Is "Fighting" a "Sport"?

'Sportsmanship' is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors.

Sportsmanship can be conceptualized as an enduring and relatively stable characteristic or disposition such that individuals differ in the way they are generally expected to behave in sport situations. In general, sportsmanship refers to virtues such as fairness, self-control, courage, and persistence,[3] and has been associated with interpersonal concepts of treating others and being treated fairly, maintaining self-control if dealing with others, and respect for both authority and opponents. Sportsmanship is also looked at as being the way one reacts to a sport/game/player.

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a reply to: Akragon

I guess it is. Cage Fighting seems a bit suspect though.

Personally I don't watch fighting sports. They make me feel sick. I had all the violence I would ever want to experience as a child growing up on a horrible and violent council estate (project in U.S).

My favourite sport is cycling.

When I was younger I watched boxing, but I watched a fight where one of the boxers just would not give in and he got a brain injury from which he never recovered. I have never seen a guy stand up to the punishment he took that night. It made me cry and since that time I have not been able to watch a boxing match.

I would rather bathe in rose petals and kiss the purple sky than watch men or women bashing each other in a contest.

But each to their own Mr Akragon.

Good day.

a reply to: Revolution9

I would rather bathe in rose petals and kiss the purple sky than watch men or women bashing each other in a contest.

Ya but you're a girl...

a reply to: Akragon

No, I'm a guy. I have just broken the mould of stereotypes. There is no gender stereotype I have to live up to. I have "left the cave" like Elvis left the building, lol.

I'm no weakling. I am very athletic and in excellent shape. Being stuck in a violent place and having your childhood tainted with aggression sure is a prison of sorts. I made a vow to escape. I did it, too. I live in a nice cottage by the ocean now and there is no one threatening me or me having to put on the tough guy image every time I leave the door. I'm free of all that. I give my time to the more delicate pursuits of music and art.

I'd rather be a Bob Marley than a Mike Tyson.





Don't get me wrong. I actually feel sorry for Mike Tyson that he never got the opportunity to discover the more gentle side of life on planet earth. These guys, both fighters in a sense. Bob Marley is the kind of fighter I would want to be. That is one who fights for humanity at large, for better rights, better understanding between races and all those other goodies.

I am not saying that others should not like it, but for me there is just a bitter after taste of time spent in a jungle and I cherish the beauty and gentility I get to experience each day now I am free of all that.

From this:



To this:



Quite literally.

No more Auction Block for me, no more, no more!

I escaped using my own wits.

a reply to: Revolution9

Alright...

what happens when you take away the ref in MMA, as compared to any other "sport"?

a reply to: Akragon

If there's no referee, then there are essentially no rules. So the only indication of a winner is whoever is able to walk away after the fight is over. In pursuit of that goal, all is fair. Without rules, a fight is no longer a sport, but survival.

-dex

a reply to: DexterRiley

point being... MMA essentially becomes a "bloodsport" without a ref

Death the end result, just as in roman times

so IS fighting a sport?

Fighting is a combat sport, and is likely the oldest types of sports. Many ancient cultures participated in these types of events.
Wrestling was a common one. Roman gladiators fought to the death. Medieval knights fought in tournaments.

Yes, fighting is a sport.
They have rules of competition.
NASCAR on the other hand is not a sport. Or is it?
Turning left is a sport?

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

Fighting can be a sport, but only when there is a recognized set of rules that both sides adhere to. Even in the gladiatorial arena there were rules, formalized styles and the like. It wasn't always fight to the death. In fact, Roman gladiatorial combat arose out of ritualized shows for funeral displays between two highly specialized styles.

When you remove all the rules, it becomes something else.

a reply to: Akragon

I always felt boxing and cage fighting shouldn't be considered a sport. A lot of boxers have been killed or in later years have been left with brain damage. I remember growing up watching "Boom Boom Mancini" knocking out a Korean. The Korean never recovered and died.

As a civilized society, we can't move beyond violence by continuing to satisfy our primitive instincts with violent entertainment.

a reply to: Akragon

so IS fighting a sport?

I will say that if a fight takes place between 2 or more individuals with the primary intent of demonstrating prowess in the fighting arts, without necessarily involving survival or malice, then it is a sport. Although both malice and survival may still be a factor to a lesser extent.

That would mean that both MMA and Roman Gladiator fights-to-the-death would be considered sport.

A street fight that happens when someone violates another's turf is not a sport, because it is driven primarily by malice and survival.


-dex

Most modern sports have some violence associated with them. American football and hockey are full contact sports. Basketball and baseball also have things in them that could be considered violent. Any time people are physically competing, there is a risk of injury or death. If any sport that has any kind of violence or contact were disallowed, we'd have very few sports.

a reply to: JDHellraiser

Ever seen anyone carted off on a backboard in track and field? I have ... twice.

Yep, anytime you push yourself to the limits, physically bad things can happen.

a reply to: ketsuko

Have you ever watched Rugby or Austrailan rules football?

Those guys decimate each other and they are both reffered to as sports.

a reply to: nonspecific

Occasionally catch some.

Teikiastu and his college roommates made a game one summer out of watching them and trying to figure out the rules.

Boxing is the sweet science . Watching two great boxers is a wonder to behold . There is an art to boxing . Great boxers are disciplined , can control their anger and are patient . There is strategy to boxing and MMA .

MMA . Take Holly Holm for example , a former pro boxer . Watching her foot work , bouncing and moving on the balls of her feet like a dancer , ducking under punches , making her opponet chase her , then stepping in with that powerful left jab , combos or a high kick . Magnificent. Just ask Ronda Rousey (who is great grappler but no stand up game).

Boxing and MMA is not street fighting . In both , each fighter is different so you study your opponent and create a game plan , no fight is the same . Street fighting is a chaotic and sloppy mess . No strategy , it is violence for vilonce sake and no sportsmanship . In boxing and MMA there is sportmanship for the most part . Sure there are some ass**les , but for the most part they dont want to do permanent damage or kill anyone , but it happens .

people die in their chosen profession all the time . You choose a dangerous profession , then you take those chances .Look at the match between Ray Boom Boom Mancini against Kim Duk-koo(both great boxers) , I remember watching that fight well . Kim went the distance and made Boom Boom work for it every round . Kim died 4 days after the fight from brain injuries .

This affected Boom Boom greatly . Hell , I was a teenager at the time and I was stunned by his death . But Boom Boom kept boxing until his retirement .

I grew up fighting. I enjoyed fighting so much that I got into boxing. I really feel combat "sports" really are sports. When I would Box We both agree to fight and at the end theres no hard feelings but respect. I grew up fighting but never liked violence outside the ring. I think theres a big diffrence.

a reply to: Akragon

Kind of off topic but I get a little more depressed when I see women fighting for sport...I believe in the end women were our last hope for some civility in this world...but since feminism, the need to be equal with men has some unintended consequences that a women should consider this as a viable career choice and that it ok for other girls to accept this type of behavior. All of us can do a lot of things but sometimes it's not necessary to do so...with respect to the question I do consider it a sport....a sport that I would in no way want my kids to participate in...

I watch a good deal of hockey and really enjoyed the fighting...after I took my son to a game and watched his expression during a fight I had to reconsider if it was necessary..(despite that some refs seem to be blind or partial to their team) and it was an uncomfortable moment to explain why hockey was the only sport that allowed fighting within the realm of opposing sports teams...

Interesting question OP and I appreciate it...

originally posted by: Prisoner60863
I grew up fighting. I enjoyed fighting so much that I got into boxing. I really feel combat "sports" really are sports. When I would Box We both agree to fight and at the end theres no hard feelings but respect. I grew up fighting but never liked violence outside the ring. I think theres a big diffrence.

True .

I boxed between wrestling seasons to stay in shape .

Boxing is a tough sport . I was a runner and a wrestler , but after a few rounds those gloves felt like cinderblocks and I would be gasping for air after some shots to the ribs . But I always respected my opponent . Most of whom were and still are my friends .

Most all fighters respect one another . Where else can you throw punches at one another for round after round then shake hands and or hug it out afterwards .

All that cockiness , bluster and smack talk before matches and during weigh ins is all part of the game , it puts butts in seats .