The ToughMan Contest is described by the Wall Street Journal as the “martial arts version of karaoke.” It’s something like boxing, but it’s not regulated as boxing. It’s something like kick-boxing, but it’s not regulated… at all, really. In boxing matches, you get very closely matched opponents who know exactly what they’re doing. In Toughman competitions, you get uneven opponents. Toughman means uneven matches, and brutal, sometimes fatal, outcomes. It’s attracted the attention of state governments and major newsmedia. The WSJ profile of the business focuses on the regulations, the business, and the liabilities — and how something manages to slip through the regulatory cracks designed to prevent it.
Secretly Ironic 