PERMANENT BRUTALIZATION: CONTEMPORARY TENDENCIES IN COMBAT SPORTS

Combat sports are the oldest form of competitive sports. They originate from ancient Greece, where the Olympic Games included boxing, wrestling, and pankration, a mixture of both fighting systems. In the ancient world, martial arts were extremely brutal, many dangerous techniques were allowed, and instead of gloves, fighters would wear spikes to further injure their opponent. In the 20th century, combat sports were revived, with boxing and wrestling becoming the most popular, and they are also part of the modern Olympic Games. However, they became more brutalized, and kickboxing was invented, then full contact, and eventually MMA was born, which is based on the ancient pankration tradition. The process did not stop there, but new fighting systems, each more brutal than the previous one, are constantly emerging and attracting large audiences with their brutality and their doubtful ethics.