Sat 29 Jan 2005
Broken bones, twisted elbows, bloodied noses and myriad screams and growls are just some of the things I witnessed today. No, not a visit to the arcade to play Mortal Kombat, but rather, my first Judo tournament.
I started practicing Judo last year, mainly as a more exciting form of exercise than a treadmill. Since I just passed my first “exam” and received my yellow belt, I was eligible to compete in the local tournament running this weekend… Aside from having a load of fun (won the silver medal, yeah!) and exhausting myself (fought four matches in about 40-minutes!), it was interesting to see everything in play…
The thing that strikes me most is that there were 150+ kids and adults competing today - literally beating the crap out of each other (not so much in karate-chop style, as Judo involves more throws and grappling). The on-hand medics were quite busy with an injury of some sort occurring nearly every other match. And yet, this is all viewed as healthy good fun, with parents and loved ones cheering on. Not to mention that sports like Judo, Greco-Roman wrestling and boxing are Olympic sports garnering loads of government support and public praise, etc.
However, doing pretty much the same stuff virtually, now that should be banned, regulated, and censored? And the act of pushing buttons and moving a mouse is what “trains” us to be killers? I don’t get it. I guess a lot has been said along these lines in regards to much more popular sports like football and hockey. And, thoughts on sports and their role in society is nicely covered in more general “play” books, like “The Ambiguity of Play” by Brian Sutton-Smith.
But, it is a wonder that parents are sending their kids to do sports that literally train them to be ninjas, while in turn freaking when they see what Ninja Gaiden is all about… As usual, MIT’s Henry Jenkins helps dispel the myths.
As an aside, I played rugby for about half my life. Great sport. But, it came to an end when I broke my leg and double-sprained my ankle while my wife was 8-months pregnant - ya, she wasn’t too pleased about caring for me as well as the impending newborn. Anyway, here is a sport, while elegant in so many ways, it just so freaking brutal. And, the best part is that once the game is over, everyone shakes hands and both teams head to the pub for a drink (with the custom being that you buy a drink for the guy who plays the same position as you from the other team). How gentlemanly.
Here’s a shot of my older brother, Derek, who still plays rugby. It was from a playoff game. He butted heads, creating a four-inch gash on his forehead. He ran to the sideline, wiped the blood off, taped his head and continued playing. And ya, he still bought a drink for the other guy ;-)
February 7th, 2005 at 5:43 pm
Jason,
As someone who’s participated both in martial arts tournaments and concerned conversations about what video games teach our children, I’d offer up the following:
First, I do have reservations about martial arts training. I believe that you “become what you train”, and if you train for combat you will perceive combat as a more valid option in a crisis than if you do not train for combat — and while every martial arts instructor I’ve had paid lip service to the idea that avoiding physical conflict is preferable, many of them set rather poor examples in that area of life. I can’t remember how many times some of my instructors came to the studio with a story about how aggressive they’d been — one recounted punching someone out (and leaving him unconscious in a parking lot) because they’d scratched the wax on his Mercedes, another spoke of how he liked to move through concert crowds using elbows and knees to “help people move” out of his way. These people may have been that violently aggressive before they studied martial arts, but they may not have.
Second, I believe that participation in a martial arts tournament (and training, for that matter) provide a much better feedback loop than video games. When someone hits you too hard during training or a tournament, it hurts. For that matter, you can hurt yourself more or less seriously when you strike someone else. That visceral feedback teaches participants that “hitting is wrong” in a way that words do not. So there is benefit (to my mind) in the actuality of martial arts.
I ceased martial arts training after about three years when, during a test, I was accidentally struck harder in the head than anyone intended. But that wasn’t what made me stop. What made me stop was the fact that the instructor running the test had to land on top of me to keep me from coming off the floor with serious intent to injure. I was perfectly in control of myself until I hit the floor, and then I was prepared to “strike back” in a way that was thoroughly unwarranted. I’ll always be grateful to that instructor, because I could have seriously injured my sparring partner before he knew that I was coming after him to damage him instead of to score points.
I believe that three years of martial arts training made me more aggressive in that moment of stress. It certainly gave me the ability to do something more effective with that stress. At least Mortal Kombat doesn’t actually teach gamers to do the moves.