Your thoughts on fighting sports - lots of questions

Michael Boylan's picture

Southside Slugfest II is at The Fred tomorrow night and lots of people have made their feelings known about mixed martial arts, a.k.a. ultimate fighting, but what about boxing and wrestling (the real stuff not WWE, etc.)?

Boxing is obviously a "real sport" and it is one apparently in real trouble. Ratings continue to slide at an alarming rate, there are no universally compelling matches or fighters and the business side of the sport can be classified as slimy at best. When was the last time you were interested in a particular match or fighter?

As for wrestling, I've attended a fair share of high school matches in my almost nine years at the paper here and the athleticism of student athletes at every weight class is amazing, but it isn't a sport that is going to capture the hearts and minds of everyone in the country anytime soon. Has "wrasslin" taken the spotlight away from real wrestling? if you don't have a kid on the mats, are you interested at all in what is going on down there?

What are your feelings on martial arts? There are dozens of schools in the area and people of all ages take classes in everything from karate and tae kwon do to judo and kickboxing. The benefits go far beyond self-defense. Have you ever taken a class or been interested in taking a class?

Lastly, if you are O.K. with boxing, wrestling, "wrasslin" and any or all of the martial arts, how do you feel about mixed martial arts? Have you ever watched a television program or any of the pay per view fights? Have you seen it live and would you ever consider going to an event?

I went to the last Slugfest and that was the second time in my life I had ever seen ultimate fighting (the first time live). It was unlike anything I had seen before and while some of the fights weren't very competitive, a few stood out. There were definitely some athletes who were trained in boxing, wrestling and martial arts and their skills were showcased very well.

I am planning on attending tomorrow night's event, but I still can't see myself paying for the pay per view events which seem to take place every week.

I know there's a lot of material here, but let's see if we can get a good discussion going today.

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Submitted by BIGMACK on Mon, 07/09/2007 - 2:49pm.

BE GOOD TO ME I WILL BE BETTER TO YOU ,BIGMACK.

Whats this wwe not real lmao,,, mixed fighting is good ,being an old scraper i like it all ,,god bless folks bigmack. ,,all the best,

Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Mon, 06/25/2007 - 2:19pm.

Boxing has died due to two things. The cost of a ticket to see a professional match is above and beyond any normal mortals ability to pay, and it is a brutal, brain and kidney damaging and eye gouging "sport." There are no local matches any more.
"Wrasslin" was popular with old ladies and ignoramuses for a few years, but has died a natural death.
The "respect" one of these new fighters show for a "fellow fighter" is the same kind the old wrasslers used to fake; it is a part of the show to those who aren't hard to please.
The ONLY way these kind of farces can survive is by "live" shows, where the drunken thrill of the moment is "show-off and hollering!
Won't be many Harvard graduates there.

AF A-10's picture
Submitted by AF A-10 on Sat, 06/23/2007 - 8:34am.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) competitors, Unlimited Fighting (UFC) participants, and martial arts fighters, by and large, are the biggest group of gentlemen you will ever meet. It is not unusual to see fighters hug after a contest, or congratulate one another's performance. It's not about injuring a person. It's the ultimate proving ground for years and years of training. You learn what works, and what don't work so good. I encourage any and all who are curious to swing by LA Boxing on Kelly drive just west of H/W 74. Memberships are reasonable, and all styles and experience levels are accomodated. I'd really love for TakeBack Fayette and the Beaver to come check it out. The experiences would be liberating. God Bless, and stay in the fight of life!

Cheers all!

Kevin "Hack" King


Emmyjune's picture
Submitted by Emmyjune on Mon, 06/25/2007 - 11:59am.

Great to hear from you! In response to your comment, you are absolutely correct, Sir. A majority of the UFC fighters have an immense amount of respect for one another. They display their class at the end of every match with a handshake, or perhaps a hug. I agree: not only do they possess skill, but classiness as well. That is one of my favorite aspects of the "Octagon".


Denise Conner's picture
Submitted by Denise Conner on Sat, 06/23/2007 - 6:23pm.

Glad to hear that you're keeping fit!

Is this a place for ladies? Maybe I should spend my time at Autrey's Armory instead!

Let us hear from you once in a while.


Tug13's picture
Submitted by Tug13 on Sat, 06/23/2007 - 3:42pm.

It's good to know you're doing okay!

God Bless
Tug Smiling


hutch866's picture
Submitted by hutch866 on Sat, 06/23/2007 - 12:11pm.

Have a good one Hack, see you in September.

I yam what I yam...Popeye


Paul Perkins's picture
Submitted by Paul Perkins on Sat, 06/23/2007 - 11:01am.

Good to see you back Kevin.

I've attended a number of full contact karate events and the sportsmanship is by far the best I have ever seen.


God Bless, and stay in the fight of life!

Doing my best on this topic. Smiling

If you missed it, here's a thread you will find interesting.

The above is a follow up to this news article

Lots of familiar names and a new one as well.
_________________________________________________________________
the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address- 1961


Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Sat, 06/23/2007 - 10:04am.

Thes so-called "fighters" remind me of the old "muscle beach guys showing off--there is no skill contest.
Prof. wrestling fans will like it.

Emmyjune's picture
Submitted by Emmyjune on Fri, 06/22/2007 - 2:22pm.

I'm probably one of the few females you will meet who is a HUGE fan of Ultimate Fighting. I'll be honest, before I ever saw a match, I thought it sounded boring and stupid. But then I watched a Pay-Per-View Match a couple years back between two of the sport's biggest heroes: Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. It was incredible. The guys who do this are amazing athletes, and possess unbelievable skill. I was hooked. If my husband and I were not going to be out of town this weekend, we would DEFINITELY be at the Southside Slugfest tomorrow. I was going to get a V.I.P. table for us, so that we could meet the Guest of Honor: George Saint Pierre. GSP is one of the classiest fighters in the UFC. He is talented, and seems to be a stand-up guy. Anyways, I was disappointed to learn we wouldn't be able to make it to the Slugfest this year, because I was looking forward to it. To everyone who doubts the appeal of mixed martial arts, I would certainly recommend watching a match. Oh, and yes- we do pay the $49.99 for the big Pay-Per-View matches. It makes a great Saturday night every once in a while!


Submitted by wildcat on Fri, 06/22/2007 - 9:52am.

How funny, this morning, in Kroger, another teacher and I were just talking about tonight's event. She couldn't remember what it was called. I've never heard of it. I don't know that I would ever pay to see something like that. I do go to wrestling matches (because I have a child that wrestles) and I did put in for wrestling tickets when the Olympics were in town (I got baseball). I take karate classes and am currently a red belt, but I don't go to karate sparring events. I've never been to a boxing match and I don't watch it on tv. I don't have cable, or satellite, so I don't watch much of anything. Basically, other than students wrestling, I wouldn't watch, or pay to watch, any type of fighting.

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