America's Latest Martial Arts Craze

In the 1970s, Bruce Lee, left, inspired to win many Americans in traditional martial arts such as karate and Kung Fu. Nearly a decade ago, Mr. Lee had abandoned, its traditional Kung Fu training and embraced a mix of styles, combat everything he found useful.

  Americans seem to be catching up. Mixed martial arts, a sport that combines techniques from a host of fighting styles -- from Brazilian jiu-jitsu to Thai kickboxing -- has become the latest martial arts craze in the United States. At left, students training at Camp Undefeated, a mixed martial arts training center in Manhattan.

The definition of mixed martial arts varies. Experts say a legitimate school should teach several basic skills: how to strike, how to wrestle and how to fight on the ground.

Two fighters battle back and forth during a June bout for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U.F.C.), the sport's leading fight promoter. Until several years ago, mixed martial arts was largely viewed as a brutal and fringe phenomenon.

Today, however, thanks to savvy marketing and a popular reality show, the U.F.C. has transformed mixed martial arts into a mainstream spectator sport.

Now, Americans aren't only watching mixed martial arts, they are increasingly practicing it as well, for fun and fitness. At left, students practice punches and kicks at a class at Tiger Schulmann's Mixed Martial Arts in Manhattan.

Two students practice ground submissions during a class at Tiger Schulmann's, a school that once advertised karate, but now advertises "M.M.A.," the sport's popular acronym.

Mixed martial arts have been especially popular among men ages 18 to 34, but women are getting involved, too.

And while some students want to become professional fighters like Gina Carano, left, and Kaitlin Young, the majority simply wants an alternative to the gym or self-defense experience.