Introduction
The history of the human race shows that life was sustained during the primitive through hunting. Men were primarily engaged in hunting wild animals for food. Using primitive weapons, the men of the tribe would set forth as a pack to track down and kill animals for the sustenance of the whole tribe. Sociologists and anthropologists theorize that this instinct has never died in the human race even today. It has evolved into two acts commonly seen in present times namely wars and sports. In other words, these two activities are an offshoot of the hunting instinct that survives in the human mind even today.
The act of war is now seen as inhuman and its frequency has come down to a great extent. But taking part in sporting activities of different kinds has only increased over the ages. Many forms of sports, some violent, and others not so, have been invented, evolved, and refined over some time. The more violent of these could be seen even during the early part of recorded history, for example, the gladiators of ancient Rome. In modern times, such sporting activity is seen in boxing, martial arts, wrestling, and the more recent hybrid form called mixed martial arts.
This paper is research on the effect of participation in mixed martial art by children. This sport, dubbed as human cock-fighting by John McCain has brought mixed reactions from the public about its legitimacy and allowing children to participate in it. Hence, a study will be made among children who have experienced this sport to see whether they have been positively or negatively affected by it.
History of mixed martial art (MMA)
As mentioned earlier any sporting activity is seen as an extension of the hunting instinct in humans. According to Desmond Morris, the famous anthropologist, and man-watcher, “sporting activities are essentially modified forms of hunting behavior. Viewed biologically, the modern footballer is revealed as a member of a disguised hunting pack”. (Sporting behavior, Page 448, Desmond Morris, The Pocket Guide to Man Watching, Triad Grafton Books, London, 1988).
This will form one of the core arguments in this paper. According to the above quote, any sport is an offshoot of hunting and hence so is the case with mixed martial art. But according to the detractors of the sport, it is too violent and does not have proper rules that aim to protect those who participate in the sport.
“It bases the decisions about which techniques to use on their demonstrated effectiveness by different practitioners in open, non-style-specific sparring and/or competition that is designed to have as few rules as possible while still ensuring safety against death or severe permanent injury”. There appears to be a contradiction in the statement in the sense that while the sport allows any style of fighting, the fact that there are only very few rules can undermine the safety of the participants.
Mixed martial arts can claim its origin in ancient Greece where different styles of wrestling and boxing could be used. It was known by the name Pankration events. However, modern mixed martial arts seem to have originated simultaneously in Brazil, the US, and Japan. “The sport developed worldwide in the current form circa 1997, with the main centers of development being Brazil, the US, and Japan”. Brazil was one place where the sport was presented as a sideshow in circuses even during the 1920s. MMA championships were popularly referred to as the Ultimate Fighting Championship which became very popular in the USA by the early 1990s.
The popularity of the sport among the general public gave rise to concerns of safety and more stringent rules have been developed in many states in the USA. For example, the Pennsylvania MMA association has rules (mentioned in Clause 5(D)) that consider the following acts as fouls. They include head butting, gouging the eye, biting, pulling hair, kicking or kneeing a fallen opponent in the head, clawing, scratching, etc. But the rules do not prohibit a participant from attacking a fallen opponent in any other way.
The inherent risk that exists in the sport is illustrated here, once again from the rules of the Pennsylvania MMA association. The rules state that “Must have event insurance coverage in the amount of ten thousand dollars in case of injury and ten thousand dollars in case of a death. No contestant may waive the insurance coverage”. Even an organized body like the one above recognizes that injury and death can occur during events.
MMA and behavior
Detractors of the sport also add that MMA can bring out the violent aspect of children and make them prone to indulge in such acts that can be of harm to others. But studies on martial arts reveal interesting facts that are of benefit to children taking part in such activities. According to the Wisconsin Medical Journal, “Research demonstrates that martial arts do not generally attract violent individuals or promote violence. Beginning students who identified their reasons for pursing training wanted to learn self-defense, develop confidence, participate in exercise and foster-self discipline”.
The article adds that martial arts can also help to reduce or overcome what is known as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is also said to promote the concentration abilities of children and also reduce impulsive behavior. The journal says that the most common injuries that can occur during martial arts bouts were related to the mouth and teeth.
The article concludes by saying that all forms of martial arts if practiced with care are extremely useful to children and adults for the above-mentioned reasons. The use of inexpensive mouth guards can reduce this to a large extent. But the above study was mainly done on accepted forms of martial arts like karate, judo, or jujitsu. The free for all rules in MMA do not bring about the above-mentioned benefits in children.
There have been other studies and articles by MMA experts on the effect of this sport on behavior and aggression in children. Most of this literature does not link practicing MMA to an increasing tendency towards violence or any other form of bad behavior. An article by Jordan Weiss of the New York University, who has been actively involved in martial arts and has been learning MMA for the past seven years, thinks that MMA can benefit many aspects of the behavior of children. The author quotes from a previous study done by Leith and Taylor which says that “It is likely that some of the psychosocial benefits from martial arts practice originate from physical activity, since exercise in many forms can promote psychological well-being.”
The author reiterates this point and stresses that martial arts have the power for trainees and practitioners to become better people. This form if made more popular can even help in reducing violence in society. He thinks that participants show aggression while fighting will help to release this factor from their minds. This in turn will make them calmer in other areas of their lives. The author says that he discussed with Dr. Joyce Wyden, a practicing clinical psychologist in New York. She too agrees with Weiss and states that MMA does have therapeutic benefits for aggressive behavior.
But she adds that the effect can vary to a large extent between people. More literature on the benefits of martial arts can be found. According to Zivin “Juveniles at high risk for violence and delinquency showed decreased violence and positive changes in psychological risk factors after being required to take a school-linked course in traditional martial arts”. (Zivin G, Hassan NR, DePaula GF, Monti DA, Harlan C, Hossain KD, Patterson K. Adolescence. 2001 Fall; 36(143):443-59).
One drawback here is that most studies are done about traditional martial arts and are not directly connected to MMA. The only study that has used MMA was about improvement in behavior among children afflicted with ADHD. Titled ‘The Effects of Mixed Martial Arts on Behavior of Male Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, it used children afflicted with the above disorder in an MMA program that lasted twelve weeks. The benefit of MMA, when compared to traditional martial art, is that it uses a combination of these. Elements of karate, judo, jujitsu, and other therapeutic practices like meditation form a part of the training in MMA. Hence MMA can claim an advantage over other traditional forms in the sense that individual benefits derived from each of these can be achieved here.
Another advantage of MMA (and martial arts in general) when compared to other forms of exercise is quoted here from the study. “Martial arts differ from other physical activities in their effect on AD/HD children as there is a systematic influence of meditation, rhythmic breathing, and relaxation amounting to self-hypnosis; adherence to etiquette; constant group reinforcement; mutual help and criticism; and a sense of group cohesion with shared goals and ideology” (Martial Arts and Training Behavior, Matthew K. Morand: 30).
It can be argued that these activities can benefit even normal children and just not those afflicted with ADHD. The study produced the following results about ADHD-afflicted children who underwent MMA training. There was an improvement in their capability of doing homework assignments. There was a significant reduction in the breaking of school rules by the children once training commenced. Inappropriate call-outs by the children also decreased. This behavior happens when children call out in class even when they are not required to do so by their teacher.
The academic performance of the children also improved as a result of the MMA training. Afflicted children tend to get easily distracted while doing a particular task. There was a significant improvement in this area and teachers had lower levels of re-direction of children to their assigned tasks. Classroom preparation also showed significant improvement. If ADHD-afflicted children can show significant improvement even after a relatively short period of study, the effect on normal children who train for longer periods can be equally or much more significant.
Conclusion
Any sporting activity is an extension of the old human instinct for hunting (for food) and MMA is no different. Hunting can teach a person discipline, patience, and the need for responsible killing. In that sense MMA (or any sporting activity) can be beneficial in many ways to children. The old form of MMA is now fast disappearing and the new approach now takes into consideration more factors that protect the participants.
Like any martial art or other full-body contact sport, injuries are quite common here. But with new rules and strict adherence to them, major injuries can be eliminated. The one major criticism of detractors, when compared to accepted forms of full-body contact sports, is that a participant is allowed to attack an opponent even when he or she has fallen.
Whatever may be said, there is no real evidence that participation in MMA and other martial arts increases aggressive behavior in children. Many studies show that aggression can be controlled and reduced by indulging in such activities. The reason is that the sport itself is an outlet for pent-up aggression. The study on the ADHD afflicted children show that there is a direct improvement in many behavioral and cognitive abilities when such children are trained in MMA.
More studies on this area should be done since most of the literature available is about traditional martial arts. Such studies have convincingly proved the positive correlation between non-aggressive behavior and participation in martial arts. But it can be argued that this benefit will accrue in the case of MMA also since it incorporates elements of many of the common martial arts. But it is suggested that more studies on behavioral improvement and mixed martial arts be conducted to convince the detractors about the negative effect of this popular sport.