By: Frankie Chee

Lunge... punch... grab! Two men whack each other, than fall on the floor, grappling. No, it is not a scene from a wrestling contest, but from a new contact sport that is proving a hit.

The punches and throws are real but it is all part of a mixed martial arts session, which is the latest martial arts fad here.

Boxing, muay thai (Thai boxing) and jiu-jitsu (a Brazilian grappling sport) teach a single fighting style, but sparring partners are getting their kicks out of mixed martial arts' combination of techniques used.

The powerful punches of boxing, the lethal strikes of muay thai and the twisting locks of jiu-jitsu are usually incorporated, with some schools here throwing in even more fighting skills (see side story).

But while the likes of boxing and taekwondo do not allow hitting below the belt or any contact when the opponent is on the ground, mixed martial arts does not have such restrictions.

It does, however, have some rules such as no eye-gouging and no hitting the groin, joints or back of the head.

All this may sound dangerous but the mixed martial arts centres say the activity is not much more dangerous than any other contact sport.

'It's the real thing. It's real fighting just like in the streets,' says student Nazif Khairul, 14, catching his breath after a class at MacPherson Road's Fightworks Asia on a Tuesday night.

Singapore-based Thai national Chatri Sityodtong, founder of Evolve Mixed Martial Arts in Selegie Road, says: 'Mixed martial arts is the modern approach to martial arts. Instead of uniforms, traditions, mysticism and formality of the traditional martial arts, it is focused solely on what works in reality.'

Membership numbers at his seven-month-old centre are so strong that he is opening another one in a different location in two months.

The sport, which originates from the United States, was introduced here in 2000 by fighting gym Fight G in North Canal Road. Since then, at least four other centres have started to offer mixed martial arts, with increased interest in the sport over the last three years, says Fight G owner Darren de Silva, who has seen more students, inquiries and buzz on online forums.

'There's definitely an increase in interest but it has not skyrocketed like muay thai did after the reality series The Contender Asia was shown. Mixed martial arts doesn't get as much exposure,' he says. The Contender Asia is a reality TV series, set in Asia, about Thai kickboxing.

The mixture of fighting techniques is the main draw for trainees such as polytechnic graduate Wu Bohan, 21, who got into the sport about five months ago after coming across it in an Internet search.

He says: 'It's very interesting. It's all about the grappling and striking techniques, and involves a lot of martial arts. So, you get to experience a lot more things.'

The gym manager of fighting gym Fightworks Asia, Mr Albert Tan, says about 300 of the 1,000 members at his centre attend its mixed martial arts classes, which started three years ago.

'There's definitely an increase in interest because, after going through the individual programmes, mixed martial arts is the way for them to integrate all the skills they have learnt," he says.

In the classes, students are taught different styles and techniques of various martial arts by instructors with multiple martial arts backgrounds.

A T-shirt and shorts are generally all the gear that is needed to get started in the sport, although some places require students to have additional equipment such as a glove or hand-wrap, or shoes.

Students range from those in their early teens to some in their 50s, with a small percentage of women among them.

Asked about the risk of this physical contact martial arts, operators and participants shrug their shoulders.

'Injuries are rare as trainings are supervised and sparring is under strict rules with compulsory protective gear,' stresses Fightworks' Mr Tan.

In fact, Nazif's father, Dr R. Khairul, 44, was the one who signed him up for the sport, after attending sessions himself.

'His mother is worried about his safety, I'm not. He's pretty sheltered in his life so this will teach him to be a man,' Dr Khairul says.

But contrary to Nazif's comments about the realism of the fighting sport, his dad says: 'This is for him to learn some self-defence, not for him to go and start a fight.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.