I decided to pick a fight.
The conversation on violence in society has to start somewhere so why not with our most violent sport or form of entertainment? Decent and civil societies have to draw the line somewhere; we allow parents to discipline their kids to a point, we allow people to drive up to certain speeds; with smoking we draw the line after tobacco and before pot; with “adult entertainment” we draw the line at child porn. Where do we draw the line with violent entertainment? I suggest we draw the line at cage fighting. Boxing, wresting and legitimate martial arts are violent too but the line needs to be drawn somewhere. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or “cage fighting” is over that line – in fact, even the martial arts people I talk to tell me they hate cage fighting because it is a smear on traditional martial arts. I hope you’ll agree that MMA is over the line of what should be tolerable with regard to “violent entertainment” as child porn is clearly over the line with regard to “adult entertainment.” MMA Cage Fighting is the child porn of sports.
The psychological community will tell you that desensitization to violence works exactly like desensitization to porn. You know how porn progresses… a peek at topless isn’t enough, it all has to come off, then a pic is not enough… it goes to video then to virtual and then to the devaluation and mistreatment of women, human trafficking and sex crimes against women. Violence works the same way. Boxing wasn’t enough so they allowed kicking, kneeing people in the head, then elbows to the face, then they put a cage around it. The point is to knock the other guy unconscious while pay per view crowds cheer it on. Why not nunchucks? In Rome they’d gather in colosseums and bring out prisoners and entertain themselves by making them fight to the death. That wasn’t enough so they brought out the helpless and the hated and brought in the hungry lions. Crowds cheered.
In South Dakota this week there is a bill, Senate Bill 84, which is an attempt to legitimize cage fighting in South Dakota. It’s billed as “economic development.” If that’s all we can come up with for economic development we are in trouble. And our decisions on our tolerance for things violent shouldn’t be about money. If we want to attract dirty and bloody money why not legalize prostitution or bring back the gladiators? We need to stop and think about why two governors in our state have been reticent to appoint people to a boxing/MMA commission. I agree with Governor Daugaard entirely:
I’m offended that the state would legitimize cage fighting and the bloody violence these kinds of spectacles create… the way one wins in those contests is by beating up your opponent, bloodying them, kicking, scratching, punching. I don’t support in any fashion anything the state would do to legitimize this kind of behavior. I think it’s a sad commentary on what our culture allows in some areas.
Couldn’t agree more. Proponents say it’s going on here already so we need to regulate it to make it safe. Meth use is going on here too, should we regulate Meth labs? South Dakota has no business spending any time or money legitimizing cage fighting. I don’t care that “other states are doing it.” I’d like to think we are better. Other states run billion dollar deficits and we balance our budget. Maybe with our fiscal sense, we could also be known for our common sense and decency.
You’ll hear fans of cage fighting say that more have died in cheerleading accidents. The point of cheerleading isn’t to knock unconscious the other cheerleaders. And there are growing numbers of MMA deaths in sanctioned and unsanctioned fights. Furthermore, the sport is too new to tell us the long term effects of this “sport” on the fighters. The NFL is paying dearly now for their concussion issues. MMA is far worse. We had an MMA fighter in Rapid City die recently and that is in part what is driving the move now to regulate it so it’s “safe.” Proponents say these blood-soaked slugfests only look dangerous. I’m not stupid and neither are you and this isn’t a show like professional wrestling. It is violent and it isn’t a sign of a healthy society that crowds gather to watch it. This is more than consensual assault and battery as the effects of violence desensitization impact the rest of society.
Here’s how you can help. The bill is scheduled for a hearing on Monday at 10AM in our Commerce and Energy Committee (it may get moved to Wednesday at 10am – stay tuned). I plan to introduce a hoghouse amendment (84rc MMA ban amendment) that will establish the South Dakota Athletic Commission to regulate boxing, wresting and martial arts but I’ve written the amendment to expressly exclude mixed martial arts. It’s basically a ban on cage fighting in South Dakota. Expect hysterics from the sport enthusiasts – one local sportscaster already has dubbed me an ignorant idiot.
And, here are some links I encourage you to check out. Hopefully you’ll agree with me that we can do without MMA cage fighting in South Dakota.
Short youtube clip: MMA Most Violent Moments
Parents, check this out: Five Year Old MMA matches
When people get hurt and die in extreme sports I’ll confess I sometimes have trouble mustering up sympathy and compassion (even as we should comfort their families and guys like me officiate these funerals). At some point we can’t call these things “accidents” as they are more the product of our carefully thought out decisions. I have to bite my tongue because instead of the passages that comfort the grieving I feel like quoting the great philosopher Forrest Gump: Stupid is as stupid does.
South Dakota is smarter than this – and so, let’s ban MMA.
In chatting about this with another legislator this past week we both marveled at how society has changed. He remarked that forty years ago his parents wouldn’t let him watch Three Stooges because it was so violent – poking in the eyes, slapping, bonking. We laugh at that today. What’s on TV today would have been unthinkable a generation ago. In a restaurant the other day I heard a lady say about the MMA match on the television… Oh my, when did they take the gloves off? I wanted to say… Madam, they took the gloves off when we weren’t watching. Folks, it’s time to start paying attention because we are creating today the world our grandkids will live in tomorrow.
Here’s a pic of what the crowds come for: elbow strike rips off a chunk of cage fighters ear. That’s a section of his ear on the floor in the pic on the left.
The following are additional comments I made in the Committee hearing.
MMA enthusiasts would prefer I not use the cage fighting term but as I told one of them I’ll stop when they remove the cage. They want us to consider this an art, Mixed Martial Arts. For sure there are skills to the craft of nearly killing people but I’d like to draw your attention to the word mixed. Mixed means plus. It means not just this, it means that too. It’s this, plus this, plus that, plus that. The other martial arts don’t have all “that” as there is line that is drawn. Mixed means a free for all. Who knows what the MMA people will mix in next? Sooner or later this will morph into more than it is today. That’s the nature of violence; it escalates as we are desensitized to it.
They say I’m ignorant of this sport and they make a case that it only looks dangerous. I even had a cage fighter/PhD write me and tell me “elbows are used primarily to cause superficial damage and an elbow doesn’t produce a concussive blow.” That’s ridiculous. My response it that it is what it is – too violent and that is evident to the naked eye and the casual observer. I’ll quickly concede I am no expert on MMA. But as I told one of the fighters this weekend… “just maybe a guy like me can see what you don’t see.” Violence is addictive and people in addiction (including codependents) don’t see or acknowledge any problem until there is a tragedy, or an intervention. I’m intervening here and asking you to join me.
I’ll speak briefly from an area that I do have professional expertise: there is such a thing as a seared conscience which refers to a person who has lost a capacity of innocence whereby they no longer wince. We don’t want to become a society that can’t wince. Ben Franklin said: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” I submit to you that society is reaching that point and more masters means more laws like this amendment.
I don’t deny the good that is going on in MMA – giving young people confidence and discipline. But MMA is not the only vehicle to accomplish those ends. It doesn’t take that level of violence to develop character, fortitude, confidence, strength and discipline. Any of the other sports overseen by this commission can do all those good things. MMA feeds something in society that we don’t want to feed.
Society was just fine before they figured out to do this and it will be just fine without it again. We aren’t losing ground with my amendment. Actually, we might even be gaining ground that we’ve lost.
UPDATE: You may also be interested in the follow up post I’ve done on this topic: AN OPEN LETTER TO CHRISTIAN MMA FIGHTERS AND FANS
Ways & Means 
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Feb 23, 2013 at 11:32 am
Shayna
First of all, let me say, as a professional Mixed Martial Artist who makes their living being a professional, training 4-6 hrs a day, 6 days a week. The only female certified in Catch Wrestling in the US, a brown belt in brazilian jiu jitsu, an associate instructor in Muay Thai under Ajarn Chai and the Thai Boxing Association of the USA, I believe I have ample reason to be horribly offended and upset by your misinformed statements and distasteful comparison of my profession to “child porn.”
The amount of propaganda being slung in this article is appalling! Everything from the simple fact that the 2 pictures you show at the end aren’t even from the same realm, let alone fight. I don’t even know where to start….
I suggest getting the facts and stories straight. There has been only ONE recorded death in a professional event in the past 30yrs. Have there been deaths in unsanctioned events? Probably, I won’t argue that. But I WILL argue that one of the base reasons this happens is that they are exactly that: unsanctioned and unregulated. As in the case of the man you spoke of that recently died after an event in South Dakota, he died from a PRE-EXISTING condition that would have been detected during the testing that is required for professional, sanctioned events.
Statistically, MMA has FAR fewer concussions than any other combat sport popular today. (http://www.mmafacts.com/images/content/UFC_FighterSafety.pdf). The reason for this being that the point, contrary to what you said, is NOT to “render your opponent unconscious” as it is in boxing. Heck, in pure boxing, that is the ONLY goal. In that “gentlemen’s sport,” if you get knocked unconscious, they stand you back up, ask if you want to fight, and put you back out for your brain to get clicked off. AGAIN. In MMA, if you are unconscious, you are done. No standing 8 count, and in a SANCTIONED state, you are prohibited from competing until a CAT scan or MRI can be taken and shown to the commission showing it is safe.
Your ignorant propaganda stating we don’t wear gloves is just plain false. We wear gloves. Period.
It would serve you well to learn martial history as well. “Added in knees and elbows” is also misleading. Muay Thai is a much older sport than western boxing and has incorporated knees and elbows since it’s origins in kabri kabrong. It was the western boxers in Europe that TOOK OUT the knees and elbows because they couldn’t defeat the smaller eastern thai boxers using them.
Two points in closing, I have no problems if someone is against MMA or doesn’t like it, or because of social mores, can’t bear to watch it. I understand that not everything is appealing to everyone. Just get your facts straight and do some REAL research before making such misinformed statements against it.
Secondly, before you again claim that what I do is not something upheld by high professional standards, I invite you to follow me for a day as I work, teach, and train in the martial disciplines that I do. Anyone is free to do this. And afterwards, you are free to continue to dislike it. Just be educated about it before you claim that you have any sort of knowledge about the sport that qualifies you to regulate it, or ban it.
Feb 23, 2013 at 11:38 am
Anonymous
Boxing: because watching muhammad ali get beaten into a retardation was awesome!! (and safe).
Feb 23, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Anonymous
I have to agree with EVERY SINGLE WORD miss Shayna has written above. How dare you make a comparison between a combat sport and child pornography… Absolutely appalling! It is very much ok to disagree with the sport of MMA as well as to have your opinions but to make such claims that bringing prostitution or gladiators back would be the same as legitimizing Mixed Martial arts is outright ignorant. With thy being said I refuse to waste any more of my free data responding further! Be well and try researching a little further before writing such bogus material! One Love from @LatestScoop2012
Mar 28, 2013 at 8:47 am
porkandcheese@comcast.net
It isn’t fair that I can watch an MMA fight legally but I can’t watch child pornography legally. It doesn’t stop me.
Making something illegal will only open up the prospect for organized criminal activity to pick up and fill the hole. Underground fights will proliferate and deaths and horrific injuries will sky rocket. What did prohibition do for alcohol? It caused a huge increase in organized crime profits and caused incalculable deaths, injuries and property destruction. Making the sport safer is the answer NOT getting rid of the regulated, legal form of it. The sport is regulating itself and has demonstrated an increasing want and need to protect its athletes.
Feb 26, 2013 at 6:42 pm
Bryce
Shayna, I back you 100% in what you are saying. Until you know of the sport you really don’t have the right to go blatantly disregard and insult it. The medical testing and regulations that MMA go under are astronomically higher then any other full contact sport such as boxing and football. Then to turn around and insult the sport with a disgusting perversion such as child pornography is out right derogative and I as a fan of the sport am insult by this completely
To hate the sport sport is one thing
But to insult the sport without having any basis to your scrutiny is out right appalling, To vocalize an opinion with no concrete facts Representative hickey I just have to say prove the basis to what you say
Feb 26, 2013 at 8:05 pm
Austin
Not a single fact was presented by the author. It was entirely unsourced and is an abomination to a reasoned debate.
The irony was including a Ben Franklin quote[1] (to the author, there’s a source — you need _several_ more): “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” This is exactly what this bill is attempting to accomplish.
[1]: http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes_by/benjamin+franklin
Feb 23, 2013 at 11:49 am
Rosi
I suggest that before embarrassing yourself further by passing judgement on a sport that you clearly don’t understand, it would be educational to spend some time speaking to professional mixed martial artists and finding out a bit more about it. You might be pleasantly surprised that, when understood, it isn’t as barbaric as you think – and there are good reasons to think that it is SAFER than boxing (which you accept as a legitimate sport).
Your analogy to child porn also reveals a (rather disturbing) lack of understanding of the very relevant issue of consent.
Feb 23, 2013 at 11:50 am
Aaron Thiele
Football, Rugby, Hockey, and Boxing are all ok but Mixed Martial Arts is not? The suicide rates of former athletes from your traditional sports due to concussions and brain damage are far higher than in MMA. If you are going to ban MMA you should look into banning all contact sports. MMA when done properly with the correct commissions in place is just as safe as the sports you watch your children play in every weekend.
Feb 23, 2013 at 11:52 am
John Merck
If you are concerned with banning a violent sport, why not start with Football. There are more injuries and brain concussions with football than with any other sport. The reality is that that will never happen because its not MMA or Football or any other sport that is the problem.
We have gotten to the point where we value human life less and less in our society. We live in neighborhoods where we don’t know our neighbors any more. We don’t go to church because we have elevated our individual desires about the desires of our commuinty. We don’t respect people who disagree with us, we hate them and try and find ways to marginalize them in the conversation. If anything we are just less civil and less civilzed to our fellow man.
Believing that banning MMA or any other sport will curb violence is the wrong place to start off. If anything, sports like MMA teach you to respect your opponent just like football teaches you to work together to achieve your goals.
Feb 23, 2013 at 11:52 am
stormlandfights
It should also be noted that high school cheerleading has a higher rate of life-altering and/or fatal injury than Mixed Martial Arts. Should that be banned as well? Or is it okay because you enjoy looking at the girls?
Feb 23, 2013 at 12:25 pm
wjcampbellcom
Typical groping for a political hot button issue to draw attention. You should be embarrassed, Mr. Hickey, by the gross ignorance and shameless propaganda put forth in this article. Mixed Martial Arts is not equivalent to ‘Cage Fighting.’ The ‘Cage’ is merely a platform within which MMA sometimes occurs. If anything, it is a safety device. As your ignorance and lack of credibility on this topic is obvious, your credibility on other important topics is doubtful as well. Proposing reckless, liberty infringing legislation on misinformation and hubris is not a trait of sound leadership. Voters be advised.
Feb 23, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Kemi Fuentes-George
This is so frustrating. Why do you make this fallacious distinction between “legitimate” martial arts and mixed martial arts? Considering that some of the top male and female competitors and champions/former champions, including Shayna (who commented above) have trained very heavily in regulated and sanctioned arts like Jiu Jitsu, Karate, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Boxing, and Wrestling, your arguments have already started off in a very ill-informed light. In fact, the UFC was created by a Jiu Jitsu practitioner to demonstrate the efficacy of one “traditional” form of martial arts. Certainly, your attempt to discredit the hybrid form of these arts as “cage fighting” smacks of nothing more than sensationalism.
I would certainly say that starting a 5-year-old in full-contact MMA may show poor judgment, but young children are also introduced to tackle football at questionably young ages as well. The solution is not BANNING mma, but rather making sure that those whose brains are still developing are not subjected to repetitive injury.
Finally, in direct counterpoint to your hysterical implication that the sport is going to degenerate into brutal weapons combat, the UFC has become even more tightly regulated since it first began. Several of the techniques that are included in the “MMA Most Violent Moments” (knees to the head of a downed opponent) are banned in the UFC, for example, and many of the other moments are either 1) the result of poor refereeing, 2) not that distinguishable from what happens in boxing (never seen anyone get KO’s in a boxing match?); 3) not actually from MMA; 4) or nothing more than a takedown with ‘dramatic’ music.
There are too many problems with this article to deal with each one, but if you are going to legislate on MMA, one hopes you would actually learn about what you are discussing first. Certainly, your callous disregard of people who lose their lives in sports does not bode well for your decision-making skills. And comparing MMA to child porn is just ridiculous.
Feb 23, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Eoin Armstrong
A fan’s/neophyte’s perspective.
I grew up a quiet young lad in Dublin, Ireland, and was never really interested in sports until I was about 12 when I used to play basketball a little for school. I wasn’t terribly good. A lack of confidence affected my ball handling, although I had decent shooting. I ended up dropping it when I was about 14, and became disinterested in sports again, until I was 18 when I started watching a lot of soccer. However, I was completely couch-based.
When I had just turned 24 a couple of friends decided that we should start going to the gym – I was beginning to look decidedly portly, plus I needed to strengthen my knees, as they had become a little prone to dislocating (agony, by the way) and so agreed. Soon after joining I realised how badly unfit I was. But something else also happened: I started competing with the other two guys. I found myself hating missing a session, and going religiously 3-4 times a week.
Over the next year or two I got into reasonable shape, and became quite proud of myself. Then, as will always happen, things changed. Eventually, we drifted apart geographically, met girlfriends etc. We stopped going together. That’s when I found myself becoming less and less interested in going. At the time I didn’t know why – I just slowed right down again.
I married, and moved to Kilcullen – a town a good 60km from where I work a sedentary job (quite happily) in south County Dublin. I have been a member of a couple of gyms, and have had one or two purple patches of attendance, but largely I have settled, rather like the fat on my body. At my heaviest I weighed about 230 lbs, and with a height of 5 fee 10 inches that classed me as obese. Sometimes I dieted, sometimes I didn’t. Basically, I couldn’t find motivation in anything, nor could I guess as to why.
My misery was compounded by a trip to London, England, where, whilst walking in Covent Garden, I somehow managed to mug myself: I only half-caught a step, but full weight on my right knee, and it twisted, dislocated and mid-tumble relocated. I did some ligament damage to it too. It was in a bad state for some months, and still hasn’t fully healed yet.
A few months after that a movie called Haywire was released, and being a Soderberg movie (I love going to the cinema), I decided to pop along to see it. I was completely taken in by its star (Gina Carano), but at the time though she was a stunt-person turned actor – as not only were her fight scenes mesmerising, but she did her own stunts too. I decided to see who she was, and what she’d been in before.
Imagine my surprise when I saw she was actually a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter. I had heard of so-called Cage Fighting, but had dismissed it as flash-in-the-pan ultraviolence for niche audiences. I decided to look a few of Gina’s fights on youtube, and saw it had become vastly more regulated. My interest in MMA snowballed and spiderwebbed from there. I’m now a regular watcher of the UFC fights on ESPN, and attend Cagewarriors and Cage Contender events in Ireland, but also have a fondness for the ladies game – Invicta in particular. For me, as a neophyte, I learn a lot more from looking at female fights. I love that they can be less brutish and more tactical.
About 6 months ago, I began to seriously think of MMA, or Muay Thai on its own, as a means of getting me back in shape. I hesitated, as I always do – partly out of physical fear, in particular my knee. I since bit the bullet, and so far have attended 3 classes. I have found a new focus for getting fit. Because I feel I am lacking in strength, conditioning and cardio-vascular, I am supplementing these classes still with gym-work and performing regimens at home. I have lost nearly 10lbs in 3 weeks. Not an astonishing loss, but steady – and in the right direction.
Combat sports, when regulated like MMA is can give people an alternative way of expending physical energy. Energy that, in some cases, could be spent in more anti-social ways (the devil making work for idle hands, and all that). I would encourage you to please contact your state’s sports governing bodies for more information on MMA regulation (rules, medical checks, drug-testing etc.) before you continue with your endeavour. It’s good to be passionate about something, but it must be for valid reasons.
Lastly, I will leave you with a quote (probably paraphrased) from Ms. Carano, herself a devout Christian: “Why would you want to stop someone you love from doing something *they* love?”. She was talking about women’s MMA, but I feel it is appropriate here too.
Thank you for your time.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Adam
Just as an addendum to this, I think combat sports, and really fighting in general get a bad wrap that is not deserved. They serve a purpose beyond what people know I believe. And it’s not just about self esteem.
When I was a boy in school, I was picked on mercilessly by a group of people for quite some time, one in particular who was much bigger than me. I lived in fear of them every day, they’d mess with my bags, throw eraser bits at me, and at one time threw me out the door of the school in the middle of winter as we switched classes, locking me out for several moments. It made my days a living hell.
The aforementioned bigger kid, the leader of the group has long since passed away (karma in a sense I suppose), but that experience has stuck with me in recent years. I never fought back, I didn’t know how to, and to this day I wish I did. It is something that drives me now, so I am not that weak again that I can’t defend myself or someone close to me. It makes me want to be stronger, and something like MMA can do a lot to help that.
Kids, and for that matter adults, need outlets to release aggressions, be it against bullies, or just to get things out of themselves. We try so hard to protect people now I believe, to keep peace among people, that we do more harm than good in the long run. If a person grows up learning that everyone else needs to fight their battles for them, when no one is there to, they will have no idea what to do. And you see that a lot now in society, a generation of people are growing up unable to take care of themselves, because they were raised dependent on others to do it for them.
People need to learn how to do things on their own, and stuff like MMA can go a long way in doing that. There is a lot more to fighting, be in it in a cage, a ring, or even out in the streets somewhere than senseless bloody violence. There’s more to it than that, it can build confidence in yourself, physical strength, and also has been touched on, can be a way to release energy out that has built up.
I truly believe, that if we stopped forcing emotions to be held in so much, and people had an outlet to let go of them from time to time, in a safe, monitored environment, you would have a lot less issues with violence as things would escalate to the point they seem to a lot in society with the shootings, the stabbings, the general violent crime a lot less than they do now, a conflict would not get to that point as often I believe. I also believe bullies would not be as a big a problem either, because they wouldn’t be protected anymore by the system. You can’t stand up to a bully anymore, cause if you do, you get into trouble as much as them. That does neither the bully or the bullied any good in the end, neither learns anything.
In any case though, you can only hold emotions in so long before it comes out, would you rather it come out in a way you couldn’t control it, or in a way you could? You choose.
Oh and by the way…..your extreme argument doesn’t work, you cannot compare child porn to mma, they are not the same thing at all. That’s as bad as comparing homosexuality to pedophiles. Not a fair comparison. If you wanna be taken seriously come up with a better argument than that.
One other thing as well….there is no scratching allowed in modern MMA…..if you actually watched what you are criticizing maybe you’d know that.
Feb 23, 2013 at 12:39 pm
Roger Mitterling
I would urge you to take Ms. Baszler up on her offer to spend a day with her and learn something about the sport. She is one of top female fighters in WMMA and I believe she is from Sioux Falls. These fights are not “smokers” they are contests of highly trained and skilled women and men who know both offense and defense. Yes, there is blood on occasion and the participants are sometimes injured. What contact sport doesn’t have these things occur. Comparing what these amazing athletes do to child porn is beyond the pale. Please do some additional research before pushing a bill like this. If you decide to visit her, ask her to demonstrate the “shwing”
Feb 23, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Anwaan Jiimiz
“When people get hurt and die in extreme sports I’ll confess I sometimes have trouble mustering up sympathy and compassion ”
First off, any credibility you have as a man of God is ruined by that statement. I’m not even a Christian but I know Jesus had compassion and sympathy for all people including the people who eventually killed him. If you are so petty a man as to feel any kind of satisfaction, public or private, that another deserved to suffer or even die, which is the natural implication of your statement, you sir are a hypocrite and a poor representative of Christianity.
Violence in Western Society doesn’t exist because of sports or movies or television. It exists because of alcohol, poverty, deeply rooted family histories of domestic violence, mental illness, misogyny, homophobia, racism…not because of Mixed Martial Arts.
To say MMA is not a legitimate martial art is preposterous. It is the culmination of centuries of martial arts practice coming to it’s natural evolution. I started out when I was 12 yrs old in wrestling, then judo and finally Kempo Karate and there is not ONE aspect of MMA that I look at in its present form and consider “illegitimate” 33 years later. This comparison to the “Colloseum” is baseless and lazy. It’s the kneejerk position of every person who finds MMA not to their taste and that is FINE. People are within their rights to not like things but we cannot as a civilized society BAN everything we find distasteful. It has failed historically and is a tool of fascist dictators, not free societies.
You insult me and every martial artist, whether they are professionals, amateurs or just do it for fitness or to build self esteem and character when you call MMA “Child Porn” and I am deeply offended by that. Just the fact that you would use Child Porn as a comparison is ironic in itself given men in your line of work’s history with child pornography and child abuse. Still, I don’t hold every Christian responsible for the rampant abuses of the Church against children that STILL happens today. I don’t hold every Christian responsible for the genocidal policies of the Church and government against my people, the Ojibway and every other First Nation in North America. I don’t blame every German for the Holocaust.
Your ideas that MMA is leading to some kind of breakdown of society is flawed and again, lazy. If you want to really address violence, tell your men to stop beating their women and children. Tell them to stop drinking excessively or abusing drugs. Alcohol and drugs kill MILLIONS worldwide yet I don’t see you wanting booze banned.
If you want society to progress than start and BE AN EXAMPLE yourself. Unfortunately, until you can overcome your confessed joy at others misfortune, you won’t. (See how me putting words in YOUR mouth feels? Stop putting words in others.)
South Dakota’s history of violence is deeply rooted in the blood of Native people and continues to this day and MMA has NOTHING to do with it. Just ask a Lakota who ventures into Rapid City. That violence isn’t borne from MMA, but from racism and intolerance; the kind of intolerance you show with your very own words.
I can just imagine how you must feel about two women fighting tonight and one of them being homosexual. I’m sure it’s just as enlightened as your stance on MMA.
Feb 23, 2013 at 1:10 pm
MarQ
I feel that you are uneducated about the sport and don’t realize that the sport is actually safer than most contact sports. Unlike boxing, there is actually less striking to the head and there is a concussion policy in place for fighters that take them off of any training and fighting for three months. These guys fight at four or five times at the most during the year in a 15 round fight, unlike football where they are smashing each other time and time again for an hour every week.
Before you use hearsay and what other people say, do some research from the other side.
Feb 23, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Steve
It is what it is… and what it is, is plainly evident to the naked eye… violent.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:15 pm
Anonymous
I don’t want this to turn into some childish fight. I am trying to keep this a respectful and mutually receptive discussion. I am not asking you to like MMA. I am simply asking that when standing against it, you use something other than the outright lies and misinformation used in this blog.
No hostility, truly just wanting to share my profession, my invite still stands. rocket0808@hotmail.com
Feb 23, 2013 at 3:24 pm
Dr Rosemary Sexton
Thank you for removing your “talk to the hand” remark, I’m pleased to see that you’ve taken at least some of the comments on board! Perhaps that can be the first step towards engaging in a mature, adult discussion about the issues involved.
MMA is a combat sport, and as with any sport there are occasionally injuries to participants (though fewer than you would probably imagine). However, it is certainly no more “violent” or “dangerous” than boxing and other full contact martial arts. The benefits of participating in sports to the physical and social development of young people shouldn’t be underestimated. In my experience, the vast majority of MMA training centres emphasise discipline, self control and personal development and tend to be a positive influence in the lives of the young people who train there.
Feb 23, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Andrew LeBeau
Your government takes thousands of lives on a yearly basis, for oil and money. Get behind a real issue. MMA saves lives, people like you and your profound ignorance are taking them. In all honesty, reading this dribble made me want to take mine.
Feb 23, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Steve
Here’s a little video clip from a townhall meeting this morning: http://www.argusleader.com/videonetwork/2185016435001/Rep-Hickey-Mixed-Martial-Arts-is-the-child-porn-of-sports-
Feb 23, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Anwaan Jiimiz
Wow. Excellent rebuttal Steve. You put a lot of time and thought into it I can tell. You want to call thousands of hard working people, many of whom are DEVOUT Christians, excellent mothers and fathers who are responsible and dedicated to their families; Child Pornographers but not have to intelligently reply when they take issue with your publicly stated position.
See, that’s the responsibility that comes with making sweeping generalisations and publishing them as fact. People will demand you answer for it. You just don’t have the courage or conviction to engage them.
Guess that’s the prerogative of the Dictator in a fascist regime.
Feb 23, 2013 at 1:51 pm
Anonymous
“I can’t understand it, so I want to ban it.” Spoken like a true ignoramus.
Feb 23, 2013 at 1:56 pm
Mitchell Dahlen
I just wanted to say, you’re an idiot.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:17 pm
MMALOVER4LIFE
I HIGHLY SECOND MITCHELL’S COMMENT ! but hey, thanks for the entertainment Steve…i was laughing the entire time i read your ridiculous article. AND I CANNOT WAIT TO THOROUGHLY ENJOY UFC 157 TONIGHT WHERE ACTUAL REAL LIVE WOMEN…YES WOMEN WILL BE RIPPING EACH OTHER’S EARS OFF IN THE CAGE….A BLOODY GOOD TIME AWAITS ! THE END.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:18 pm
damian
To say mma is “worse” or more violent than “legitimate” martial arts, is completely unfounded. The majority of mma competitors are honorable and respectful. There are outliers in any sport, but the respective sport should not be judged nor represented by outliers. In mma, a fight is almost always stoppef when an opponent gets knocked down (whereas in boxing, that would be a knockdown or standing 8, where the fighter could continue). Mma does not allow the same, repetitive clean strikes that boxing allows. Elbows are used primarily to cause superficial damage and rarely are mediators of head trauma. To those unfamiliar with the sport, it may seem aggressive anf violent, but to those who know the sport, the endless techniques, transitions, counters and other subtleties are very apparent. The original post was clearly someone who has watched the sport solely to substantiate his preconceived agenda. Posting “the most violent moments in mma” is extremest and not representative. Should I dissuade all future politicians by posting “the most violent moments in politics”? Are the Kennedys or Bud Dwyers of the world representative of how political careers end up?
I just ask that you first take the time to “know your enemy” before slandering this sport.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:27 pm
seth p
To say that MMA hurts society is ignorant. The training provided to these athletes promotes discipline and focus, much in the way wrestling, judo, or football has for countless other young men and women. Your post is myopic at best, and profoundly biased and ignorant at its worst. Just as football does not cause young men to form lines in the streets and tackle innocent citizens, neither does MMA encourage people to pick fights. Your ideas are about as progressive and intelligent as Prohibition.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Dan
Number of MMA deaths in the US since the sports inception in the early ’90 – 8. Number of boxing deaths in the US from 1990 to 2007 – 146. Sources for this info are here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMA_deaths and here http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_svinth_a_0700.htm.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:35 pm
Dan
Correction: 8 MMA deaths (3 sanctioned, 5 unsanctioned) since the rules were codified in 2001. 68 boxing deaths from 2001-2007.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:43 pm
Anonymous
It’s very uninformed at the very least to say that mixed martial arts is more violent than any other sport out there, in fact with the evidence that is available to people now it’s pretty apparent that on average football is a much more violent and dangerous sport. That doesn’t mean that I would want football banned, there is nothing about the sport of football or mma that should have people campaigning to ban them.
Also I agree with many others that have suggested that you spend some time with mixed martial artists, and at least attempt to see things from their perspectives. It’s not barbaric, they aren’t blood thirsty animals, they are highly trained martial artists in multiple disciplines and martial arts teach people self control and respect for others, all while also instilling confidence and self belief in people.
I don’t even know how you can honestly try to compare mma to child pornography, as far as I can tell you only made such a broad generalization to rally others who share your opinion to your cause and to keep those on the fence from wanting to inform themselves. Child porn is a very depraved act that exploits and takes advantage of children who don’t have the capabilities to prevent it from happening themselves. No one is forcing people to fight in mixed martial arts, they do so willingly, they are not being forced against their will to compete and nothing about it is evil, but that is exactly what child pornography is, evil, so Steve you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to compare the two.
Lastly see how I consistently referred to the sport by its name mixed martial arts, I would hop that you could have shown the sport the same respect even if you don’t like it, but instead you started off by calling it cage fighting in an attempt to sensationalize your entire argument further so that uninformed extremists would rally to your cause. Doing such a thing just so you can get your way is pathetic. You even went as far as to quote someone who also has no understanding of the rules in a sanctioned fight, scratching isn’t allowed and even if there were/are a few bad apples that would attempt to do so, precautions are taken by the sanctioning bodies to prevent that from being a possibility by having fighters trim there nails very short thereby reducing the possibility that scratching can occur. I have no issue with you if you don’t enjoy the sport, but who are you to tell people who aren’t doing anything illegal that what they are doing is wrong. Also before you continue to ignorantly bash the sport with your sweeping generalizations and propaganda I ask that you educate yourself on it to make an informed decision, maybe then you will realize that there is nothing wrong with the sport, I’m not trying to convert you into a fan, I just want you to agree to disagree, but maybe understanding the sport wont change anything(I hope it wouldn’t be the case), but at least then you could possibly have an adult conversation with people about this topic as opposed to trying to attack the sport of mixed martial arts while disregarding all of the facts that would completely destroy your argument.
Sep 13, 2013 at 2:05 pm
CJ
you are a total idiot and I can’t believe your comment remains here. MMA creates Pyschopathy in practitioners and fan base. that’s why the sport NEEDS to be banned.. your a troll.. educate yourself and don’t tell it to others. you simply do not like the Truth.. nothing dogmatic about it. Facts are facts and you make up facts to try and deceive the public or bully,troll, harass anyone that says something other then your purposeful, lying comments. grow up! There are enough that see through your garbage.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:55 pm
Satan
Violence? Why not ban NASCAR? They drive very fast, push people off the road, and wreck their cars all the time. What kind of sick people enjoy watching cars catch on fire? See, I could go on and on about violence. Some you may enjoy and not realize that it’s violent. According to your definition of violence in this article, I could go on and on naming various sports and recreational activities that consists of violent behavior.
You’re a pastor, but not because you want people to see the light, you want to hide behind God for your own personal gain. You know how many lives MMA has changed for the better? You want to destroy that. You are no man of God Steve.
Feb 23, 2013 at 2:57 pm
John C
Steve,
I am about as conservative as they come; grew up in the church, raised by a Christian family, currently pursuing my Theology degree through Moody Bible Institute, and am heavily involved in my current church, First E. Free in Sioux Falls. I say this only to point out that I am sure you and I would probably agree on a lot of things, but here we differ considerably. A little over a year ago I walked into Next Edge Academy where Shayna (above) is one of the coaches and started training in both Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai and I haven’t looked back. I am in the best shape of my life and have the chance to compete in a competitive sport where mutual respect is key. As already mentioned there are always those on the fringes of the sport that are just being dumb, wanting to look cool, and want to do harm. That is the part that you are seeing and that unfortunately gets the most publicity. What you don’t see is the training, self discipline, the challenge to be better, and the fun of doing it with others who also want to make you better. You also don’t see the respect shown before, during, and after a majority of fights or matches. I have seen more sportsmanship shown during fights then I see at local school basketball games. Is it a violent sport? Yes, but so is football, boxing, hockey, and so on, but what has made those sports safer over the years? They are organized. They have rules and the power to back up those rules. That is what the sport of MMA is asking for in South Dakota. Fights are going to happen and the negative light on the sport is only going to get worse unless you grant the power to regulate and organize in a way the benefits all. The stats were already provided by Shayna above about how safe MMA is compared to other sports when regulated, so why not give us in South Dakota the chance to practice our sport in a safe environment instead of having to drive to ND, NE, IA, or MN?
John C
Sep 13, 2013 at 2:12 pm
CJ
Please re-read the bible. MMA sports is a lie and propagandic way to make billions.. mafia, deaths, psychopathy, homicides, rape.. They lie and say Martial arts, it’s martial sports and have nothing at all to do with the arts. if you trained in an art, that would be good. The MMA sport thugs claim the same positive benefits as the arts do, that’s why they use the same words. DO YOU KNOW WHY THEY CAN DO IT? Because there is NO regulation on the WORDS “Martial Arts” in USA – so sign up at a school and a 17 years old degenrate thug can teach you how to box (not martial arts) or wrestle (not martial arts) or how to sew pants. it doesn’t matter because there is no regulation and degenerates teach and promote and threaten to kill people. I had a thug harass me and threaten and reported to police and the cop was a MMA fan.. guess what happened? he refused to allow me, a US citizen, to file harassment charges, called the guy and bs’d with him. I had to call the FBI to have anything done! it’s a blood, money, Fascist movement!
Feb 23, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Nina, Brazil
This is appalling that someone would want to ban MMA, on the hypothesis that MMA leads to violence in society. MMA athletes are ATHLETES, not bar-brawlers. They train harder than any non-athlete can imagine and they devote their lives to competition, martial arts, and general health. Most MMA fighters have greater health and physical form than athletes of other sports, actually, because of the high level of cardio and cross-training they go through. Martial arts in general emphasizes discpline and respect. There’s technique involved. Watching MMA does not make society violent; if anything, it inspires people to train, compete, be healthier, or get in shape. This blog post is just absurd.
Sep 13, 2013 at 2:18 pm
CJ
NO.. they are NOT Athletes!!!! they are Ego-enlarged thugs. you degenerate filth! How dare you say it doesn’t cause violence in America! Try doing some simple google searches.. MMA kill, death, rape.. I have hundreds printed out because the Mafia and other organizations pay off people to remove anything negative! Guess what? once it’s printed – you’re done! the truth is known. We are talking mass homicides, rapes etc.. all by these beautiful athletes. don’t lie to the public because eventually, someone WILL confront you on it.
Feb 23, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Ron
why don’t you worry about fixing the budget, the national debt, stuff that really matters in the country rather than attacking a sport.
Feb 23, 2013 at 3:24 pm
Steve
My earlier reply – now deleted was aimed at the people here who were rude. Basically what I read here is that “MMA only looks violent.” Everyone is missing my point. We have a problem with violence in society – the nature of violence is escalation as we are desensitized to it. MMA is violent, so are some movies and a variety of other things – and a conversation needs to be had about where to draw the line. It’s no surprise to me that you all think MMA is well within the line. What’s interesting is that you think people are ignorant who are simply seeing with their own eyes people beating each other mercilessly while others cheer. Maybe we see something you are blind to.
My child porn association IS ridiculous if you divorce it from it’s context – it’s not a stand alone comment. The comment in context simply means we draw the line in “adult entertainment” with child porn and with combative sports we should draw the line with MMA. Sorry to offend you all. Had no idea all you tough people were so sensitive.
PS – I turned on comment moderation and deleted what I felt like deleting. I’ll let comments through that are respectable contributions to the conversation. That means you discuss MMA good or bad. If you want to call me things personally, I’ll say it again: talk to the hand.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Dr Rosemary Sexton
On the subject of child porn, I would hope that EVERYONE is sensitive!
I can certainly understand why MMA appears that way to you from the outside.
As someone who has trained and competed in MMA (alongside numerous others from all walks of life – executives, lawyers, accountants, physicians as well as the people you might stereotypically associate with a combat sport), I have to say that I see things differently. To me, it doesn’t look like one person beating someone else mercilessly, it looks like a skilled contest between two well trained and well matched athletes. There is medical supervision and a referee who is trained to intervene if one of the fighters is at any time unable to defend himself.
I agree that there is an issue with violence in society. This is complex, and I don’t have easy answers. To me, though, banning MMA is not the answer. I know too many young people who have made positive changes in their lives after becoming involved in MMA, in some cases moving away from alternative more anti-social outlets for their energy and aggression. In the same way that boxing is a sport, practised in a ring, with clear rules, customs and sportsmanship to distinguish it from street brawling; so is MMA.
It is crucial, though, to make sure that MMA is well-regulated and as safe as possible. Many of the incidents highlighted in the videos posted should never take place in such an environment. A commission would help MMA to maintain the professionalism that should be associated with any sport, and to move away from shows that present a bloodthirsty or barbaric image.
This would go a long way towards making a clear separation between MMA and unacceptable forms of violence – street violence, and violence against unwitting members of the public.
I would urge you to continue this discussion with local representatives of the sport. I think you’ll find them intelligent, articulate and genuinely friendly people who are keen to educate about the sport they love. You may be pleasantly surprised!
Sep 13, 2013 at 3:32 pm
CJ
excuse me, just because you say “DR” does not grant you instant truthfulness or acknowledgement. titles are just that – “a title” no one knows you. If you are a Doctor, it doesn’t mean a damn thing as it has NOTHING to do with a blood, cage fighting sport does it? You are a person before the glorified title. If you had any humility, you would have not mentioned or tried to use it to make people think you are entitled to instant credibility. Look at this.. ignore me, ignore you and look at ONLY the truth. MMA creates psychopathy, the people who practice and teach lie about what it is, Mafia paid people off.. David paterson of NY years ago fascistly fired a good man of the commitie that did NOTHING to put a MMA fan and good friend of Mark Radner of the UFC in hi position. Why does the government not care? because it’s a billion dollar industry. Will this country fall.. You better beleive it.. and the reason is degenerate filth that do MMA sports and the liars that promote it such as yourself.
Feb 23, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Carlin Bardsley
Rep. Hickey,
I host a daily mixed martial arts program on nextsportstar.com and would love to have you on as a guest to discuss your proposed amendment and your views on the sport. It is my intention to have a reasoned, intelligent exchange of ideas and not a shouting match or insult-fest. If such discourse is of interest to you, please let me know when you are available to partake.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:07 pm
Steve
I’ll email you Carlin and we’ll set that up.
Rosemary – I started my article with the comment that I’m going to start a fight. Technically, this fight came to me in a bill I can’t support and neither can the governor. We want a boxing commission, we think MMA is over the line. I’m under no allusions that MMA is the problem with society. The title of my post says how I feel… the conversation on violence in society needs to start somewhere, why not here since this bill is in my lap? I decided to start the conversation. You’ll agree wherever the conversation starts the people in that area will be defensive and at the end of the day no one will concede their hobby or interest is part of the problem.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:30 pm
Kemi Fuentes-George
Here’s the problem though: every single one of your points – every one – about why we need to ban MMA has been factually discredited by people who actually know about the sport. To summarize:
1. It’s less dangerous to the practitioners than boxing, football and (ironically) cheerleading.
2. MMA practitioners DO use “traditional” martial arts
3. It is highly regulated, in terms of which techniques can and cannot be used (and the most dangerous ones have been banned).
4. Most of the examples in the clips you have used are either NOT from MMA in the US, OR are from very, very early iterations of the UFC, before the regulations were imposed.
So, unfortunately for you Steve, your points do not hold any factual water. Now, you don’t have to *like* MMA – I am not a fan of football AT ALL – but that doesn’t equate wanting to ban it. I mean, you have not actually responded to any of the data that has been presented to you by MMA supporters. Can you meaningfully reply to our rebuttals without using the words “child porn”?
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:18 pm
Dr Rosemary Sexton
My opinion is that supporting boxing but not MMA leaves you in a position that is difficult to logically defend. Boxing appears to have a higher death rate than MMA, and participants are subject to considerably more brain trauma over the course of a career.
It might be interesting to note that there are many MMA groups who have taken a strong position on violence in their local community and are actively working to encourage youngsters away from that way of life. This is a good example from here in the UK, and it is far from an isolated case. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/view/220854/MMA-s-Jamaine-Facey-helps-kids-fight-back-for-a-brighter-future/
Sep 13, 2013 at 3:38 pm
CJ
take the title off.. Rosemary… Martial arts are good for people, cage fighting and other tournament sports like Taekwondo are bad.. I have close to 40 years of experience and have seen it everyday of my life. I don’t play the game.. understand? and I refuse to be killed or harassed because I am telling the truth to people. you want newspaper artciles? do a search for MMA murder, killings, mma arrest and see the hundreds.. if they deletes half by pay offs, it doesn’t matter cause I have them printed most likely.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:30 pm
Cole Schlumbohm
http://prezi.com/rpabhuvvzjuf/should-mixed-martial-arts-be-banned/?kw=view-rpabhuvvzjuf&rc=ref-10349739 I made this prezi in speech this year, I got a 96% on it. Why? Cause I put non-biased “facts” on here. So check it out before you write about a topic you obviously have not the first clue about.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:35 pm
D.William
As a State Representative, you should you really understand the premise behind Senate Bill 84, especially if you are going to pick a fight. Let’s just take all the argument regarding violence out of this and talk about facts.
Fact: The State of South Dakota has done nothing to regulate “cage fighting” in South Dakota. This allows sub par (I am being polite) promotions to throw events with the majority of participants not being properly trained, certainly not professionally trained. Simply put, these are fights, not a sport, and is a problem that Senate Bill 84 is trying to cure. These promotions are not being regulated and these “tough guys” are not being medically tested (HIV, Hepatitis, MRI, Cat-Scan, etc), nor are the match ups being reviewed (Gross miss matches cause injuries Mr. Hickey). Senate Bill 84 would regulate this sport and eliminate all the BS promotions that you have allowed in this State for the past decade. Furthermore, this is what you are basing your opinion of the sport on, which I agree with you is CAGE FIGHTING. It is not Mixed Martial Arts. I fully support Senate Bill 84. You should too, because what is going on within the State right now is giving the sport a bad name. You alluded to the unfortunate death of the Rapid City kid. Had a commission been in place regulating the event, that kid would NOT have ever entered the cage. Nice Job South Dakota! Where you a representative when this kid died?
Fact: The athletes competing in regulated MMA events are some of the most well conditioned and well trained athletes. PERIOD! If Senate Bill 84 was passed, these BS promotions would go away and the athletic commissioner would only allow these type of athletes to compete within the state.
Fact: Finally, yes it would spark economic development. The UFC is a multi billion dollar enterprise and the number 2 promotion (Bellator) just got bought out by Viacom. I will assume you know who Viacom is Mr. Hickey. FOX TV hosts UFC and Spike TV hosts Bellator. The most recent FOX event had 5.7 million viewers in the US alone and UFC is the king of PPV. Sponsors such as Harley Davidson, Dodge, Budweiser, Nike are all in the game now.
I will not debate you on your opinion of the violence. Your are entitled to your opinion and lets just say I have a diametrically opposed opinion. What is frustrating is that you do not seem to understand the purpose of Senate Bill 84, which is to regulate MMA within the State to make it safer and legitimate. If this Bill wasn’t introduced you and the Governor would continue to sit on your hands allowing 2 tough guys to fight in a cage (THAT IS NOT MMA AND IS NOT A SPORT). Again, that isn’t a sport Mr. Hickey and that is where we agree. I would rather see it banned than continue without regulation (Which is what you have allowed). This Bill is being introduced to 1. eliminate these BS promotions and “fighters”, 2. regulate who is allowed to promote and “compete” 3. Make the sport safe (UFC has never had ONE SINGLE serious injury or death since it started in 1993 and South Dakota had one last year – again nice job S.Dakota) and 4. Spark economic development. There may never be an MMA event within SD once the commission is in place due to all the requirements (medically, etc), but one thing is for sure, we’d eliminate all the BS events happening now (which may be the only thing you and I will ever agree on in life).
Feb 23, 2013 at 5:06 pm
D.William
Any response Rep. Hickey?
Feb 23, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Steve
D. William – I do understand SB 84 and so does the Governor. He can speak for himself and he has. For myself I’ll say that I agree regulating it makes it safer. But it also legitimizes it and there are a hundred other things the state should spend time and money on. Banning it draws a line in the sand and makes a loud statement about our thinning tolerance for the escalation of violence. I also agree with you that it’d bring in some money into the state but there are hundreds of better things to pursue for economic development. I travel the world a lot – a least two trips a year. America is fixated on sports and way too much time and money is focused there. I don’t see the same fixation on sports when I’m in Europe or Africa or even Asia. To insinuate that the Government or the Governor is to blame for a guy dying after stepping into a cage to beat another and be beaten to death himself is nonsense to me. You take your life in your own hands when you voluntarily step into that cage match. I’ll continue to call it a cage fight because they are surround by a cage.
Feb 23, 2013 at 7:10 pm
Adam
you missed his argument steve, the argument is with a commission, the guy NEVER would have stepped in that cage! So in some degree the lack of regulation or commission that allows these events to be put on like this, IS part of what caused this guy’s death.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:35 pm
Adam
Steve at the end of the day, you CANNOT punish the responsible people for the acts of the irresponsible. A free society cannot and does not exist when you do that, nor is it the least bit fair when they can only control their own actions and no one elses.
No one should have the right to tell someone else how they should live their lives. If two people wish to compete in the cage safely, that is THEIR choice, it is not up to you to dictate your morality to them.
You may not like it, you may not wish to participate in it or view it, and you are certainly entitled to those views, but that’s as far one should be able to go. Your rights end where someone else’s begins. Part of living in a free country means accepting that everyone has different needs, desires and interests. We are not the same and should not be treated as such.
Would you want someone telling you you couldn’t practice your religion? Or hold Bible studies? I somehow don’t think so. I could tell you that religion is one of the biggest problems we have in society, but you wouldn’t agree with that would you? These things work both ways. If you don’t want others telling you what to do or what you cannot do, don’t do the same thing to them.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:38 pm
Cole Schlumbohm
http://prezi.com/rpabhuvvzjuf/should-mixed-martial-arts-be-banned/?kw=view-rpabhuvvzjuf&rc=ref-10349739 I made this for speech and received a 96%. Why? I used real and unbiased facts. So before you make a “case” make sure you have correct facts.
Feb 23, 2013 at 4:58 pm
Caroline
Hi
I’d like to say that this article is beautifully written and perfectly articulates your point and I truly respect it.
I’m a woman training hard every single day to become an mma fighter and I am very close to this dream starting to take flight. I would like you to know that I cannot speak for everyone however I know many guys agree with me on many points.
I came into mma as a young woman completely destroyed and looking for anything to grasp on to. What the sport first gave me is a family. A safe haven. A place filled with mats, heavy bags, a cage and a ring, with a bunch of pro guys who walked around all tough and yet this girl who is so SO untrusting of every soul she meets felt she could be herself in this new environment….I first felt at peace with myself. In all aspects of mma you have to be so aware of your body and I felt comfortable with myself physically for the first time in over 25 years. Then as I got to know the guys I realized I was perfectly fine with being myself, the tough and the very sensitive both sides of me were equally present…for the first time the walls built by a lifetime of abuse would be lowered if only for an hour a few times a week.
As I kept training my passion for the sport and every discipline individually grew at an incredible pace, the discipline, the physical demands!! And the immense amount of respect constantly present amongst all of us drew me in like quick sand. Training more seriously also meant that a relationship grew with my coach and for the first time I found a man around the same age as I who I could trust with my life and see as a brother I can tell anything too, not just mma stuff he helps me with anything going on with me including my past about which I had basically never talked entirely to someone in details.
I honestly do not think I would be alive was it not for mma…what your state does is out of my hands but I sincerely hope that if mma could have this effect on even just one other person, that it won’t be banned…
I can’t wait for my time to step in the cage and yes I have been hurt but you know what it’s taught me? The difference between a sport and abuse and it also tells me every time I feel some physical pain that I am alive….that even when I feel like I am dead inside I am still here and fighting for myself in every sense of the word
Feb 23, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Dr Rosemary Sexton
You say that banning MMA makes a loud statement about violence; I doubt it will be seen as such. Rather, it calls into question the judgment of those who would privilege a (statistically) more dangerous form of combat over a less dangerous one. A move which is so obviously illogical based on the facts will no doubt raise speculation as to whether there are any ulterior motives or vested interests behind the decision.
Feb 23, 2013 at 6:38 pm
D.William
Well said Dr. Sexton!
Feb 23, 2013 at 5:34 pm
D.William
I am not sure you do understand SB 84. You certainly do not understand my post, nor do you understand the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate death of the Rapid City kid. The kid wasn’t beaten to death, you may want to research the cause of his death, especially if you are going to allude to it in your “cause”. I certainly do not blame the Governor for the kids death, but had SB 84 been in place it would not have happened. If you truly understand SB 84 and you understand the circumstances surrounding his death then you would understand my point. Furthermore, if it wasn’t for this bill being proposed these type of events would continue in our State. For that alone, I applaud the Senator that introduced the Bill. Again, I think banning it is better than what is currently happening within the state, but at least understand the facts of the sport you are trying to ban. What is happening currently in our state is not reflective of this great sport and you sound really uneducated on this topic. Just trying to help.
Feb 23, 2013 at 6:28 pm
D.William
Does my recent post make any sense to you Rep. Hickey?
Feb 23, 2013 at 7:08 pm
D.William
Didn’t think it would!
Feb 23, 2013 at 5:38 pm
sportinjurymatt
Before I start analysing this critique on irresponsable promotion of violence in today’s society, could I just check if the author of this piece is the same Steve Hickey who reportedly “rejoiced in the 2009 assassination of Dr. George Tiller, a reproductive-health doctor gunned down in his church”?
Feb 23, 2013 at 5:42 pm
D.William
Interesting article about a nasty NASCAR wreck that just happened at Daytona Beach. Sounds like some serious injuries! Hope everyone is ok.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2013/02/23/huge-car-crash-mars-nationwide-series-race-at-daytona/1941529/
Feb 23, 2013 at 6:08 pm
Emerald Serpent
This article is poorly researched and based on false premise. Like any such ‘information’ it belongs in the garbage bin because of this. Arguments based on false premise are,false. This article may have a couple of factual points, but the outright lies and shockingly inaccurate statements made about the evolution of martial arts are blatantly designed to mislead the uninformed public and bias readers to the ‘author’s’ political agenda. As for the Roman public becoming jaded with the Gladiators’ efforts and brightening up their days by throwing Christians to the lions? THIS IS YET AGAIN MORE LIES BY THE WRITER!!! PLEASE…..ANYONE READING THE ABOVE PIECE OF SENSATIONALIST RUBBISH, DO SOME QUICK GOOGLING AND YOU’LL FIND THE TRUE FACTS.
Violence will always be a part of human society because it is a part of human nature. You cannot undo eons of hardwiring with self-righteous indignation and do-gooder agendas. And that IS a fact. IN MY OPINION, banning MMA will only send it ‘underground’ where any of the current regulations and rules will be withdrawn, and ‘fight-club’ bloodbaths will probably ensue.
If you “Anti’s” have legitimate gripes to raise, then at least respect your reading public enough to research your background information thoroughly and present in informed and intelligently factual argument that is worthy of people’s consideration.
Feb 23, 2013 at 7:19 pm
Steve
I’m signing off for the night so that’s why I turned the comments off for now. I head back to Pierre tomorrow and I’m not on here during the week. Don’t read into my disappearance or wonder why your comments aren’t appearing in a timely fashion. Sorry I can’t open up the comments without moderation. I don’t have any patience for the nasty comments so they are getting scrubbed.
Feb 26, 2013 at 8:00 am
Steve
Here’s more from me on this topic. The most of you can ignore it as it doesn’t apply to you as I wrote this as An Open Letter to CHRISTIAN MMA Fighters and Fans: https://stevehickey.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/an-open-letter-to-christian-mma-fans-and-fighters/
Feb 26, 2013 at 12:12 pm
South Dakota Rep Calls MMA 'Child Porn of Sports": UFC and Agent Battle Back - Unofficial Network
[…] “sports” I suggest we draw the line at cage fighting,” said Hickey in his personal blog. (Hickey fails to mention that marijuana was actually legalized in states like Colorado and […]
Feb 26, 2013 at 1:16 pm
South Dakota Rep Calls MMA 'Child Porn of Sports': UFC and Agent Battle Back - Unofficial Network
[…] “sports” I suggest we draw the line at cage fighting,” said Hickey in his personal blog. (Hickey fails to mention that marijuana was actually legalized in states like Colorado and […]
Feb 26, 2013 at 1:38 pm
Possibly Insane South Dakota Politician Compares MMA to Child Porn | Manolith
[…] “MMA Cage Fighting is the child porn of sports,” Hickey argued in a post on his blog. […]
Feb 26, 2013 at 8:26 pm
Edward
This is quite possibly the most ignorant thing I’ve read in a long time. But instead of waste time rebutting it, I’ll just link the yahoo article that has already done so:
http://www.mmaweekly.com/yahoo-sports-special-south-dakota-legislator-calls-mma-child-porn-of-sports
Feb 26, 2013 at 8:50 pm
Lawmaker Compares Mixed Martial Arts to Child Porn, Wants Sport Outlawed in South Dakota | Sports Spotlight | NESN.com
[…] before pot; with ‘adult entertainment’ we draw the line at child porn,” Hickey recently wrote on his blog. “Where do we draw the line with violent entertainment? I suggest we draw the line at cage […]
Feb 26, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Yahoo! Sports Special: South Dakota Legislator Calls MMA ‘Child Porn of Sports’ – Your home for local combat sports!
[…] Their primary objective is to ban sanctioned mixed martial arts in the state. In a blog post, Hickey writes that, “MMA Cage Fighting is the child porn of sports.” […]
Feb 26, 2013 at 9:00 pm
Lawmaker Compares Mixed Martial Arts to Child Porn, Wants Sport Outlawed in South Dakota | Pro Sports Media Blog
[…] before pot; with ‘adult entertainment’ we draw the line at child porn,” Hickey recently wrote on his blog. “Where do we draw the line with violent entertainment? I suggest we draw the line at cage […]
Feb 26, 2013 at 10:12 pm
South Dakota legislator calls MMA ?Child porn of sports,? while governor says it?s too violent | ypuruvecy
[…] Their primary objective is to ban sanctioned mixed martial arts in the state. In a blog post, Hickey writes that, “MMA Cage Fighting is the child porn of sports.” […]
Feb 27, 2013 at 2:09 pm
MMA » MMA Roundtable: Superfights, Liz Carmouche, Struve vs. Hunt, and screwball politicians
[…] Now let’s dive right into this whole “child porn” thing, shall we. (First time I’ve ever written that sentence. Hopefully the last.) Per Hickey’s blog: […]
Feb 27, 2013 at 2:24 pm
MMA Roundtable: Superfights, Liz Carmouche, Struve vs. Hunt, and screwball politicians - Unofficial Network
[…] Now let’s dive right into this whole “child porn” thing, shall we. (First time I’ve ever written that sentence. Hopefully the last.) Per Hickey’s blog: […]
Feb 27, 2013 at 8:07 pm
Troy
Shayna had a very thought-out comment on your site and many of my own thoughts were already brought to light by her. Some additional points I would like to make are as follows.
The way you use “cage fighters” has derogatory implications not just about the sport, but the competitors in the sport. Perhaps you are saying that Ross Miller, the Secretary of State for Nevada, who won his professional MMA debut does not deserve the respect of his elected office? Or that XFC Champion Nick Newell, born with congenital amputation of his left arm, is a terrible role model and should not tell children to work hard to achieve their goals regardless of the obstacles life has handed them? Furthermore, “MMA enthusiasts would prefer I not use the cage fighting term but as I told one of them I’ll stop when they remove the cage.” I can only assume you have not seen MFC, Dream, or others that do “remove the cage” and hold bouts inside a “boxing ring.” Even the rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions, adopted by many if not all the states that have sanctioned MMA, has the details for a fenced cage or roped ring in which bouts are to take place.
As a 3rd degree black belt and former Shotokan Karate instructor, your statement “The other martial arts don’t have all “that” as there is line that is drawn.” is completely erroneous. The “mixed,” to the best of my knowledge, comes from a compilation of rules in sport martial arts. The sport of boxing has no kicks, the sport of kickboxing has no submissions, the sport of judo has no strikes, etc. If one looks past the sport, many martial arts have all the aspects that can be seen in modern MMA. Upon further examination, martial arts actually have more techniques as they also prepares one for a life or death situation; in that situation, the eyes, throat, “soccer kicks,” and below the belt are fair game, unlike in MMA. In Shotokan, yes, we focused mostly on kicks and punches; however a close examination of our forms show elbows, knees, joint locks, and throws. To someone who says, “Mixed means a free for all.” I must reference the ABC Unified Rules of MMA section on Fouls. Please be mindful the list may be gruesome but it is a list of what is NOT allowed in this so-called “free for all.”
To your psychic statement of: “Here’s a pic of what the crowds come for: elbow strike rips off a chunk of cage fighters ear.” I would like to share with you the reason I go to MMA events. Personally, I go to the events to see martial art skills. I could not care less if someone gets cut, actually I’d prefer if they did not get cut. UFC’s Demian Maia has been quoted his ideal fight is “To submit my opponent without him hurting me or me hurting him.” Anderson Silva vs. Forest Griffen was also a beautiful bout, reminiscent of Muhammed Ali, and to the best of my memory neither guy got cut; even if someone did get cut it should speak volumes that the memory I have is of the evasion and perfectly placed counterpunch to stomach 5 (an acupuncture reference) and any memory of blood has been forgotten.
In regards to the medical and physical safety of fighters within MMA, I believe this is an issue best left to trained and licensed medical professionals. Under the oversight of a State Athletic Commission, SANCTIONED mixed martial arts events have a licensed medical practitioner ring side, and all competitors must be cleared by a licensed medical practitioner prior competition. Mandatory medical suspensions and further testing are often required for the suspension to be lifted. With an athletic commission the State has the authority to set those mandatory suspensions as seen fit by those in office, preferably with the advice of licensed medical practitioners. Also the referee in charge of stopping the contest during a knockout / not intelligently defending (avoiding secondary concussions) / or refusing to submit prior bodily harm, would then be licensed by the State. I will suggest that developing a commission to oversee competitor safety, is a far better alternative than non-sanctioned bouts.
As a licensed Professional Engineer, I have no professional understanding of “sear conscience,” so I verified the merit of desensitizing with a Licensed Clinical Social Worker that I know personally. You are correct, and I will not argue that desensitizing does not have merit; however I will argue there are far worse things to be desensitized. The beatings and raping on TV shows like Law & Order SVU, glorified gun violence and crime in movies and video games like Grand Theft Auto, propaganda of drug use in most of pop culture, and the use of child pornography in political rhetoric (especially as it diminishes the victims of this horrific act), are far worse things to not “wince” at than the nicely executed armbar, Olympic Judo medalist, Ronda Rousey used to submit her opponent this weekend, during the historic first women’s match in the UFC.
Lastly, while I understand your use of analogy with degrees of combat sports to degrees of adult entertainment, I find it very distasteful. It is true that anything with different facets could be compared to adult entertainment, the hot topics would be abortion, gay rights, gun control, health care, religion, you name it; however any analogy to child pornography will be met very passionately, hostilely, and it is nearly impossible to keep a level head long enough to have a legitimate debate. That is why I would doubt even the most divisive politicians in Washington do not make THAT analogy. You sir, were not kidding at the start of your post when you said you were starting a fight, instead of a debate, and you knew it with the words you chose. If you do not want brash comments, then I would suggest you stand as a positive role model and present your opinions with professional etiquette.
Sep 13, 2013 at 1:40 pm
CJ
omg.. you really have to be kidding Troy. Are you serious? Everything that MMA is about are lies, deception and criminal acts. pay offs, Mafia – you name it it’s there, along with creation of Psychopathy in ALL people who practice – children and adults. You have the nerve to suggest otherwise. You totally disgust me. MMA is a lie from the very formation. It’s not Mixed Martial Arts. It’s Mixed Martial sports. yet, they promote the coined term “MMA” thanks to the gracie brothers back in 1993. A family of trash who purposefully picked fights on the street (criminal activity) to try and test the fathers, so-called Martial art – BJJ. It’s not Jujitsu.. it solely came from Judo.. Which we know came from Juijitsu.. so how do you name a new style with the words Jujitsu in it? Martial arts that is a thug sport from the get-go. Do your research and don’t try and trick people. You like the sport, good for you. But how dare your degenterate behind try to belittle someone that tells people the truth. Maui Thai is also a sport, NEVER an art – do you ONLY go by what teenage thugs and MMA sport instructors say on the internet? The downfall of this country is because of things like MMA sports.. Politians were paid off by the mafia – pretty easy to do by them.. and the Gladiator sport exists. Don’t EVER compare a Martial Artist to a degenerate Thug MMA Sportist. it’s oil and water. the psychopathic MMA fighters vandel my home and family because of my outspoken protest. I will tell you this! If I EVER catch them in the act, it will, without a doubt, be the last thing they do. Death threats, destruction of my property, harassment, slander, you name it, it’s happened and continues. Normal people of society don’t do these things.
Feb 28, 2013 at 4:59 pm
Drew82
jesus hates you hickey
Sep 13, 2013 at 2:47 pm
CJ
coming straight from a Evil degenerates mouth. I really don’t think Jesus hates anyone. but happy you spoke with him before commenting as it shows you are educated in the blood sport and can surely speak for others (Jesus).
Feb 28, 2013 at 8:10 pm
Travis
This blog post makes me ashamed to be a Republican. How do idiots like Steve Hickey get a job?
Btw, I am originally from North Dakota and there are a lot of people in the area that are into MMA.
Hickey is a poor example of a Dakotan and of a government official.
Sep 13, 2013 at 1:45 pm
CJ
how do idiots like you live with yourself? Degenerate people that could care less about a civil and moral sociaety? you are a poor example of a human being. (this being said in response to your comment of another person being a poor example) your comment stays, soo should mine, unless we have thug MMA fans as moderators – I’ve had that about 100 times over the last 10 years!
Mar 1, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Jesse
“America is fixated on sports and way too much time and money is focused there. I don’t see the same fixation on sports when I’m in Europe or Africa or even Asia.”
It strikes me there are so many riots at soccer games and videos of soccer hooligans meeting up to have large bare knuckle brawls, in comparison to MMA. Soccer hooliganism is common enough to the point of having its own wikipedia article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_hooliganism
Not to mention the fact that you can find videos such as these all around:
If you are against MMA because of the physical violent aspect of it, then I am sure that there were enough rebuttals in here concerning the safety and care these fights are under during this sport. If you are against MMA because of the psycological aspect of the violence in the sport I honestly feel it isn’t a problem. Blaming MMA for violence outside the cage is the same as blaming a spoon for making Rosie O’Donnell obese. If we are to ban MMA, then maybe we should ban soccer too…..along with spoons. At the end of the day, it is the individual person themselves that are the problem and not the object. Ever human is responsible for their own actions. If you have the time sir, I would be enthralled to recieve a reply from you. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sep 13, 2013 at 1:50 pm
CJ
you are a total idiot. – sure lest compare soccar with a ball and goal to drug infested, thugs that sole purpose to to beat anothers face to a freakin bloody pulp and then laugh about it. It’s all 100% ego – LOOK AT ME SPORTS. moroon! hey – post a stupid comment to defend a lying propagandic sport, expect at least 1 person in the country to call you on it. They lie and may it’s martial arts, yet it’s competition and people getting killed.. then idiots like you start with dumb comments.. “omg.. lets ban tiddly winks too and eating food” grow up!!!!
Sep 13, 2013 at 1:51 pm
CJ
soo sorry.. lets point out any typos I have first.. I think it’s my chubby fingers.
Mar 2, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Melodee
Good points Shayna!
First of all, I’m astounded by your lack of information! They wear gloves and are very safe when competing.
You wanna talk dangerous sports? How about football? I’ve seen more people injured from that than from MMA.
Do research next time because this whole thing is ignorant.
Final thought, the “child porn” thing was disgusting and appalling just like this article!
Mar 4, 2013 at 7:34 am
Steve
Rep Hickey watches MMA class… http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&thread=2140693&forum=11&page=1&pc=2
And here is a picture: https://twitter.com/QoSBaszler/status/307660295915057152
Mar 4, 2013 at 12:03 pm
Eoin Armstrong
Good on you, sir, for taking the time out to discover more about the sport. There are good people behind it, as I am sure you have seen.
Jun 6, 2013 at 9:47 am
CJ
This is great! But don’t let these degenerate thugs try to play you.. I’m soo knowledgeable and I doo this everyday.. good for you.. soo you’re a thug/degerate of the USA and a reason that society is in the shape it is.
The reason for this disjusting sport existing is simple! The Feretta brothers are Mafia.. if you don’t get it then you don’t.. they have millions upon millions.. and the government likes some of that money.. understand know? soo people are paid off.. and those who stand against the ones paid off are fired – if they can be.. just like the degenerate acting Gov. Paterson did years ago with the athletic commision.. firing the head for the MMA/boxing thug woman because she likes the sport and this was a favor for Mark Radner and the acting Gov owed him.. Lies, corruption and money is why it exists.. MMA is NOT Martial arta and never was.. BJJ is not martial arts – the thug degenerate Gracie family coined the word MMA and the style started by the father making the kids go out on the street and pick fights with innocent people.. that’s the fact.. degenerate scum of society and now they lie and promote that it stops bulleys.. The MMA thug kids are the bulleys and the adults are the rapist and killers.. any trash talking/troll MMA fighter with a big head want to prove me wrong? look on google for years and see ALL the mass murders and rapists by MMA scum.. I have close to 4 decades in the Martial Arts and Martial Sports had always disgusted me due to it creating mental illness in the students..
Aug 8, 2013 at 5:30 pm
Cheryo
LOL The Feretta brothers?? Who is that?? I know the Fertittas. And 1st of all get your facts straight also, you plastered a wall of words that hurts my eyes. I back Shayna 100% if you dont’ like do something about it, protest, whatever but atleast educate yourself 1st before claiming to be a martial artist. All of you detractors knows the real truth of MMA and the sad truth about your traditional martial art that wouldnt save you and your kids from being mugged!!
Sep 13, 2013 at 1:13 pm
CJ
sorry but I don’t talk to troll trash such as yourself. I’m sure I have 30 years of education in Martial arts (not thugs sports) upon you. try to troll someone else you degenerate thug. Facts are straight, it’s not dogmatic, it’s truth. you don’t like the truth, then it’s a crying shame isn’t it?
Sep 13, 2013 at 1:17 pm
CJ
ahh.. I forgot.. the thug, troll, degenerate trick in all forum on the internet is pointing out any typos.. Like anyone cares. But it’s a tactic to try and bring the focus elsewhere and try to belittle the author. Rediculas, but what trolls do. soo.. if you want to pretend to be a historian or maybe a English teacher, try another website.
Sep 20, 2013 at 9:27 am
Christian Whitney
Troll another person – sure lets take the focus off the topic and point out any typos. It’s what psychopathic trolls do when they get upset about the truth being exposed. if you want to pretend to be a historian or an English teacher, go to another website. you know the facts and know what I am saying is true, yet you lie on purpose because people read these blogs. MMA sports creates psychopathy it’s a proven fact do your research!
Jul 5, 2013 at 11:04 am
Luca Alvaro burlington Ontario Canada Corpus Christi grade 12
Bro … Do you even mma ?
Aug 18, 2013 at 1:20 pm
Jakó
Our world would undoubtely be better without armies and fights and people trained to do harm (in any context). I understand however that those already involved in MM”A” (I refuse to give it art category, as for me that’s reserved to creation of something, as in music) will defend what has already become their lifestyle, job, favorite hobby, etc. However, and while I’m pretty sure “banning” is not the answer (probably not possible), I urge all the fighters to give a second thought on our daily lives and beliefs. We teach martial arts to children so they can beat the bully, then to settle things in the bar, in the street, teaching to fight fire with fire. Yes, I’m aware many of you may have found calmness and peace in training, but the overall picture is that of boys cheering for a broken arm, and kids wanting to learn this skills, cause we tell them they are necessary in order to be more dangerous and get respect or be safe (as in “more guns are necessary for our safety” debate). We are being obtuse when we not acknowledge that MMA is an element of this culture of violence.(which in turn is fear, anger).
Aug 27, 2013 at 3:39 am
Davor Sabertooth
I love martial arts but MMA is really not for a civilized world. It is brutal gladiatorial sport for some ancient times and not for a modern world and decent people. All martial arts bring some risks, no doubt, and all of them teach discipline and endurance also giving a young people confidence and keeping them away from drugs and gangs (but not necessarily). However, the damage one MMA underdog fighter can receive is just not for watching and for fighter him/herself it doesn’t really pay off. I think the same for boxing and kickboxing. Who really needs the brain damage? If someone wants to learn self-defense there are very safe methods there like Krav Maga and don’t underestimate it, it is used by Mosad and Israeli commandos. The first rule of Krav Maga is “safety comes first”. You will experience the free fight with one or more opponents get some bruises of course, but not serious injuries. Aikido is also good but one will need to practice it for decade or more to become able to use it on the street because of extreme level of complexity of it’s techniques. If you want to compete I would recommend Judo, the Olympic sport or even Brazilian Ju Jutsu – believe with the knowledge of one of these or both you could compete in cage but why would you do that? Taekwondo, another Olympic sport is also great and safe sport. If someone wants to be an universal fighter, good in both grappling and striking Krav Maga is excellent choice and some of Krav Maga student did fight in cage just to test themselves and with the success. Also, you can combine Judo with Teakwondo or one of these or both with Krav Maga. Whatever you choose, safety must be of highest priority! We practice to become stronger, faster, more flexible, and to get more endurance and skills to become able to defend ourselves or our family and NOT to get serious brain damage or other type of serious injuries. If someone wants to be tough he/she should try to win gold medal in Judo on Olympics defending the colors of his/her country! There are few things as hard as that! Man should not spend time in cage. I hate even rooster or dog fights not to mention two humans fighting in cage.
Sep 10, 2013 at 1:23 pm
Garrett Miller
Hello:
My name is Garrett Miller and I work for 1World Online, a public opinion research startup based in San Jose, CA.
We are planning a poll to run on our website/mobile app, asking if people believe MMA is too violent, and would like to feature an excerpt from your blog, arguing that it should be banned: https://stevehickey.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/ban-mma-in-sd-the-conversation-on-violence-in-society-has-to-start-somewhere-why-not-with-our-most-violent-sport/
We will provide full attribution to you as the author and will gladly post a hotlink to your blog from our own website and app, to direct our (15,000+) members and viewers to your site.
Please let me know if you are interested, or if you have any more questions regarding our service. In the meantime, feel free to explore our site, http://www.1worldonline.com
Sincerely,
Garrett Miller,
Content Editor
1World Online, Inc.
Sep 20, 2013 at 9:22 am
Christian Whitney
this blog is a joke. totally fascist. I posted 6 comments and not 1 stayed, however all rediculas claims by people tooting their horn about their “titles” stay. Being a Doctor has NOTHING to do with Martial arts and adds NO credability. Being in the Martial arts for 4 decades does. Thank you to the moderators who disapprove and delete my entries. You prove how fascist America has become.