<p>Should I mention this in an essay if it asks how I will bring value to the campus or some similar question?</p>
<p>I practice MMA (mixed martial arts/ no-holds barred fighting, like the UFC), it's a pretty big part of my life. It eats up 6 of my 7 days of the week.</p>
<p>By the time I apply, I'll probably have a professional or amateur fight record. Should I mention this in an essay or elsewhere on the application? </p>
<p>The college that I'm applying to does have an MMA club and I would definately bring value to that particular club. I just don't know if that would sound good or bad to the people reading my app. Some people have a thing against MMA and may hold it against me in the decision process.</p>
<p>I might hold back on that choice, just for the reason you cite. Unless you can very smoothly explain the beauty and art of what your hobby is, I wouldn't bother listing it. </p>
<p>My first gut reaction (based on what is shown on tv) wasn't favorable. Not becuase of the fighting but more so because the intellect of the featured fighters. Unfortunately stupidity sells, but it doesn't bode well for those looking to move into higher education. </p>
<p>I watched a little MMA on the telly not too long ago and it seems very cartoonish away from the ring, very WWF. I think you will have an uphill battle on your hands. I'd skip over it.</p>
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I might hold back on that choice, just for the reason you cite. Unless you can very smoothly explain the beauty and art of what your hobby is, I wouldn't bother listing it.
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I could definately make it sound like a sport. It has about the beauty and artfulness of football; it doesn't have any- it's just a sport.</p>
<p>I go to practice 6 days per week, 2 hours each day. We focus on boxing, muay thai, wrestling, and brazillian jiu-jitsu. In addition to that, I train wrestling and bjj outside of the class; 3 days per week, I wrestle for 2-3 hours with my university's varsity wrestling team and also roll/ spar with the campus' bjj club 3 days per, week 2 hours each time. My conditioning is 1-2 hours in the gym everyday of cardio and weight lifting. So, I think I could play off of a commitment and dedication angle. My only real reason for including this would be to demonstrate value that I would bring to the campus via their MMA club and to make myself stand out/ look unique. I just don't want to stand out in a bad way, which is why I wanted to get some opinions on it.</p>
<p>I think you should mention it...loads of people put karate and tae kwon do on their resumes, I see no apparent reason why this sport shouldn't go on yours, especially because it takes up a majority of your time and is your favorite hobby (i'm guessing)</p>
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I think you should mention it...loads of people put karate and tae kwon do on their resumes, I see no apparent reason why this sport shouldn't go on yours, especially because it takes up a majority of your time and is your favorite hobby (i'm guessing)
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MMA isn't exactly TKD/ karate. I just didn't want them to hold it against me. If I put it on, I'll definately try to play off the dedication angle.</p>
<p>Since the college has a club for it, they don't have anything against it, right? So you will be perfectly fine if you list it, especially since you seem to enjoy it.</p>
<p>If you list the hours in a week practicing MMA, adcoms will know your dedication.</p>
<p>I always thought that MMA can include any kind (and combination) of martial art(s), although some styles are more effective for fighting in tournaments than others.</p>
<p>gaffe, yes i get the idea thanks for the help, but i wanted some more details. i didn't understand "no-holds barred fighting, like the UFC" too well.</p>
<p>So I've heard. Unless you can spin MMA as more than just glorified street fighting (emphasize a spiritual, or philosophical aspect of the sport, for instance), I suspect the Adcom might take a neutral view of this EC at best.</p>
<p>Remeber just because the school has a mma club doesn't mean the school supports it, they may just tolerate it. Even more mainstream club sports don't get much help at alot of schools.</p>
<p>You certainly have worked hard to improve your body for mma, if I were reviewing this, I'd wonder about your mind? You might want to take a look at the history channel and the series I think is called "Human weapon" the show is about different cultures and their fighting styles, like the anceint greeks. Since you've learned some brazilian fighting styles, what have you learned about the Gracie family for example? Do you see where I'm leaning. I want to know more about your interest from you than how it improves your body...</p>
<p>At least this is my suggestion, educate yourself on the historical and cultural aspects of your sport and educate them when they review it.</p>
<p>I would definitely list it. Just be careful of using just the initials. I recently reviewed a resume for someone with a similar EC and they listed brazilian juitsju (spelling?) as bjj. I told them, you have to spell it out, not everyone knows what MMA or BJJ are.</p>
<p>Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was introduced to the Gracies by a Japanese Mitsuyo Maeda. The Gracies modified Jiu-Jitsu to focus mainly on groundwork and grappling to elicit efficient submissions. There really isn't much to say to about the Gracie family other than that many members are pracitioners while a few of them are masters because they are the decendents of the creator of BJJ.</p>
<p>@aabbcc1789
"i didn't understand "no-holds barred fighting, like the UFC" too well."
No-holds barred fighting means that no rules exist when a competitor fights an opponent. "Anything goes", basically.
UFC is a tournament in which professional fighters seek to knock out (or technical knock out), submit, or win more points than their opponent. Only a few rules exist in UFC, but a referee is present to prevent/ penalize illegal moves and judge if a person is still capable of fighting.</p>
