Friday, 5 September 2008

The Ethical MMA Questions

I met a friends girlfriend for the first time this week and, as invariably happens, we got talking about occupations. I know that working in MMA immediately makes you cool with most males between the ages of 18 and 35 but women respond in less predictable fashions.


The first question is almost always "do you fight?" to which I answer "no" (see ears, nose and gut as evidence). After that it can go in any number of directions. On this occasion it went in a way that I haven't experienced in a while - the ethical argument against MMA.

This woman took issue with people being allowed to enter a cage to "beat the sh!t out of each other" (her words, not mine - I didnt bother with telling her about submissions at this point). My argument is based around two points:

1. Is there mutual consent between the participants?
2. Is it safe?

If fighters agree to fight, understanding what it entails and resigning themselves to any pain/discomfort/concussion that may occur then what is the problem? In MMA nobody is FORCED to fight. This isnt Mad Max 3. Spectators arent given lottery tickets on entry to events and picked at random to participate whether they like it or not. These guys want to do this and theyre ok with what may happen.

The safety question is important because by making MMA safe you allow not only the longevity for athletes within the sport but it also acts as a 'safety net' for people who enter into fighting without fully weighing up what may happen.

With these two points covered then the conversation started to turn to other aspects of what she thought was morally wrong.

Is it wrong for two people to want to test themselves in physical combat against each other?

I certainly dont think so. If you look at other species such as stags or even kimodo dragons they all do it. Sometimes it's a natural thing (certain fighters will admit to simply enjoying it) for others it's more cerebral and a need to test themselves.

Is it wrong for people to want to watch it?

I dont think you can argue that it's ethically wrong or not to enjoy something. You either enjoy it or you dont - there's no accounting for taste. Fighters Only technique guru and Strike and Submit European Champ Pete Irving commented once that watching fighting and watching porno are very similar - it's not necessarily wrong but he'd just prefer to be doing it himself. For those without the drive, ambition or whatever to fight there's nothing wrong with watching other people fight in my opinion.

At the end of the day Im not on a mission to make everyone like MMA - its not for everyone and that's fine. I personally loathe golf but I respect it as a sport. I'm just concerned that people know what it is and understand it before they decide they dont like it. To me combat sports is rooted deep in history, it is part of our heritage as a race. I honestly don't see any ethical argument here. In fact, on the criteria I outlined about I'd argue that X Factor is ethically wrong!

Anyway, each to their own...

posted by Jim B at Friday, September 05, 2008 << Back To Main Page