It Called MMA, Him Name Kimbo – You Love Both
June 2, 2008
There’s something very troubling about MMA, just as there was about boxing before it (if you will).
There’s something wrong about the two men in a cage - ring, if you’re talking boxing - beating the shit out of each other format.
Neither boxing nor this bastardized form of fighting, with the gross misnomer of Mixed Martial Arts, was derived from anything other than the wish of the “common folk” to satisfy their suppressed violent urges.
But, for now, I want to speak directly to the mixed fighting form that was aired on CBS Saturday night.
That most martial arts were derived to develop self-discipline, restraint in using combat, respect for both self and opponent, and to defend against bodily attack, not initiate attack, makes the “MA” in Mixed Martial Arts a laughable inclusion in the naming of this fighting form. And to attempt to maintain that martial arts are involved in MMA beyond a rudimentary kick style or two is laughable, so the “Martial Arts” part needs to be removed from this person-to-person competition.
This hombre a hombre or mujer a mujer fighting is obviously some amalgamation of boxing, kickboxing, and wrestling. Mixed Martial Arts is a term of convenience, not an explanation of the fighting, so its “MMA” acronym just makes for the use of aggressive-looking fonts for t-shirts and hats.
So, to me, the people who talk like they really understand cage fighting are fooling only themselves and using some b.s. terminology to mask the fact that they are really buying into a MORTAL KOMBAT or the latest XBox 360 UFC video game come to life.
MMA also fits Internet culture perfectly. Look at the reactions to contentious articles and commentaries. You will invariably see a reactionary, aggressive style to many negative responses, replete with personal attacks, and mean-spirited humor meant to demean the author in a vainglorious attempt to exalt the commenter to a status above that of the author. The vast majority of these people would shrink at the thought of actual violence, especially to them, but they are desensitized to blood and gore enough to watch Kimbo Slice explode his opponent’s cauliflower ear and complain that they were denied a finish that promised more bloodshed.
These proponents of a fighting form most of whom do not understand, are perfectly manipulated television, video game, blood and gore and porn babies all grown up with the actual boldness of a chipmunk being stalked by a hawk, but all the Internet-imbued false bravado of their favorite fiction hero.
They’ll watch this meaningless fighting mashup with all the glee of tree-jumping voyeurs, yet when it comes time to fight for something real like their civil rights or right to earn an equitable wage commensurate with their employment the real “them” shows; all apathy and slouching off to the local downtown chic hole to alcohol their pitiful existence away and hopefully find an equally apathetic partner to stumble home with so they can puke on each other’s dreams.
But if you ask them how was their weekend, they’ll tell you it could not have been any more fun…. until they have to pay the tab with interest to their credit card companies at the end of their monthly cycle.
So with lives like that, why not watch people attempt to batter each other into oblivion and listen to the commentators cater to their base, reptilian selves by using phrases like “caged animal” and “bring out the animal” over and over like a hypnotic Manchurian Candidate-steezo prompt; over and over until they have totally bought into this thing that they are told is new and fresh and Generation Z’s answer to that ancient, corrupt, slow-paced, definitely not instantly gratifying “sport” called boxing.
I have nothing against boxing’s slow or quick death and have no want to support its British Isles beginnings or its nationalistic, imperialistic, and racist underpinnings.
Though I once wrote a long, romanticized feature about a Washington, D.C.-area “gym” with its yellowed posters, its smells of every fighter who entered and trained inside its walls, the beginning to sag canvas, its threadbare ropes, and most importantly, the old men who passed the sweet science to fewer and fewer future alchemists, today I have no want for its history of race plays and its present sad reminder of today’s Hispanic underclass proving its collective being as did black men for black people 50 years ago. But all the while they, like their black ancestors, are but caricatures of themselves and proof of every Western epithet hurled their way.
Just to think, of all the men who trained hard to ply their trade in the Gen Z fighting cages of today, a man with comparatively no training is the leader of the pack, the face of the MMA franchise.
He is a black face, all thug animal and street violent. He is a product of the passive-aggressive Internet, of porn sets, and chic-chic clubs where men and women spend deep into their plastic for the hope to be seen; all the places MMA watchers frequent (and yes, watching the end porn product is the natural extension of the film set).
He is perceived as a 2008 nigga, corralled by the promise of money, the magazine cover, and the cage. He has been put on display by the biggest of Big Box sports media outlets to show how Now they are, to show they are ahead of the curve, to show him that they own his image - and therefore him.
He is instant gratification personified. He is a jungle name in a jungle game.
He is Kimbo Slice, and he belongs to you.
Feeding the passive-aggressive video head in you.
Comments
18 Responses to “It Called MMA, Him Name Kimbo – You Love Both”
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I DVRed it on some cultural commentary type rationalization, but I cant get the mood to watch it.
I just fear the whole Kimbo Slice deal will end badly for him.
“MMA also fits Internet culture perfectly.”
great point in a great piece. It certainly does mirror each other.
Anyway, that UFC promo video says it all.
Ink-
Yeah man I fear it, too….
MODI-
Isn’t that vid clip some shit?!
MMA speaks to a culture of instant gratifcation on the whole. Nobody wants to see the boxer skillfully hit his opponent in the body for seven rounds to soften him up for the coupe de grace in the ninth. People never consider that at Wimbledon, Roger Federer is making his opponent move to tire them out. The psychology and strategy behind some of the things going on in a sport are not considered by most of the fans. That’s the sad thing. If you understand those, it lets you appreciate the players and their greatness more.
kos-
True, very true…. MORTAL KOMBAT Forever!… wait, what was I thinking?
I just wrote a comment that reflects your sentiments on both sports. Watching two men beat each other stopped being cool a long time ago.
This “sport” has come a long way from it’s beginnings. It used to be seen only in mid-80s bad Jean Claude Van Damme movies, with asian men standing around in bad business suits waving dollar bills in the air…
Then it became real with the original “UFC” which showcased fighters like Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock while hosting undercards that contained matches between Heavyweights and lightweights from all kinds of “disciplines” like sumo wrestling, grappling, boxing, judo, etc… It was funny then because here you would have a 160lbs man line up against a 400lbs sumo wrestler and it would be like watching a pig try to chase a chicken around a cage… It was also “extreme” because guys would be bloody and beaten at the end of the fight or bones would be broken and the announcers would make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal.
Now it’s more of a sport than it was before, but it will fade just like boxing faded. If K2 can’t get more popular with a dominating figure like Bob Sapp, then trying to force Kimbo Slice down our throats is not going to work. We, as americans, are intrigued when we see graphic videos of 2 men throwing blows in someone’s backyard, so much so that we’re actually interested in watching him try to fight guys that do it for a living.
The english fighter had him beat if he would have been able to hold out a little more with his stamina. He had a glass jaw, but had he been strong enough to hold the guillotine choke he had in round 2, he definitely would have won… and he’s what fight experts call a “tomato can”.
Whatever your feels are on MMA……
the beard was an outstanding decision.
Boney:
I agree that it will fade with time. But what troubles me is where will our pursuit for “the next best thing” take us? If boxing faded into this “sport,” what will this then fade to? Quite frankly, the answer is nowhere good.
Hey D,K, I was going to respect your opinion and say, each man to his own, but then I read a ridiculous statement you made in your comment to another poster that made me blurt out laughing and makes you look incredibly naive and YOURSELF a malleable tool molded by the media !
Warriors fighting in Iraq ?
What kind of ridiculous neocon hubris is that ?
Apparently, you support war crimes and the killing of hundreds of thousands of people by a war criminal ( your President, and your sheep soldiers), but have an issue with some people punching and kicking because it’s in your “living room.”
Let’s get it straight — you’re either a hypocrite, or a complete tool.
The freaking nerve !
Those soldiers aren’t “warrior”, they’re mercenaries, doing it for pocket money and hopes of college money.
These soldiers are worse — they go to a foreign country to invade and kill it’s innocent people, and have NO business in Iraq, it’s just about money, as we all know American soldiers predominately come from the lowest social class, and the Army is now accepting borderline retards, criminals, and high school drop-outs into the ranks !
So, becasue you don’t PERSONALLY see the war crimes commited in Iraq by your BRAVE WARRIORS, who in fact are not brave at all but cowards supported by money and brainwashed into automatons.
The way you described MMA fans is remarkably similar to how soldiers are — and the soldier demographic is the SAME demographic that loves MMA.
Fool.
I started a thread on my Cameldog forums about you neocon shill , be there and let’s see how well you can debate a master !
http://www.cameldog.net/showthread.php?p=601#post601
“Sheikh Zubeer”
Wow.
I’m gonna go for an Allen a.k.a. Big Man-style thoughtful understatement and simply say,
“People are funny.”
Or, perhaps, more to the point,
“You stoopid.”
dwil - I hate when you say aloud what I’m thinking in my head … only then you say it better. Nice piece.
I’m gonna give you poetic justice -
I’m infinitely richer, better educated, handsome and charismatic than you” ever dream to be, I am a man of the world, a global man of letters and vive du jour who’s been in 57 cities and 7 continents , you sir, would serve me Escallope of Veal in some fine restaurant in America, I’d tip you 5 bucks, and you’d buy a pack of cigarettes.
I’m a leader and personality, entrepreneur and success, and you fry burgers at the local McDonalds.
Chew a pack of gum will ya pal !
My main man Zubeer!
You are either twelve years old and secretly playing on the internets while your parents are at work, or you’re a standup comedian using the internets to hone your talent.
Either way, you’re very funny! I mean that sincerely.
Thanks for the laugh
You know I was going to post this really intense and well-written rebutall about how MMA is more than what you imagine it to be D-Will.
And I would have referred to BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Rampage Jackson, and Kevin Randleman…. not Kimbo Slice…. as examples of the point I was going to make. I would have brought up that in order to be in the sport you have to be world-class at multiple disciplines, meaning that most of the Americans are colleger and in some cases Olympic-level wrestlers and highly trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and in the case of BJ Penn, is the only non-brazilian to ever win a Black Belt at the Mundials in BJJ.
But then i realized something. It wouldn’t have mattered. Because this isn’t for you. And all the facts that I could have posted, all the people I could have mentioned who are much more than the caricature that EliteXC and CBS foisted upon casual MMA fans , would not have mattered. So why should I try? I’ll enjoy my BJJ tapes, and my Abu Dhabi submission grappling DVD’s. enjoy your night DK.
check the post on the blog DK. I have a challenge for you.
but since I have not recieved an answer I’ll try to explain the point:
When you discuss MMA, as though somehow all who enjoy the concept of it and what it means are nothing more than a collection of emasculated drooling man-childs incapable of doing anything but cheering on the violence of others, let me tell you who you insult. You insult BJ Penn, a proud Hawaiian working to unite his people who was the only non-brazilian to ever win gold at the black belt level at the Mundials in Rio De Janiero. You insult Kevin Randleman, a 2-time national champion at Ohio State who went into MMA because it was a chance to better himself. And you insult an entire fighting form of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And you know who else insults all of that, far worse than even you? Kimbo Slice.
Kimbo is a fraud. A guy EliteXC picked up and signed because he represents the worst of what some fans think when they see a black MMA fighter. And I am happy that people saw MMA on network tv, but let me say this to you: Kimbo Slice is nothing if not a guy trying to be in MMA because he couldn’t be in boxing.
But hey… what do I know? It’s not like i watched the real good show which was the WEC show the next night. And there was nothing there in that audience but respect for the competitors.
Well isn’t this interesting. I told you, D-Wil, and everyone told you that Kimbo was a fraud. And what happened? First fight he barely scrapes by. Second fight… A last-second replacement ktfo’s him.
I’m still waiting for my challenge to be accepted.