times out of 10.

Why do I think that? Because a traditional Pehlwan trains one of the most grueling physical regimes on the planet with hundreds of pushups and squats per day, if not thousands some days. He wrestles full force against resisting opponents everyday and practices techniques that are used in live active scenarios and have been proven to work. The local McDojo master (A McDojo refers to a dojo where money and not quality of training is the name of the game) however spends most of his time getting certifications for himself ,doing belt testing for money from his students, practicing forms and katas and training unproven techniques on his hesitant students who are going 5% power in unrealistic situations. It is an unfortunate situation but after almost two years of research I feel the Pakistani martial arts community has been cheated. This does not mean all the top masters in Pakistan are like this, by no means. Some are very qualified individuals with a sincere desire to teach an effective art and philosophy to their students and some are merely teachers who have not had the opportunity to get up to date with the latest in training methods and their lack of knowledge is through no fault of their own and is indicative of the poor standard of most everything in Pakistan right now. I just want to make that clear. I am not trying to insult anyone.

In the end, Pakistani’s felt that Pehlwans were world class fighters and much of the new generation has forgotten this. I think it is time we look to our past as a means to bring ourselves into the present and to excel in the future.

For those who wish to watch the Inoki-Akrum match you can watch it below. The camera work is not very good but you can get a good idea of the different grappling styles. To watch the second part simply click on the part 2/2 option.