“It's not that they're stupid, it's that our brains are designed for this kind of ancestral environment where status meant the difference between surviving or dying. It meant the difference between have many children and your dying alone and your genes being erased,” he tells Insight.
“It may seem trivial, but ancestrally these are really important and men really do care if they're humiliated in front of their friends.”
He adds that the most dangerous animal in a mammalian group is the one who has low status but feels entitled to high status.
“That's the one who has something to prove. They have to show all the other mammals in this group that they are tougher than they currently look, which means they have to get into fights and they have to win those.”
Why do some men fight?
Following Daniel Christie’s death from a ‘coward punch’ in King’s Cross on New Year’s Eve, and the introduction of the ‘one punch’ law in NSW, there's been increased focus on what is behind the urge to fight.
Professional fighters like Muay Thai boxer Simon Maait argue that violence on the street is completely different to what happens in the ring.
“If I'm out in the street and somebody tries to provoke any sort of fight with me, I'm the first person to walk away,” he tells Insight’s Jenny Brockie.
“This sport has taught me so much discipline and how to walk away. What I do in the ring is completely different to how I portray my life on the street.”
Former Olympic boxer Paea Wolfgramm agrees. He won silver for Tonga in super Heavyweight boxing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and believes one punch hits are cowardly.
“As a fighter who made my living hurting people, it was violent. But I'm so sickened when I see this one punch thing. It make me feel hollow.
“If this happened in a ring when someone punched someone without looking, that person is mud in the eyes of a fighter. He'd never compete again. But not only in terms of status, he wouldn't be regarded a true fighter at all.”
Tonight Insight kicks off with an important discussion on why some men fight. Host Jenny Brockie speaks to an all-male audience about the differences between fighting in and out of the ring and what’s behind the urge to land a blow.
Catch the full episode at 8.30PM AEDT on SBS ONE or via live stream http://www.sbs.com.au/insight/live
