Cubicle to the Cage Episode 1
- 11 years ago
Bare knuckle brawling, cage fighting, human cock fighting; the sport of mixed martial arts has historically conjured images of rage filled barbarians pummeling each other senseless in a bloody and brutal spectacle of violence. However with the popularity of the seemingly ubiquitous Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and its reality TV spinoff The Ultimate Fighter, MMA has taken the sports and sports entertainment world by storm. The recent 8 year prime time network deal signed between the UFC and FOX is perhaps the most important agreement in the sports 20 year history.
But what is this phenomenon at its core, spectacle or sport? On the surface and to the uninitiated onlooker, mixed martial arts appears to have much more in common with the cartoonish world of professional wrestling than with the lauded arena of more established stick and ball sports. But to those inside the sport, including dedicated professional trainers, athletes and their legions of hard core fans, mixed martial arts is the pinnacle of pugilistic competition. To the mixed martial arts combatant, the cage (as it is affectionately known) is the ultimate proving ground where a man, and increasingly woman, can test his / her mettle in the most honest and authentic manner possible.
Somewhere between these very differing views of the sport lies the truth about mixed martial arts. And we are going to seek out and find that truth.
Over the next 12 months, these average, but determined “nine to fivers” turn themselves over mentally and physically to the trainers at TitansMMA, and prepared or not, will be thrust punching, kicking, screaming and bleeding into the grueling and often dangerous world of a professional mixed martial artist. Long gone will be the late mornings in bed, the long coffee breaks, fast food, and hours relaxing on the couch. Instead they will be following an exacting nutrition program, undergoing rigorous strength and conditioning training, the Team Titans coaching staff train them in the skills of wrestling, grappling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, boxing and Muay Thai. Exhaustion will become a way of life; pain a constant companion, and serious injury a regular occupational hazard.
What does it take to become a mixed martial artist? Do they have the strength? Do they have the desire? Do they have the resolve to get back to their feet every last time they are taken down, knocked down or forced to surrender to a superior adversary? Do they have the commitment to sacrifice much of what they hold most dear to achieve their goal? These questions are yet to be answered. However, for certain, we know that they will try, we know that they will learn what it takes to become a mixed martial artist, and in doing so they will learn things about themselves that would be impossible to learn in the safety of their cubicle. The ultimate question is not whether they win or loose, but rather who have they become on their journey from the cubicle to the cage.
But what is this phenomenon at its core, spectacle or sport? On the surface and to the uninitiated onlooker, mixed martial arts appears to have much more in common with the cartoonish world of professional wrestling than with the lauded arena of more established stick and ball sports. But to those inside the sport, including dedicated professional trainers, athletes and their legions of hard core fans, mixed martial arts is the pinnacle of pugilistic competition. To the mixed martial arts combatant, the cage (as it is affectionately known) is the ultimate proving ground where a man, and increasingly woman, can test his / her mettle in the most honest and authentic manner possible.
Somewhere between these very differing views of the sport lies the truth about mixed martial arts. And we are going to seek out and find that truth.
Over the next 12 months, these average, but determined “nine to fivers” turn themselves over mentally and physically to the trainers at TitansMMA, and prepared or not, will be thrust punching, kicking, screaming and bleeding into the grueling and often dangerous world of a professional mixed martial artist. Long gone will be the late mornings in bed, the long coffee breaks, fast food, and hours relaxing on the couch. Instead they will be following an exacting nutrition program, undergoing rigorous strength and conditioning training, the Team Titans coaching staff train them in the skills of wrestling, grappling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, boxing and Muay Thai. Exhaustion will become a way of life; pain a constant companion, and serious injury a regular occupational hazard.
What does it take to become a mixed martial artist? Do they have the strength? Do they have the desire? Do they have the resolve to get back to their feet every last time they are taken down, knocked down or forced to surrender to a superior adversary? Do they have the commitment to sacrifice much of what they hold most dear to achieve their goal? These questions are yet to be answered. However, for certain, we know that they will try, we know that they will learn what it takes to become a mixed martial artist, and in doing so they will learn things about themselves that would be impossible to learn in the safety of their cubicle. The ultimate question is not whether they win or loose, but rather who have they become on their journey from the cubicle to the cage.