With the news that professional mixed martial arts, will finally be legalized in Ontario starting in 2011, as detailed by the Canadian Press this past Saturday, I put out a note on my Facebook page, that fans of the sport should thank Mic and Martin McNamara, owners of Twin Dragon Kick Boxing And Kung Fu, for their significant and historical role in helping this to become a reality. Most of the current fans and practitioners of the combat arts, weren’t even alive when the Belfast, Ireland born twins, were laying the groundwork for the evolution and eventual arrival of this now very popular form of sports entertainment. For those who want to discount what is being written here,they should get in touch with Marc Ratner, the current Vice President of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, and ask him if the McNamara’s have made some significant sacrifices, financial and otherwise, so that the most popular forms of fighting, might be legalized in Ontario.
As an 18 year old, in 1973, I began training with the Twin Dragons, at their very first location in Toronto, at the time on Yonge Street, north of Sheppard Avenue. What they were teaching back then was much different than what most of their competitors were offering. It was martial arts applied to what was needed to survive in a street fight scenario. There were no belts. or no extra fees to move up to the advanced class from the beginners level. The McNamara’s didn’t believe in that practice.Either you worked hard and moved ahead, or you didn’t. It was $12 a month, no matter how good or bad you were. I was a high school student planning on going on to a university education, and already working part time at Maple Leaf Gardens, so I was not looking to become a professional fighter. I just wanted to learn self defence and get into good shape, and I was able to accomplish those goals and move into the advanced class, which I was proud of, even though I was not much of a fighter, compared to the most talented club members.
Around 1975, some Twin Dragon students were entered into martial arts tournaments, and the revolution in the combat arts was underway. The competitors from this club were practicing full contact techniques in these events, which was almost unheard of at the time. It was not a lot of fun for those facing the Twin Dragon fighters, in those early days of evolving martial arts competitions.
As early as February of 1986, the Twin Dragons began staging full contact professional kick boxing tournaments in Canada. By 2002, they had produced 27 of these events. While full contact kick boxing did not include the ground work, which is one of the most essential aspects of today’s mixed martial arts, this form of fighting was part of the evolution of professional combat arts, which has now witnessed the explosion in popularity of Ultimate Fighting Championships, and other leagues, combining multiple disciplines of fighting, including wrestling, as the name mixed martial arts implies.
Considering the legal battles encountered by the Twin Dragons over staging professional kick boxing, the inclusion of some mixed martial arts in their shows, as well as the time and money involved, not to mention the professional champions they’ve produced in several weight classifications of professional kick boxing, there can be no denying of the mostly unrecognized dedication and passion they’ve demonstrated for the professional combat arts. All of this has helped to pave the way, for the eventual reality of legalized professional mixed martial arts in Ontario. Further information about the Twin Dragons legal battles with some government officials, and the details on their championship fighters, can be found at:
www.twin-dragon.com
My media colleague, “Showdown” Joe Ferraro, is also very knowledgeable on the historical development of mixed martial arts in Canada, and he can be heard and seen on both Rogers Sportsnet, and the Fan 590 in Toronto.