I Don’t Give No Respect, No Respect At All

A complaint from decriers of mixed martial arts is the seeming lack of respect many fighters show one another. To them, this lack of respect seems a departure from the life skills purportedly taught by legitimate martial arts schools. I lived in a Zen temple for a time and several Zen practitioners there were martial artists –karate black belts and aikido masters. Martial arts had brought them to a place of spiritual uncertainty –something football or hockey rarely does. It just seems to most of us that martial artists should be about respect.

Martial arts mean literally 'arts of war'. It’s easy to believe that martial arts refers only to Asian arts like karate, kung fu and jiu Jitsu, but in fact depictions of wrestlers date back 15,000 years, and references to boxing 7,000.

None of the specific arts used in combination by MMA fighters began as a lark: all were begun in an attempt to break down various techniques and to create theories behind the ideas, and to then kick ass in order to survive. There's not much respect involved in killing and maiming, though.

Even though the various disciplines are rooted in a martial art, it is safe to say that, through time, some have deviated from the original codes more than others. No one would argue that wrestlers in the NCAA tourney aren’t forged in a hot furnace, but Arizona State is not a Shaolin Monastery, and no one would argue the Marquess of Queensberry rules resembles anything one might see on a battle ground. Boxing is a sport that has been whittled down from the original, much like Greco-Roman has been whittled down from the Greek Pancration, a form of fighting that resembles today’s MMA. Except losers died. Just as the equation E = MC 2 is actually E= +/- MC2, Darwins’ theory of Evolution should be the Theory of Evolution and Devolution because, while things change, it’s not always for the better. Once, the Earth was a steaming chunk of rock floating in space. Now it sings opera....and begs for change.

Face it, MMA is entertainment, and what is combat entertainment without a bad guy? And what’s a bad guy without a big yap? Whether it’s a renovation show on HGTV or a combat sport, conflict puts asses in seats, and asses pay the salaries of the fighters. So maybe it’s the fan’s fault. It's their demand driving supply. Promotions and fighters need to cater to the average fan, like newspapers need to cater to advertisers.

But arsholes take note: there aren’t many champs who are chumps. The greatest champions in MMA have respect for themselves and their opponents. Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, Lesnar (finally), Velasquez, St. Pierre, Anderson Silva (usually). There’s something to be said for the mind state of the respectful, namely that they have the wherewithal to be honest about their skills and those of their opponent. Disrespectful fighters are haughty, self-centered, believe they are the shit -mindsets which keeps them from doing the work necessary to win the belt.

It’s safe to say much of the supposed disrespect is an act. In Total MMA, author Snowden points out that in Ortiz’ battle with Frank Shamrock, both Ortiz and Frank disliked Ken Shamrock, and spoke on the phone about how to best promo their tussle. It’s entertainment. You don’t have to be David Copperfield to benefit from smoke and mirrors. Even Josh Koscheck isn’t the total jerk he purports being. He can't possibly be.

There’s nothing necessarily martial about martial arts in MMA. MMA is an entertainment sport, plain and simple, shaped by the people who are shaped by the money they're making. I’m not saying it’s good or bad but, as Walter Cronkite would say, “... that’s the way it is.”

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By Renko Styranka
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer