Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a sport with over a 100-year-long tradition. The rules allow a selection of combat styles to be applied in every match. With that, martial artists with various backgrounds are able to fight each other in the ring. MMA is a full-contact sport with roots traceable all the way back into ancient Rome.
Lately, doctors had something to say about this sport during this year’s Canadian Medical Association’s annual meeting. The convincing majority of the professionals voiced their belief that the sport should best be outlawed. They simply argue that there is too large a prospect of injuries – a lot larger than in other sports, like boxing.
As explained by Dr. Ian Gillespie MMA fighting, like box, is different from from many other contests in that the basic intent of the fighter is to do harm in order to knock out his or her enemy. Then he adds that the various techniques […] aren’t limited to punching, and there can be the presence of fewer safety [regulations~rules}.The British Medical Association also presented worries about MMA early in 2009 and are actively campaigning against MMA in Britain (see BMA’s statement. They, too, argue that the sport can get excessively violent and brutal.
WatchKalibRun.com is a site which reports on MMA news and events. In one of the recent articles, it presents their own take on the arguments of the British Medical Association. They mention that there are limited or no statistics available from the British and link to an American study, hinting that injury and knock-out rates in Mixed Martial Arts are comparable to those of other combative sports.
The Hamilton Spectator talked to two to find out what they have to say about the issue. Less protective equipment (thinner boxing gloves) which makes fighting more is a major concern. Also, the fighting rules are more benevolent plus the regulations are looser overall. The fighters don’t aim only at the opponent’s head and the body as is the case in box, for instance. That makes room for a wider selection of injuries. To be fair, it may possibly make head traumas a little less probable. In summary, both experts are calling for a unification of the regulatory procedures across Canada instead of maintaining regulations that are granular across provinces.
So why do the Canadian doctors rise up now? Because only recently (in the middle of August 2010), Ontario government arrived at a decision to make MMA legal in the province. The two largest players – Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Warrior One (W1) – already prepared business plans aiming to develop the sport in some of the most important cities in the province and even several small-but-frequented ones. The premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty took a leap of faith to allow the sport, but wants close scrutiny of all matches and adherence to all the rules. Read more in Toronto Sun.
Nonetheless, doctors argue that there is a lack of trained professionals or paramedics at the matches. They say that even if they were required to attend, it would be against their basic principles for them to passively observe the ongoing injuries without even helping the fighters. Traditional martial artists are displeased that MMA denies the original values of the old martial arts, those being respect, self-control, courtesy and discipline.
According to CTV, Dr. Shelby Karpman rises his finger saying that due to the sport’s popularity, outlawing it would likely result in the matches taking place at underground venues. In addition, health supervisors would not be called up and thus the fighters could count on subpar care. This in turn translates into even more danger.
In summary, it appears that if MMA itself cannot be banned, it should most definitely be officially regulated and adherence to rules should be controlled. There should be reasonable medical supervision with appropriate competencies; insurance, licensing and preventive measures should be enforced.
Extreme sports such as MMA are a separate chapter of life insurance; not every insurer will even want to insure you if you partake in this or a similar extreme sport, and those who will are absolutely going to make you pay a much higher fee. The resulting surcharge will be calculated considering the riskiness of the sport. A fighter should pay utmost attention to any caveats in the policy and should make sure that the match is part of a properly licensed event. Illegal fights may mar your chances of ever successfully making a claim on your policy.
However, each experienced life insurance Ontario advisor should explain you that life insurance is hardly going to suffice to cover all expenses related to extreme sports. This is because a fighter will likely severely harm her or his opponent and will therefore be
responsible for all compensations. So, each fighter should have a liability insurance coverage of her or his own. For liability insurance, it also holds true that the combat should be part of a duly supervised and licensed event and is subject to any exclusions in the plan.
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MMA has a very safe injury track record by comparison to other contact sports. The Canadian doctors are being reactionary on a topic they clearly have little practical knowledge on. The doctors seem more interested in taking a stance for the sake of taking one rather than objectively looking at the data.
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