“THE ILLEGAL WARRIOR”
Norway is a country with a lot of freedom, freedom of expression, freedom to be who you want, etc. But some areas offer barriers, such as various branches of sport. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a martial art that is not approved in Norway. Those who want to do this professionally must travel abroad to compete. This sport comes from "Vale Tudo" (No Rules Fighting), and is a full-contact martial art.
Frontline Academy in Oslo is a martial arts center where you can train MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, yoga and much more. Here you will find several who want to invest professionally in martial arts. One of them is Elijas Paknys (22), who started with MMA when he was 15 years old. He is now preparing for battle in Cage Warriors, Copenhagen on March 9, 2019. He is the only MMA fighter from Frontline who will be on this date. It will be his first fight as a professional. In addition to martial arts, Elijas works at Kiwi and studies at the Oslo Met.
§ 1. Organized competition, demonstration or training match where knockout is allowed, can only take place after approval by the King. By knockout is meant that a participant must interrupt the match due to a blow to the head.
Boxing is a sport where there is also a risk of knockout, but this became legal in 2014. Had the MMA sport been approved in Norway, athletes would have been able to live off this in this country, there would be stricter requirements for health tests, quarantine in case of injuries, and doping tests. It would also be possible for athletes to compete in a safe environment at home. There are 53 registered MMA clubs in Norway, more than 100 amateurs, and around 30 professional athletes (Emil Weber Meek, 2014., Dagbladet, 2017)
I have made a photo documentary where I give people insight into what it takes to become a professional MMA fighter in Norway, and how the everyday life and life of an MMA fighter is.
