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[entremet]

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/05/27/wj-professor-enters-mma-world-to-study-why-men-fight/

This guy definitely has some cojones on him.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Whether it’s boxing, wrestling or brawls in the street, it seems most men like to fight, or at least watch other men fight.
But, why is that?

A local college professor decided to find out by putting down his books and putting up his dukes.

Jonathan Gottschall is a professor of English literature at Washington & Jefferson College.
Gottschall had always been more at home in the library than the gym until one opened up across from his office.

“I just thought this was hilarious – this contrast between this incredibly refined, cultured world of the English department and then this savage world of the mixed martial arts gym,” he said.

Shedding the shackles of academia, Gottschall joined the gym in search of answers.

To up the ante, Gottschall set for himself the ultimate challenge of training for a match with a professional cage fighter.

“It’s a very [primal and] terrifying thing to be locked up in a cage with a trained killer and the only way out is to fight your way through him,” Gottschall said.

Those 13 months divided between gym and research in his office has yielded a book titled,

“The Professor in the Cage.”
It’s a study of violence in men, which has some surprising revelations.

“I think most men enjoy play fighting, they enjoy competition, they enjoy testing themselves and challenging themselves. Most men do not like to fight,” Gottschall said.

Men, it seems, crave respect, higher status and more wealth than other men. However, they don’t necessarily want to fight each other to get them.
Instead of bar fights, duels and wars, we’ve established games of ritual combat like football and cage fighting.

“I came to the point of view that these kinds of ritualized contests constrain aggression and that without them, the world would be a much darker and violent place,” Gottschall said.

Seems like an interesting book.

Gotta give the guy credit for doing a cage fight with a 24 year old.

He was 40 at the time.

The results are detailed in the book apparently. Doesn't sound like it was pretty.

 

[Sendou]

“I think most men enjoy play fighting, they enjoy competition, they enjoy testing themselves and challenging themselves. Most men do not like to fight,” Gottschall said.

Pretty much. It's a fun game not something I'd want to take to take to the streets.

 

[Guevara]

"Turns out, MMA fighters are paid"

 

[iavi]

This sounds like an interesting book. Gonna have to give this a read

 

[terrisus]

Whether it’s boxing, wrestling or brawls in the street, it seems most men like to fight, or at least watch other men fight.

Nice un-sourced claim there.

 

[kirblar]

“I came to the point of view that these kinds of ritualized contests constrain aggression and that without them, the world would be a much darker and violent place,” Gottschall said.

Duh. Doesn't fix everything, but giving people a place to unload safely is a good thing.

 

[triplestation]

man hes gonn'a get fuked up lol

 

[entremet]

man hes gonn'a get fuked up lol

He got fucked up apparently lol.

He finished training after writing the book. I read in other interviews that he had enough of getting hit lol.

It was too much on his aged body. He wasn't an athlete before.

 

[terrisus]

In other news, apparently the professor is counting American "Football" as one of the "games of ritual combat"
Probably fairly apt.

 

[Phat Michael]

Nice un-sourced claim there.

He's talking about animal and survival instinct. You should step in a cage sometimes and learn about this.

Awesome for the professor get in the cage and study mma from the inside.

 

[PdotMichael]

Men are boys and boys love competition.

A society should embrace it.

 

[TheDrizzlerJ11]

Nice un-sourced claim there.

He's sourcing himself. Not to mention the article goes on about having a revelation on that exact point.

Sheesh

 

[entremet]

In other news, apparently the professor is counting American "Football" as one of the "games of ritual combat"
Probably fairly apt.

There is a part of American football where people just love the hard hits.

I remember when we were having CTE discussion on GAF and many fans just couldn't tolerate chaining the rules to make the sport safer.

I definitely think we have a visceral reaction to watching violence.

 

[kirblar]

Men are boys and boys love competition.

A society should embrace it.

Specifically, adult men get an emotional high off of it that adult women don't. (Assuming this study can be replicated.) http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0100318 Not just violence, any competition.

 

[Leona Lewis]

rekt

 

[PdotMichael]

Nice un-sourced claim there.

Sport events are the most watched TV programmes for a reason. A trivial cricket game between India and Pakistan was supposed to be watched by more than 1 billion people.

 

[terrisus]

Sport events are the most watched TV programmes for a reason. A trivial cricket game between India and Pakistan was supposed to be watched by more than 1 billion people.

I wouldn't consider "a trivial cricket game" to be a "fight."

I mean, if one broadened what they consider a "fight" enough, then sure, I suppose so.
Is poker a "fight?"
Backgammon?
Tiddlywinks?

 

[FunkyPajamas]

I wouldn't consider "a trivial cricket game" to be a "fight."

I mean, if one broadened what they consider a "fight" enough, then sure, I suppose so.
Is poker a "fight?"
Backgammon?
Tiddlywinks?

Pokemon?

 

[freakzilla149]

this contrast between this incredibly refined, cultured world of the English department and then this savage world of the mixed martial arts gym.

Ok...

terrifying thing to be locked up in a cage with a trained killer and the only way out is to fight your way through him

Wow! That's some serious ignorance.

 

[entremet]

Ok...



Wow! That's some serious ignorance.

Hyperbole yes, but a well trained MMA fighter does have the tools to kill if necessary.

 

[terrisus]

Pokemon?

Well, of course that's a fight, silly.