Sportsmanship

Last night a few of the students and I went to some MMA fights. All in all the fights were pretty good. There is definitely some talent out there and some of these guys, in a few years, could easily make the big time. I did have one huge disappointment. One of the local schools had a large contingent in the audience to support their fighters. I commend them on their team spirit. Unfortunately, it seems that when a judgment or call from the referee wasn’t to their liking, they had no inhibitions about “booing” very loudly and at times distractingly.
MMA is still in its infancy, and although the sport is becoming more and more mainstream, it still has leaps and bounds to go. As an example, where boxing events sell out; the arena where last nights fights took place was not even half full.
Folks, we need to be better than this. Team spirit is certainly a large part of any sporting event, but it must not overtake sportsmanship. Unless a contender is winning by such a margin there is no doubt left in the judge’s minds, he or she has not completely achieved their goal and therefore needs to accept whatever ruling is made. Discipline, respect, and humility are some of the cornerstones of what most schools try to instill in their students. However, the lack of restraint, the lack of value, and the arrogance portrayed leave many to believe that martial arts is about pride, and ego. As athletes, competitors, and most of all, as martial artists, we need to be, and certainly can be better than that.