Does the idea of an actual "fight club" appeal to anyone?

Absolutely.
However, when the book was written, it was mentioned that our generation had no great war. Thanks to W., we got two.

No. I don’t like brain damage.

But for some reason I would love to fight fully armored knights. I know. But what in this world makes sense?

@jaketheripper It is pretty painful, but it’s also a lot of fun.

@filmfann Without rationing/shortages/drafting/etc, I don’t really feel like we’re having Great Wars…

A classmate of mine used to participate in a fight club like group. The difference being that they did beat eachother up BUT they were allowed to talk about it.

I’ve spoken to a lot of women who would like to participate in a fight club. Maybe it’s that we were encouraged never to use physical violence, but there’s lot of pent-up aggression in some women, and a consequence-free (emotionally at least) way to get that out might be a really good thing. However, I’m not sure we could keep it a secret. :)

seems like it could be liberating, it also seems like an expensive dental plan.

@grumpyfish those things really give it a worthwhile feel I know…

A profound point of the book is being missed here.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic So, what’s the profound point?

I can’t say I would be interested in any sort of fight club. I don’t look good in black and blue.

OTOH I don’t have either insomnia or multiple personalities.

The OP is violating rules one and two.

But don’t those rules apply only if you are in Fight Club?

That isn’t really expressed is it?

Then I guess we better stop talking about it.

Lets err on the safe side.

In high school a large group of boys (myself included) thought it would be cool to start a fight club. We would fight both with gloves and bare knuckle in different spots, the most intense of which a giant concrete bowl in a forested watershed. The club lasted for nearly a year, we would set up fights, people would get beat-up (I walked away with no less than 3 concussions) while others would prevail, but win or loose we all walked away from the fights with a feeling of euphoria.

At the time “fight clubs” and “backyard brawls” were big in the media and it seemed like we could have kept up this behavior forever. Unfortunately though or irresponsible actions came with a price and one night during fights someone died. The cause was a brain aneurysm and I thank god I wasn’t there, but the reality of what we were doing set in and we never had another unsanctioned fight.

I think the point is it is easy to romanticize things like fight clubs or ultimate fighting, however UFC and MMA organizations (the real fight clubs) take extensive precautions to keep their fighters safe. In fact the precautions they take are so extensive that they have had only one death in the history of the organized sport, far less than boxing or even football.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBgtccZgrbc

I thought fight clubs sounded appealing until I read @drClaw ‘s answer….

@JONESGH Right there with you.

Im doing Krav Maga (violent martial arts) and i can testify getting hit in the face really hurts, I dont know if i want to be in any fights i wont win. So no. If you feel like you want to enjoy, channel and direct your agression in a controlled and socially acceptible form i would really recommend Krav Maga or probably any martial arts. It’s doing wonders for the release of my aggression – and i can do it without (seriously) hurting myself or anyone else.

Although i guess really agree with the book philosophy that feeling pain is better than feeling nothing at all. If I felt the same kind of disillusionment with my existence as the main character in fight club I think i could see myself being in a fight club. Although i think there is a lot more to the message of that book than just being in brawls for the hell of it (that’s for psychopaths, the book is way smarter than that imho).

I’m not allowed to talk about it.

I believe it would be. There aren’t that many releases in the world. And as for the fear of getting hit, that’s why you swing first. If I remember correctly if you go to a “meeting” and it’s your first time, you have to fight. In those situations you swing to not get hit. The adrenaline flows so strongly you want to get that rush again so you come back. But this time you fight vollentarilly.

Yeah I’m in the same situation as @nisse , I do karate and if i really do feel like a fight I just fight one of the black belts, it really helps to calm you down

yes, it does… I have found sadly that whether most people will admit it or not we have been taught that anger can be resolved with violence. As if beating up someone will make you feel better. Now, don’t get me wrong with a name like Achilles, I’m a fan of violence as much as the next person. But I do it for fun. I learn to fight to protect those that I love and care about. However, I fight because it’s fun. It’s fun fighting in a controlled environment in the sense that you’re not fighting cause you’re mad at each other. You just want to test your combat skills against another. Like they said in the Matrix, “You never truly know someone till you fight them”

@Achilles When I think of a Fight Club, I think of a group of people standing in a circle while two fight. To me I wouldn’t consider a controlled environment a fight club. I have been in boxing and MMA training for 8 months trying to get ready for my first cage fight and I can say that I haven’t once in the past 8 months experienced anything close to the feeling I got from fighting in a backyard or concrete bowl. I attribute that to the fact that I know my training environment is controlled and that first aid is available.

Totally, I would love to fight for fun.