The Philosophy of Mixed Martial Arts

Extract

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a combat sport incorporating techniques from other combat sports (such as boxing and Muay Thai) and from traditional martial arts (karate, jiu-jitsu, etc.). It is a recent sport, dating only to the early 1980s, although there are historical antecedents in ancient Greece and elsewhere. As originally conceived MMA had relatively few constraints on the techniques that fighters could use. (Only biting, eye gouging, and groin strikes were forbidden.) The sport was sometimes marketed as “no holds barred” fighting, or a close approximation of street fighting. Gradually more rules were introduced, both for reasons of safety and to broaden the sport’s appeal. Fighters wear specialized gloves and other protective gear, and fights take place in a ring or enclosed area that is sometimes (but not always) an octagon shape. Professional MMA fighters have typically trained in a number of different fighting systems or martial arts.

In their brief introduction, the editors note that despite its recency, MMA has generated significant controversy, making it more than ripe for extended philosophical analysis. The first academic philosophical treatment of the mixed martial arts argued that it was a deeply morally flawed activity (Nicholas Dixon, “A Moral Critique of Mixed Martial Arts,” Public Affairs Quarterly 29:4 (2015), pp. 365–84). The present volume is a response to Dixon’s article on many levels. Many of the thirteen articles discuss ethical issues arising from MMA. The volume also stands in opposition to Dixon as being an exemplar of a nuanced and philosophical engagement with MMA.