HOW IT ALL BEGAN...
Imagine battle fields with roars of fist and palm smashing armor. The sounds of metal against metal and the agony of sliced flesh. This is the kind of environment Classical Chinese Martial Arts (CCMA) was born from. It was a time when combat effectiveness was central to survival. The beginnings of CCMA mainly were connected to warfare and no aspect of combat was left out.

 IS BRAZILLIAN JUJITSU THE BEST ART ON THE PLANET?
Go back to the original UFC’s and what did you find, styles against styles and the best man won. After the first few tournaments, everyone thought Brazilian Jujitstu was the best art on the planet. What many did not realize was it was not just a matter of jujitstu being a formable art but, the main representative was a professional unlike his fellow competitors. The Gracie family would train up to 10 hours per day for a fight. The fact is Royce Gracie was better trained and conditioned than the other competitors. Now fast forward a few years latter and professional level kickboxers and then wrestlers dominated the UFC and suddenly people thought those arts were superior. What happened is people began to realize that you had to be well rounded to be a true martial artist.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A WELL ROUNDED MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTER
Truth of being well rounded has been embraced by CCMA for many thousands of years. Ancient Chinese martial artist incorporated all facets of combat to create very effective and lethal systems. CCMA has always been a true mixed martial art based on battle tested techniques.

Now let us break down the discovery of modern MMA by analyzing what is presently the make up of typical MMA curriculum.

• Boxing – The art of stand up pugilism. Focuses on striking with the hands only and uses padding for the hands to prevent injury. Boxing only has about 5 to 7 techniques of which all are with the fist. No conditioning of the hands without gloves is used to boxing is as effective out of the ring as in the ring.
• Muay Thai Kickboxing – Originally from Thailand and is their national sport. Similar to boxing but incorporates elbows, knees, kicks (both with foot and shin), and very limited stand up grappling.
• Wrestling – There are three main categories; Collegiate (aka “catch as catch can”), Freestyle, and Greco Roman (uses upper body clinches to take down opponent and does not allow grabbing of the legs). Wresting teaches explosive takedowns by utilizing a type of tackle that is more refined than what you see in football. Once an opponent is downed the strategy is to hold the opponent on their back to score points or if held long enough on their back you score a fall/pin and the match ends. All types of wrestling do not include submissions or chokes.
• Submission Grappling – The most practiced style of submission grappling comes from the Gracie family of Brazil and is known as Brazilian Jujitsu. Another utilized system of grappling although to a lesser degree is Russian Sambo. Submission grappling seeks to take what is usually a disadvantageous position, on the ground especially on your back, and make it an offensive position by utilizing a series of; chokes, arm twist and locks, and body controlling positions, to render the opponent unconscious or cause damage to the person’s joints. It utilizes some striking which is  mostly to set up submissions or as a finish to a submission.

 THE DISCOVERY OF MOUNTAIN WAY KUNG FU MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

• Striking Skills – If you have ever heard of iron palm then you may have an idea of what the striking standards are for CCMA. The conditioning employed in CCMA is designed to change the structure of the practitioner so striking anywhere on the human body becomes like striking a pillow. Not only does CCMA remodel the structure over time but it also employs many techniques that allow you to personalize your style of fighting/self defense. A partial list of techniques is as follows:
  Single Wing Punch, Corkscrew Punch, Sunfist Punch, Cannon Fist Punch, Drilling Fist, Smothering Punch , Twisted Penetrating Punch, Panther Fist in Three Angles, Splitting Palm, Throwing Palm, Cutting Palm, Reverse Cutting Palm, Dropping Palm, Horse Stroking Palm Forward Elbow, Horizontal Elbow, Rising Elbow, Descending Elbow, Folding Elbow, Rolling Elbow, Front Thrusting Kick, Roundhouse Kicks, Reverse Round House Kicks, Inside Roundhouse Kicks, Tornado Kicks, Coiled Snake Kicks, Butterfly Kicks, Spinning Back Trust Kicks, Upward knee, Round Knee, Flying Knee, Dropping Knee, Sweeping Knee. Stone Moving Thrust (various strikes with the shoulder), Shaving, Hook Hands, Iron Bridge. Spear Hands, Tiger Claws, Eagle Claws, Phoenix Eyes, Dragon Heads, Eagle Eye Point
  
  The reason for the need of this kind of body conditioning is traditionally people fought on battle fields and in challenge matches that did not allow padding on the hands. Sometimes in a war situation people might have been wearing body armor which meant not all techniques were going to get past the protective armor of the opponent. This ancient situation is much like defending yourself outside of a ring. You likely would not be wearing gloves or hand wraps. Many modern MMA practitioners break their hand in and outside the ring. The problem exists because they are accustomed to a lot of protection which is not available or socially acceptable outside the gym.
• Kicking – Most CCMA kicks are not directed high although there are techniques that can be applied in that fashion. Just as Thai boxers condition the striking parts of the body so does CCMA. In the Mountain Way Kung Fu System the conditioning of the shins and feet are designed to make the penetration of techniques very deep. Where flattening the shin is more common in Thai boxing, sharpening the shin is the approach taken in Mountain Way Kung Fu. A sharp shin does not break easy and it “cuts” into the opponent more deeply. 
   
• Grappling – The arts used in CCMA is called Swai-jiao and Chin-na. Swai-jiao is similar to judo but with very fast takedowns. Chin-na is likened to control techniques via either locking or twisting joints.  The ground submissions do not make up a large portion of Swai-jiao because in a battle field you had to be very mobile. The focus on the ground for Swai-jiao was to escape as soon as possible and get back to your feet before being trampled by a horse or impaled by a spear.
  
  Mountain Way Kung Fu employs more ground submissions than traditional Swai-jiao and is based on the principles of Chin-na, Zen Combat Jujitsu, Brazilian Jujitsu, and collegiate style wrestling. What makes Mountain Way Grappling unique is that there are two aspects of the art. One is very similar to what you may see in a submission grappling tournament or MMA bout. The other is based on a situation where you are defending yourself and there are no rules. All the techniques not taught in a regular submission grappling program, because they are illegal, are taught in Mountain Way Grappling because they are very effective if your opponent is stronger than you or more skilled at grappling.
   
• Breathing and Mental Development – This is an area that goes unnoticed by modern MMA. Most CCMA systems have exercises that focus on breathing alone. The goal was to train the muscles to take in and utilize oxygen more efficiently thus giving you more stamina. Also the breath and mind are linked. If you can keep your breath stabilized you will keep a cool head and perform better. You will be more relaxed and alert thus using less energy over a period of time. The area of mind body connection is a specialty of CCMA and taught as part of the Mountain Way Kung Fu system.
   
• Flexibility – “Long muscles mean long life”. This is an axiom of CCMA to stress the importance of stretching. Pliable muscles that can contract powerfully are more likely to recover from exertion faster and are resistant to injury. Tense muscles can decrease oxygen flow making them prone to fast fatigue and tense muscles will slow blood flow.  Whether you are competing or hiking in the Grand Canyon you want your muscles to last.
   
• Supplements/Nutrition - Many modern athletes, including MMA athletes, supplement their intake with substances to enhance the body’s ability to perform and repair itself between workouts. This need of the modern athletes was also present in the past during the days of CCMA. These ancient formulas used in CCMA where were basedoin nature’s most potent healing plants and were used to:
  
  Heal injuries by actually channeling the substances of a formulation to the exact site of injury
  Increase concentration
  Enhance performance
  Accelerate recovery after training
  Make you less prone to injury
  Build vitality
  Balance internal organs to protect your long term health
  
  The use of traditional health practices really enhances the experience of learning martial arts from the beginner to the advanced. This special and very important area is not found in a typical school teaching MMA.
   
• Special Skills – Many legends surround the past history of CCMA. Most of the legends are based on the exploits of martial artist who trained in Special Skills. Modern martial arts have all but forgotten the practice of Special Skills because they can be very tedious to develop. Often the training for Special Skills is repetitive and may not bear fruit for several months to years. Although most modern martial artist will not have the time to develop more then one special skill it is possible to develop one and become a legendary practitioner.
  
  There are many stories about Special Skill practitioners. Here are few that Lao Shi Garrett (the head instructor of Mountain Way Kung Fu) has witnessed personally or learned from 100% reliable sources:
  
  A man weighing only 150 pounds sends another man weighing 259 pounds back over 5 feet with the flick of a wrist.
  A man about 50 years old allowed a challenger to strike him with all his might which had no effect. When he returned the favor he allowed the challenger to hold a 3 inch telephone book on his chest for protection. Not only did the he drop the challenger where he stood but he also RIPPED THE PHONE BOOK!
  A lady who was a practitioner of Kung Fu for about 3 years was in class performing self defense techniques. Her male classmate made a jokingly rude remark and with a special striking technique knocked him out cold. This was an accident but imagine if she had meant to harm him!
  A man in his 60’s develops the Iron Broom technique and sweeps large men of their feet with the tap of his foot.
  With the power of Iron Palm a man strikes a brick wall at full power with no damage to his hand.
  By using Fa Jing (explosive inch power) a man is made to upchuck his breakfast.
  A man is walking and a acquaintance jumps from behind a structure to kick the man and out of instinct then man maneuvers and shatters the jokesters shin.
  
  Some of these exploits may seem outlandish but remember the human body has great potential, especially when it is combined with mental training.
   
• Weapons – If you have ever thought about picking up a stick to defend yourself then you have an interest in weapons. CCMA teaches a multitude of weapons training ranging from the very practical (for modern day) and the exotic. Weapons training can be especially helpful to women because when you have knowledge of how to make a weapon an extension of your body your power will increase several times. Weapons are never taught in typical MMA gyms.
   

SO HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO LEARN ALL THIS IN CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS?
Actually you do not need to learn all this material. Classes give you the base and awareness to work from. It is you who will specialize and tailor the techniques to your body and interest.
 

OK, I AM READY! WHERE DO I START?
Whether you are UFC bound or wish to shine in the local amateur MMA scene Dragon Arts and Mountain Way Kung Fu will work for you. How effective is Mountain Way in MMA competition? One of our students, Bill Holcombe, won the Light Weight Title for the Tri-State Cage Fighting Championship in September of 2008. What makes this significant is it was only his second fight! MMA competition can be very demanding and can lead to injury. The more prepared you are and the better condition you are in the more likely you are to have a good time competing with a lot less injury.

This program consists of:

• At least Two - 45minute classes per week working on fundamentals
• Up to two grappling classes per week
• Up to two sparring classes per week
• Up to 3 conditioning classes per week
• Special Skills Training
• Coaching for competitive events
• Preventative and CCMA nutrition counseling

The key to winning is having a strong will and a refined body. Only hard focused training can provide that for you. At Dragon Arts we thrive on commitment to excelling and perseverance.

BUT WHAT IF I WANT TO LEARN KUNG FU MMA...BUT I DON'T WANT TO COMPETE?
No Problem! Our Non-Competitive MMA Program is for those who wish to learn combat effective martial arts in a realistic manner but are not interested in competition. The program consists of:

• Two - 45minute classes per week
• One grappling class per week
• One sparring class per week

“To conquer others makes you strong; to conquer yourself makes you fearless.”
-Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching-