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Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Jason Hook, Photographer Dr. Wallis Sanborn (left) and student Justin Grove spar at the gym as a part of their training.

As the popularity of mixed martial arts grows, its influence has spread to members of the ASU community.

Psychology graduate student Chris Melton developed an interest in jujitsu two years ago after watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He found a gym in the phone book and began training.

"It's a passion of mine," Melton said. "I just really like (fighting) because it is a great stress management for me. I've always wanted to do this."

Melton is not alone in his interest in cage fighting. New faculty member Dr. Wallis Sanborn also participates in mixed martial arts.

As visiting professor of English, Sanborn joined the faculty for a year to teach business communications and several freshman English courses. Sanborn previously taught online classes at Texas Tech, Oregon State and Devry universities, but has decided to return to the actual classroom.

The only glimpse of Sanborn's pastime on his resume comes from his specialization: the American novel of war and violence. However, Sanborn's education has intertwined with his love for mixed martial arts creating what he refers to as the Warrior Scholar ethos.

A trip to his office will reveal a bookshelf lined with gallons of water and a desktop produce-section. For Sanborn, MMA fighting stretches beyond a hobby to a lifestyle.

Years of training

At 43 years old, Sanborn has more than 25 years of fighting under his belt (and yes, it's a black belt in karate.) He began boxing in eighth grade, and to his surprise, did better than he hoped.

"My first match was with the super athlete of the school," Sanborn said. "I thought I was going to get murdered. But I actually bloodied him up a bit and thought 'hey, I might be pretty good at this.'"

Sanborn studied Tae Kwon Do for four years, and earned his black belt in American Karate. He also spent time in the amateur boxing ring while in the Marine Corps.

When he moved to San Angelo two years ago, Sanborn explored the available facilities for his hobby. He came across a business card for Woody Fox, a certified Muay Thai kickboxing instructor, and decided to pursue his interest despite the skepticism of many fighters in the industry.

"I'm trying to stave off aging," Sanborn said. "I'm the oldest guy in the gym by a long shot at 43 years old. For a fighter, 40 is 80. But now, because training techniques have evolved you see older guys."

Now a prominent member at Team Predator, a gym specializing in training professional fighters, Sanborn has taken on an intense training regiment.

Training before each fight takes 10 to 12 weeks of demanding workouts. Endurance cardio, ab work, bag work, weights, punching and kicking practice and sparring (practice fighting) prepare a fighter to face anything in the ring.

Fighters have to deal with emotional boundaries in their training as well before they can peak (be in the best possible shape for a fight).

"There are a lot of psychological barriers," Sanborn said. "Fear of physical pain from training, fear of being hit, fear of being knocked out. You have to overcome that mentally so that when it is time to fight you aren't focused on that fear."

Tactical sport versus street fighting

Cage fighting has not always been regulated by strict rules. When UFC was founded in 1993, the original tagline was "There are no rules!"

However, the accusation that cage fighting was a form of "human cock fighting" by Senator John McCain and other politicians forced the organization to take its fights underground.

Reform was on the way. Cage fighting took a turn from spectacle to skill. Strict rules were put in place, and UFC took on the label of mixed martial arts.

The size of the fighter no longer mattered. Instead technique was able to dominate over power and revolutionized the world of cage fighting.

Many people shy away from cage fighting because of the violence involved. However, Sanborn argues that the main goal of MMA fighting is not to physically harm the opponent.

Technical and mental aspects as well as rules govern sport fighting. There is a difference between two guys duking it out in a street brawl and two well-trained athletes exercising their skills in a match.

"Fighting is more than brutality," Sanborn said. "It's a tactical sport. We see guys come in off the streets and all they want to do is fight. But those guys never last because the training is so hard. They don't want to sacrifice themselves mentally or physically."

According to Sanborn, mixed perceptions also arise from seeing guys getting cut or bleeding badly. That does not mean the fighter is hurt. Rarely do real injuries occur because of the guidelines surrounding the sport.

"When people see blood they tend to freak out a bit," Sanborn said. "But a tiny cut can bleed and bleed. The head is very veinous."

Like other sports, cage fighting has levels. Sanborn compared cage fighting to baseball. There are many different leagues that lead up to the pros.

The "big leagues" are UFC and World Extreme Cage Fighting. First, fighters have to get their names out there by fighting in regional shows. With enough victories and exposure, the goal is to get spotted by a UFC or WEC scout.

"(Cage fighting) is big and becoming a main stream sport," Sanborn said. "If you look at the sponsorship, they're becoming companies like Harley Davidson and Budweiser. And the pay-per-view ever couple of months rivals boxing in popularity."

Influence of violence

With the mainstreaming of cage fighting emerges the concern that constant violent images will increase violence in society. However, some would argue that the violence is unavoidable and not the main issue.

"Contact is going to happen," Melton said. "It's the nature of the sport. Obviously, it isn't for everybody."

To Sanborn, low-level violence in the form of cage fighting has the potential to decrease higher-level violence.

"If more people could settle their problems through non-lethal combat," Sanborn said. "There might be less lethal aggression in our society. I think if aggressive males want to participate (in cage fighting,) then they should be allowed to fight."

Sanborn said that the problem does not lie in the fighters themselves. Fighters train for months and years to reach the height of their careers, so it is unlikely they would throw it all away for a bar brawl. People have a drinking problem, not a fighting problem.

There is a separation between the fighters and the audience other than the chain link cage in which they fight.

"The greatest accelerant in street and bar fighting is alcohol," Sanborn said. "You either train or you drink, not both. There is a calmness that comes with training that takes off the macho edge. It does something to your soul."

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