Wednesday
Sep192007
Hmmm - I'm not sure
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 9:23PM
Now here is a thing to ponder - if you are so inclined
I was reading an ESPN article the other day about Chuck Liddell entitled This guy scares you? and it got me to thinking.
While a lot of the article was what you come to expect from these things (information about what they are like and whether they are how you would think they will be etc) there was a line in there made me raise an eyebrow and stop to think - at least for a little while
So what could they have said that made me stop and think. Well it was something that the author wrote -
"What Liddell means is that he isn't psychotic. He describes himself as "mellow, laid-back." He doesn't derive pleasure from inflicting pain, and the fact that you enjoy watching him do it says a hell of a lot more about you than him." (This guy scares you?, By Allison Glock, ESPN The Magazine)
This was a statement that I found really interesting in a couple of ways. Firstly should someone feel bad about watching the UFC and taking enjoyment from watching grown men compeat against each other. Secondly, what is it that drives an individual to be a professional combative sports competator.
Lookint at my first point I guess there are 2 answers, either yes or no. I guess it really depends on why it is that you watch MMA or any other form of combatative compettion. Do you watch it because you admire the skills of the competators and enjoy watching what some have called a human chess match, or do you watch it becuase you want to see people get hurt?
I would like to suggest that a lot of people who are fans of these sports do not watch them becuase they want to see people being hurt. That being said I am not niaeve enough to believe that this is the case for all fans (Mr Just Bleed at UFC 14) but I think these are now in the minority (although I have no evidence to back this up).
Were you so inclined (again) you could look at the way that a lot of fans respond to fights that go to the ground (where there is no ground and pound) and see their reaction as being the "hounds baying for blood" but I am happy to give folks the benefit of the doubt here. I think that there are a couple of factors that feed into this. Firstly Ju Jitsu/Grapling matches can be really confusing to watch.
If you don't understand why someone is fighting for one particular possition then where is the interest. Secondl, a lot of the time if you are a live event you will not be able to see what is happening without looking at a big screen, and even when you do this you don't have the benefit of expert comentary. I am not saying for one minute that all ground matches are actually exciting ('cos..... well thats not true) but some of them are.
Another thing that should be considered is that (especially in the UK) people have a limited range of experience in combative arts and this experience is usually limited to boxing (or wresting if you put this in the same catagory). In boxing it is all on the feet and when you hit the ground it usually means you have lost. It will take people a while to get used to the different styles but in time they will get experience that will allow them to get a further understanding. There will always be folks that don't find the ground matches interesting and will want to see a stand up match, but not because people will get hurt - just because it is more dynamic and exciting.
The second thing that I found interesting was the question of What inspires a person to become a professional fighter. Does it take someone with an aggressive attitude, someone who just likes to cause pain, or, is there more to it than that?
Having read a number of fighters blogs and articles it seems pretty clear to me that in some regards yes, it takes a different type of person to dedicate themselves to becoming a professional fighter. You have to put yourself through a lot of pain and work for not a lot of money in a lot of cases. You would expect that there is no way to categorize the people in ant walk of life, although there may be some traits that will be shared. For example most folks who work in IT have some kind of further education, the same for medicine (etc)
Looking at fighters you see that (as you would expect) there are mixed backgrounds. Some come from what you could call 'troubled' backgrounds while others come from regular backgrounds, some hold degrees while others don't.
I know that there are some folks who would think that it would take someone who was aggressive and had a bad attitude to be a fighter, but from what I have seen does not seem to be the case. A lot of the time these attitudes come from people who do not understand the sport and the people who partake in it. After all it is much easier to criticize that which you do not understand. The danger with this though is that the people that promote these myths are those that are in positions of authority, and therefore tend to have influence over decisions that are made.
I currently have 2 books sitting on my bedside table to read - both of which are to do with MMA fighters and how they came to the sport that they now seem to love. I am interested to see just how they got to where they are today and what motivates them to get up each day and do what they do.
I was reading an ESPN article the other day about Chuck Liddell entitled This guy scares you? and it got me to thinking.
While a lot of the article was what you come to expect from these things (information about what they are like and whether they are how you would think they will be etc) there was a line in there made me raise an eyebrow and stop to think - at least for a little while
So what could they have said that made me stop and think. Well it was something that the author wrote -
"What Liddell means is that he isn't psychotic. He describes himself as "mellow, laid-back." He doesn't derive pleasure from inflicting pain, and the fact that you enjoy watching him do it says a hell of a lot more about you than him." (This guy scares you?, By Allison Glock, ESPN The Magazine)
This was a statement that I found really interesting in a couple of ways. Firstly should someone feel bad about watching the UFC and taking enjoyment from watching grown men compeat against each other. Secondly, what is it that drives an individual to be a professional combative sports competator.
Lookint at my first point I guess there are 2 answers, either yes or no. I guess it really depends on why it is that you watch MMA or any other form of combatative compettion. Do you watch it because you admire the skills of the competators and enjoy watching what some have called a human chess match, or do you watch it becuase you want to see people get hurt?
I would like to suggest that a lot of people who are fans of these sports do not watch them becuase they want to see people being hurt. That being said I am not niaeve enough to believe that this is the case for all fans (Mr Just Bleed at UFC 14) but I think these are now in the minority (although I have no evidence to back this up).
Were you so inclined (again) you could look at the way that a lot of fans respond to fights that go to the ground (where there is no ground and pound) and see their reaction as being the "hounds baying for blood" but I am happy to give folks the benefit of the doubt here. I think that there are a couple of factors that feed into this. Firstly Ju Jitsu/Grapling matches can be really confusing to watch.
If you don't understand why someone is fighting for one particular possition then where is the interest. Secondl, a lot of the time if you are a live event you will not be able to see what is happening without looking at a big screen, and even when you do this you don't have the benefit of expert comentary. I am not saying for one minute that all ground matches are actually exciting ('cos..... well thats not true) but some of them are.
Another thing that should be considered is that (especially in the UK) people have a limited range of experience in combative arts and this experience is usually limited to boxing (or wresting if you put this in the same catagory). In boxing it is all on the feet and when you hit the ground it usually means you have lost. It will take people a while to get used to the different styles but in time they will get experience that will allow them to get a further understanding. There will always be folks that don't find the ground matches interesting and will want to see a stand up match, but not because people will get hurt - just because it is more dynamic and exciting.
The second thing that I found interesting was the question of What inspires a person to become a professional fighter. Does it take someone with an aggressive attitude, someone who just likes to cause pain, or, is there more to it than that?
Having read a number of fighters blogs and articles it seems pretty clear to me that in some regards yes, it takes a different type of person to dedicate themselves to becoming a professional fighter. You have to put yourself through a lot of pain and work for not a lot of money in a lot of cases. You would expect that there is no way to categorize the people in ant walk of life, although there may be some traits that will be shared. For example most folks who work in IT have some kind of further education, the same for medicine (etc)
Looking at fighters you see that (as you would expect) there are mixed backgrounds. Some come from what you could call 'troubled' backgrounds while others come from regular backgrounds, some hold degrees while others don't.
I know that there are some folks who would think that it would take someone who was aggressive and had a bad attitude to be a fighter, but from what I have seen does not seem to be the case. A lot of the time these attitudes come from people who do not understand the sport and the people who partake in it. After all it is much easier to criticize that which you do not understand. The danger with this though is that the people that promote these myths are those that are in positions of authority, and therefore tend to have influence over decisions that are made.
I currently have 2 books sitting on my bedside table to read - both of which are to do with MMA fighters and how they came to the sport that they now seem to love. I am interested to see just how they got to where they are today and what motivates them to get up each day and do what they do.
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