No holds barred in "cage fighting" debate

LONDON (Reuters) - By day Rosi Sexton wrestles with the finer points of mathematics; by night she kicks, slams and punches other women in a cage.


The 26-year-old doctor of mathematics is part of Britain's growing sport of cage fighting.


In September, more devotees like Sexton will clash at the "UK Storm" tournament in Birmingham after weeks of controversy forced the cancellation of two other shows.


Once an underworld domain of gypsies, bouncers and gangsters, no-holds-barred fighting has gained a cerebral edge as the professional classes seek an adrenaline-charged antidote to office life. And with them they bring new attitudes.


"There's still the occasional Neanderthal who believes women shouldn't be out of the kitchen, but we are definitely getting more acceptance," says Sexton.


The resurgence of cage fighting has led to a barrage of media outrage and calls for the sport to be banned.


"How can they call this sport?" the Evening Mail in Birmingham, raged last month, shortly before councillors stepped in calling for UK Storm to be banned.


"We'd like to see a total ban," said a spokesman for the British Medical Association, which represents the country's doctors. "We're opposed to boxing and variations on it like ultimate fighting and cage fighting because of the damage it does to the human brain."


INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY


Mark "The Shark" Goddard, who was due to fight at the UK Storm event, said bad press had also had its advantages.


"They made it out like they'd uncovered some underground fighting scene," said the 28-year-old sales manager. "But in one way they've done us a favour. Once you sensationalise something, everyone wants to see what it's about."


The rescheduled show is now sold out.


Cage fighting, which protagonists prefer to call Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), blends a potent range of fighting styles from wrestling to boxing to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.


"It's like a game of chess," says Sexton. "The difference is you've got to do it while they're hitting you."


Caged at the centre of a sports hall or nightclub, fighters clash in a melee of punches and kicks, quickly descending to the canvas -- much like a street fight.


If a fighter can gain the upper hand, they will often "ground and pound" their opponent to submission, signalled with a slap to the canvas.


"Mixed Martial Arts is an intellectual activity as well as a physical one," says John Hopton, a lecturer in social sciences, who became a fighter himself after studying the sport.


"This is most obvious in ground-fighting which requires good problem-solving skills and a good understanding of anatomy and body mechanics," he said.


POST-FEMINIST REBELLION


While women are carving out a niche in this male dominated world, many men are attracted by what they see as a sanctuary from modern post-feminist culture.


"A healthy natural part of being human is to feel aggression, but it is one of the things that our culture doesn't deal with very well," says Martin Milton, a senior lecture in psychology at the University of Surrey.


"By normalising aggression, fighting helps people deal with these emotions, and prevents them from becoming a big deal."


In his paper "Combat Sports: Validation of Male Violence or Solution to a Crisis of Masculinity", Hopton argues that controlled fighting offers hope for a generation of emasculated men.


"Depression and suicide in young men is one of the major mental health concerns of our times," he writes. "This is sometimes associated with a putative crisis of masculinity."


"Combat sports represent an arena where young men may be accorded respect and esteem by peers through the demonstration of traditional masculine virtues."


Rosi Sexton refutes criticism of the sport's safety. "You see more surface damage than in boxing, because the gloves are thinner to help with the grappling," she said.


"But when you're punching on the floor you're not getting the power of the body behind it, so there's less brain damage."