Counters
to Criticisms of MMA
By John Hopton
with additional information supplied by Ian "Boxing Brit" Butlin, Cyrille Diabate,
James Schiavo and Hywel "Doctor Octagon" Teague. 17 January 2004
This
was written in response to a number of criticisms of MMA which featured in a TV
Documentary in the "Focus" series presented by Debbie Thrower and screened in
the Meridian TV region during 2003. Most of these criticisms were raised (albeit
not in quite the same language) during the course of these programme. The other
criticisms listed here have featured at some time or other in various other media
sources such as radio programmes, local newspapers, national newspapers and other
television programmes.
For a more detailed
account of what MMA is, see "What is MMA?" by Ross Pettifer at www.cagewrriors.com,
or "Introducing MMA" by ‘Fireball’ on the thread of that name in the
SFUK
Forum + Mixed Martial Arts section of www.tung-fu.com
Misconception
One
This is
the most nasty brutal form of entertainment and only appeals to mindless thugs
and bloodthirsty ghouls
The
only part of the sport which is not a feature of sports widely recognised and
included in the Olympics is that in MMA a competitor is permitted to strike his
competitor on the ground. While this ‘ground and pound’ technique may
appear to be brutal, a good referee will stop the fight as soon as the person
underneath is unable to defend himself and in any case, the person may submit
at any time. It is true that sometimes a person may bruise easily and bleed quite
a bit at this point in a fight, but this is more an issue of the proximity of
skin to bone in the head, rather than an issue of serious injury being inflicted.
In any case, it is normal for the referee to step in and stop the fight as soon
as it is clear that the fighter being hit is not going to be able to defend himself
adequately.
As for the allegation that
the sports fans are thugs and bloodthirsty ghouls, as veteran fighter and promoter
Lee Hasdell has said, some people go to motor racing in the hope of seeing a crash
and unfortunately there’s not much that you can do about that. However, the
regular contributors to the UK’s most established internet forums for mixed
martial arts - SFUK and CageWarriors– are more inclined to discuss technical
aspects of the sport, applied physiology, nutrition etc than to revel in discussions
of bloody contests. Furthermore, this community includes many people from professional
backgrounds which are the antithesis of thuggery such as schoolteachers, social
care professionals, sports therapists and osteopaths and nurses.
Misconception
Two
MMA is the latest in
a long series of dangerous martial arts crazes such as nunchaku (flails) and shuriken
(kung fu throwing stars); and various ninja weapons – which have been banned
by the Criminal Justice Act; as should MMA for the same reason ; that it encourages
and validates violent behaviour.
All
the martial arts crazes which have attracted the attention of the authorities
in the past have involved the use of weapons. There is no weapons training in
mixed martial arts. The emphasis is on learning realistic unarmed combat techniques
which can also safely be used in the context of sporting competition. Furthermore
there are clear boundaries in place in mixed martial arts: the physical boundaries
of the training area and the competition arena and the less visible boundaries
around the degree of contact that may be negotiated in training and permitted
in competition
Misconception Three
The
fighters in MMA compete with the intention of beating their opponent senseless
or causing him serious soft tissue injury and/or bone fractures through the application
of submission holds
Certainly the
objective of competition is to win, but no-one wants to be out of action for months
because they have incurred injuries in competition or training. Therefore the
intensity of any sparring in training is determined by mutual negotiation and
consent; while – in competition – there is absolute respect for a person’s
right to submit and a submission hold will be released as soon as a tap is felt
or verbal submission is heard. Knockouts do occur, but there is less sustained
head striking than in boxing because there are more offensive and defensive options
available than in boxing. Therefore brain damage from the cumulative effects of
striking is probably less than in boxing. Similarly, the relative thinness and
light weight of the gloves makes it more difficult for a person to hit the head
hard as the striker’s hands are not as well protected as a boxer’s;
and neither does his hand have so much added weight.
Furthermore
the kind of acute traumatic brain injury which occurs in boxing and MMA also occurs
in collision sports such as American Football, ice hockey and rugby; and yet no-one
is calling for the banning of these sports – or even for rule changes to
reduce the risk of injury. Again, if a fighter is being struck repeatedly while
dominated on the ground, the referee is likely to stop the fight on the grounds
thats/he is unable to defend themselves intelligently.
Misconception
Four
This is the real life
equivalent of the film fight club, where male violence is celebrated for its own
sake
The film "Fight Club" is based
on a novel which could be read as a kind of satirical allegory (not unlike "Gulliver’s
Travels") about consumerism and the spiritual emptinesss of contemporary urban
dwelling. Even if taken literally, though, it is a commentary on the numbing effects
of consumerism and the consequences of overwork and nervous exhaustion. The fight
clubs depicted in the film and novel are very different from MMA clubs. In the
fight clubs of "Fight Club" there is no work on agility, fitness or stamina; no
effort is put into learning intricate grappling moves; no safety gear is used;
there are no mats on the floor; no-one wears proper training gear. In the film,
all that counts is raw aggression. In MMA self control is of utmost importance;
and training on club nights is likely to consist of stamina wwork; the perfection
of technique and sparring. The level of force that is used in sparring will always
be realistic but will be within safe parameters; set either by the club coach(es)
or by negotiation between sparring partners.
Misconception
Five
In MMA, rules are kept
to an absolute minimum
This is not
strictly speaking true. The original Brazilian vale tudo contests from which the
sport is derived had only three fouls and had no rounds or time limits. The fouls
were eye-gouging, groin strikes, and fish-hooking (the insertion of fingers into
ears, mouth, nose etc). Even then, referees were usually quick to step in and
stop fights when it was clear that a fighter could no longer intelligently defend
himself. As the sport has developed, a lot of added safety measures have been
included. Rules vary from promotion to promotion, but to put this criticism in
context, consider the case of some of the major US and UK promotions
For
example :
Cage Warriors.
The
rules comprise 17 separate sections. Section 16 lists 31 fouls including
kneeing
or kicking the head of a downed opponent, throat strikes, small joint manipulation,
hair pulling, clawing or pinching the flesh and head butts
Ultimate
Combat
The rules for professional bouts
comprise 42 separate articles. Article 21 lists 31 separate fouls including kneeing
or kicking the head of a downed opponent, throat strikes, small joint manipulation,
hair pulling, clawing or pinching the flesh and head butts
The
rules for semi-professional bouts comprise 42 separate articles. Article 21 lists
37 separate fouls including all of the above plus open hand strikes, the use of
certain specified submission holds and any striking to the head when one or both
opponents are on the ground
Ultimate
Fighting Championship
The abbreviated
version of the UFC rules posted
on their website lists the same 31 fouls as Cage Warriors and Ultimate Combat
(professional) and also states the five weight classes, bout duration and ways
to win. Indeed, the rules used on British promotions have been deliberately based
on the current UFC rules, which have been approved by the State Athletic Commissions
of Nevada and New Jersey
Other promotions
such as the USA’s King of The Cage and the UK’s Millenium Brawl/Extreme
Brawl also use similar rules to these.
Related
links:
Misconception
Six
MMA is not a legitimate
sport because it is not recognised by Sport England or the Internationally Olympic
Committee
While the professional
formats of Mixed Martial Arts contest may not be recognised by Sport England,
during the late 1990s, the Knockdown
Sport Budo Organisation format of mixed martial arts competition (which does
not permit striking to the head and which was in existence before the UFC) had
the seal of approval of the technical committee of the BJJA, who were recognised
by the Sport Council as a sport governing body. While this approval was subsequently
reviewed, the rules of KSBO were further modified in 2002 ( to remove knee and
elbow strikes and make the wearing of grappling gloves and shine/instep protectors
mandatory) so that KSBO competitions might be insured under the auspices of the
Amateur Martial Arts Association.
Almost
all the techniques used in Mixed Martial Arts are used in established Olympic
Sports; boxing, taekwondo, wrestling, judo. Certain submission holds and strikes
(e.g. elbows and knees) may not be allowed in Olympic sports but do feature in
sports which are established and accepted in the UK and internationally; notably
Muay Thai and Sport Ju Jitsu
Misconception
Seven
MMA is outlawed in
most US States
This is not strictly
speaking true, although there are some states where MMA contests are outlawed.
However, it is a claim that was made by the original owners of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship in their advertising hype.
The
rules currently used in the Ultimate Fighting Championship were approved by the
Nevada State Athletic Commission on 23rd July 2001 and since then have
also been approved by the State Athletic Commission for New Jersey. MMA contests
also occur in some other states. For example, the promotion King Of The Cage runs
events in the state of California
Misconception
Eight
In MMA matches fighters
are often locked into cages.
No–one
is ever locked into a cage, in the sense that they cannot escape. However, during
bouts, the door(s) to a cage will be securely fastened from the outside in the
interests of safety (i.e. preventing fighters from falling out of the cage). A
competitor can submit verbally or by ‘tapping out’ at any stage in a
fight. Additionally, a referee will stop a bout if s/he has concerns for the health,
safety or well-being of either fighter. Cages are often used for fights because
this environment is safer than a boxing or wrestling ring as competitors can fall
out of a fenced arena, such as a conventional boxing ring.
Misconception
Nine
The competitors use
very thin gloves and no head protection and this causes an increased risk of injury.
The thin gloves used in MMA may
actually reduce the risk of injury more than boxing gloves do. When headguards
are used in boxing, the extra padding does not significantly reduce the risk of
head injury but simply reduces the external damage done to fighters (see Matser
E. J. T et al , Acute traumatic brain injury in amateur boxing. Physician and
Sportsmedicine 28:1)
An extensive
bibliography on head injuries in boxing can be found at the following location:
http://www.ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_svinth_0901.htm
Misconception Ten
MMA
is unregulated
While there
is no single governing body which sanctions mixed martial arts events in the UK
this is true of most martial arts. There are many separate kickboxing, Muay Thai,
kung fu, karate and ju jitsu organisations in the UK promoting sport-fighting
tournaments independently of each other which permit varying levels of contact
and have different rules – even within the same discipline.
In
any case, moves are under way to establish a unified Governing Body for MMA in
the UK.
Misconception Eleven
Many
people involved in professional boxing are opposed to MMA. The fact that people
who are themselves involved in an established violent sport is an illustration
of how violent and dangerous MMA is
While
there are a lot of critics of MMA within the world of boxing; there are many people
involved in MMA who have been or are currently involved in the sport of boxing
at all levels; including professional boxers such as Chris Bacon and James Zikic.
People who are involved in both sports take a very different view to that taken
by high profile critics such as Frank Warren and Henry Cooper. For example, some
of them argue that standing eight counts and the heavier gloves used in boxing
lead to greater risk of brain injury than is the case in MMA where people have
to be as skilled in grappling and finding submission holds as they are in fighting
with their fists
Misconception
Twelve
Unlike wrestling,
judo or boxing which require real skill, this is just brawling. There is no skill
involved
MMA requires the acquisition
of all the skills and the same type of physical fitness associated with wrestling,
ju jitsu, boxing and kick boxing. Consequently, people who compete in MMA are
amongst the fittest and strongest athletes that you are likely to find. Furthermore,
the fact that there are a greater number of strategic and tactical possibilities
than in any other combat sport, means that MMA athletes have to have more highly
developed problem-solving skills than participants in any of the established combat
sports
Misconception Thirteen
The
sport of Mixed Martial Arts is banned in other Western European countries. For
example, a French mixed martial arts
format (The Golden Trophy) was banned circa 2000/2001
Mixed
Martial Arts competitions do take place in other West European countries; e.g.
in The Netherlands and in Scandinavia.
It
is more or less illegal to promote professional Mixed Martial Arts competitions
in France. However, the French situation is complex. All sport in France is highly
regulated, and federations for established sports have a lot of control over their
members. For example, some martial arts organisations will suspend or exclude
members who hold a licence in a second martial art. Mixed Martial Arts is a new
‘grass roots’ sport without clear historical roots. This makes it difficult
for the authorities to establish who is competent to teach the sport and run the
administration of the sport, so that appropriate certification can be issued to
legitimise Mixed Martial Arts as a sport. The media and the government are still
heavily influenced by what they have seen of the early UFC (i.e. before it was
taken over by Zuffa who greatly improved its health and safety measures); while
some of the other martial arts organisations have some prominent members who disapprove
of Mixed Martial Arts (for reasons that are either commercial or based on personal
opinions about what mixed martial arts should be). The Golden Trophy was not actually
banned outright. The promoters were told by the authorities, though, that future
mixed martial arts competitions must not allow any strikes to the head. Consequently
there are no Mixed Martial Arts competitions in France under the kind of professional
rules used in the USA and the UK. There are some small organisations in France
which run amateur competitions which disallow strikes to the head.
Misconception
Fourteen
MMA is just legitimised
streetfighting and will encourage real violence. MMA fighting is a form of releasing
aggression which is detrimental to both the participants and society in general.
The Mixed Martial
Arts scene in the UK is characterised by respect for one’s peers; admiration
of skill and dedication, collaborative learning and mutual assistance. For these
reasons, it makes a valuable contribution to the social fabric of twenty-first
century Britain by providing welcoming and friendly communities where people who
start training are likely to find a sense of belonging and paths to enhancing
their self-esteem. Many authorities on the subject consider a sense of belonging
and a sense of self-esteem to be the two core prerequisites for the achievement
of good mental health. Therefore, attempts to ban or marginalise the sport are
fundamentally misguided. The culture of this sport is not one of violence but
a culture of personal growth. Furthermore this is not only personal growth in
the purely physical or psychological sense but holistic personal growth (i.e.
personal growth with physical, psychological, social, spiritual and educational
dimensions).
