Legalize MMA (in Ontario)

I just watched the Legalize MMA documentary Bobby Razak put together.  Currently, the province of Ontario, here in Canada, has a prohibition on combative sports not sanctioned by the provincial sports authority. The authority has yet to allow MMA competition.

It’s a short doc, only 16 minutes long, and well worth a watch if you’re interested in martial arts, or mixed martial arts.

I support the legalization of MMA even more than I believe in MMA. The points brought forward in the documentary are all good ones. I think if boxing is legal and supported in Ontario, so should it.

My personal position on MMA is a complicated one. I don’t see much art in the sport. It’s fighting and brawling with specific training. Martial Arts are about more than just fighting – they have internal aspects that audiences of MMA don’t often see and appreciate. Fighters like Brock Lesnar demean martial arts, and the discipline and respect that are part of it.

A percentage of MMA fighters, probably a large one, began their fighting careers as thugs who took a few karate or jujitsu classes and saw they could make money competing.

I would consider training to compete in a MMA tournament. Not for money, not for attention, but to test my skill, determination, toughness, and overall ability against another skilled fighter – with the agreement that we would hurt each other, just not seriously.

Thanks to Daniele Rossi for sharing the documentary with me!