He Is not nor t was he ever the first to mix styles.
Every style of karate is a mixture of at least 3 styles. Most every traditional style is a mixture of multiple styles
We use to call it cross training back in th 60's. Styles have been being mixed for thousands I years.
If you think Bruce is the father of mma then you don't know much about martial arts history
Your just one if the people who's history starts and stops at Bruce.
Yes I know you have rules. When you start doing weapons fighting then tell me you don't have rules
When you start having free for all sparing matches were it's the entire class sparing everyone in class, then you are getting somewhere
When you start sparing on ice, in stairwells and on bleachers, or in the water, in elevators or close quarters where you have no room. Instead of a nice flat ring with plenty of room then come talk to me.
To answer your initial question, It is definitely the way it's advertised plus the own personal thoughts of the person judging. To those that are inexperienced in Mma or those that don't have knowledge of what it really is. I can see why they'd compare Mma to a bar brawl. But for us, it's the technical advantages which make it so much more exciting. Whether it'd be the mixed striking game taking from the various martial arts/sports like karate, Muay Thai, kick boxing etc. The grapple game incorporating wrestling and judo style takedowns. To the underrated ground game which features martial arts like sambo and BJJ. It's easy to see why people misunderstand Mma for what it is. Not an all out brawl with no rules and regulations. But a kinetic chess match.
I think MMA is a sport and a sparring format. Bruce Lee is the father of MMA in that he popularized the concept of mixing styles, however I don't think people would credit him founding member of MMA the sport.
The thing you are describing about the street application is actually JKD not MMA. JKD and MMA are two different things. MMA is about hand to hand combat in duel like setting. JKD is more about street and will train empty hand and weapons, single person or multiple, and will take survival as objective over winning a fight. If anything I think Krav Maga is closer to JKD in form than MMA although MMA is closer to JKD in spirit.
Because of how it's advertised.
Take a look at the advertising for any big MMA event. Chances are it'll look intimidating, and have a photo of a cage or a pissed-off fighter snarling on it. Early MMA competitions were advertised as having "no-rules" even though we both know it did have basic rules for the fighters safety, and one of the biggest companies in the world named itself the Ultimate Fighting Championship. There are photos all over the internet of injured fighters and bloodstained floors.
The general public image is therefore of something new, different than other combat sports, that's more vicious and savage than any sport before it.
You should see what people say about Taekwondo and Aikido.
Welcome to the Club of Misinformation.
People usually think that MMA=Cage fighting, rules, regulations, and no shoes.
But that's not what it is. Bruce Lee was titled by many as the "father of MMA" yet he doesn't follow any of the above. This is because Bruce mixed many martial arts to his liking. People think that MMA is all that stuff above, and that's what its good for.
There's a difference between fighting, and sport. If something has as many rules as the UFC does, then its sport.
It upsets me how many people are damaging the overall meaning of MMA. If you say "I do MMA" someone automatically thinks "Cage fighter" or "Someone who needs to fight with rules"
Its stupid.
