My grandson Cody is in the picture accompanying this article because he exemplifies my thesis. Cody is the fourth from the left and in fourth place.
Sports can be a very influential experience in the life of America's youths.
It can be positive and help a young person to find acceptance with his peers, increase his confidence in himself, and also be the impetus to attempt to progress and build upon his successes to achieve greater rewards in the future.
After reading "Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American Society" by David T. Mayeda, PH.D. and David E. Ching, M. A., I have started to evaluate the experiences which demonstrate that sports such as MMA can have either a very positive or negative impact on the outcome of young people who are under its influence.
First, witness the sudden spate of YouTube videos made to show beat downs that are occuring frequently now in our society.
The most famous example would be the unprecedented rise of Kevin Ferguson, more commonly known as "Kimbo Slice" in the sport of MMA.
Suddenly thrust from homelessness into the spotlight of MMA fighting and headlining the Elite XC debut on CBS, Kimbo Slice has become the idol of today's teenagers.
These teens want to emulate their idol's quick rise to fame and are trying to follow his route by posting videos of themselves beating down various male and female victims to achieve instant notoriety ala Kimbo Slice and become rich and famous.
Needless to say this is an extremely negative influence that has serious consequences for both the individuals involved and society equally.
Now Kimbo would never be my pick for a role model for anyone to emulate, let alone an impressionable adolescent.
My grandson Cody comes from Clinton, Illinois, a town with a population of maybe 8,000. Cody has been wrestling since the age of five and has had excellent coaches and good role models.
Cody was drawn to MMA and greatly influenced by the UFC's most dominant welterweight of all time, Matt Hughes. The fact that Hughes comes from Hillsboro, IL., (population in the range of 4,000), and has a background similar to Cody's has really been a motivator for him to strive to become a success as a wrestler, and then follow Hughes' path into the world of MMA.
Of the two instances I have cited, I would rather have the youth of today find a popular fighter in the UFC, or another organization, with a background similar to theirs and then follow that fighter as an example, instead of following someone like Kimbo Slice.
In the book I cited at the beginning of this article, "Fighting for Acceptance," there are many interviews with popular fighters of varying backgrounds who would make much better role models than Mr. Ferguson, like Randy Couture, Rampage Jackson, Guy Mezger, Frank Trigg and Travis Lutter, to name just a few.
Why? Because any fighter who has come up through the UFC, whether educated beyond a high school education or not, has had to work very hard and train with dedication to achieve their stardom. Their paths have not been easy, but after arriving in the UFC their awards have been great.
No, not the instant gratification most teens would hope for, but training under a skilled mentor who understands the dynamics of the sport, the necessity for proper conditioning and nutrition, and someone who loves the sport and understands the trials and tribulations a young person must encounter would be better.
It will not be a quick or easy journey, but with a good initial foundation and careful guidance it will be a goal that can safely be achieved.
In my opinion, the mark of a successful adult is to have been a positive influence and make a difference in the life of a child.
13 comments Last one added 4 months ago — Leave a Comment
David Mayeda about 1 year ago
Thanks for the citation Dorothy. I agree, the YouTube generation that we are all in has influenced youth to express themselves in ways, sometimes behaviorally disturbing. And while MMA may not be the impetus for the expression of violence on video sharing websites, MMA's popularity can certainly extend the negative behavior, especially when Kimbo Slice's past street fighting is glorified by MMA organizations.
It would be good if more MMA gyms and promotions actively discouraged youth from fighting in the street/school/home, and made those messages more public: http://starbulletin.com/2008/05/25/editorial/commentary.html
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stu pane about 1 year ago
this guy has a point!
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Tony Preston about 1 year ago
Talking about the Kimbo Slice influence made me think of a video a friend of mine showed me. In the video they show two teens one is big and pretty built and the other is a nerdy looking kid who is all skin and bones. Some kid is basically commentating the fight and introduces the fighters. He introduces the big kid as the next Kimbo Slice. Then the fight starts and the little kid just walks away from the other guy to avoid the wild punches being thrown and the kid comentating is calling the little kid a wuss and making fun of him. Then he decides to throw a punch and catches the big kid flush and knocks the big kid out. I thought it was kinda funny since the big kid called "The Next Kimbo Slice" gets knocked out in one punch by a kid who was short and skin and bones.
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Dorothy Willis about 1 year ago
Actually Tony, that may have been prophetic for Kimbo himself as Dana White has stated that BJ Penn could take him.
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David Mayeda about 1 year ago
Yeah, he said BJ Penn could take Kimbo, and then after Kimbo's match against Thompson, White also said Urijah Faber could be Kimbo!
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Dorothy Willis about 1 year ago
With the strikes Uriah threw against Jens, I don't doubt that he could, but maybe Jens would let Uriah get on his back to make up for the height disparity.
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Nick Colon about 1 year ago
Haha, good written article Dorothy. The funny thing is I just went to a WCF (World Championship Fighting) event in the Northeast, and the owner of the event, which just so happens to be Joe Cavallaro who promotes Marcus Davis, invited many outside sporting groups like NBC Sports, and ESPN to the event. There was a lady from ESPN who was conducting interviews with father and son combinations to get their idea of what MMA is like for today's youth. I think guys like Kimbo will get the recognition now, but once he finally falls flat either in the UFC (I doubt he'll make it that far) or even in Elite XC, you'll see everyone drop off his bandwagon. It's as my mother would say, "it's a fad with today's youth, it'll eventually die out." Good points made though.
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Dorothy Willis about 1 year ago
I can't wait for this particular fad to die. Cody understands the difference in the "real" fighters and the fad Kimbo Slice wanabes and I am proud of him for that.
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Erin Owens about 1 year ago
Hello Dorothy, I read your article through gmail google alerts, and was very interested in your article. My boyfriend is a professional fighter who has two professional fights and another this Saturday. After explaining your article he offered his insight into the world of mixed martial arts to you or your grandson. He teaches a couple of youth MMA classes as well as adult classes, and echoes your sentiments as far as the effect of MMA on children. If you want to contact him, feel free to contact me at MarylandTeacherGirl@gmail.com.
He is willing to offer advice and tips to you or your grandchild. I hope he can help!
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Jason Cottier about 1 year ago
I think if Kimbo could sign on with another organization which doesn't point out the way he made his name like elitexc does he could be a positive role model...If the focus on him was how he came from nothing to where he is now. I mean he went about it a different way, and it shouldn't be gone after that way. I have heard about singers getting noticed singing while pumping gas, but I don't belt out blue notes pumping gas myself...I am pretty positive he could be somewhat of a role model, never a top fighter, but he was homeless and had nothing and look at him now kids he saw something he wanted and he achieved it, because he never quit or something like that. They need to focus on positive things. The whole Kimbo being bad for youth is actually the fault of the ones that won't let it die. If people stop pointing out his "bad side" younger fans would honestly forget. I saw a special on Kimbo on ESPN and he was takling about how he used to do bad things and now he has turned his life around and everything, but then it had to harp on his street fighting, and show him with strippers. I get a lot of mixed messages from him, and I am very skeptical of Gary Shaw...I think he is the one who decided to show him with strippers and show his street fighting. Shaw isn't trying to do anything for the sport he is trying to pad his wallet.
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Steve King 8 months ago
Love the article, will totally use this in my paper on how violence in the media affects society. Thanks from Salisbury U!
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Dorothy Willis 8 months ago
Gosh, I am very flattered and hope your paper does very well. And thank you; please ley me know how you do and consider posting excerpts here. Grandma Dee
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mike mma 4 months ago
hey i am also in mma so dont dissing the sport i know that broken bones and that can happen but stfu about the crap about the mma for kis being too hard if it was too hard why the hell would people be enjoying it huh?
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