Professors give MMA scholarly examination

June 26, 2008

source: David A Avila, NBCSports.com Contributor

Listening to a fight announcer shout the names Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell

and Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva, you would think it was a roll call for

the serial killer club.

It’s just mixed martial arts.

Because of an unregulated beginning, the sport of MMA has carried a bad rap

as one of the most brutal sports ever devised; a virtual shop of horrors.

Not so, say two authors who investigated the sport from the inside and out.

A two-year look into the growing sport of MMA saw two college professors take

an educated look into the nuts and bolts of professional fighting in a book

called “Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Arts and Violence in American

Society.”

The title says it succinctly.

Authors David T. Mayeda and David Ching spent two years interviewing various participants in the world of the fastest-growing sport. It was Ching that approached Mayeda about writing a book on the sport to explain it to the rest of the world.

Mayeda, who holds a doctorate in American Studies, saw it as an opportunity to look into the myths and theories about the effects of the sport on the American public. Ching is an economist with a masters degree.

Both had two primary quests: 1) to find out if MMA promotes violence, and 2) is it the most vicious sport?

The two Hawaiian residents began trekking from their native island to gyms throughout the U.S., from California to Nevada and Texas beginning in 2005. Their goal was to obtain the voices of MMA via interviews from veterans and rookies of the sport.

Among the voices collected were Randy Couture, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Dan Henderson, Bas Rutten, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Travis Lutter, Chris Leben, Guy Mezger, Antonio McKee, Tony Fryklund, Jesse Juarez, and Chris Bowles. Those are just a few of the fighters that were interviewed for this book that gives an inside look at MMA.

When two fighters step in the cage and begin circling each other before exploding in a swirl of kicks, punches and takedowns, those watching inside an arena or on television seldom realize the effort and sacrifice needed to perform these acts.

Mayeda and Ching aptly dissect a fighter’s mind with questions many fans have always wanted to ask. The book is a hodgepodge of questions and answers about the sport that was first abhorred by the general public and politicians. It’s only now that MMA is becoming more readily accepted, even by those who once bashed its existence.

One of the most interesting sections of the book is when fighters are asked about their inner thoughts before a big fight. Another section dealt with the money factor and how not all MMA fighters emerge with riches.

Just a bare few make more than a million per fight.

Lutter, a reputable fighter who was recently released from the UFC, explains how most pro fighters make very little money. If it’s $2,000 or less, it’s quite possible that the fighter is going to owe money for training expenses, medical checkups, and diet supplements.

MMA fighters are not rich, contrary to common belief.

Many fighters make the bare minimum, even an elite fighter like Rashad Evans during his fight with Tito Ortiz last year made a paltry $16,000 purse. Sure Ortiz made $210,000, but he is one of a very few MMA fighters considered a marquee fighter who draws big crowds. It seems unfair but it’s all about supply and demand. The more popular the fighter, the bigger his purse.

One fighter, Ku Lee, hits it on the nose describing MMA as a sport more for the middle-class, and how attending MMA schools one needs to “pay 200 bucks (a month) to do it.”

Another interesting topic hit by the authors is the safety issue. Is MMA still too dangerous?

The two writers delve into that issue with both hands and do a great job of comparing MMA to sports like boxing, football, rugby, and other sports where there is physical contact.

“Football is much more violent,” said Mayeda by telephone from Hawaii. “There’s a former female gymnast who is now in MMA and she says gymnastics is much more brutal.”

It’s a wonderful collection of quotes, interviews, insights and theories about the effects of MMA on the general public.

If you like MMA, then this book is a valuable source when defending the sport.

The book can be purchased on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com

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