No holds barred fighting...
 

...like Pride, UFC, King of the Cage...

What do you think about it? True competitiveness? Human cockfighting?

Do you love it? Hate it? What's the deal?

I've only seen a little; perhaps you could enlighten me as to just how violent it gets?

Well, the different orgs have different rules but it's basically a few 5 minute rounds (In Pride it's 1 15 minute round) of whatever it takes to score a knockout or make the other fighter 'tap' (tap 3 times on the mat to signal he's had enough).

They pair boxers with wrestlers with martial artists of all discliplines ...even 'streetfighters' (Tank Abbott being the most notable of these).

I've seen broken noses, broken arms, knees, legs, gallons of blood etc.

Well, I have always been entertained by certain kinds of violence like boxing. When I first saw UFC at about 20, I loved it. However, I have been becoming more liberal over the years, and there is definately a part of me that thinks we shouldn't be that violent. The duality in me is confusing and frustrating sometimes, and hopefully I will eventually lose either the pacifist attitude or the desire to see people beat each other up. I don't like being in the middle of the road on this issue, because it kind of makes me feel guilty.

If I'm going to be involved in violence that extreme, I want to be part of it, not watch it.

Any fight I could get into in a bar or on the street would be no holds barred. I figure I'll wait until I actually have a chance to participate in it to see how I like it.

Sully,

We've discussed martial arts a bit. Have you ever seen one of these tournaments?

I've watched a lot of them and it's surprising to me how many of these guys totally lose their fighting discipline and just throw down. The only ones who don't falter are the wrestlers (Kerr).

If you ever got into a street fight I wonder how much martial arts you'd use...

Personally I've dabbled in many but never gotten very serious about it. I like aikido the best as it's sort of like wrestling in a way. Any fight or scuffle I've ever gotten into has always ended up on the ground.

Grappling kills 1 on 1. However, if you ever have to worry about more than one person, you might not want to resort to grappling. Too vulnerable.