Violence in MMA

1. Annotated Bibliographies

2. Geoff Varney. (2009). FIGHTING FOR RESPECT: MMA'S STRUGGLE FOR ACCEPTANCE AND HOW THE MUHAMMAD ALI ACT WOULD GIVE IT A SPORTING CHANCE. West Virginia Law Review, 112, 269-1139.

3. Canadian officials have been banning the practice of martial arts without any logistical evidence. It turns out their standpoint is based on feelings, presumptions. In fact in areas where mma is prominent in Canada there is no hospital admittance for serious injuries which may be related to mma. Ball and Dixon go on to discuss the judgement of referees and the correlation between proper judgement and fighter safety. This article really addresses some critical aspects to injury of mma and I found that it really separated fact from opinion.

4. Neyra, Daniel. (2013). Fight kids: The future of mixed martial arts or a detriment to America's youth? A call to regulate children's MMA. Family Court Review, 51(4), 727.

5. Varney's article analyzes the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. In doing this he unveils many states positioning on broadcasting of the sport claiming it's too "brutal" and "dangerous. This opinion is spreading like wildfire, Varney argues, "MMA's non-adherence to the traditional rules of boxing causes some individuals to believe it is more dangerous. Their ignorance of the sport and its rules gives them a false impression" (Varney, MMA v. Boxing). On top of this Varney articulates many salient points of how regulated MMA really is, and discusses it all from a political standpoint. For the most part my other sources references more on the inside of MMA between fighters, etc. I enjoyed this source for its primary reason discussing the misconception of the sport. It is to the point but not too simple, the author maintaining his comprehensive tone throughout the article.

6. Massey, William V., Meyer, Barbara B., & Naylor, Adam H. (2013). Toward a grounded theory of self-regulation in mixed martial arts.(Report). Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 14(1), 12.

7. Ball, Chad G., & Dixon, Elijah. (2011). The consensus statement on mixed martial arts: Emotion, not evidence-based.(CORRESPONDENCE/CORRESPONDANCE). Canadian Journal of Surgery, 54(1), 1.

8. This article discusses the art as a whole, from its participants involvement, routines, and compassion for each other. "Beyond emotional support, teammates and coaches helped athletes find motivation when it appeared there was little energy left to give. Athletes involved in MMA exist in a violent world where it is imperative to harm one another in practice and competition, yet they appear to share a bond that carries one another through the grueling practice and weight cuts of the sport." This shows the immense bond between fighters and coaches as well as, the amount of self regulation it takes to be a fighter. I found this article as a means to explain the values that martial arts fighting teaches those involved. This author does a superb job at pointing in the right direction and capturing the true amount of respect fighting requires.

9. Neyra's article focuses on the debate of children involvement mix martial arts while comparing it's lack of rules and regulations to the adult variant of MMA. In fact she brings a crucial backing to this claim, where a study by John Hopkins University found a properly regulated MMA fight is safer than other combatant sports. This article goes forward into the many ways in which a fight stop. Neyra also discusses a bit about the counterargument but not an overwhelming amount to the point where her argument of regulation seems feasible. This article mainly connects with the previous article and supports many of the claims about violence being minimal.

10. Shimo, A. (2008, March 10). Nasty, brutish and short: ultimate fighting's all about 'blood and guts.' So why are parents signing up their kids? Maclean's, 121(9), 52+.

11. This article contains some counterclaims and positions the argument in terms of how dangerous the sport is. Though as the other articles point out despite incident occurrences are rather low, they do still occur and unfortunately many individuals will stick to their guns on the standpoint that MMA is a brutish sport.

12. Spencer C. Dale. 2012. "Ultimate Fighting and Embodiment: Violence, Gender and Mixed Martial Arts" [Google Books ver.] Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-iHLo1h5ikC&printsec=copyright&source=gbs_pub_info_r#v=onepage&q&f=false

13. Spencer's publishing maintains the argument of how regulation in the practice of combat sports really do make a difference. On top of that it proves how now boxing has a run for it's money in terms of violence. The book discusses more in depth about how mma can go wrong as well as go right. This inclusion really aids in both arguments which is why as a whole it is important to collectively know both sides of an argument. The author does a good job at being unbiased.

14. Shinke J. Robert. 2014. "The Psychology of Sub-Culture in Sport and Physical Activity: Critical Perspectives" [Google Books ver.] Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=DwtUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA181&lpg=PA181&dq=Garcia,+R.S.+and+Malcolm,+D.+(2010)+Decivilizing,civilizing+or+informalizing?+The+international+development+of+Mixed+Martial+Arts,+International+Review+ofthe+Sociology+of+Sport+45&source=bl&ots=-QKZ7gmwmn&sig=Z9dZRiGvGxrPpeom7Fcm5XG0iWc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMI2qXG14CuyAIVAVk-Ch2c8Qgz#v=onepage&q&f=false

15. Shinke's publishing analyzes the psychological aspect of the sport. Hazing for fun and hazing as violence are main discussion points, where one is mindless fun and other as serious physical and psychological harm. However when it comes to the combat sport, it is found that individuals often exchange personal encounters and refer to each other as extended family where violence is no longer a one dimension construct. Shinke gathers several salient ideas which observe violence in mixed martial arts. It appealed to me because it also talks about the social circumstances in mma. It connects to my other sources due to the fact that the author really discusses violence in easily understood terms.