Mentioning Martial Arts and MMA in EC?

[artaxerxes]

I was wondering if mentioning martial arts is a good idea. For the past year or so, I've been spending a lot of time in it, and I certainly enjoy it, but dunno how well that short of thing would go over in interview as I don't attend a "macdojo" and have an eye toward MMA, which the AMA condemns and John McCaine once called "human cock fighting"

but then they don't like boxing either.....

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[evade]

I was wondering if mentioning martial arts is a good idea. For the past year or so, I've been spending a lot of time in it, and I certainly enjoy it, but dunno how well that short of thing would go over in interview as I don't attend a "macdojo" and have an eye toward MMA, which the AMA condemns and John McCaine once called "human cock fighting"

but then they don't like boxing either.....

For traditional martial arts, yes. I am involved in kendo (or at least, I was before third year stole all my time), and enjoy it greatly. I've found it to be a wonderful way to relieve stress and retain my focus. In general, martial arts are only seen as a positive thing to be involved with.

However, what you are describing is not any traditional martial art. It sounds a lot more like Fight Club. Heck, the first things to pop up when I Google "MMA" have to do with "Ultimate Fighting Championship." If this is the only martial art you're involved in, I would not mention it, if only because UFC was held in my hometown a week ago, and we got a slew of patients who came to the ER as a result (mostly spectators who took it upon themselves to fight). One guy died. Frankly, a mention of UFC at my school right now would be anything but positive!

 

[146233]

Agreed. I myself am a student of Hapkido and mentioned it in my EC. My description revolved around its influence upon my self-confidence, spiritual harmony, etc. I would be very wary of mentioning anything about MMA..

 

[littlealex]

Don't mention MMA. Just mention a few of the styles you practice as a part of MMA in the guise of traditional martial arts.

 

[Playmakur42]

MMA, which the AMA condemns and John McCaine once called "human cock fighting"

but then they don't like boxing either.....

John McCain is a boxing fan, attends many of the big fights, and sponsored the Professional Boxing Amendments Act of 2005.

I'm not sure why he would be against MMA given his stance on boxing.
...............
As for mentioning MMA, its hard to say that your life's calling is to heal people, but in your spare time you like to knock their teeth out, choke them unconscious, and send them to the hospital.

Of course, if you just do it to stay in shape I don't see why it would negatively affect your application. If regular martial arts are looked highly upon, then learning 4+ martial arts should be looked highly upon, IMO.

 

[Depakote]

I was wondering if mentioning martial arts is a good idea. For the past year or so, I've been spending a lot of time in it, and I certainly enjoy it, but dunno how well that short of thing would go over in interview as I don't attend a "macdojo" and have an eye toward MMA, which the AMA condemns and John McCaine once called "human cock fighting"

but then they don't like boxing either.....

I think Martial Arts (in general) could be a great thing to mention. It requires commitment and discipline and is a diversifying factor. It would also be the sort of thing that would keep an interviewer interested and you might spend the majority of the interview talking about it (which can be a good thing b/c it will show your personality and generally be very low-stress).

In your description, as mentioned above, I would highlight the positives and avoid the "human cock-fighting" part. But overall, I definitely think it's worth including.

 

[Jccripe]

If it is part of your personality or has changed you in a significant way, then mention it.

 

[Jew Alcindor]

John McCain is a boxing fan, attends many of the big fights, and sponsored the Professional Boxing Amendments Act of 2005.

I'm not sure why he would be against MMA given his stance on boxing.

You just answered your own question.

To the first guy, what kind-of training do you do? It it's something like BJJ or Muay Thai then I don't see why you couldn't mention it. If you do any MMA-specific training, I might leave that out though. Do you do any grappling tournaments or anything like that?

And the guy who died, didn't he fall off a balcony?

 

[inaminute]

I think you should mention as a way to explain any lapses in your grades or MCAT scores. "I practice MMA and have found it quite enjoyable, although from time to time the resulting brain damage has diminished my academic performance somewhat. Fortunately, my lost brain cells have regenerated for the most part and I will be an excellent physician, especially with combative patients. Hai-AH!"

 

[WurangBlang]

I love MMA. I would love to put that in my ECs. Just put it as something you enjoy as a hobby. I think there would be no problem with that.

 

[artaxerxes]

For traditional martial arts, yes. I am involved in kendo (or at least, I was before third year stole all my time), and enjoy it greatly. I've found it to be a wonderful way to relieve stress and retain my focus. In general, martial arts are only seen as a positive thing to be involved with.

However, what you are describing is not any traditional martial art. It sounds a lot more like Fight Club. Heck, the first things to pop up when I Google "MMA" have to do with "Ultimate Fighting Championship." If this is the only martial art you're involved in, I would not mention it, if only because UFC was held in my hometown a week ago, and we got a slew of patients who came to the ER as a result (mostly spectators who took it upon themselves to fight). One guy died. Frankly, a mention of UFC at my school right now would be anything but positive!

haha, yeah, UFC fans can be a handful...lots of drunken rich brats and redneck types, although the organization as a whole has had no deaths in the last decade of existance. Strange thing is that most mma fans are great people, the ones who actually attend events tend not to repersent most fans and most of time don't know very much about mma.

I'll probably stick to mentioning Muay Thai and BJJ seperately.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I've done Tang Soo Do and BJJ for a number of years now, and I went as far as to write about it in my personal statement last application cycle.

Especially for TSD, since I had some teaching experience with it, I wove it into this whole student-teacher dichotomy thing in medicine that drove me to academic medicine and primary care.

Needless to say, I got asked about it in more than half of my interviews. I had one at UTSW and also UT Galveston where talking about martial arts took up nearly the entire interview hour. At Houston I was asked "what's the diff between BJJ and JJJ" and that started a train of MA questions.

It really depends on how you spin it. I don't think adcoms or interviewers really care or understand if your training is "mcdojo" or "bullshido". MMA is rising in popularity but it isn't mainstream pro sports just yet, so I'd refrain from laying that on too thick, because there still is a significant amount of people who believe it is "human cockfighting" in a cage.

If you talk about things like dedication, perseverance, learning to get back up after you've been hit, etc. - all those nice things about martial arts that don't emphasize fighting (even though MA is fighting), that will make it look much better. If you talk about/write about it like you're posting on Sherdog or Bullshido, they will think you're some roiding skin head with tats and bloodthirst.

But definitely mention it. You could try putting out feelers during interviews about MMA, and if you get lucky and have a fan for an interviewer, then talk about it more in detail about how you don't like mcdojos or whatever you want. Like anything remotely controversial, tread carefully.

COUTURE FOR PRESIDENT 2008!

 

[jochi1543]

I put boxing in my AMCAS, haha.🙄

 

[Bre]

Another undergrad in my lab who intervied at Hopkin's last year told me that the med student who led their tour used to be a cage fighter, so I don't think MMA is a bad thing to put on your application.

 

[bigman43]

Another undergrad in my lab who intervied at Hopkin's last year told me that the med student who led their tour used to be a cage fighter, so I don't think MMA is a bad thing to put on your application.

i used to be a gladiator in my past life. I ascended to the ranks of arena master and held my rein for 10 years.

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

I mentioned my teaching, training, and competition rankings on my primary because it is probably the most defining aspect of my personality as far as ECs go. I also do Tang Soo Do and I think I recognize EternalRage from Bullshido....

 

[Jew Alcindor]

Just tell them you plan on being the first man to beat Fedor...bring a computer so you can show them some of his highlights too.

 

[inaminute]

i used to be a gladiator in my past life. I ascended to the ranks of arena master and held my rein for 10 years.

you sound like a lipizzaner stallion 😛

 

[BlackSails]

Ive done karate for nearly 15 years (will be 17 when I apply to med school), and I already know that something karate related will be the driving force behind my personal statement. If its important to you, and its not something completely un-doctorish (in my spare time, I like to go to the neighbourhood soup kitchen and laugh at the poor people there), put it in.

 

[SuperMatt]

I was wondering if mentioning martial arts is a good idea. For the past year or so, I've been spending a lot of time in it, and I certainly enjoy it, but dunno how well that short of thing would go over in interview as I don't attend a "macdojo" and have an eye toward MMA, which the AMA condemns and John McCaine once called "human cock fighting"

but then they don't like boxing either.....

If it is any help I did not add the fact that i trained MMA on my apps, just that i was doing brazilian jiu-jitsu. I figure the MMA issue will polarize and likely result in more harm than good.

 

[blargh]

i've been doing shaolin kung fu (and sparring) for a while. i put it on my AMCAS, and i don't think it hurts me in any way. well, i also said the sparring was for self-defense.

 

[Polynikes]

Hey dude who claims that people came to the ER last weekend due to an MMA event:


Ever had a football player come in?

What about a baseball player or a soccer player?


I put MMA in my application, and that is because I have been involved in it for 6 years now.

It's what I do.

And McCain has since retracted his stance on MMA. As most of you know I'm sure, MMA has received sanctioning in most states, and McCain's position was merely that he wanted it sanctioned.

Which has happened, McCain has since retracted.

Furthermore, several doctors at Johns Hopkins did a study around MMA, and they came up with the fact that it is safer than boxing, and the risk of injury is on parallel with american football.

So, put it on there if you do it.

I've been on Relson Gracie's Savannah Competition Team for some time now, and it seriously takes up a major part of my week.

 

[Polynikes]

If it is any help I did not add the fact that i trained MMA on my apps, just that i was doing brazilian jiu-jitsu. I figure the MMA issue will polarize and likely result in more harm than good.

Why would you think that?

It's a sport, and it's the fastest growing sport in the world.

Why do you guys want to hide what you are? If you have to hide certain parts of your life to get into school, why are you trying to get into school?

I mean, I don't want to sound like an ass...but grow up people.

You really think that they aren't going to like you because you like competing in combat sports, or parachuting, or anything else?

Tell me this: would mentioning MMA be worse than saying that you were in the military and have 2 combat action ribbons?

Cuz I put both...

 

[bigman43]

should i mention i'm really good at BD/SM ? or is it still very controversial?

 

[Polynikes]

should i mention i'm really good at BD/SM ? or is it still very controversial?

Butt darts?

S & M?

 

[Meatwad]

Fedor has been beaten, but it was by doctor stoppage (those damn doctors 😡).

Ehh, wasn't doctor stoppage in the usual sense of the word, as I'm sure you know. Due to the ridiculous rules of Rings, there HAS to be a winner. So TK hit Fedor with an illegal elbow strike, opened a bad cut, and they had to declare a winner. Totally lame rules.

As far as the human cock-fighting, it's ridiculous. MMA is far safer than boxing. When a fighter is knocked unconcious, even for an instant, the fight is stopped. In boxing, you are allowed to get up. Boxers with long careers almost always have neurological damage, and something ridiculous like 30 boxers die every year. In the 17+ years MMA has been in tournaments, there have been zero deaths. So if we want to play the statistics game, MMA is the safest sport around. This is getting off topic though, so I'll dismount my soapbox for now.

Bottom line is, I wouldn't mention it anyway. Whether or not I believe it's safe and a good hobby is inconsequential. The people interviewing you will almost certainly think it's a bad thing. Mentioning some TMA probably wouldn't hurt; say you are a Tiger Schulman black belt

 

[Jew Alcindor]

Ehh, wasn't doctor stoppage in the usual sense of the word, as I'm sure you know. Due to the ridiculous rules of Rings, there HAS to be a winner. So TK hit Fedor with an illegal elbow strike, opened a bad cut, and they had to declare a winner. Totally lame rules.

As far as the human cock-fighting, it's ridiculous. MMA is far safer than boxing. When a fighter is knocked unconcious, even for an instant, the fight is stopped. In boxing, you are allowed to get up. Boxers with long careers almost always have neurological damage, and something ridiculous like 30 boxers die every year. In the 17+ years MMA has been in tournaments, there have been zero deaths. So if we want to play the statistics game, MMA is the safest sport around. This is getting off topic though, so I'll dismount my soapbox for now.

Bottom line is, I wouldn't mention it anyway. Whether or not I believe it's safe and a good hobby is inconsequential. The people interviewing you will almost certainly think it's a bad thing. Mentioning some TMA probably wouldn't hurt; say you are a Tiger Schulman black belt

I agree with everything you say (especially about Fedor) and you obviously know your stuff, however there has unfortunately been one death in MMA. It was in a tournament in Eastern Europe, a guy who was passing out in practice and couldn't get cleared to fight in the US. You can see the video on YouTube (search for Douglas Dedge).

 

[Meatwad]

I agree with everything you say (especially about Fedor) and you obviously know your stuff, however there has unfortunately been one death in MMA. It was in a tournament in Eastern Europe, a guy who was passing out in practice and couldn't get cleared to fight in the US. You can see the video on YouTube (search for Douglas Dedge).

Damn... news to me. Kind of got my foot in my mouth here(without the aid of my hands, BJ Penn style). Regardless, one in thousands of fights ain't bad, right? I see he died in '98, strange I've never heard of it. Thanks for telling me, JA.

I haven't been keeping up with MMA news lately, unfortunately. Gonzaga's ironic high-kick to CroCop's skull led me into a spiraling depression. After Gozaga fights Couture, I want to see Mark Hunt get in the cage with a striker. Then all the Pride-haters will see what we Pride fans have to offer. BTW, Nog is fighting Tim "The Muppet" Sylvia soon, right?

 

[artaxerxes]

Pride guys haven't been doing too well,

Crocop has been disappointing, in both of his fights, just no energy of fight left in him

Nogueria should have been finished by Herring, and I have no idea why he didn't.....

Herring...well, he got beat by Irish and hasn't been spectacular in his performances

Ramapage wasn't exciting in his debute, and frankly chuck got caught, so that fight does not say a great deal about how ramapage has progressed as a fighter.

 

[jochi1543]

MMA is far safer than boxing. When a fighter is knocked unconcious, even for an instant, the fight is stopped. In boxing, you are allowed to get up. Boxers with long careers almost always have neurological damage, and something ridiculous like 30 boxers die every year.

You know what's funny? My boxing coach mentioned in passing that he had his neck and back broken....I asked why (thinking it was in a fight, of course), and guess what? A pipe had fallen on his head at his job at the oil rig.

So you can box all your life and never get injured and then in the end, some stupid accident happens and you're out.

That said, I drew blood from him today.

 

[Meatwad]

Pride guys haven't been doing too well,

Crocop has been disappointing, in both of his fights, just no energy of fight left in him

Nogueria should have been finished by Herring, and I have no idea why he didn't.....

Herring...well, he got beat by Irish and hasn't been spectacular in his performances

Ramapage wasn't exciting in his debute, and frankly chuck got caught, so that fight does not say a great deal about how ramapage has progressed as a fighter.

CroCop - I don't know, I think the Gonzaga thing was a fluke. His wins at the Grand Prix were amazing, he was unstoppable. CroCop has never been an emotional or aggressive fighter, but I am still always excited when he is going to have a fight. If there was a rematch, I think he would destroy Gonzaga or anyone else in the UFC heavyweight lineup.

Nogueira, I know why Herring didn't finish him: Herring is done. He's not an old guy, but he's looked weak for years now. I can't remember the last time I saw Herring fight and was impressed. I honestly don't think of him as one of the big Pride heavyweights. That title goes to Fedor, CroCop, Nogueira, Hunt, Coleman (ha... 'roid rage vs Shogun), etc.

Rampage... well, what can I say? The guy's personality goes a long way. He's always fun to watch, even if his last couple of fights have shown a less aggressive fight. I think his two losses to Silva, religious awakening, and divorce from his wife have all really taken a toll on him. The odds were totally against him when he took out Chuck, but that's what this sport is. One punch is all it takes, and Rampage had that punch on that night.

The way I look at it, UFC has a really weak heavyweight division. My God, the champion was Tim Sylvia, for Christ's sake. Dana White must have been overjoyed when a guy with an actual fan base won the belt back. Nogueira could have the flu, have one arm chopped off, and get run over by a huge truck (again) before the fight and still catch Sylvia in an anaconda choke. The only really good fights that the UFC will have in the heavyweight division will be with imported Pride guys. I'm curious if Barnett will be fighting anytime soon, seems like he's heavily into the Japanese puroresu stuff lately.

Let me just end this by saying: Fedor by armbar.

 

[artaxerxes]

I don't know man, I got sickening feeling the Nogueria will get tooled by timmy if they face each other, especially considering tim's fighting style of being very cautious and long ranged. Monson couldn't take tim down effectively, and I don't think Nogueria's takedowns are that much better even though his BJJ is. Key to beating Slyvia is to outstrike him as colture did, which leads up to takedowns and domination.

regarding safety, MMA is safer than boxing if you are talking about severe neurological trauma/death. It also cause less chronic neurological problems than boxing....a bunch of pro boxers and some football player have boxer's dementia, look at Ali.

However, in terms of over injury, MMA is not that much better. You'll see far more joint injuries, broken bones, torn muscles, etc, which could also cause chronic problems and disabilities, but you probably won't die🙂

 

[Variance]

MMA (Mixed martial arts) does not equal UFC/Pride.

MMA is just simply the philosophy of mixing up different things from different arts or alternatively the "genre" for those kind of systems.



Still regardless, it may be best to not refer to it as mixed martial arts due to the bad reputation and perception of the term MMA

and just refer to the specific art, system or style you practice / train in.

 

[BlackSails]

Still regardless, it may be best to not refer to it as mixed martial arts due to the bad reputation and perception of the term MMA

I think it means its great to mention it, and then explain how its not actually some horribly bloodthirsty sport in you PS

 

[Meatwad]

I don't know man, I got sickening feeling the Nogueria will get tooled by timmy if they face each other, especially considering tim's fighting style of being very cautious and long ranged. Monson couldn't take tim down effectively, and I don't think Nogueria's takedowns are that much better even though his BJJ is. Key to beating Slyvia is to outstrike him as colture did, which leads up to takedowns and domination.

regarding safety, MMA is safer than boxing if you are talking about severe neurological trauma/death. It also cause less chronic neurological problems than boxing....a bunch of pro boxers and some football player have boxer's dementia, look at Ali.

However, in terms of over injury, MMA is not that much better. You'll see far more joint injuries, broken bones, torn muscles, etc, which could also cause chronic problems and disabilities, but you probably won't die🙂

True, MMA athletes do have a lot of battle injuries.

Tim does have that patented do-nothing-win-by-decision thing going on, but I've never been impressed by his performance, to steal a line from GSP. Nogueira has excellent hands, and I think if it goes to decision Nogueira could win.

WAR NOG!!!!!!!!11111111

 

[etf]

I swear by Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to...never do harm to anyone...

 

[mmc48]

I swear by Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to...never do harm to anyone...

Oh come on, if two men want to beat the snot out of one another, and is a sanctioned sport, then let them do it. It has nothing to do with your ability to be a physician.

I would mention the arts that you're involved in, particularly if you have earned belts in BJJ. As a past judo player, I know that judo/bjj belts are not the easiest to come by, so it definitely shows dedication.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Why would you think that?

It's a sport, and it's the fastest growing sport in the world.

Why do you guys want to hide what you are? If you have to hide certain parts of your life to get into school, why are you trying to get into school?

I mean, I don't want to sound like an ass...but grow up people.

You really think that they aren't going to like you because you like competing in combat sports, or parachuting, or anything else?

All of us who are fans know what the deal is with MMA. We've seen the studies that say MMA is safer than boxing, that there are 0 deaths, that the refs are truly concerned with fighter safety, that the rules and protective gear, although more open in comparison to boxing, actually end up being better off in the long run for MMA fighters.

That doesn't change the fact that MMA is still a hot topic, and that there are still strong laymen opinions out there that it's brutal, uncivilized, human cockfighting. I'm all for representing MMA and getting the info out there, but I don't think a medical school application or interview is the place to take that fight.

It's like wearing a checkered suit to the interview - it's absurd to think they wouldn't like you for making a fashion statement, but adcoms/interviewers still could, and it's not the place for it anyway. It's the problem with preconcieved notions, and as much as we'd like to, you can't really expect or demand that everyone you meet on the application trail be open minded and understanding.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I mentioned my teaching, training, and competition rankings on my primary because it is probably the most defining aspect of my personality as far as ECs go. I also do Tang Soo Do and I think I recognize EternalRage from Bullshido....

Haha, I don't make new names for different forums... I'm ER no matter where I go... What's your forum name over there? Other than Maverick and Errant108, I can't think of any others from MD off the top of my head.