I have been a Kyokushin karateka - student and instructor, for more than twenty five years, and I have fought in various types of competitions; semi and full-contact.

For many years I stayed away from fighting in full-contact tournaments, but as I went up through the belt ranks, I began to feel I couldn't honestly wear a Kyokushin black belt if I didn't fight in at least one full-contact competition.

I entered my first tournament in my early thirties. It was an eye-opener for sure, and I went out in the first round after gaining an extension. I limped for a month, but I felt good within myself and pleased that I had made the step.

My wife was there to watch, and she made me promise to never do it again.

We divorced when I was thirty-nine, and I needed something to focus on, so I put my name down for a tournament.

I made it through to the semi finals and came third overall. In my penultimate bout I hurt my opponent quite badly: something I still think about even now - seven years on.

I can see that full-contact fighting must appear simply barbaric to anyone who has never trained or fought in any kind of combat competition, but there is a unique respect and love that exists within the fighters' world, and to be a part of that is very special.

When I watch UFC boughts on TV, I very rarely see any of this respect. Pre-fight interviews set up fights as 'grudge' matches, and fighters are often saying things like 'I'm gonna hurt that guy real bad' and so on.

The UFC, in my opinion has nothing to do with the martial arts, other than the utilization of some of the fighting techniques and training methods, and to connect it to the martial arts world can only result in a misunderstanding of the true value of martial arts.

The UFC should, if it had the courage, provide a disclaimer to all viewers and would-be fighters, stating that although there are links to the martial arts in the genre, martial arts training is much more than just brawling.

The martial arts are about honour and compassion. I can't remember ever seeing this in the 'cage'.

It is probably not the fault of the fighters themselves, but the promoters: the ones with the money who sit back in their comfy seats counting their stash while young, fit men batter each other half to death in the name of sport.

UFC and martial arts in the same sentence!? It makes a mockery of all those true martial artists who have practiced their art humbly and with sincerity.

My final word: martial arts training teaches us to be greater than our ego; the UFC is the antithesis of this.

Learn more about this author, Jeffrey Harrison.
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