Think before you speak

See now here is a thing - sometimes people misunderstand things - its easy done, hell we have all done it at one stage or another, but equally folks have to realise that when you publish these misunderstandings you can do a lot of damage.

You may have guessed that there is something in particular that has set me off on this topic. This time it is an article on the BBC website about cagefighting.

I know that there are a lot of misconceptions about Cagefighting and what is involved. My particular fondness for 'cagefighting' comes in the form of MMA. As this form of sport takes off world wide it is become more and more common for people to comment on it and what they think. On the whole the UFC and other organisations (such as cage rage etc) have had a largely positive response so I was interested to see what people were saying after a fight in Glasgow, organized by a professional organization.

The article on the whole is fairly damning about the sport in general and has said that it is "Social Violence", although they do not say what that means. I think that what they are attempting to say is that fighting being televised makes violence socially acceptable. I don't think that this is the case. the sport has rules and regulations, is refereed and has a number of doctors on site. Fighters have to pass a medical before they fight as well as having checks after the fights. It is true that some people do not see this happening but that does not make it grusome.

Here is a thing - we live in a society where it is socially acceptable to go to a picture house and see a film that details a group of people being kidnapped and tortured - that is not considered to be too gruesome.

One of the key arguments is that parents can take children to the show as long as they are accompanied. If the event is presented in the correct way then what you present is not brutal but an education in both martial arts and strategy and game plans can work. Martial arts require a student to exhibit control, dedication and determination. They can be key in ensuring that children are kept out of trouble and are in a structured environment.

There are quotes from members of the church and the police as well as some MP's all talking about how the sport it grotesque but provides no evidence of this! It talks about the fact that people can be hurt - well yes they can but I was hurt walking down the street the other day when I tripped and fell. There is danger in everything that we do, this sport is regulated (if you go to a professional fight) and as such is safer than a lot of other sports.

One of my favourite quotes has to be the following 'He said: "While I do not claim to have a clear understanding of what is involved in cage fighting, I do know there is a fine line between what some people would describe as sport and others would describe as violence.'

Well thanks for that - it doesn't actually say anything at all! If you look at it there could be any one of 1000 things that I could find violent while someone else does not. We do not live in a Nanny state, we have to allow for people to make their own decisions using their own moral compass, rather than dictating what is wrong or right to them.

At no point in this article is here any mention of any other sports that can be considered to be dangerous. Lets take a look at some of those. First off we have boxing - something that the BBC reports on with a great regularity. In boxing a fight an opponent can be hit over 1060 times over the course of the fight. In an average MMA fight someone gets hit no more than 30 times. So far boxing is looking like the more dangerous sport to me and it is one that is celebrated. In fact when Auddley Harrison came back from the olympics we had a ticker tape parade and made him a local hero, the same happened with Amir Kahn.

You could argue that kids are not exposed to this but they are - they can see it on the TV during the day if there is a sports show on, which is even more true if the olympics are on!

Lets look at another example - Professional wrestling. It is an entertainment sport where people set out to behave in a despicable manner (spitting and cutting each other). The fights are set up but people are regularly injured and deliberately cut themselves or each other to make the fight look realistic. Now here is the thing - this is deliberately targeted at children who do not need to have parents with them - it is on the television at prime kiddy watching time - again though no diatribe about this in the article.

I really would have thought that a more balanced view would have been provided by the article. Less than one third of the article covers what actually happens in the sport, or the guards that are in place to support the fighters. Rather, there is a focus on the bigoted diatribe that people who know nothing about the sport have spat out without understanding, possibly doing irreprable damage to the reputation to the sport

Anyhow - here endeth the rant. If you want to read the article then click the link

When we don't know the words

There are times when we just don't know the words, right or otherwise. When these times come we realise that we need others to help us find them.

The Herald
The Herald part 2
The BBC
The Record
The Evening Times

My First UFC

No it is not a new toy by Matel, nor is it one of those Babies first books but Saturday was my first live UFC.

Yep we were in Manchester at the first UFC since 2002 in the UK and it rocked. Not all of the fights were exciting, they did not make me stand and shout with excitement as I counted down the seconds to the end of the last round, but it still rocked

The experience of being there while it was recorded and seeing the fights live was mind blowing. Just feeling the UFC music thumping through the arena while the lights came on made it all worth while. It was also kinda cool to see Randy Couture, Joe Rogan, Mirco Cro-cop et al in real life.

One of the things you do not get when you see it on the small screen is just how big some of these guys are, If you look at Couture or Arlovski you just do not comprehend the sheer size of them - they are giants - as broad as they are tall.

While there were some fights that were not so interesting or entertaining there were some good bouts. Bisping won in front of the home crowd in a good fight that went 2 rounds while there was the shock of the night when Cro-cop was knocked out cold by Gonzaga by a kick to the neck.

It was an awesome event and you know you have to give it to UFC they know how to put on a show. Dana White took the time to meet and great the crowds and they loved it. He was mobbed and spent at least an hour just walking the auditorium meeting everyone and it did not come across as being too much effort, and to be fair he did not need to do it. I think that they also played a good hand in having Couture come along for the ride. When he came out it was to standing ovation and chants of his name.

It was a big show and well worth the time and expense - so much so that we are going to Belfast to see 72 where Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin are due to appear. While it may make me poor and tire me out I still have to go and see these guys.

Roll on June 16th........

Swords, Sandles and a bit of blood and gore

Hair on end

You know that sometimes you see something and it makes the hairs stand up on your arms and you get that buzz. Well for me the trailer for the 300 did just that. I watched the first trailer on the apple trailers site and it just rocked so I had been counting down the days till the film came out

The sunday following the release a pile of us headed out to the pictures to go and see the much anticipated film but we were a bit deflated. Friends had said that they had seen it and not enjoyed it so we were trying to change our expectation levels. We did not need to worry.

The film is one of those experiences where you are sitting there for 3 hours but i feels like it is 30 minutes. For me this film really rocked - it was a total action romp and it sucked you in from second one right through to the end.

Millers back

The film is based on the Frank Millers graphic novel of the same name. If you are looking for a like for like comparison then that is not what you will get - but a lot of it is there and it has not been changed that much from the original. If you are a purist then you may not like it.

If you liked Sin City (another Miller inspired movie) then this may well appeal to you. Rather than the monchrome black and white of Sin City, the 300 is shot in a sepia tone but there are still those stylish splashes of colour. The spartans have red cloaks which provide a primary colour source throughout - along with other key items throughout the film

If you are a history buff then this film may not ring your bell either. It is not 100% accurate from the historical perspective, but then again it is a film. In the same way that Troy did not show that the spartans (yep they were there as well) laid siege for 100 years this film does not reflect all of the historical truths. Hey you know its a film not a documentary so if thats what you want then this is not where you want to be.

Points of view

This film really works if you take it as being told by a spartan to other spartans to let them know what happens. You get to see how the unexplained or unusual from your enemy becomes demonized and is then seen as the boogy man. There are those that have said that they thought the demonized images of the film made no sense but you really need to look at this as being from the perspective of only one side and how they would exaggerate the things that the saw and experienced.

More than it appears to be - or just what it says on the tin?

For me this film is one which raises some interesting questions. What does this film tell us about our experiences of those things that we fear or do not understand. What about those things that others tell us - how do their fears or biases affect the message that we receive from them. It is intriguing - to me anyway. This film exaggerates this idea but I guess the message is in there.

There are a few other ideas you can take from the film - the most obvious being courage under fire - at the end of the day it is a story about how a few stood up to many and showed the power of belief in themselves and those around them.

You could also look at this film from the perspective that it shows how there are occasions where it only takes 1 persons actions to bring down many and that the treatment you receive may be a reflection of that which you give. It could be a tale of how pride come before a fall - but this is not the focus of the film - but the message is there if you look hard enough (kinda like the truth is out there)

At the end of the day what remains - no matter how you look at it is that you are left with a good film that will appeal to those who like swords and sandals epics - with a movie noir look.

Even if you do not want to ponder whether there are messages in the film you should give it a try.

Climbing the walls

Of late I have found that I have been climbing the walls - and not due to boredom for a change - I am talking more literally.

Over the past month or so I Rob and I have started wall climbing at the Glasgow Climbing Centre. For christmas this year we had decided that we would look to pick an activity to learn - something that would get us out of the house, it had to be better than stuff we would not use. Last year we looked at falconry so for a change we decided to do a beginners climbing course.

The climbing centre offers just such a course over 2 afternoons/evenings where a max of 4 folks are taken through how to climb by an instructor. Now being a little bit funny about such things we had paid for a session at Braehead X-scape centre to see how we would find things and had purchased our own harnesses and shoes. You don't need to do this to climb as you can hire them but I always prefer my own gear.

Session 1

Session 1 started fairly simply - get changed and meet the instructor. You are taken through how to put on a harness and shoes (not as easy at it sounds - trust me). We were then had a wee shot at bouldering. Bouldering is almost the oposite to what you would think wall climbing is. The wall tends to be no higher than about 7ft tall - not too much of a challenge until you notice that some of the foot holds at the bottom are not wider than a small lip of 1/2 cm while others are more substantial. Still does not sound like too much of a challenge - well now you need to start to climb across the wall rather than up. Harder than it sounds trust me.

Anyhow following bouldering (and laughing at each other) comes the more complicated bit of learning how to tie a knot in a rope. Doesn't sound too bad but it takes more thought for those of us that are a bit dexterously challenged. It is one of those things that you just cannot afford to get wrong after all it is the one thing that will allow you to not die if you fall of the wall. Then it is the bit that we are all waiting for climbing.

Climbing is one of those things that you just think will be easy. I mean come on we all climbed stuff as kids - how hard can it be. I mean come on there are places to put your hands and feet. Turns out thats not the case you know. We started on a pretty hard wall ( a level 5) and tried to crawl our way up - harder than it looks but a good challenge.

You then have to look at belaying and making sure you can stop the climber from hitting the ground if they fall. This is where you get how serious it can be if you do not concentrate - but it is not too bad once you get the hand of it.

To finish off it is more bouldering - starting from the seated position before crawling home - tired, sore but pleased

Session 2

At this session they expect you to know what you are doing and it is all about showing that you can work safely. You get an instructor who you can advise from and get them to help you out but really the scope of the session is up to you. Again you get to boulder and wall climb and pick the walls you do. You also get to sign up and join the club and then you are done.

Anyhow if you want to learn about climbing and then climb in a safe environment then you should check these guys at the Glasgow Climbing Centre