With the massive UFC 193 event hitting Melbourne recently, there was a large amount of debate whether the event should have been banned due to the graphic nature of the sport.
Pundits said that the UFC encourages senseless violence and sets a bad example for children.
These arguments are flawed, and if the UFC was given the heave-ho, way more major events and social activities would also have to be banned.
The Formula One Grand Prix around Albert Park would have to be banned. This sport encourages people to drive over five times the speed limit and may result in more deaths on our roads. Throw in Bathurst as well.
Boxing is finished. If you cannot have MMA in the octagon, then combat in the squared circle will have to be banned too.
The Melbourne Cup, if not the entire Spring Racing Carnival, gets the chop. Horse racing promotes animal cruelty and gambling in society, and these actions are discouraged.
The Olympic sports of shooting, archery, javelin, judo and tae-kwon-do do would have to be banned from competition as they too promote senseless violence.
The video game industry will have to close its doors. With no more Call Of Duty or Need For Speed games getting released, as they promote gun violence and reckless driving, how is it going to survive? On Angry Birds and Farmville alone?
Let’s take it one step further:
Fast-food restaurants will need to shut down as they promote obesity, one of the biggest killers in Australia. A lot more people have died from overeating and diabetes than in the UFC cage.
Sexpo will have to be banned as the sexual nature of the event promotes sexual exploitation and sexual violence. Everything isn’t sexy at Sexpo.
Surf lifesaving will have to stop as it encourages people to swim in the ocean where they can get attacked by sharks.
Let’s throw in go-karting, pony rides, twerking and break-dancing for good measure. Think of the injuries!
What it really comes down to is the message that goes along with the sport. Spend time with any professional athlete and see the dedication they have to their craft. I bet they put a lot more time into the job than you do. It is their choice to do what they do and that is the way it should be.
I am against violence in society but targeting the UFC and MMA in general is like shooting fish in a barrel. The level of alcohol-fuelled violence across the country on Friday and Saturday nights far, far exceeds anything done in MMA. This doesn’t even include how alcohol (a legal drug) destroys families on a regular basis, often combines with illicit drugs, gambling or both.
It is our role as parents to make sure that our children are either not exposed to the sport or or they are, that it is done in a controlled, accredited and disciplined MMA school. It’s time to take off the one-eyed glasses and see that MMA and the UFC is here to stay.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
By lacking a clear points system I mean that you don't score points for moves, as in other combat sports. You are awarded 10 if you win the round, 9 if you lose it. The score is not given during the contest as it is in most other combat sports either. I said boxing and kickboxing have a long history of people calling for them to be banned. Some logical reasons for differences could be that boxers don't hit a man/woman when they are down, a lot more padding in the gloves (which is about making matches last longer than safety though) and the lower intensity of the fights.
Christopher Pepper
Roar Pro
Thanks Nick.
pete bloor
Guest
Nice one so you nit picked on my use of the word regulation and now you're having a go at me because you didn't know what the word meant when you nitpicked. IS that how we take personal responsibility for our failings. And yes I sadly read what you wrote. And again you’ve got the same logical failure. You can't say "Parenting shapes the decisions we make, the values you instill & teach your children create the individual they will become" and then say the "but it will be ultimately up to them to make their own decisions” It can’t be their “own” decision if you’ve explicitly acknowledged you’ve shaped the decision, the values under which it was made and the individualism of the person making it. You keep expressly reinforcing that the situation and the collective experience is integral to a decisions and then dismissing it. As for the third point I think those worried about other parent's doing their job will out number those worried about themselves doing their job.
rock
Roar Rookie
And that is what is great about sport, you have that choice. While some abhor it, others will appreciate the strength, discipline and techniques involved in the sport and how much work the athletes put in.
rock
Roar Rookie
"Banning something is a form of regulation so yes you did." Wow, you've just nitpicked to get a one up - well done....... "As for the second part yes I maintain my vehement disagreement you can’t argue in one breath parenting and teaching kids is important and then in the other that everything that happens is primarily a result of our own decisions. If it’s just our own decisions then parenting is entirely irrelevant." You are joking right. Did you read anything or just fire off. Of course you can argue that parenting is important but ultimately it comes down to an individuals decisions. Parenting shapes the decisions we make, the values you instill & teach your children create the individual they will become. It will be a major influence in the future decisions that they make, and your guidance will greatly assist them but it will ultimately be up to them to make their own decisions in the future. "It also again missing the point, the majority aren’t arguing for regulation of these things to help them parent and absolve themselves of responsibility they are arguing for it to help others they feel might not be doing quite the right thing." That might be true in some cases, but also in plenty of cases they are just using that argument to take the easy road so they don't have to teach right from wrong. And even if others aren;t doing the right thing, as above you have to instill values and teach your children, and in the end hope they make he right decision if ever in a precarious position.
Ryan Buckland
Expert
It boils down to where you draw the 'sport' line. And by the calls that have come out in recent days, it appears mainstream Australia's sporting zeitgeist draws the line at 'beating the daylights out of eachother by any means necessary'. Personally, I abhor MMA and abhor boxing, and really any 'combat' 'sport'. Victory needn't mean a literal, 19th century 'two men enter, one man leaves' victory for me to get excited.
Kingcowboy
Guest
What does "Buzz" Rothfield think?
nickoldschool
Guest
No worries chris and thanks for clarifying your intentions. Have to admit like a few others I didn't get the satirical aspect of the piece at first (which means it worked and you did well... Or that some of us weren't really awake when we read it this morning!). All good. And I think the point you make at the end of your reply is interesting: when we sit back and look at how we/the society have changed and how violence is accepted on our tv, online etc it's scary. 10-15 years ago being into 'cage fighting' was something you couldn't say to everyone, at work etc. now most of us have no problem saying they spent Sunday arvo watching some women beat each other up. We have changed. I know some young lads who have watched beheadings online, and it's not only about violence, pretty much everything else. We no longer have any limits.
Kirk
Guest
Better examples for this article would be the grand theft auto videogame series and the hundreds of of violent fetish porn sites that are easily accessible on the internet
Rugby stu
Guest
"lacks a clear points system" this is completely inaccurate, whilst people debate the point system as they do in boxing, there is a very clear point system based over three rounds on significant strikes, cage control, dominant positions etc. This is a completely inaccurate statement as this was one of the main innovations that the zuffa brothers and dana white brought to the sport to make it a respected sport. "Karate, Judo etc. are all points based competition. The aim is to score points, not to knock the opponent out or torture them into submission." No, completely false the sport you missed in you "etc" is Jiu Jitsu and it is based on submission and it is not about "torturing" that is the whole point of tapping, no submission fighter actually wants to injure someone (yes, there was one brazilian fighter with this reputation he has been banned from the UFC and is a universal pariah) Boxing and kickboxers do NOT face the same outcry as MMA it is not treated the same way for illogical reasons, when it has been shown to be far more detrimental due to the constant state of concussion that boxers are subjected to.
Christopher Pepper
Roar Pro
I love the UFC and MMA in general. I feel that that there are way too many cooks in the kitchen these days who want to be head chef and they will say anything to get heard. The problem is their opinions are flawed like a lot of my "suggestions" I listed. I don't think people realize that I was taking the piss out of myself and the argument towards the end but that is how I felt at the time writing it. It is starting to feel like the society in the movie Demolition Man.
pete bloor
Guest
Likewise agree the study you link to probably had written the conclusion before doing the research.
pete bloor
Guest
Banning something is a form of regulation so yes you did. As for the second part yes I maintain my vehement disagreement you can't argue in one breath parenting and teaching kids is important and then in the other that everything that happens is primarily a result of our own decisions. If it's just our own decisions then parenting is entirely irrelevant. It also again missing the point, the majority aren't arguing for regulation of these things to help them parent and absolve themselves of responsibility they are arguing for it to help others they feel might not be doing quite the right thing.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
Well said. A sport is first and foremost about respect for your opponents (and yourself). I think the UFC has taken too many leaves out the boxing and WWE playbook ... it is more about entertainment than sportsmanship to them, and many of the fighters. I personally can't watch it because I find it too violent, but each to their own I say.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
Kick boxing and boxing have a long history of people calling for them to be banned too. Wrestling is a sport that involves controlling the other opponent. The throwers body has to hit the padded mat before the opponent does. If you hurt the opponent generally you are disqualified. The objective is to pin or score more points to win. Karate, Judo etc. are all points based competition. The aim is to score points, not to knock the opponent out or torture them into submission. Rugby codes have submission laws. Again the objective is not to hurt the opponent to win. If you hurt the opponent you are penalised (during the match and possibly after the match). MMA may be a mixture of many combat sports but lacks a clear points system (such as wrestling and martial arts tend to have), and the overall objective is to hurt the opponent so that you win ... that is not the objective in any of the other sports (bar boxing and kickboxing, which as I said equally have had and continue to have calls to be banned).
rock
Roar Rookie
"That’s were regulation is society taking responsibility, society is doing exactly what you are asking by discussing regulation and taking responsibility for the whole because the individuals likely to be affected can’t actually do it." I didn't once say anything about the regulation of it, I was talking about a blanket ban. Regulation of UFC no doubts needs discussion, as do many many other sports and industries. "The biggest part missing there is the situation. Situation dictates the choices available and the external influences in making them. It differs so wildly between people yet we explain them away as if they would be widely consistent. We like to think we are all so in control of our lives that external forces don’t matter. The suggestion parents need to do their job is a tacit agreement that the environment is as important as any choice as it dictates just what choices can be made and what external influences you have." I am not denying that there are certain situations & circumstances that lead to certain decisions. But there are always a variety of circumstances and influences that lead people to make the decisions they make, there are always a number of options that are on the table - so ultimately that person has still made the wrong decision rather then take an alternative. Far too often nowadays people want to play the blame game for a variety of things rather then front up to a decision that they or an acquaintance has ultimately made. If you don't agree, fine - but I believe this is one of the reasons that this world is becoming more of a nanny state.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
How do you win? Knock the opponent out. Torture them until they submit. Or a decision ... where points are not shown during the bout and not rewarded for moves (but purely on who won and lost each round ... no matter the margin). I don't think anyone fights in UFC (or MMA for that matter) for a points decision. So the objective of the fight is to knock the person out or make them submit ... in other words hurt the opponent.
Matthew Tomczyk
Roar Pro
Oh ok. I accept your points and agree with you that there's room for reform in UFC.
pete bloor
Guest
I meant in your first point "One argument says that the sport promotes violence in society and in the home. I’m yet to see any evidence for this" There is a fair amount of study into exposure to, and celebration of, violence via entertainment building more aggressive tendencies. And it's tough to argue that UFC isn't more realistically violent than most alternatives when, lets be honest, that's the attraction for us.
P Air
Guest
Think he might have been kicked in the head once too often