The Violent Ballet: Why I Watch MMA

I have a ballerina build.  Like a gangling egret, with static-y hair-feathers, I was built for flight, not the fight.  But I delight in the power of graceful movement, in the efficient prowess of violence:  the well-thrown punch, the precise, elusive movement.

Inside, I am a field general, seven-feet tall, all brawn, at the head of an army, marching to war, against everything that is wrong.  I vent this in table-top board games, in school work, seeking challenges which present complexity and require decision, but it is not enough.  So I vent it through watching sports--violent, competitive sports, chiefly the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).  To me, it is the chess of sports, taking a simple arena, and introducing multiple combat styles, the best combatants seamlessly weaving one style into the next, to tilt the balance of power, and ultimately dominate an opponent--sometimes with control, sometimes with abandon, always reading, leading, anticipating, recalculating.

In many ways we have evolved beyond violence as the means of conflict resolution it was for our ancestors, though not as much as we should have.  But it is still there, I believe, because we are animals.

I don't believe my dearly beloved, Hufflepuff hoard has ever quite understood this interest, so I would like to give an apology for why the Hunt and Hearth mistress, whose heart is ever at home with humankind, so loves a combat sport.  You might start with my moniker.  It has a certain duality built into it:  the hunt and the hearth, the going out and the coming home.  One might mistake it for an homage to the offensive and the defensive.  I would find something rather antisocial in attacking for attacking's sake, however.  I have only ever seen the biological project as one of survival, and what we call offense is merely a robust arm of defense.  A truly educated and effective defense does not come from merely staying home and tending the hearth, but from going out and educating one's self on the nature of the enemy.  Now in all of this, I imagine the enemy as the common enemies of humanity--disease and poverty.  Local quarrels are not worthy of us--not worthy of our energy, not worthy of our problem solving abilities, nor of our staying power.

The body is not contented with its complement of antibodies, but is always building new defenses, through encountering foreign substances called antigens.  Similarly, we educate our minds with new information, and (should) exercise our bodies with progressively more strenuous antagonists to build strength and endurance.

In philosophy, you don't hide a cherished theory, you present it to as many challengers as possible, saying "please, attack this.  Identify it's weaknesses, so that we may known them, correct them, and so make the theory stronger, or replace it with a better theory."  Anything worth having should be able to withstand the scrutiny of rigorous cross-examination.

So why fighting?  For inspiration.  Many MMA fighters have overcome great obstacles to become successful in their sport.  Life has knocked me down a few times.  Because I've seen fighters get back up, I know that I can get back up, and I know that others can get back up.  There are things in life that are worth fighting for.  A home for humanity that's free of poverty and disease is worth fighting for.  And for my part, I'm going to keep getting back up until that is achieved.