Old versus new

This past week a university student doing research asked me to comment on 'modern' martial arts like UFC compared to 'traditional' martial arts.
I think central to traditional arts are their links to their history, traditions and culture. And these links make them vehicles for self-improvement in a way that is broader than just martial.
The other thought that came to mind later was that UFC and related sports promote a sub-culture of violence at a time of (relative) peaceful day to day living within North America. Which contrasts with the context in which most traditional martial arts which were developed. These come from times that had much higher personal risks, but many of these arts developed a culture of trying to limit and rise above violence.
I don't want this to seems like an arguement that there is some kind of inverse relationship between more stable societies and violent sub-cultures. There has always been a need to counter feelings of personal disempowerment. Martial arts can act as a response to this. Whether this response promotes or limits violence, is another question.