Why I like NHB Fight Competition

In my previous post I mentioned the UFC, and a friend of mine outright asked me what I saw in such barbarism. I thought it was a good question and I’m republishing my response here in a separate thread.

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For me the sport is so interesting because it’s like Go or Chess combined with an Ironman competition. You have to be a tactician, a strategist, and an athlete in order to compete in this sport. Then, on top of all that, you need a lot of heart. It’s a truly awesome sport.

I personally don’t even notice the “violence” when I watch matches. Violence to me is bad because it’s unwanted, not because it involves physical pain. Take the Liddell/Horn fight for example. After each round they shook hands as they went to their corners. Hell, they probably had a beer after the fight. They’re professionals playing a physical chess match. There are many other sports that are physically gruelling and take a massive toll on the body. Freediving is one. Another would be Olympic level gymnastics. Hell, football as well (although I’m not a football fan). The point is that just because it’s hard on the body doesn’t mean it’s bad. Many have lingering injuries after getting out of the sport, like sore joints or whatever, but I’d argue that this is a small price to pay if they love what they do.

Here’s the thing: fighting on the street for the joy of hurting people is just as revolting to me as it is to any other decent person. But this is NOT a bunch of unskilled hooligans going at it like animals. My advice to you would be to learn a little bit about Jui-jitsu; learn about some of the techniques used. YEARS are spent learning just the fundamentals of defense and attack. It’s a thing of beauty.

So while I agree it’s definitely primal in the way it’s carried out, there’s a whole entire world beneath the repulsive surface you’re reacting to. I urge you to look deeper at it, and I’d love to talk to you more about it if you’re interested. Maybe sometime when I’m in the area we can watch a couple matches together. That way I’d be able to walk you through the complexity that’s difficult to understand at first glance.

Anyway, don’t write it off. There’s much more to it than meets the eye.