The Politics of Violence

Just the presence of Hulk Hogan alone should have been fair enough warning in the direction of tonight's mixed martial art event would be heading. An almost carnival like celebration of the indoctrination of the sports most lauded personalities though a fighter with very rudimentary skills. However, any lack of talent could not stop the already viral campaign introduced years ago for this particular fighter. Watching him fight tonight with an already exhuasted and fatigued looks halfway through the match sort of I felt began to deligitimize a sport that has been so prideful on a collection of some of the most well train athletes in the world. Having witness some of the training first hand that many of the elite fighters go through in order to maintain their high level of success would seem to have been developed from a mixture military, tribal, and 70's Eastern Bloc training methods, I found the fact that this fighter seemed to appear as a mockery of what these real warriors, who pushed themselves much harder than this Internet sensation could ever fathom trying.

But as the audience of the MMA fighting begins to expand, the expectations as well as the revelant nature of the fighters to the audience must contain a sort of Hollywood like appeal, almost comicbook WWE style, where dramatics outweight, techincal skills, where the shaking of fists at an opponet demanding he step in closer, trumps, a well designed ground game of submissions and exposing weaknesses in the others fighting style. The first thing that got me thinking about the overt corporate nature of this sport which beginning to feel more like an advertising vehicle than proving ground for sportsmen who sacrifice physically and mentally to become obsidian rock was the Dave and Buster's adveristing sign in the middle of the cage where the two fighters sqaured off, usually the main central advertiser will be a major corporation with plenty of national exposure, but an amusement arcade, an adult Chuck E Cheese, did not appear to me to find in with all the other adrenaline products that have been the staple of this sport since its inception. My experience alone in growing with the sports has gone from energy drinks to now MMA video games, clothing labels that have multiplied exponentially, at the beginning their was Tapout and now it seems almost any fighter with a high visibility in the sport has their own line of clothing.

I just wonder if all this, all the media exposure, the corporate sponsers, and television shows have taken away from some of the raw elements that comprise the foundation of MMA. I doubt any of the fighters will have a problem with all the financial influx heading into the sport on a seemly daily basis. MMA is teetering on mainstream success and will no doubt become more popular as the audience gains more access either going to or watching the fights on television. The immidiate impact of seeing an opponet being knocked straight to the ground can be really intense, in person even shocking, watching a fighter have a seizure or break a foot in wrong direction or lay their unconscious for minutes without recollection of the fight even starting.
All these are no doubt brutal, but accepted by the combatants as part of the territory that comes with being an MMA fighter, most of these guys come out of matches with bruises, deep cuts, and once in a while dislocated limbs. Yet the fighters are not detered and look forward to stepping into the cage to show off their will power, discipline, and multi fighting styles. Granted some of these fighters my go out and start swinging till one falls, but when two really great fighters come together something more like a chess match breaks out, one of looking ahead of how one fighter responses to various engagements, attacks, or defensive strategies.

I think for some of the newer people to the sport this foundation like element of appreciating those above traits gets overlooked by the quick knockout, devestating punch, or bloodbath filled fight where the two fighters are painted in each others blood. It is so much easy wheel in some sports athelets, B grade film stars, or other fighters of note to generate more interest from the crowd at home, the crowd in the audience is usually filled with people who have a strong passion for the sport of MMA, who look beyond all the commerical spots playing inside the venue and who might be up and coming fighters themselves but usually just fans with intense interest that love a great struggle between two combatants who take pride in maximizing their talents in the gym, then using them in the octogon with confidence of a person who has been working at this game for a decade.

The bandwagon is growing and with it will be the departments in charge of making the fan experience larger, better, and more in depth. During most of the MMA shows I work on, we have a fan experience contestant winner, usually the winner and a few friends who get a tour of all the facilities, fighters rooms, the cage, some of the on air talent, fighters, and maybe even the boss of the whole operation who is probably one of the most accessable people in the entire organization, his passion alone for MMA has taken this product from the backyard casinos to an international success, a true global sport now, the contest winners seemed so blown away to actually get to see behind Oz's curtain and now it is not a single man pulling on levels, blowing whistles, and talking into voiceboxes to alter his voice, no, this a collection of top professionals who come together from so many different departments, from the television side, the business side, the commerical side, and from the operations side. Time after time creating a product that these fans stand in disbelief as they people like myself running at full speed for 15 hrs straight making sure the product is quality and their own experience is maximized.

This show is part rock n roll, part nightclub, part informercial, and all intensity when the fights are good. So what am I here, a product or an extension of all these fighters who have no fear that many people would feel stepping inside that cage with only the other fighter across the way. Knowing that you are going to have to beat the shit out this person, out manuever him, or set him up to be submitted, a conscious desire to spill his blood, break an arm, or put him to sleep. For many, alcohol and drugs or maybe a bad relationship might well up an instinct of punishment, yet to be able to go fight someone while maintaining poise, emotion, and awareness seems for someone like me who runs on emotion and adrenline, damn right impossible to perform, the discipline is mindblowing, whether the fighter wins or loses, just getting inside their with all these judgemental eyes and minds, takes guts but it also a strong mind, a mind that can get past all the egotism of the spotlight that MMA provides. After watching over ten solid years of MMA without really following it, I can still recognize the breath, the layers that make this sport what it has become, even though I find of the people they have let fight in MMA recently a bit more motivated toward a larger audience, there are still those fights between up and comers that really pump up the purists and even myself, there is great beauty and grace in movement as two fighters counter, strike, defend, analyize, react, and engage with a sense of pure well honed instinct that alone captures my interest, enough to write about at it.

This battle of commerical versus purity of sport rages on in all types of atheltics MMA is not alone but probably one of the newsest sports to enjoy such a large amount of success in a very short time, not to say that this sport has plateaued, but what concerns me about the future of MMA is, will decisions become more dictated by the actions of the potential for revenue or the strong hearts of the fighters and the fight fans, I hope the latter, cause the fans are rabid for this sport who travel from all over the world to be part of this unique experience, where two people
can test their mettle while surrounded by a gluttony of advertising that makes NASCAR jealous, yet someone has to pay the bills, even mine and this sport has being doing that for quite a while, still how this sport has lent itself to the likes of a washed up Hulk Hogan for whatever new television vehicle he is selling is concerning or any other B list actor with a comedy series or movie of the week to push does not feel like proper direction. Visibilty and with it comes the masses who want the most obvious waterdown, base, vile, and hyped up show they can find, forget about Ju Jitsu skills, just knock the shit out of the guy and quit rolling around on the ground, I could do that, get in that octogon, a couple of beers, then punch some fool senseless, sure it is that easy. I laugh at people I have met who ask me if MMA is real, due to the nature of WWE, people have bought into making MMA into a scripted like show where everything is planed. I know the broken bones, the swollen faces, and lacerated cuts that look like a pair of lips cannot be faked. These fighters get the crap beat out of them everyday just for practice, but I think the average person cannot understand, all the training, sacrifice, and spirituality those fighter contain, their relationship with MMA is unbreakable. Will all the new larger, bigger ads, television shows, and major city events, put MMA into the realm of all the other main sports, who knows, but my main concern is sacrificing the soul of MMA for a larger audience, a soul that meshed together all sorts of fighting techniques by people who live for the thrill to prove their worth, their ability, and desire to win in a cage, where once that door is closed, offers only one way out, victory.