{"id":1741,"date":"2013-07-12T10:23:14","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T14:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/?p=1741"},"modified":"2013-07-12T12:18:52","modified_gmt":"2013-07-12T16:18:52","slug":"mma-joins-the-liberty-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/post\/mma-joins-the-liberty-games\/","title":{"rendered":"MMA Joins the Liberty Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A Mixed Bag of Mixed Feelings<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When approached about having MMA<\/strong> (Mixed Martial Arts) as part of the Liberty Games, our first reaction was one of caution.\u00a0 Our second reaction was one of caution too!\u00a0 However, it has been my experience that if people do their homework (and most folks cringe at the thought of such) then it is much easier to make an informed decision, than one based upon hearsay or propaganda.\u00a0 Once our investigative processes were completed, we met a man that we thought was named Wolverine<\/strong><\/em> (at first glance), and if you just walked into Master Ron McEvilly<\/strong> on the street, you might be wondering if you were about to witness a slicing of unexpected proportions, until you get a chance to speak with him.\u00a0 And when you do, you will not fear<\/strong> him, but you will respect<\/strong> him!\u00a0 And it didn\u2019t take us long to begin to understand and sense the passion he brings to this growing sport.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Due to the fact that there is so much \u201cmisinformation\u201d<\/strong>, and even further \u201cmisrepresentation\u201d<\/strong> of MMA<\/strong>, we thought you might just want us to share with you a bit of the history of MMA<\/strong>, which may help you to make an educated decision for yourself and perhaps shed some light on what is really taking place.\u00a0 We are certain you will be quite surprised with what you find out.\u00a0 In addition, the Empire State Sports Council<\/strong> is working with Master McEvilly<\/strong>, from Team Tigon<\/strong>, along with many of the politicians, and in particular Assemblywoman Margaret Markey<\/strong> on trying to find the best way forward for the Empire State<\/strong> to ensure that MMA<\/strong> has a well thought out system of sensible regulations in order to make MMA<\/strong> safe for all competitors, especially the Youth Athletes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Mixed martial arts<\/strong>\u00a0(MMA<\/strong>), is a\u00a0full contact<\/a>\u00a0combat sport<\/a>\u00a0that allows the use of striking<\/strong> and grappling\u00a0<\/strong>techniques, both standing and on the ground, from a variety of other combat sports.\u00a0 The roots of modern Mixed Martial Arts<\/strong> can be traced back to the\u00a0ancient Olympics<\/a>,\u00a0where one of the earliest documented systems of codified full range unarmed combat was in the sport of\u00a0pankration<\/a>.\u00a0 Various mixed style contests took place throughout\u00a0Europe<\/a>, Japan<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Pacific Rim<\/a>\u00a0during the early 1900s. The combat sport of\u00a0vale-tudo<\/a>\u00a0that had developed in\u00a0Brazil<\/a>\u00a0from the 1920s was brought to the\u00a0United States<\/a>\u00a0by the\u00a0Gracie family<\/a>\u00a0in 1993 with the founding of the\u00a0Ultimate Fighting Championship<\/a>\u00a0(UFC).<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The more dangerous\u00a0vale-tudo<\/a>-style bouts of the early\u00a0UFCs<\/a>\u00a0were made safer with the implementation of additional rules, leading to the popular regulated form of MMA<\/strong> seen today.\u00a0 Originally promoted as a competition with the intention of finding the most effective\u00a0martial arts<\/a>\u00a0for real unarmed combat situations, competitors were pitted against one another with minimal rules.\u00a0 Later, fighters employed Multiple Martial Arts<\/strong> into their style while promoters adopted\u00a0additional rules<\/a> aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport.\u00a0 The name\u00a0Mixed Martial Arts\u00a0<\/strong>was coined by television critic\u00a0Howard Rosenberg<\/a>, in 1993.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The term gained popularity when the website newfullcontact.com, then one of the biggest covering the sport, hosted and reprinted the article. \u00a0Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with a\u00a0pay-per-view<\/a>\u00a0business that rivals\u00a0boxing<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0professional wrestling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The E<\/em><\/strong>mpire <\/em><\/strong>S<\/em><\/strong>tate Sports Council<\/em><\/strong> is pleased to announce MMA<\/strong> as an Official Sport<\/strong> of the 2013 Liberty Games!<\/strong>\u00a0 If you are interested, and wish to compete for the State Title, you may now CLICK HERE to Register online <\/a>; in fact, if you Register early you can qualify for special prizes (see Below).<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Because the Liberty Games<\/strong> are built around the concept of T-E-A-M<\/strong> (Together Everyone Achieves More), we would like to make a spot in each of the articles written, that will announce the arrival of each Sport, to impress upon you the importance of each of the individual Sport\u2019s Chairs, as they are critical in the effort to Bring Back the Games!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em> The MMA Sport\u2019s Chair<\/strong> is Master Ron McEvilly<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cHe has been a professional from the first moment we met, and although you might initially think that the \u2018Wolverine\u2019 image is intimidating, Ron is a perfect Gentleman\u201d, said Executive Director, Anthony Mills.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The E<\/em><\/strong>mpire <\/em><\/strong>S<\/em><\/strong>tate Sports Council<\/em><\/strong> is very excited to have Master McEvilly on our TEAM<\/strong>, and we hope you will enjoy taking part in the upcoming competition.\u00a0 Moreover, we are so excited that we are offering the following promotion.\u00a0 Be one of the first to purchase the Official Liberty Games Sportswear,<\/strong> as the E<\/em><\/strong>mpire <\/em><\/strong>S<\/em><\/strong>tate Sports Council<\/em><\/strong> will hold a drawing of the first 100 Athletes<\/strong>, in each sport, that purchase Liberty Games Sportswear<\/strong>, and the selected Athlete will receive a Gift Card to a local restaurant for $10!\u00a0<\/strong> In addition, the winners from each sport will be placed into a larger drawing, which will be made at the Opening\u00a0Festival<\/strong> of the Liberty Games<\/strong>, and the winner will receive a Free Apple iPod.\u00a0 The runner-up will receive a $50<\/strong> Gift Certificate from Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods.\u00a0 Don\u2019t wait, be one of the first 100 Athletes<\/strong> in your sport to purchase Official Liberty Games Sportswear<\/strong>, and you can be a winner today!\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the meantime, be sure to Like Us<\/strong> on Facebook<\/strong>, as we look forward to making so many new friends.\u00a0 If you are in a position to do so, we would certainly appreciate your support of the 2013 Liberty Games<\/strong>.\u00a0 Please take just a minute right now to click the\u00a0\u00a0DONATE NOW\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0button at the top of the page and make a contribution of any amount, the E<\/em><\/strong>mpire <\/em><\/strong>S<\/em><\/strong>tate Sports Council <\/em><\/strong>would greatly appreciate it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Mixed Bag of Mixed Feelings \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When approached about having MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) as part of the Liberty Games, our first reaction was one of caution.\u00a0 Our second reaction was one of caution too!\u00a0 However, it has been my experience that if people do their homework (and most folks cringe at the thought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1741"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1743,"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions\/1743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/essportscouncil.org\/liberty-games\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}