Kicks and Punches, UPS and Downs of Martial Arts Contact Competitions, and How I Could No Longer Watch Any of That

I used to be an avid viewer of any and all martial arts contact competitions. I practically lived for watching those competitions with the resultant adrenaline rushes and the exciting moves and thrilling matches.

Mixed Martial Arts, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, karate, kung fu, etc. I loved watching them all. I watched UFC matches for years. I watched European Kickboxing Competitions on TV when I lived in the Philippines and other fighting competitions I saw on TV there.

I particularly liked the amazing Muay Thai, possibly one of the greatest combat skills on the planet with Muay Thai fighters starting their training as children.

But in one UFC match I saw, a guy got hit so hard with a spinning back kick that the contact to his head sounded almost as loud as thunder, and he instantly dropped to the floor as if dead. The hush over the audience and the broadcasters and the coaches was as if they feared the fighter was dead too.

Miraculously, the fighter was alive, but with a blow that hard it made me wonder if he’d have brain damage or be an early candidate for dementia.

Then I read how many Muay Thai fighters got banged up badly from fighting since childhood with lifelong injuries.

And my zealous enthusiasm began to sour on contact sports that left participants with the possibility of lifelong injuries and/or mental impairments, like the boxing great, Muhammad Ali.

And I no longer could watch any contact sports after that.

Bob Boyd

Author: BobBoyd

Quomodo cogis comas tuas sic videri? 79, cancer survivor, work out 3 times a week, ride my exercise bike 2 hours daily. Began writing poetry October 2023, living in Greensboro, North Carolina, originally from just outside of Boston, MA. Retired and enjoying a solo, reclusive life always researching and gaining knowledge. Most of my poems are fictional. I write about many things: Spirituality, Mysticism, the Paranormal, Cryptids, Werewolves, Ghosts, 411s, Nature, Birds, Animals, Romantic Love, Death, NDEs, Women Persecuted as Witches, Fictional Characters I Create, News Stories, AI, Robots, Insects, like the poem entitled, Hail Caesar Bob, (about when bees were swarming me outside the door to my apartment), and many other topics. I write a minimum of 3 poems daily, sometimes more. View all posts by BobBoyd