Slap fighting: Controversial event makes Scottish debut

A controversial new type of combat is making its debut in Scotland at the weekend but clinicians have warned of potential brain injury risks for those taking part.

There is no doubt about it, slap fighting is violent.

In boxing, MMA and Muay Thai there exists a defensive element, a competitive give-and-take - but not in slapping.

Here competitors exchange forceful bare-handed blows to the side of the head without defending themselves.

Flinching, dodging or deflecting blows is not allowed.

The winner is declared by knock-out, a points win or by a medic or referee ending the battle.

Slap fighting started as a viral sensation between Russian strongmen and grew into Eastern Europe and America where Dana White, president and CEO of the multi-billion-dollar UFC, established his league, Power Slap, in 2023.

Now an independent British league has sprung up and is staging its first Scottish fight night at Glasgow's University Union on Saturday night, following four events in England.

Josh Skeete, the man behind BritSlap/SlapFight UK, said he was excited to bring slap fighting to Scotland for the first time.

Skeete told the BBC he got hooked after watching fights online in 2021.

"It intrigued me and I was really entertained," he says.

"After doing research, I realised there was no-one doing it in the country so I set out to start the league.

"I saw the potential that the sport has."

The headline fight in Glasgow will be 34-year-old Dan "One Shot" Mitchell against Louis "The Razor" Robinson, who is defending the British Heavyweight Championship he won at SlapFight 4 in Liverpool in October.

Mitchell won his debut fight at that event with a TKO (technical knockout).

"The ref stopped it due to the amount of damage I caused to my opponent," he says.

"I hit him as hard as I could and it cut all his face and his eye was going a bit bloodshot and a bit red.

"He was still conscious and the medic declared a TKO."

Mitchell describes himself as an adrenaline junkie.

"People shouting my name, it's a thrill that I love," he says.

When asked about the death of Polish slap fighter Artur Walczak who never regained consciousness after a knock-out in 2021, Mitchell was fatalistic about the risks.

"There's not much that does scare me. If it happens, it happens," he says.

"I've played rugby all my life so I'm kind of used to concussions and stuff so I know what to expect."

Last year, doctors at the University of Pittsburgh published the first study into links between brain injury and slap fighting.

It analysed footage of 78 fights and concluded that more than half of participants displayed visual signs of concussion after a series of strikes, exposing them to a range of potential symptoms such as post-traumatic migraine, vision problems, mood changes and cognition changes.

Lead Author Dr Raj Swaroop Lavadi said: "There's no element of defence so each blow is kind of amplified and that's why it's concerning.

"I would just encourage slap fighters to do their own research before engaging in this activity and hopefully promoters can be more transparent about its risks.

"I think there are safer and more regulated sports for people who are interested in martial arts to participate in.'

Robyn "The Belter" Wereshcuk, from Livingston, West Lothian, insists the benefits to her confidence, self-esteem and life with her kids makes it worth the risks.

It was an interest in Muay Thai at her gym that led her to discovering the sport.

An Instagram DM from her to the PowerSlap franchise in the USA sent her life in a new direction.

Not only did Wereshcuk find herself on stage at PowerSlap's first international event in Abu Dhabi - she won.

"It's the best thing I've done, I loved it," she says.

"You can see when I'm winning, I'm tearing up.

"I was homeless after leaving my husband and I didn't have a job because I was a stay-at-home mum for years, so this definitely helped me get out of a bit a hole."

Skeete argues that every new combat sport faces criticism at first.

He says the average boxer could take 200 to 300 punches to the head during a bout where slap fighting has a maximum of five slaps.

In America, a handful of state athletic commissions have moved for formal regulation but in Scotland slap fighting has no independent governing body.

The Glasgow fight is being regulated by its organiser.

Skeete says: "We took the initiative to set up our own governing structure just to ensure fighter safety and to ensure rules are being followed.

"It took a lot of time behind the scenes for myself and the team. We did a lot of research into the rules and safety aspects."

Neither SportScotland, nor NAKMA (Britain's only independent National Governing Body for traditional and modern martial arts) play a role in slap fighting.

A spokesman for Glasgow University Union, where the event is being held, said its licence allowed it to hold sporting events.

It said it was satisfied that the insurance, risk assessments and mitigations put in place by the organisers were satisfactory.

Ahead of the first blows being exchanged over the barrel in Glasgow, questions persist.

With a total absence of independent regulation, are slap fighting's participants being exposed to unacceptable levels of danger and exploitation?

Should this be legal?

Whatever the case there's certainly some genuine enthusiasm for it.

"I hope that lots of people really see it," says Robyn.

"I hope they see that it is a competitive sport and it isn't a circus. It isn't just people slapping each other."

But remember, please don't try this at home.