| - Marco Antico |
| Copyright© 2008 Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association (CMMAA). |
New Medical Study on MMA and How it Relates to Amateur MMA
by Marco Antico
Dear CanadianMMA Fan,
The following is an important letter we recently sent to the Ministry of Health Promotion (MHP) of Ontario. As
you may already be aware, our application for Amateur MMA is currently under review by the MHP. The
purpose of the letter below is to further emphasize the safety of our proposed Amateur MMA rules.
As always, stay tuned to www.canadianmma.com for the latest information about MMA happenings in Ontario,
Canada. We very much appreciate your continued support and we believe that as painstaking as this
process has been we will achieve our goals of legalizing MMA in Ontario.
Also, be sure to tune to Global TV tonight, Saturday, May 17 at 7pm to watch a new documentary called "The
Real Fight Club" which touches upon some of the legalization issues surrounding MMA in Ontario.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To the Ministry of Health Promotions,
I would like to share this additional piece of information which I believe supports the health and safety aspect
of our application for amateur MMA. The attached article was published by the British Journal of Sports
Medicine (BJSM) on March 4, 2008. It contains the medical opinion of doctors who reviewed five years of
professional MMA related injuries (2002-2007).
It is very important to keep in mind that these injuries were sustained in professional MMA competitions and
that our proposed rules for amateur MMA should further reduce the frequency and severity of these injuries.
The following is a quick synopsis of the article and how we believe our amateur rules and regulations further
reduce the health and safety risk.
Key Conclusions from the BJSM Study
- "injury rates in professional MMA are similar to other combat sports"
- "the overall risk of critical injury appears low"
How CMMAA's Proposed Rules Further Reduce the Risk & Severity of Injuries
The following 3 points explains how 68% of all injuries noted in professional MMA compeititions are expected
to be significantly reduced with the proposed amateur rules of the Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association
(CMMAA):
1 - page 5 shows that 31% of all injuries are lacerations (i.e. cuts) which are primarily superficial wounds that
pose no risk to the long term health of the athlete. Our proposed amateur rules disallow elbows which are
the most common cause of cuts. Lacerations are also expected to be reduced with the use of larger gloves,
headgear, shorter bouts and restricted striking techniques.
2 - page 5 also shows that 18% of all injuries are to the face (please note, this does not mean the head or
brain). We require the athletes to wear 8ounce gloves (double the size of professional gloves) which provide
substantially more padding above the knuckles and should therefore reduce the number of face injuries
inflicted by punches to the face. Further, our rules disallow striking the head of a downed opponent and
striking with the knee to the head either on the ground or standing. Our rules also disallow spinning striking
techniques of any kind.
3 - also on page 5 it shows that 19% of all injuries are of upper extremities (i.e. the arm, forearm and hand).
As stated above, the use of substantially larger gloves and the restriction of elbow strikes and spinning
techniques should substantially reduce injuries to upper extremities.
The other 32% of injuries noted in the BJSM study include ocular injuries, injuries of lower extremity and
concussions. We believe that is also reasonable to conclude that our severe restriction on permissible
striking techniques, combined with the use of protective equipment will also significantly reduce the
occurrence of these injuries.
Another important conclusion reached by the BJSM study was that the likelihood of injury increases with each
passing minute of a MMA bout. CMMAA is proposing three, three minute rounds with a minute and a half rest
period in between as opposed to professional rules which require five minute rounds with a one minute rest
period. Thus, our bouts are 6 minutes (or 40%) shorter in duration than professional bouts which according
to the study would result in a 25% less chance of injury (6 minutes x 4.2% chance of injury per minute).
The most grave of all injuries sustained in MMA are severe concussions defined in the study as being when
an athlete loses consciousness. This study concludes that only 3.3% of all athletes in a regulated
professional MMA competition have lost consciousness and thus been considered to have sustained a
severe concussion. Page 8 of the study states, "In relative terms, this is comparable to the risk of
concussions in world class international men's tae kwon do competition".
Of all the sanctioned CASK and CAMTAO events I've witnessed and/or participated in, I have yet to see one
athlete lose consciousness. CMMAA is proposing to allow only those striking techniques which are currently
permissible under these two recognized PSOs and therefore, we feel that there is no reason for expectations
to be any different for Amateur MMA. In other words, we expect a near 0% rate of severe concussions in
CMMAA sanctioned events.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Marco Antico on behalf of the
Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association
by Marco Antico
Dear CanadianMMA Fan,
The following is an important letter we recently sent to the Ministry of Health Promotion (MHP) of Ontario. As
you may already be aware, our application for Amateur MMA is currently under review by the MHP. The
purpose of the letter below is to further emphasize the safety of our proposed Amateur MMA rules.
As always, stay tuned to www.canadianmma.com for the latest information about MMA happenings in Ontario,
Canada. We very much appreciate your continued support and we believe that as painstaking as this
process has been we will achieve our goals of legalizing MMA in Ontario.
Also, be sure to tune to Global TV tonight, Saturday, May 17 at 7pm to watch a new documentary called "The
Real Fight Club" which touches upon some of the legalization issues surrounding MMA in Ontario.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To the Ministry of Health Promotions,
I would like to share this additional piece of information which I believe supports the health and safety aspect
of our application for amateur MMA. The attached article was published by the British Journal of Sports
Medicine (BJSM) on March 4, 2008. It contains the medical opinion of doctors who reviewed five years of
professional MMA related injuries (2002-2007).
It is very important to keep in mind that these injuries were sustained in professional MMA competitions and
that our proposed rules for amateur MMA should further reduce the frequency and severity of these injuries.
The following is a quick synopsis of the article and how we believe our amateur rules and regulations further
reduce the health and safety risk.
Key Conclusions from the BJSM Study
- "injury rates in professional MMA are similar to other combat sports"
- "the overall risk of critical injury appears low"
How CMMAA's Proposed Rules Further Reduce the Risk & Severity of Injuries
The following 3 points explains how 68% of all injuries noted in professional MMA compeititions are expected
to be significantly reduced with the proposed amateur rules of the Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association
(CMMAA):
1 - page 5 shows that 31% of all injuries are lacerations (i.e. cuts) which are primarily superficial wounds that
pose no risk to the long term health of the athlete. Our proposed amateur rules disallow elbows which are
the most common cause of cuts. Lacerations are also expected to be reduced with the use of larger gloves,
headgear, shorter bouts and restricted striking techniques.
2 - page 5 also shows that 18% of all injuries are to the face (please note, this does not mean the head or
brain). We require the athletes to wear 8ounce gloves (double the size of professional gloves) which provide
substantially more padding above the knuckles and should therefore reduce the number of face injuries
inflicted by punches to the face. Further, our rules disallow striking the head of a downed opponent and
striking with the knee to the head either on the ground or standing. Our rules also disallow spinning striking
techniques of any kind.
3 - also on page 5 it shows that 19% of all injuries are of upper extremities (i.e. the arm, forearm and hand).
As stated above, the use of substantially larger gloves and the restriction of elbow strikes and spinning
techniques should substantially reduce injuries to upper extremities.
The other 32% of injuries noted in the BJSM study include ocular injuries, injuries of lower extremity and
concussions. We believe that is also reasonable to conclude that our severe restriction on permissible
striking techniques, combined with the use of protective equipment will also significantly reduce the
occurrence of these injuries.
Another important conclusion reached by the BJSM study was that the likelihood of injury increases with each
passing minute of a MMA bout. CMMAA is proposing three, three minute rounds with a minute and a half rest
period in between as opposed to professional rules which require five minute rounds with a one minute rest
period. Thus, our bouts are 6 minutes (or 40%) shorter in duration than professional bouts which according
to the study would result in a 25% less chance of injury (6 minutes x 4.2% chance of injury per minute).
The most grave of all injuries sustained in MMA are severe concussions defined in the study as being when
an athlete loses consciousness. This study concludes that only 3.3% of all athletes in a regulated
professional MMA competition have lost consciousness and thus been considered to have sustained a
severe concussion. Page 8 of the study states, "In relative terms, this is comparable to the risk of
concussions in world class international men's tae kwon do competition".
Of all the sanctioned CASK and CAMTAO events I've witnessed and/or participated in, I have yet to see one
athlete lose consciousness. CMMAA is proposing to allow only those striking techniques which are currently
permissible under these two recognized PSOs and therefore, we feel that there is no reason for expectations
to be any different for Amateur MMA. In other words, we expect a near 0% rate of severe concussions in
CMMAA sanctioned events.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Marco Antico on behalf of the
Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association