Do you think MMA has a net positive impact or negative impact on society?

Question

MMA is growing substantially in popularity. As a general rule do you think it is benefical to society or not?

Here are some pros and cons I came up with

Benefits:
- Promotes martial arts which should promote character
- Provides the best athletes with career opportunities not previous available at least to econmic extent now.
- Promotes physical fitness
- Provides entertainment

Cons:
- Potentially severe injuries to participants
- To those who don't understand the art may just be drawn to the violence
- The people with poor character could use MMA to hurt innocent people.

Overall I think MMA is a benefit would like to know what others think

Answer 1

there is no cons.

I will thorougly disprove your entire con list as it relates to MMA and thus leave only your benefits.

(I culd also dismantle your benefits list- but instead I'll put up my own).

Cons:
1- potentially severe injuries to participants. So has anyone yet suffered an injury or become "punch drunk" or gotten parkinsons like ali? actually while injuries may be more intense at first- the long term damage to participants is FAR worse for boxers.

2- those who don't understand may be drawn to violence? I'm sure I didn't understand all the war references in looney tunes as a kid, I've never dropped a piano or anvil on anyone. This is the same "tv and videogames make you violent" crap that politicians use to find a scapegoat- very weak argument. And as it relates to MMA, what about boxing? So without MMA, people will simply turn to boxing or fake wrestling.

3- nonsensical- mma is basically any collection of martial arts- chances are if they are imitating moves, they won't do them correctly and wont hurt the person as much. MMA bieng televised will not encourage a person who is predisposed to hurt someone (poor character- as you call it) as they already are predisposed to do so. If not while imitating MMA then why not imitating boxing or wwf?

Benefits (revised):
1- provides martial artists a chance to demonstrate thier abilites and compete in a more free scenario effectively cutting down on the "style vs. style" crap and mystique.

2- Exposes more bs martial artists with supposed "death punches" that are too "deadly" to be trained or even demonstrated.

3- dissolves the "martial arts are crap" mentality that boxers had (even though boxing is a martial art) because of the sheer amount of crappy point sparring existing which was the only martial arts "sparring" many people not in the martial arts knew about.

4- rasies the overall quality of training as there is now a more free form outlet for people of different styles to compete and bring thier stuff against other martial arts and martial artists. Now as there is a measuring stick- other martial arts and schools need to step up and deal with it and what is out there.

Answer 2

bottom line is this: @ssholes have been hurting the innocent since we first threw stones & there is violence on the network news each day. violence is up, but so is Methamphetamine usage, child abuse and gang activity (none of which is directly linked to martial arts). 15 years ago there were more jobs, and now the kids have no where to go. so drugs like speed cause tonnes of violence. burglary, mugging, theft...to feed habits.

so any negatives arent really negatives at all, at least in respect to them being related to MMA. no relation. the world is violent, because humans run it. regardless of the sport. villains are the product of their upbringing and experiences, and though MMA or martial arts in general may give them the tools to express their rage, they would be violent regardless, and would use anything they could to do the job. bat, stick, gun.

do they teach golf club-jutsu? no, but many deaths have come about by way of golf club vs head. people will use what ever they can find.

many of the thugs around my area have given up street beating people to become successful fighters (mark hunt, Jason Suttie... to name a few) so having these sports contests (K-1, UFC, PRIDE...) can give some of these thugs the chance they need to clean up and do it through a different medium.

MMA publicity can also give the uninitiated a taste of possibility, and create in them a new found confidence.

more positives than negatives.

Answer 3

Positive, why you ask? Boxing is such a crooked sport you'd think watching a boxing match you were watching WWE. At least WWE admits it's "sports entertainment" which is like a garbage man saying he's a "sanitary engineer". Give me a F-ing break, I'm not liking how Dana White has close friendships to some of the UFC fighters and perhaps influences the matches they fight to protect them but that's my only quarl with UFC. Pride, ok they lost their deal with Fuji TV. Having said that they should start putting on real TV shows here stateside & not those weak FSN shows that only show old fights & that doesn't even promote the fact that they have Pride on FSN. That's really all I can say.

Answer 4

Honestly, I don't think it affects society any more than watching boxing. Both sports are a form of Martial Arts...Just so happens boxing was the only fighting form that made it to mainstream media until MMA

Answer 5

MMA will exist no matter, but impact on society of any Gladiator sport is exactly that. And it's makes for alot of people trained in lethal arts that will be used in events and not. True history has always has man vs man, now it's man vs man in a manner that can cripple easily and is well refined. Not apples for apples if you consider man of yesterday.
MMA is well refined and advanced forms of combat compared to yesterdays. I find no where in American history that people have to worry that a kid at school might strangle or ground and pound their kid.
True again their has always been tough guys, but along with that their has always been guns. Why do we choose to keep them or as many as we can off the streets. Many greats have lived by them , including Anne Oakly. Because they are lethal, and what of the 1 person it may harm.
MMA could exist as tournaments have always, but it is being over promoted for the sake of profit, with a twist of it's for the sport.
I am for all arts, and tournaments, but not one's that only promote fighting.
Now we have so many fight clubs, etc. And they are not boxing, and not all are qualified to fight.
If you kid gets hammered by a bully at school whose big brother watching UFC teaches him ground and pound you would take it more seriously.
As all things though it is hard to be involved in a sport and be rational in it's true effects on society. Sorry though I never seen a kid have a kimura or arm bar done at a school fight when I was a kid. Hell most of the time it would end in new friends after you were finished, bloody and all.
Again look at Felony fights, or girls fights, or high school fights.
What if it was your kid?
As if we could, right?
Violence is violence , regardless of the mask or money involved in it. They do have a bi-product,
So we say it helps the toughs with a release, well that's cool but they are creating bunches more.
And if these were such as yesterdays it would be cool.
But we know that many are not.
MMA is a dominating force, no doubt.
With that comes a responsability.
It has not met that yet.
And also consider MMA is not exactly martial arts.
Tank Abbott is not a martial artist, he is a fighter.
When he fought Dan Severn how did this show martial arts in action?
Dan kneed him as he was on his stomach the entire fight..
Is this Martial art action, or gladiator?
Great fight, not martial arts though. Alot of Tank fans, is he a great martial artist as well, not at all.
Where does this serve martial arts? It simply serves the money hungry as they promote it with great success.
Touraments have always existed again check out Helio Gracie Vs Kimura,
or Gene LeBell one of Judo's best against Boxer Milo Savage.
These were martial art events with great fighters, not for money gain.
They were for the purpose of MMA.

Answer 6

Good Q. It is something we as a society need today. With all the crap being sold out there about who's style is the best.

The UFC proves that you are responsible for your life not your "style". You are what you train.

Many "styles" are static and never even consider how you will be attacked in the street. Do you ever hear on a guy robbing a store or mugging someone by using a jump spinning hook kick???

Answer 7

I absolutely love it.
I watch all the time.
Yes people can be hurt...
but you can get run over
by a bus while walking
down the street.
I don't see it as violent.
It is talent, timing and a
test of skills. I really do
enjoy the strategy and
planning. The way someone
gets out of a really good hold.
Watching someone, who's
so good they hardly ever get hit.
It's just the Greatest Ever!!
It truely is an Art....Love It.