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The Call To Fight
Whether it’s boxing, MMA, or other combat sports, athletes are attracted to the often brutal challenge for various reasons. Many view the ring as a way out, while others follow their natural calling. Below is a brief video where fighters from various styles share stories on how they found their call to fight…
The day you quit learning is the day you quit breathing…
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What is the video called? I would like to save it on my Youtube acount…
Great post!
This is actually an commercial for Tekken 6-video game. However, its a pretty irresponsible couple of minutes: martial arts have always been cursed with macho-culture and showing stuff like that on TV just reinforces those stereotypes. “I joined my local boxing gym so I could beat up my bullies!” Even if it would be true, its not a good idea to advertise such things. Even though we violent men are idolized in our popular culture, few people are oblivious to the difference of fantasy and reality. Testosterone sells by the same reason as sex sells, but by the long shot it poisons the image of martial arts and thats gonna cost us.
What a horrible video.
A martial artist is taught to defend oneself or others from physical threat. Combat athletes choose to competitively fight. There’s a difference. This video depicts real fighters who chose to fight. They enjoy fighting. They love the sport, as do the thousands of fans who watch every major boxing and UFC event. The video does not glorify violence, but rather tells the story of several REAL fighters. We live in a violent world. Don’t pretend otherwise. I enjoyed this video as these fighters test themselves in the ring or cage, rather than resorting to the streets, where many likely survived as youngsters. I grew up in a rough barrio in Mexico and can tell you first hand that peace isn’t always an option. In my old neighborhood, it was kill or be killed.
I did not appreciate this video. Some of the comments made my skin crawl. I agree entirely with Humberto when he compares testosterone selling just as sex sells (VERY astute observation, by the way). I would add to that by saying that even though all men enjoy seeing a beautiful woman revealing herself physically onscreen, they would be enraged if that woman was their daughter, sister, wife or mother. By the same token, we are fascinated by testosterone-fueled violence but if we are ever on the receiving end of it, we would be the first to cry foul, saying that we did not deserve it. What about fighting to enrich the spirit ? What about fighting to find out who you are really ? This hypocrisy is what has crippled boxing, in my opinion. Martial artists, if they are not careful, are next.
I meant Santeri. Excuse me.
Thanks Constantine.
Image is a concrete thing, even though the idea itself can feel abstract. When a certain martial art has a macho-image in it (for example MMA) part of the people who sing in to the local gym are young men with egos size of a car. Sooner or later they will break either their own bodies or – more likely – somebody else’s. Most of these kind of people will leave once they see how much work they have to do in order to get good, but some will stay. In the worst case scenario the macho-image can attract truly bad people: how many times have you heard about a local bully/criminal who has done boxing when he was younger? I’ve heard rumors that a part of the MMA gyms in Canada are run by Hell’s Angels. Whether it is true or not, it certainly tells something about mixed martial arts that people even talk about such things.
I’m not saying that every criminal in Canada is going to be the next Brock Lesnar, but the gyms there can create a medium for local criminals, a place to meet and organize. This is, of course, the ultimate shit-hits-the-fan scenario and very rare in most places, but possible nonetheless.
A more real and a less dramatic issue can be counted in real dollars: UFC has made loads of money and established its place in sports, but they have made it by walking with the macho-image. Slogans such as “as real as it gets” and “tap or snap” are basic stuff and trash-talking, chest beating and egoism are glorified through programs such as The Ultimate Fighter. It’s all good now and keeps the cash coming, but at some point in time the ideals will change: think about the sixties, when the war in Vietnam was going on and the new youth movement of hippies with their flowers and guitars and pacifism were the best thing since sliced bread. Do you think UFC would have gotten such popularity in an atmosphere like that? Time keeps rolling on, and there can be time when UFC has to do a 180-degree turn with their image.
Macho-culture can fuel such process. When you think about MMA, the first thing that comes to the mind of a normal person who has seen UFC on tv, is a bald, tattooed, muscular, aggressive and a violent man. Now, if he/she is a mature, law-abiding and a productive citizen of society – like most people are – he/she will find such an image revolting. If this person sees more material that backs up this kind of impression – like and episode of TUF or a Tapout t-shirt with its cheesy slogan – the revolting image will only get stronger. In other words, the macho-image pushes the normal, non-violent people with healthy self-esteems away and attracts the former, asshole-ish type into the play.
In the modern western world, such a sport will only grow so much.
There seems to be confusion between martial artist and combat athletes who choose to fight. Competitive fighters join a gym TO fight, not to learn how to protect themselves against a potential situation that can hopefully be avoided. If you don’t like watching real fighters, change the channel. MMA and boxing aren’t going anywhere.
The athletes in this video are real fighters. What is wrong with a real fighter sharing his story about how he found the sport? It’s the truth. Since when do we hide the truth?
We don’t live in a peaceful world, so let’s not pretend that we do. Fighters often come from harsh, urban environments. Many find the gym and completely change their lives. They develop respect for the sport, the work, and even their competitors.
I enjoyed the video for the simple fact that it is real. These are make-believe fighters. These are real men and women who found a sport for various reasons and now live it and love it.
I should have said these are NOT make-believe fighters. Pardon my mistake above.
Al G. Your point about reality in well-taken. However, the video only reflects a CERTAIN reality. I do not deny for a second that a violent world breeds violent men. What I take exception to is when that fact is rationalized and even promoted. I love boxing, and I will not allow such men to steal it from me. I also feel confident in telling you that if humble, decent, intelligent fighters like Wlad Klitschko or Manny Pacquiao saw this video, they probably wouldn’t like it much either.
Al G. I meant to write “your point about reality IS well-taken.” Sorry about that.
@Constantine – I respect your opinion and we’ll likely need to agree to disagree. I must say though that your example of fighters like Klitschko and Pacquiao can be interpreted in more than one way. These men speak well, but they still enter the ring with the intention of knocking their opponent out. Despite all the press conference smiles, they have chosen to fight in a sport where they are trying to knock another man out. Whether they openly say that they want to knock someone out is irrelevant. It is their actions that speak the loudest.
The men in these videos do the same thing. They too enter the ring or cage with the intent of knocking their opponents out. The fact that they may have found the sport for different initial reasons does not matter to me. I still want to hear their story. I enjoy hearing why fighters find the gym. Many young kids live in violent ghettos and find the gym as a way out. They may enter with bad intentions, but they quickly learn to respect the sport. One sparring session with a seasoned fighter is all that it takes.
The men in this video are not running around knocking out innocent people. They may be violent inside the ring, but so are Klitschko and Pacquaio. They all are throwing punches with bad intentions.
Fans boo fighters who play it safe while applauding those who take chances and go for broke. Gatti and Ward battered each other and were applauded for it. Fans pay to see violence. We can’t ignore this fact. I have no problem with a fighter who thrives on the violent nature of the sport. If that is what drove them to the sport, I want to know. They should not pretend otherwise and hide their story to satisfy a part of society who likely doesn’t understand where they came from and what they do in the ring or cage.
I always find this discussion (it surfaces in many forms) very intriguing. I have trained to fight for most of my life. I didn’t grow up in a violent neighborhood or a broken home, but I’ve always enjoyed fighting. I like the competition and the test of my mettle. At the same time, I’ve never honestly wanted to hurt someone in my fights. That isn’t to say that I didn’t want a punch to knock them out, but I really didn’t want to cause them pain. I just wanted to overcome a challenge.
I think it is a thin line that separates a fierce competitor in the cage or ring, from a sadistic thug that revels in the suffering of his victims. Yet, however thin that line may be, it still exists and I think many fighters (most, but not all in my opinion) don’t cross the line.