dfdfdfd MMA & WHO DOES IT FOR THE WORKOUT? ICKBOXING HO DOES IT FOR SELF DEFENSE K W - ? IN WHO DOES IT FOR THE SELF-ESTEEM AND AMSTERDAM CONFIDENCE? Bachelor thesis Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing in Amsterdam Bachelor Thesis Human Geography Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences Author: Zico Broekstra (6172253) Email: [email protected] Phone number: 0681999120 Supervisor: Mr. Dr. J.D. Markusse Second Reader: Mr. Dr. W.P.C. van Gent 1 Abstract There seems to be an increase in the popularity of more brutal forms of martial arts. In this bachelor thesis the popularity of mixed martial arts and kickboxing is researched through literature studies, in- depth interviews and questionnaires. Interviews with three mayor or former mayor organizations of MMA and kickboxing events have been held to see who organizes these events today. All three organizations agreed on doing the best for the fighters; give them the podium they deserve. Since the existence of It’s Showtime from Simon Rutz, fighters started to earn a lot of money through professional kickboxing. The other two organizations took this path that Simon started and went on with it, giving young talent the chance to become starts. To get a picture of who follow lessons in MMA or kickboxing in Amsterdam, 169 questionnaires have been filled in by people following lessons at three different MMA or kickboxing schools. Out of these questionnaires came that most people follow lessons for the workout the sports give, female more often follow lessons for the workout while men also follow lessons because the like the sports and the particular martial arts skills learned. People who like the sport will feel safer on the street due to following lessons for a longer period of time, while people who do it for the workout only feel safer when they get fitter. Men are keen to avoid a fight when they are training for a longer period of time while women do not show a trend towards rather avoiding a fight now they are following lessons in MMA or kickboxing for a longer period of time. That men rather avoid fights after following lessons in more brutal forms of martial arts is in line with the theories about martial arts and the conclusions that came out of the interviews. 2 Preface To finish my bachelor in Human Geography, may I present to you my bachelor thesis about MMA and kickboxing in Amsterdam, a subject I am very interested in as it also has a link to my personal life because I follow lessons in kickboxing myself. In this bachelor thesis I will show the skills I have learned and the tools I now master to set up a research all by myself. Although I have done most of the work myself I could not have written this bachelor thesis without the help of my supervisor Jan Markusse and all the respondents that took the time to help me with my research. Also to the MMA and kickboxing schools that helped me in collecting questionnaires. I really want to extend my thanks. My special thanks go out to the University Library for being open at such ridiculous times and for the GIS working space because of the big screens. Thank you for reading my thesis, I hope you enjoy it. 3 Table of contents Abstract 2 Preface 3 Table of contents 4 Chapter 1 Introduction 5 Chapter 2 Theoretical framework 7 § 2.1 MMA and kickboxing 7 § 2.2 Global and local processes 9 Chapter 3 Research design 14 § 3.1 Sub questions 14 § 3.2 Type of research 15 § 3.3 Hypothesis 16 § 3.4 Research units 17 § 3.5 Research methods 18 § 3.6 Operationalization 19 Chapter 4 Who organizes fights 24 § 4.1 Simon Rutz 24 § 4.2 Ali Günyar 27 § 4.3 Rachid Lamalam and Sebastien van Dusschoten 29 Chapter 5 Role safety, power and security and workout 33 § 5.1 People following lessons in MMA or kickboxing 33 § 5.2 Safety 35 § 5.3 Power and security 38 § 5.4 Workout 41 Chapter 6 Role global and local processes 43 § 6.1 Global processes 43 § 6.1 Local processes 45 Chapter 7 Conclusion 51 Discussion 56 Bibliography 57 Appendices 60 4 Chapter 1 Introduction Introduction This bachelor thesis will be about the growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, following MMA, and kickboxing in Amsterdam. MMA is a sport conceived in the USA and was meant to let people from all different kinds of martial arts fight each other to see what form of martial arts was the most effective. The sport was an enormous commercial success and has been the most popular form of martial arts since (MMA central, 2014). Kickboxing is a combination of boxing and eastern martial arts such as taekwondo and karate and became popular in the early 70’s. In the last years there seems to be a growing interest in these more brutal forms of martial arts in Amsterdam. This growing popularity in the sports came with positive and negative stories (Delp, 2006). People following lessons become more secure about themselves and are more able to defend themselves when necessary. Badr Hari being arrested and sent to jail for one and a half years due to beating someone up so badly that he had to stay in the hospital for months is one of the negative stories about the sport. Badr Hari is the former world champion in kickboxing. The scientific relevance in this bachelor thesis subject is the fact that there has not been any research in this subject in Amsterdam. A few articles about MMA and kickboxing in the USA have been written but none about Amsterdam or the Netherlands, while Dutch competitors in the sports top the rankings. The focus of this bachelor thesis will be the people who follow lessons in MMA or kickboxing and the organizations that organize fighting events. Through questionnaires, in depth interviews and literature studies a broader picture will be made about these two disciplines in Amsterdam. For this bachelor thesis a research question that combines all those factors has been made. The research question in this bachelor thesis will be; Is the popularity of kickboxing and mixed martial arts in Amsterdam the result of safety issues, the feeling of power and security or the workout that the sports give, and how do global and local processes influence the popularity of mixed martial arts and kickboxing in Amsterdam? 5 In the following chapter the relevant theories in this research will be set apart. These theories form the framework where the empirical results will be tested. The third chapter will describe the research design of this bachelor thesis, this will include the operationalization of the concepts and the research and sub questions will be pointed out to give a more clear picture of how the questions are going to be answered. This chapter will also explain the research methods that will be used and how these are going to be performed. The fourth till the sixth chapter will involve the empirical results and the feedback towards the theories, also first conclusions will be made to answer the sub questions. The last chapter will be the conclusion where an attempt will be taken to answer the research question. Hypothesis about the popularity of MMA and kickboxing in Amsterdam will be given together with possibilities for further research. 6 Chapter 2 Theoretical framework This chapter will explain the theoretical concepts that will be used in this research. Although this research is mainly empirical some theoretical concepts have to be set apart. The reason for choosing Amsterdam as the research location will be explained and which martial arts school will be researched will be shown. The sample of people that are involved in this research should be representative for the population, all people following lessons in MMA or kickboxing in Amsterdam. Therefore different kinds of MMA and kickboxing schools are involved in this research. MMA and kickboxing MMA and kickboxing are the more brutal forms of martial arts that are very popular these days. In this paragraph the two sports will be further explained. MMA First mixed martial arts, MMA, a sport officially conceived in 1993 by the UFC. This sport combines different styles of martial arts; the original idea was to see which sport would be the most effective in a free fight. The very first fight only lasted for 13 seconds when Gerard Gordeau kicked out a few of Teila Tuli’s teeth. The sport hardly had any rules at all, biting en stabbing someone in the eye where a few of the existing rules. This takes us back to the arena fights from the old Greek and Roman eras, where the surviving fighter would be the winner. Although the sport immediately was a great success, some extra rules were introduced to guarantee the safety of the athletes (Dooly, 2013). MMA was the first sport to introduce the pay per view construction; people could see a fight on television after paying for it. This was a big commercial success in the United States of America but did not really get off the ground in Europe. The nearly bankrupt UFC bought the sport and put it in a new jacket, making rules and introducing weight classes. Together with the reality series, ‘The Ultimate Fighter, it became an enormous success (Wall street journal, 2009 & Miller, 2008). Kickboxing Kickboxing originates from the combination of boxing and eastern martial arts and became popular during the 70’s. The sport was established in 1974 to let people from the more traditional martial arts like karate and kung fu compete with each other under the usage of common rules.