The Hidden Ethics of Combat Sports (Patreon)

Sam's first piece for Bent Knees & Raised Fists

What’s the difference between physical assault and a prizefight? Consent. To so casually dismiss combat sports such as MMA (mixed martial arts) and boxing as being no different than a street assault is to miss the significance of consent entirely. Consent isn’t about the outcome; it’s about the process of the outcome. This knee-jerk bias against combat sports, however, is no different than how people once reacted to tattoos, extreme performance art, and BDSM. (For many, perhaps this is still the reaction).

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