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In the cold reality of our beloved sport of mixed martial arts when is it “O.K” to tap out? When is it “O.K” for your corner man to throw in the towel? Is it only "O.K" when you are in a position that you have absolutely no chance of escaping, and the ref doesn't seem to want to step in? Is it ever “OK”?
In the cold reality of our beloved sport of mixed martial arts when is it “O.K” to tap out? When is it “O.K” for your corner man to throw in the towel? Is it only "O.K" when you are in a position that you have absolutely no chance of escaping, and the ref doesn’t seem to want to step in? Is it ever “OK”? In a sport that rewards people that can take more punishment then the average Joe, when does the ability to endure pain change from being “all heart”, to being “all stupid”? It seems that in many cases fighters who endure in the face of insurmountable odds receive silent admiration from the fans... the fans who understand. It seems that sometimes the only reward is silent admiration for enduring the bludgeoning physical abuse that most sheepishly refuse to endure, and endure it proudly they do. Without heart your body will surely succumb, clearly your mind can only go so far without the support of the soul. The smallest flicker in the flame of your heart will eventually lead to the tapout and the end of the fight. Hopefully, your health is still in good order when the ref steps in, but too many times the tap comes too late if it comes at all. With a big heart comes responsibility. The proverbial "big heart" is a shady beast, and like the mythical "Sirens" of Greek lore, it may lead into the jagged cliffs of personal disregard. With the amount of punishment the fighters are trained to dish out in this day and age, irresponsibility may put your quality of life, not to mention your career in jeopardy. Where is the proverbial invisible line that can not be crossed, where is the common ground? Is it when your opponent has sunk in a submission so very tight and deep, that there is absolutely no chance of escape. When an increasingly painful and potentially career threatening submission attempt is sending sharp signals to your brain that are clouding your thoughts, how do you endure? What if your seemingly invincible cardio has failed you, there are no remaining energy reserves In you body and your second wind has long since gone the way of the Dodo. There is nothing left in your gas tank, not even the long since spent fumes, what do you do? What if you are trapped in a terrible position, and taking numerous unanswered, and unprotected strikes to the head and you are clearly in trouble. Your brain is rattling inside your skull and the jarring fists and feet are scattering your fleeting thoughts, where do you turn? There is no escape, your corner-man is dutifully clutching the white towel in his hand, but what would you have him do? It is your career on the line, and a loss on your record will affect the financial stability and earning power of you and your family. If the situation is reversed, what do you do if you are the corner-man? What if it is your friend, brother, or training partner that is silently and willfully enduring the the onslaught? Do you remain true to the promise that you made to your training partner? As clear as if it was yesterday you hear his words ringing in your ear. “Never throw in the towel, no matter what happens in the cage, let me take the pain until I tap out myself, or the ref steps in and stops the fight.” The truth is, you know he will never tap out on his own. These scenario’s have played out in the ring countless times in the world of mma. These are the situations when health and heart are on a collision course, heading in opposite directions, while locked in the very same cage, at the very same time. What do you do when you have worked so hard and so long to get to this point in your career? You have competed in countless club fights for little or no money, and bounced numerous sticky nightclubs and bars to get this very fight. This is the defining moment of your fighting career, your life. It is at this point we have all seen the stubborn unwillingness to let go in the face of certain defeat. There is no giving up, even when the cards are not only stacked against you, but all the cards you thought you had, have vanished in a puff of fake mist. The truth is, most times the fighters know they have very little chance to escape the position, let alone pull out the come from behind victory. A steadfast heart holds on obstinately, in the slim hopes that maybe, just maybe, their prayer will be answered. It is MMA’s equivalent of the "Hail Mary”, the chances are slim and none but if you throw up the last minute “Hail Mary”, there is nothing more to lose right? Wrong, what if the “Hail Mary” pass is intercepted and finds it’s way into the welcome arms of the opposition and returned the length of the field for the touchdown and the final nail in your rapidly deteriorating coffin. A touchdown going the other way is a bad thing in football, it is a dreadful thing in MMA. In MMA jargon, it is the equivalent of giving up the guard position, and relative safety, to go for the “Hail Mary” submission. If your submission fails and you have already given up the guard, your opponent will be more then content to reintroduce his knees to the top of your skull, or perform a plethora of other nasty unwelcome introductions. The fact that you are holding on may end up putting you in an exponentially harsher predicament in the end. It may be that a fighter knows he is on the windy road to the losers column, but endures the slow choke in order to save face for themselves, and honor for their fight team or family. Is it more accurate to call such a person a man with the heart of a lion, or a man with the heart of a liar? A man that lies to himself. A man that convinces himself that there is a way out when the walls around him have long since closed around him, and there is nowhere to run but the losers column. It is clear that each case is it’s own argument, surely every fight is a fight on It’s own. There is no universally right answer in the world of MMA, and there never will be. Every referee stoppage will be too soon for some, and too late for another. I, like many fans out there, admire heart above all else. It is heart, and heart alone that can overcome lack of training, technique, or experience. It is heart that pushes the body when everything else has withered away, and all you have left is your iron will in your corner. I might ask a fighter “When should you allow your own heart to throw in the towel?” A fighter has only one answer, and one answer only. It is obvious the answer is "never”. Such is the predicament of our athletes. Our MMA athletes are the toughest, most admirable soldiers in the world of sports. While our fighters pick themselves up off the canvas for round 2, lesser athletes have already hit the showers, and left for the comfort of their million dollar homes. As a writer, I ask myself, what if I was a fighter? “When should I allow my heart to throw in the towel?” In the face of my query, one thing is abundantly clear. It is clear that I am not a fighter. It is clear that I have not fought through the wars, trained through the injuries, and sacrificed health and financial stability for the love of the game. If I truly bore the heart of a fighter I would not have asked such a question. In fact, I would not of had any time to think of such things, for I would have been too busy thinking of a way, any way to win the fight at all costs. For if I truly bore the heart of a fighter, I would have simply asked my heart for a little more, a little more blood to alleviate the pain that stains the body and cleanses the soul. I would have begged my heart to give more of itself, just enough for one final “Hail Mary”. Indeed, for if I truly bore the heart of a fighter I wouldn’t have asked myself any question at all, I would have told myself that there is no way my opponent has a heart that is bigger then mine, then I would have gone out and proved it.
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