Hong Kong goes 'mixed martial arts' crazy... and you don't even have to fight
New mixed martial arts gyms are opening in the city as the sport gains traction
Whoever put the "art" in mixed martial arts (MMA) missed the point that it's more of a blood sport. One study found that 30 per cent of MMA bouts end with a fighter sustaining a traumatic brain injury. The controversial research, by University of Toronto, has been described as "flawed" by the MMA camp, but the combat sport is nevertheless a fighting style akin to something you might witness in a prison riot.
"People walking past see the fighting on the screens and stop to watch," says Andrew Power, a personal trainer at Everlast Fight & Fitness centre in Causeway Bay, referring to the televised MMA bouts screened in the windows. "It's great marketing, but when we say, 'Would you like to come in and have a look?' they say, 'Oh no, it's fine.'"
Watch: Try MMA training for a high-intensity, full-body workout
Everlast is one of two global boxing and MMA brands to open in Causeway Bay last year - the other being Hayabusa Martial Arts and Fitness Centre. They each now have two gyms in town. A new entry in 2012 was Epic MMA & Fitness in Central. That's also the location of long-time white-collar MMA outfit Impakt.
Akiko Uchiyama, a director at Epic, links the rising popularity of MMA to the globalisation of US sports promotion company, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). "Now that UFC organises UFC Macau, MMA's popularity has grown fast in Hong Kong and the demand is there, Uchiyama says. "This has made martial arts such as boxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu more popular as well." Uchiyama adds, however, that most club members are strictly looking for fitness: "Only the real hard core ones are willing to take part in MMA fights."