BEN & RO ON RUPTURED SPACE

“SANCTIONED VIOLENCE”

Punches and kicks, fist-to-fist face-offs, nasty injuries and “finishing people off” are the way things usually go in the ruptured space of combat sports. So why do fight fans really want that rupture in this space, aka “great fights”? What really makes this arena so juicy and compelling? An interview with an ardent MMA fan throws some light on Adam’s question: “Indeed, is the violent rupturing of space a part of what it means to be alive, to be human?”

Perhaps this ruptured space isn’t really about rupture, after all.

Ro: So what do you like about MMA?

Ben: I like the athleticism. You have to be so skilled at so many different things.... boxing, juijitsu, wrestling, submissions, thai boxing... and they put themselves through intense training, and 50% of it is mental training.”

Ro: What really fascinates you?

Ben: So you have these two guys who are skilled in all these things... two warriors... and they go head-to-head and square off. Whoever wins is usually smarter, or has the mental training not to give up. it’s like a physical chess match.”

Ro: What about blood and that sort of thing?

Ben: Umm. I don't like it but I don’t mind it; it excites me because sometimes a guy will get cut, and bleed like crazy but he keeps going... to me, to able to do that you need to be at a pretty strong place mentally – so when I see a guy doing that, yes it excites me... but not because of the blood, because of the resilience.

So the most dominant MMA fighter in the world, he's undefeated.... Fedor Emilienenko is his name. He was fighting a guy named Kevin Randleman a few years ago.

Kevin Randleman picked up Fedor, tossed him backwards and slammed him down on his neck and head. It looked brutal, like a broken neck or something, but because of Fedor’s mental training, he learned to relax in the ring. So as he was in mid air, he completely relaxed his body and when he landed, his body just absorbed the blow. He got right up, and got Kevin Randleman in an arm lock called a “keylock”. Randleman gave up and Fedor won.

It was one of the most amazing things in MMA history and it was all from intense resilience and mental strength and training. Like, if that were me being thrown i would have locked up and probably broken my neck.

Ro: So if it’s all about mental strength, why does it have to manifest itself physically?

Ben: It’s the combination of brain and brawn, really. But the physical part is what we all grow to love about it. It’s amazing to see these guys try to edge each other out physically… with split second timing and holds and strategy.

Watch the rupture.