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 Nabil "The Thrill" Khatib training at his gym in Ottawa. (ERROL McGIHON/QMI Agency) |
OTTAWA -- Tucked away in an industrial park in Ottawa’s east end, Nabil “The Thrill” Khatib is stretched out on a weight bench with two massive 100-lbs. dumbbells over his head.
He is getting ready for his mixed martial arts — or MMA — fight in Montreal.
Khatib is heading to Quebec because it’s one of the few places he can ply his trade.
MMA is banned in five provinces and seven U.S. states where many consider it a bloodsport.
But this bloodsport is being taught to kids as young as 13. At his training centre, Team Bushido MMA Fitness Centre, 40-year-old Khatib teaches the same techniques he uses to win matches in the caged octagon. And he’s not alone.
There are several MMA training centres across the capital.
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So to recap: As a sport, it’s illegal in this province. But as a fitness regimen for adults and kids as young as 13, it’s no holds-barred?
The contradiction doesn’t escape Khatib.
“It’s not sanctioned by the government but there’s no law against it,” he says. “They’re not fighting here (at Team Bushido) for prizes; they’re actually paying to learn how to do it. But to actually do it, there’s a very fine line. It’s very, very contradictory.”
The contradiction isn’t lost on Jean and Anne Papineau either. Their 16-year-old son Mathieu Papineau is an MMA student.
The parents say they’ve witnessed a remarkable change in him since he gave up hockey to instead focus on MMA training.
The couple says Mathieu had a difficult time before he discovered MMA. Like a lot of kids who can’t find the one thing they excel at, he was unsure of himself. And like a lot of kids, finding the right activity — in his case MMA — turned things around.
In the six months he’s been training under Khatib, his attitude has improved and he’s doing better in school, Jean says.
“MMA has taught our son respect, has given our son a goal to better himself physically, and has shown him that with hard work comes good results,” says Anne Papineau, who describes herself as a protective mother hen.
“(The sport) has encouraged him to be healthier and take better care of himself and has increased his self-esteem, what more could a parent want for their child?”
The Papineaus, longtime federal employees who welcome government oversight in the sport, don’t understand the province’s stance on MMA.
“They’re saying ‘you can train, but you can’t compete,’” Jean says. “It’s contradictory, but I wouldn’t want them to put a ban on the training.”
Mathieu Papineau agrees it doesn’t make any sense.
“It’s been a big change in my life,” he says. “It’s kind of funny we’re not allowed to compete in what we’re actually good at and what is our passion.”
The outright ban on pro fights along with the hands-off approach to training schools does appear hypocritical, says Scott E. Bennett, an associate political science professor at Carleton University, who has served as a policy consultant for provincial and federal governments.
“Personally, I am not a big MMA fan, but I do not see it is an issue deserving profound regulatory scrutiny either. I could think of other regulations to impose on it, but banning it seems a bit of a misplaced emphasis,” he says.
Bennett says Premier Dalton McGuinty’s penchant for regulating the many minor aspects of life is puzzling.
“I have a pretty good sense of where he gets his ideas when he is preparing for an election. In between elections, it almost seems as though he gets them from dinner table conversation with his friends and family.”
Sometimes this has good effects on policy, but, as in this case, sometimes the effects are very unpredictable and obscure, he says.
Is there a difference between what is seen in the ring or on TV from what is taught in the gym? Is it possible they are two different sports?
Khatib says no.
Certainly there is a difference in level of skill, but the moves your teenager is learning at his evening class are basically the same moves seen in the octagon and on TV.
Khatib says part of the problem is that there still might be old perceptions of the sport from Ultimate Fighting Champoinship’s (UFC) wild early days.
Jean Papineau adds that MMA demands respect and discipline of its practitioners. Gone are the days of no-holds-barred fighting.
Abusive language, biting, groin attacks, scratching, eye gouging, head butting, and elbow strikes are among the many potential infractions that can result in point deductions or disqualifications under the unified rules adopted in 2001 by UFC — the sport’s biggest promoter — and numerous U.S. athletic commissions.
Khatib also welcomes government involvement. So does the UFC, says the company’s vice president of regulatory affairs, Marc Ratner.
He says the Ontario government could play an important role in establishing guiding principles for clubs like Khatib’s.
“That could certainly be a facet of the regulatory mission for the Ontario commission,” he says. “We want to be regulated. We want to lift the bar for all the promoters and clubs.”
Minister of Consumer Services Sophia Aggelonitis, whose department oversees the Athletics Control Act under which MMA could be regulated, declined an interview request to clarify the government’s position.
In an e-mail to the Sun, ministry spokesman Stephen Puddister says Consumer Services regulates only professional boxing and kickboxing while the Ministry of Health Promotion is responsible for overseeing amateur combative sports.
“The government does not regulate training schools,” he says.
Asked whether government oversight could help establish clear-cut rules for training schools and ensure the safety of participants, Puddister repeats his answer.
justin.sadler@sunmedia.ca