| Fighting for Acceptance
Copyright © David Mayeda 2008
available at - iUniverse Books
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100
Lincoln, NE 68512
www.iuniverse.com
"For the next hundred pages, David Mayeda should take you through the sport’s long journey… You will get to hear from the sports biggest stars, many of whom have walked down the long and twisted road that is mixed martial arts…”
- Jason "MayheM" Miller
A couple years ago I had a former UFC heavyweight champion threaten to kick my ass because of some comments I had made regarding a decision he had won in a tournament semi final. Now that I have read David T. Mayeda's and David E. Ching's “Fighting For Acceptance – Mixed martial Artists and Violence in American Society” I understand more why this former champion was so upset and why his ego was so fragile despite the fact he was/is one of the top fighters in the world. After all, they are artists and they too can have sensitive egos like most artists. Though reading somewhat like a college text book at times, this book is definitely an absorbing analysis of the social consequences of the Mixed Martial Arts phenomenon in the United States, bringing up many questions and raising many issues which are important to contemplate as fans, fighters, promoters, trainers, et all…
To be extremely honest the initial read was a bit dry, as the authors go to pains to try to explain their methodology of information gathering, and conclusions thereafter. So, after reading Jayson "MayheM" Miller’s foreword, I glanced at the first few pages and dove right into the middle of the book and peddled back and forth, hop scotching from one chapter to the next while riding the NYC subway. Without a doubt, the most captivating sections were the fighters comments and responses to “ethical” issues brought up by the authors regarding fighting and the martial disciplines. (safety, respect, sexism, the fighters’ ethics, injuries, violence, etc…) The responses were well thought out, honest and sometimes hilarious, revealing a completely different side, sensitivity, and intellect which MMA competitors’ posses.
While some fighters felt that it was their responsibility to instill respect, others felt it was not within their curriculum as "fight instructors" to be teaching someone what they should already posses.
Including interviews with high profile fighters from Randy Couture to Dan Henderson, to Rampage of trainer Colin Oyama, there are also interviews with some more obscure fighters who reveal the other side of the MMA stage.
Not to give away the best stories, Toby Grear tells an absolutely great story about his mother having to corner him for a bout. "…my cornerman’s car had broken down, and it was in a small countrytown in Ohio. My mom showed up… all 'country club'd out, and I asked her, 'Mom you have to corner for me.'"
I'm sure if these boys have peddled off this book to some college book buyers it will be rightfully instituted in academia in order to try and teach a better understanding of "the MMA fighter persona." MMA is a phenomenon, which has been blooming for many decades already, and in the U.S. for at least two decades. It is important for more literature to address this old and new phenomenon; is it teaching more respect or simply adding to the violence that is an American staple? After all, we are a war economy and making guns accessible to everyone seems to be a primary preoccupation. I would be interested in a book, which focused more on the politics of MMA fighters. Right now we have a man like Matt "The Law" Lindland running as a Republican for a political post in Oregon, while a fighter like Josh Barnett is into collecting guns. On the other hand when the U.S. invaded Irak the second time, the Brazilian Top Team wore T-shirts that said "Stop The War." But then again, that is for another book on MMA.
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