I used to play ice hockey. It's a lot of fun. Thrilling and exciting. Great exercise. It's a great time to hang out with the fellas and have a few post game beers in the locker room.

If my opponent doesn't show up to the game, then we don't get to play hockey. Any hockey is more fun than no hockey.

So even if I hate the team I'm playing against, I have to be thankful that they showed up for the game. If they didn't play against us we would just be out there figureskating poorly.

In recreational leagues there's often a tradition that we line up and shake hands after the game. It's a ritual signaling that the competitiveness of the game is over, and now we are all friends again.

Also, while it's fun to be aggressive, dominant and throw your weight around, it's not fun to actually hurt someone (unless your a psychopath). I knocked someone out one night. It kinda sucked standing there for a few seconds hoping he opened his eyes, got up, and skates off the ice.

there are rules that they have to follow. Breaking the rules is cheating, and it is as frowned upon sport as it is in videogames.

the point of the sport is to control your violent instincts and channel them into better skills rather than blind violence.

You can kick the living crap out of each other, but as long as you are respectful enough to not take it personally or whinge about it... ie; not Conor McGregor.

It probably doesn’t seem that way, but in hockey there’s a respect for the other players. In fact, some of the fighting exists when someone betrays that respect.

Because whilst the sport might look violent, isn't actually about being violent. The same way ultramarathon competitors run through immense pain but running isn't about self-harm.

When you do martial arts you don't enter the ring thinking about how you're going to punch your opponent's teeth in, you think how you're gonna hit them without getting hit yourself. Even in sports that allow you to take hits (I did Longsword fencing, where we wear protective gear but count every hit that would end the fight between two naked fighters) and therefore hitting hard is advised, you're in a "let's see who is stronger" mindset, not in a "I'm gonna fucking kill you" mindset.

[deleted]

Respect. Respecting the rules, respecting the integrity of the competition. In MMA for example if someone is getting beat pretty bad and they deliver a shot to the opponents crotch to get a little reprieve, that's disrespectful and unsportsmanlike.

All sports have leagues (owners who create the rules and hire players/coaches), coaches (understands the rules and sets strategy), groups (teams practice or training parters), and the players (do what they want)

Each layer helps police the sportsmanship and sports are entertainment, nothing serious is at risk for the league until you start decreasing the entertainment value.

Think of wrestling, it's "fake" or entertainment too. The violence is part of the story they create, sports does the same thing with just a little more uncertainty in the outcome. The leagues have some form of profit sharing or spending limits to ensure they make money and to keep it competitive.

Because letting emotions get in the way is a sure fire way of getting in trouble the idea is to stay calm and in control . People with big egos often don't last in gyms because as a beginner you suck and will take a beating regularly egos do not like getting smashed so you stay humble Source I'm muay Thai fighter