The Glory of Mized Martial Arts

Today's definition of masculinity can easily be described as the hyper-violent and bulky muscular man. How has this changed over the decades when being big and muscular was a sign of low status or class, while being of a small stature was highly regarded? These changes have been ever so gradual over the years and yet where did it start? And how will this show of masculinity affect all the children who are being brought into this world.

It is presupposed that it is in man's nature to be aggressive and violent and it does not help that everywhere we go, this is the stereotype of man and how the media wishes us to behave. Today I want to talk about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights that are aired on television. MMA is a hyper-violent "sport" that involves many forms of fighting techniques from boxing to silat, attacking the competitor with punches, kicks, elbows, knees, submissions, etc... until they are either knocked out or tap out of the match. These MMA matches are aired for entertainment much like WWE wrestling is, except this is real (excluding the trash talking and superfluous "moves" they use on each other).

So now I must ask.... why do we enjoy these violent sports where people are bleeding all over the mats and being beaten up so much? I mean, I love watching MMA and I get excited to see the matches that come up every now and again. There are many others who enjoy watching it seeing as how it is still being aired. But why are we so entertained to watch sweaty and bloody men all over each other on the ground, or punching and kicking others all over so much? What does it say about us as a society that we are entertained by violence?

For example:

This is an extremely short match, but I believe it shows exactly what I am talking about. This sort of violence is all too common in MMA.

This kind of trauma can have very permanent effects on the body, from broken limbs to brain damage.This article describes how dangerous MMA can be and what kind of effects it can have on someone’s mental state. This kind of violence is all too readily available for our children to watch and become desensitized to blood and violence. There are children out there who are fans of MMA and watch it religiously much like some children do with WWE.

Although children imitate WWE regardless of the fact that it is fake and done by professionals, children also imitate MMA as well. This kind of violence is shows children that as long as it is in the ring, it is okay to beat others up, but not only that but with the world of mixed martial arts expanding, it shows them better and more efficient ways to harm others. Although I love watching MMA, I can’t help but wonder what kind of effect it will have on the young impressionable minds that watch this. The influences that will shape their view on violence.