Brutal Purgation: Does Boxing Serve As A Violent Catharsis-Is It Good for Our Souls?

I apologize in advance if any of this sounds obnoxious, so I'll try to keep it simple. And refrain from any psycho babble.

A catharsis is a purging of or purification of your inner emotions, it's a release. Aristotle theorized that through art, if the art is powerful enough, either as a participant or a spectator, inner emotions can be brought forth and discharged, and it can serve as a way to cleanse ourselves of all that stressful emotional junk we collect along the way in life, an absolution of sorts.

In Psychology a theory was put forth by Freud of the Id, Ego, and Super Ego.

The Id is the unconscious and unorganized part of our brain from which our various passions arise, sort of like a primordial animal brain where our pure unbridled hunger, rage, anger and lust come from, we're born with it, its always just under the surface, its innate, essentially it's a residual remnant of the apes and cavemen that we descend from, it has no comprehension of reality its just pure basic primal instincts. Its constantly seeking out satisfaction and pleasure, the rule of law and the concept of good and evil doesn't apply to it, it knows no reason. Its our not so dormant inner beast.

The Ego is the conscious/subconscious part of our brain that tries to make sense of the world and reconcile it with our Id, our logic, reason and rationality comes from this part, it helps us adjust and fit in with other people, basically its the part of the brain the tries to process all the intricacies of the world and how we fit into it, and it slowly learns how to suppress the subconscious urges many of us have so we can function in a civilized society. Its our emotional governor. Its the regulator of all of those animalistic urges, its the thing that causes you to feel guilt about your impure thoughts, it forces you to try to assimilate and not act on them.

The Super Ego is the completely conscious part of our brain, its how we've internalized all of those things we've picked up along the way from parents, friends, laws, religion, culture, and how we process all of it and externalize it, its how we project ourselves to the rest of the world. Its the part of us we allow everyone to see. Some people have more success than others in this area, fully realized people that think for themselves and form a personality of their own not caving into the influences of others, often times do not fit in, but the people who adapt accordingly, go with the flow and act like one of the herd are usually viewed as the more acceptable among us.

Men by our nature are very violent, we get into fights, we beat people up, we're very argumentative, some guys beat their wives or girlfriends and sometimes the violence comes out in far worse forms. Its the Id from which the violence springs forth, thankfully most of us aren't as plagued by these tendencies as badly as others, but all of us in some way, usually to lesser degree are prone to Id outbursts, its our inner beast wanting to be let out of its cage. Sometimes its over small petty things, most guys have moderate to very bad tempers and lash out, but then we almost immediately end up having to apologize for our outbursts to our significant other or friends and family for our transgression. Sometimes its just a burning desire to break things or get into fights over nothing, its almost as if we can't help it, usually its some of the most insignificant things that annoy the hell out of us. Most of the time we don't physically attack one another its just the burning rage that seems to be there floating in the ether, that most of us can control to a certain extent until the anger blows over and dissipates. Some people weren't born with the Ego filter part of their brain and their Id is in full control of their impulses, these people tend to be Sociopaths or Psychopaths, I'm not talking about them, just about the violence of regular normal guys.


Contrary to popular opinion, personally I think Boxing and violent sports, movies and music serve the public good, because they function as an emotional outlet through the violent actions of others, that allows us to be relatively normal, we can watch two men beat the hell out of each other like our Barbarian ancestors once did and we feel emotionally fulfilled, we feel a sense of satisfaction almost as if we are living vicariously through their actions, it serves as a form of catharsis or a purging of our innermost demons, we use Boxing, MMA, Wrestling, Action/Horror Films, Rap or Metal as a way to let off some steam. Boxing in a way, almost serves as reinforcement or an aid to the Ego, by the releasing of our inner rage its helps level out our emotions, therefore the Ego has an easier time controlling the Id. You could say Boxing keeps us a little more even tempered than the average person.

Its because the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between the violence people watch and the violence people act out. So it feels to the subconscious mind the violence of boxing, films, video games etc. is real and you're experiencing it, which also is the reason for the jolt of adrenaline you usually have while watching it. Horror films serve a similar function, most people carry around residual fear from childhood experiences, or primal fear that may have existed in us since infancy or even in the womb, and by watching Horror films it helps release those pent up emotions as well, because the Id cannot distinguish reality from fantasy, so the part of you that is afraid, doesn't process what you're seeing as fiction. So you scream, realize you're safe, and feel better about it later. So extreme forms of entertainment could be seen as therapeutic.

The Id craves a steady diet of violence, it wants to be fed, it needs to be satiated, and by watching boxing, when it fully ingests it, its full, therefore the rage calms down and it keeps the monsters that live in the Id at bay. Sometimes the desires of the Id are overwhelmingly, and cannot be fully satiated merely by watching the acts of others, that is usually what drives people to pursue taking up the sport of Boxing for a living, and which usually inspires adrenaline junkies to participate in various extreme sports that they use for their outlet, and for the relatively normal among us, that's usually more than enough.


What happens is far too often everyday stresses in life build up to a breaking point for many people and they are unable to unleash their pent up frustrations or have a way to blow off some steam, they become unable to cope, so they turn into some form of a psycho, but thankfully for us we have this wonderful form of therapy to rely upon, the great sport of Boxing, it soothes the savage beast inside of us all. Which may be why a lot of us (but not all) seem a little more normal, well adjusted and less violent than your average person, in spite of the fact that the sport we love is in its very essence, basically nothing but pure violence. It also may be why a lot of young kids who are troubled seem to settle down once they take up the sport, it helps them deal with the stresses in everyday life better, evens them out and usually ends up keeping them on the straight and narrow.

Boxing is emotionally good for us, the pain and suffering of the fighters we love in some strange way help us cope with the stresses in life and to be less violent people. It helps us get our suppressed rage and anger out, we don't have to carry it around with us like an anchor around our necks, watching it cleanses us, purges us, purifies us, we all have a cathartic experience, and it makes us feel better, especially when our guy wins.

Do you find Boxing helps to calm you down and make you a better person? Does it make you less angry or violent???

For the record I've never been a very violent person, but I've always loved violent sports and movies. Maybe that's why I'm so even tempered.



Discuss.

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Yep I seem to have the exact same reactions, except for the bawling my eyes out part.:| You crybaby.

 

For the record I agree with you, I was kidding with Zimornsky. Lest anybody think otherwise. Although I may have that reaction to a homeless person if they smell really bad.

 

One of many I'm sure:verysad Emo's...they're so silly :rofl