Last night, on my way to Fry’s Electronics, a radio program was discussing the relative safety/non-safety of mixed martial arts competitions (MMA). The two hosts, one of them an MMA’er himself, referred to a study that found MMA has three times as many head injuries and concussions as boxing. The study consisted of watching hundreds of matches that took place during a decade period, and recording the results, so it’s not exactly like there’s a huge margin for error.
Two of the first three callers called in attacking the data, saying they don’t see how it could be true. The hosts must have supressed the sighs that I expressed out loud. It’s human nature, I suppose; if we don’t like the implications of data, we tend attack the data. That’s not to say that data-gathering methods shouldn’t be scrutinized and to make sure the research is done properly, but it shouldn’t be the automatic place we go when we don’t like the results.
The hosts mentioned a better way to defend MMA would be to look at fatality rates compared with a plethora of sports. For example, horse racing and college football both have a greater percentage of participants dying than MMA.
You could also go the route of emphasizing the fighters are well-aware that their sport is dangerous, and it’s a risk they’re willing to take. And reiterate that how brutal any sport appears does not necessarily correlate with actual health risks.
One of the challenges in this discussion is that most of the people who are interested enough to think about it have a big bias one way or the other (pro boxing or pro MMA). So they focus on whichever data support their bias. (My bias is that I find boxing a bore and MMA headed in that direction.) You want concussions, go get that Va Tech study on football linemen. Yikes.
but that is what is so great about MMA, it’s brutal, its violent, it’s far more dangerous than boxing or kickboxing. did they every look at the x-games, specifically skating and bmx injuries? how many guys break bones, concuss, etc when they fuck up on the halfpipe or the street course?
@Derek: True that. Biases so coat our perceptions; it’s very difficult to dig that out of my own studies and thinking (the rare times this occurs).
Must find that VA Tech study.
@chessloser: That’s what MMA is all about! It’s knock ’em, sock ’em, baby! *turns off Dick Vitale voice*
The WWE looks somewhat close in violence, and we all know the MO of that “sport”.
They still hold the X-games? Are they still relevent (if they ever were)?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/03/health/main591184.shtml
That’s from 04. Looking for something more recent…
Oh, wow. Thanks for going through the trouble!
I’m pretty sure football hasn’t gotten less violent in the last three years, so that will work.