Hello everyone,
For this blog I have joined an MMA forum from the website MMAjunkie.com (http://forum.mmajunkie.com/forum/). For those of you who do not know what MMA is it stands for mixed martial arts, and you have might have heard it referred it as cage fighting (which to me sounds as silly as somebody calling boxing "ring face-punching", but to each their own). Also, in Japan MMA usually takes place inside a ring and not inside a fence (fine you can call it a cage if you want) but that is dangerous because of the grappling aspect of the competition and the competitors can fall outside the ring when trying to take an opponent down. I was in karate when I was younger. I also wrestled in high school and have always loved combat sports like boxing and kickboxing. MMA basically combines all of those things into a single sport. That aspect makes it extremely intriguing to me. Imagine if there was a sport that somehow combined chess, tennis, and weightlifting, and you already enjoyed watching all three of these things by themselves. It might sound like a weird analogy, but that is basically what MMA is, a combination of three very different disciplines. The three main disciplines that fighters now study are kickboxing, wrestling, and submission grappling (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu being the most popular form, but there are many other forms that differ slightly from one another).
The fascinating thing to me about mma is that you might think that the community would be a bunch of bloodthirsty people (those people definitely exist) who just enjoy violence for the sake of violence, but actually many in the community tend to be very knowledgable and well-educated. There are many of them, like me, who appreciate the sport for being such a pure and beautiful form of competition. To me there is something really special about one-on-one competition that team sports just don't intrigue me nearly as much as combat sports do. In any typical team sport if you are performing poorly, or having a bad attitude your coach can take you out, or call a timeout or your teammates can pick up your slack. None of those options are possible in one-on-one competition. In tennis or golf, though these are also solo competitions, there are plenty of opportunities to regain your composure and focus after a bad shot or a bad play. In MMA, there is not this luxury. There is another person across from you not trying to beat you in a game, but trying to separate you from your consciousness or force you to quit because they got you in a submission hold and if you don't give up you might end up with a broken arm, leg or ankle. Talk about a tough job!
When this sport is discussed online, sometimes there are these clashes between those who like the sport just to see people get knocked out (I personally hate to see people get knocked out, thankfully usually fights are called off by the referee before that happens). I think it will be very interesting to see what one of these forums is like, and I will let you know how it goes and provide you with more MMA history along the way. Until next time.
Wow, the forum you chose seems very interesting to follow. I really appreciated how you explained MMA to be than more just two people fighting violently, but as a sport that take much athleticism. It seems you are very knowledgable in martial arts and wrestling. I could totally see how a forum such as this could raise some controversial discussion and also include those who may not be as well informed of the sport. I know many who do watch the sport to see who can get knocked out and for the mere fact of two men fighting. I'm sure this will be a very interesting forum to be a part of and am looking forward to seeing what you find as far as the different views of the sports and whether there is more positive or negative digital citizenship.
ReplyDeleteThe forum you have become a member of seems really interesting. I don't know much about martial arts, but I am interested to learn more about it after reading your explanation. It seems like you know a good amount about this topic and will be able to contribute quite a bit to the dialogue taking place on this forum. I am interested to hear about the topics of conversation on this forum and the digital citizenship of its members.
ReplyDeleteI, like Katie and Jessica, appreciated the explanation of MMA. I had actually always wondered about that sport. You were correct to expect I would assume the forum was full of blood thirsty fans, so I glad to here there are many fans like you who are knowledgeable and purely a fan of competition. I think you have definitely found a forum, however, where there will be many examples of poor digital citizenship. It will be interesting for you to report on your findings, and I look forward to learn more about this sport that seems to be increasing in popularity.
ReplyDeleteBeing married to a man who loves all sports, I'm fortunate enough to know what MMA is. I actually like watching Ultimate Fighter lol! I can't wait for the Rousey v. Tate fight! I pray that Tate doesn't get another broken arm/elbow, whichever it was- I looked away! There probably is a lot of cursing in this forum, right? I'm grateful for the bleeping they do on the show. But I know, it goes along with the sport. My husband knows that I'm more of a spectator then a competitor. I, too, don't like it at all when the fighters get knocked out! And when it gets all bloody- yuck! It is a tough sport for sure! I have a friend who was training for MMA fighting, not sure if he still is. I know you'll have fun in this forum and can't wait to hear what goes on in it.
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