WALKER: Ignorance of MMA - Why Some People Just Don't Understand The Sport

By: Brad Walker, MMATorch Columnist

Let me preface this by saying: this entire column came about because of a conversation I had with a local police officer, and the things he said really - for lack of a better term - enraged me, and even my wife. His level of ignorance on what MMA is all about was incredible, and his statements will forever be some of the dumbest that have made their way to my ear drums. I was shocked, stunned and angered by the conversation as it took place, but being that he was a police officer, armed and in uniform I was not going to pick an argument with him on the spot. Instead I laid in bed that night thinking of how to best explain why it irritated me so much, and why so many people have such a minimal understanding of a sport that has become so mainstream. So let me begin by telling you all a story that took place about a week ago, in the wonderful town of McHenry, Illinois.

Ignorance - some say that it's bliss; I say that it's the leading cause of the human race slowly killing itself with perpetually stupid actions. When it comes to the sport of mixed martial arts, the outsider believes it is just about two behemoths beating the ever-living s*** out of one another; as opposed to the true fact that they are trained athletes who are competing in a widely sanctioned sport, albeit one that is largely misunderstood. I do understand that if you were to just catch a glimpse of a muted television showing the early UFC cards, then sure, you could think that it's a blood sport; but all you have to do is turn up that volume and hear the call from the commentator to realize that it is something much more artistic than brutality in action. It is the melting pot of martial arts, with trained fighters coming into the cage from across the entire globe to compete to see who is the most talented – not the most deadly. When you hear the word deadly mentioned in association with an MMA fighter or event, it's a tag line – you have a better chance of being struck by lightning then seeing someone kill or be killed inside of the cage at a legit MMA event.

Moving on, I was talking to an officer from the Village of McHenry police, and he inquired as to if I worked out or not. I responded saying that I trained in multiple martial arts under Team Curran and it all added up to MMA training. Without even a flash of consideration the officer responded "If I knew a perp was trained in that s*** - I wouldn't even ask him to surrender; I would taze him and worry about it later." My jaw dropped so fast that a sonic boom followed shortly. How can a person be so presumptuous as to assume that someone is violent and ill-tempered just because they are trained in the many facets of mixed martial arts?

It's a stereotype that I have never actually seen in action before, but I know many people spend time presuming that the fighters are all roided out dimwits who are just looking for a corpse to beat inside out. The other problem with that assumption is that it's a steaming pile of crap that nobody who is a fan of MMA or a student, or a fighter should have to sit by and hear about. I've only been training in the sport for a month and a half, and writing for the Torch for about five months and I was absolutely burned by the stupidity that was on full force from this officer of the law. It's the same reason some people think MMA should remain 'taboo,' or that some states think it's "human dog-fighting" - both of which are ridiculous assumptions made by those failing to take the time to understand the work and dedication it takes to become a master of these arts. Heck, take most of the fighters who train at the gym live in this area; should they all have FBI profiles naming them as “students” or “fighters” in the world of MMA? Should we have them wear nametags that say “Taze Me Bro”?

It is obnoxious that in a world where we can reach any tiny tidbit of information in a fraction of a second that people still fall victim to these falsehoods and ridiculous cliches about what people are supposed to be like. Anyone who has ever met Jeff Curran can attest to the fact that he's a really calm and cool guy who wouldn't hurt a fly outside of the cage, but this one cop would taze him because he knows how to make a guy submit or go to sleep when he steps inside during a fight?

Lest we forget that there are also women in MMA, and some of the most talented athletes on the planet at that – just look at what Ronda Rousey has been able to do in Strikeforce, what Meisha Tate did before her and what fighters like Felice Herrig and Liz Carmouche are doing in the sport as well. Would this cop taze them, too? Or is it a gender and knowledge bias? Heck, some of the women in MMA are scarier than the guys; I wouldn't step foot in a cage with Ronda Rousey - I enjoy having two arms too much, and Felice Herrig - hell no; I don't envy the idea of broken ribs.

He continued "I know that UFC crap is big with young kids these days - they all want to find a reason to kick somebodies ass." Honestly, I would have paid good money to have Dana White appear next to me and debate this guy into a wall, but it's not a Disney movie - so no such luck. I may have it twisted up a bit here, but I started training in MMA because I want to get back into shape - learning the arts to fight inside of a cage is a cool bonus that makes it more entertaining from a fan and analyst standpoint, so I know what these men and women go through training for a fight. If this kind of ignorance and bias is allowed in our legal system - can we really expect there to be fairness when MMA becomes even more of a mainstream sport? If our police officers are carrying deadly weapons and even non-lethal weapons that they would unleash on another human being just for having training in the sport, doesn't that technically eliminate the serve and protect part of their oath? If I am getting pulled over by a cop with a 'Tapout' logo on my window – is the cop going to order me to the ground and taze me? This cop certainly seems to admit that he would.

We all need to do what we can to raise awareness of what the sport of mixed martial arts is truly about; it's not about kicking the crap out of somebody, it's about competition and talent and athleticism just like any other sport. It's not remotely as violent as your average big budget movie these days where buildings are blowing up and people are shooting each other, and compared to the most popular video games it's a cakewalk (Take nothing away from video games or movies, I love them both).

It's actually below par as far as pop culture bloodshed goes, and it's slightly below the mark in raw violence, so why is it so outcasted? Every true MMA fan knows what it's about and we love to watch these men and women do what they do best inside of a cage, governed by a state commission and overseen by a referee and three judges. If you take anything away from this mixture of a rant and counter point to the officers stupidity, let it be this: if someone is talking about MMA and they're only talking about how 'badass' it was when the guy bled, they don't understand the sport. When you hear them talking about the great double leg takedown and transition to mount, that's a fan; know the difference and train the ignorant to become knowledgeable.

Follow me on twitter - @BradMMATorch. Let me know what you think – feedback is always appreciated!

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Staff_Editorials_19/article_13166.shtml

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