Friday, July 11, 2008
No Holds Barred: Todd Hester on the Soul of Mixed Martial Arts
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague Todd Hester, who is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Gladiator Magazine.
Todd is someone who has been immersed in the combat sports for many years. He started training with the Gracies in the late 1980's, covered the first UFC in 1993, and has been ringside or cageside for countless MMA events all around the world.
Now, in a provocative new editorial called "Redemption and Transformation", in the current edition of Gladiator Magazine, he argues that MMA has lost its soul.
Commenting on what grappling, jiu-jitsu, and mixed martial arts are really about, he wrote, "it isn't about the fighting." He also argued, "fighting for the sake of pure violence is basically immoral."
In a lengthy interview, we discuss the transformation of mixed martial arts from, as he called it, the "cerebral" sport it once was, to its current state which celebrates "mindless, juvenile violence." We also discuss what can be done to change the sport of mixed martial arts into something which plays a more positive role.
You can listen to No Holds Barred here. Just press the play button on the player. You can also download it here or here.
The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
IFL, the International Fight League. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.
Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: BJJ, boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Eddie Goldman, Gladiator Magazine, grappling, judo, martial arts, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, submission, Todd Hester, UFC, ultimate fighting, wrestling
1 Comments:
Listening to the Mr. Hester interview -- my sentiments exactly. It is often difficult to put into words the frustration of seeing craft turn into crap as we have seen with the continued water-down process with MMA.
By 
Maxomillion Solaris, at
5:07 AM
