The Good Fight

Matt Hickney Finds his Stride in Walking To The Cage

by Nichole Rathburn

“Ultimately, martial arts means honestly expressing yourself…empty[ing] your mind. You have to train, you have to keep your reflexes so that when you want it, it’s there. When you want to move, you’re moving, and when you move, you’re determined to move.”

And with the words of the immortal Bruce Lee, Walking to the Cage, Matthew Hickney’s documentary on mixed martial arts, or MMA, begins. A Seattle-based screenwriter, filmmaker, and director fascinated by the stories and challenges we carry as individuals, Matthew’s work runs the gamut from the experimental to the commercial. After moving back to Seattle from Los Angeles in 2006, he became interested in making a feature-length documentary, and began to write. Making a movie proved to be no easy feat, and after several attempts at producing screenplays and raising money, Matthew became frustrated.

“I was inspired by the Sundance success stories of individuals who had made movies for less than ten grand. After seeing a short documentary piece that a friend of mine produced on moped riders in southern California, it seemed to be something I could pull off and I immediately began to brainstorm…what did I have around me? What did I know about? What would be interesting? By that time I had already achieved my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.”

Matthew’s interest in mixed martial arts had been sparked by a visit to Amoeba Records in L.A. After randomly purchasing a DVD of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fights to screen for friends, he realized that his perceptions of mixed martial arts had been skewed by ignorance.

“I was amazed at how much went into each fight, and how intricate and technical every moment of a fight was. I likened it to a game of human chess.”
Soon after, Matthew began to train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, an offshoot of Judo focused on grappling techniques. “I fell in love with the sport and the art, and could see how beneficial this type of training could be in so many areas beyond the mere physical exercise aspect. I had made some awesome friends and felt a new sense that is difficult to put into words. A swagger, I guess, and an appreciation for simpler things.”

Through Matthew’s work in Jiu Jitsu, he came into contact with several men training to become amateur cage fighters. He quickly realized that showcasing the hurdles they faced could provide an opportunity to explain the connection he had found between mixed martial arts and his new quality of life.
Matthew also realized he had found a way to introduce cage fighting to viewers in a positive way. The general public rarely sees anything beyond the physicality of the fight itself, which can be off-putting if they are lacking in knowledge. “I felt that a lot of people had a negative impression of the sport, and through highlighting the community building aspects of it, the personal strength, respect and camaraderie, I could craft something that would offer a different, more progressive perspective.”

The pre-existing relationship that the director had with this subject provided Matthew with a valuable opportunity to get the footage he needed to prove his point; the fighters he chose to interview were comfortable enough with Matthew to give him honest glimpses into their community and support systems. Privileged enough to be allowed to see his interviewees (whose experience levels range from very experienced to beginning) at their most vulnerable, Walking to the Cage emphasizes how the fighters’ relationships with each other enriches their lives.

Matthew’s documentary also reminds the viewer of the oft-forgotten link between the condition of our bodies and our spiritual and mental well-being. Mixed martial arts are not necessarily an outlet for aggression or anger; the intense physical concentration needed for cage fighting feeds into many other aspects of life in a positive way. One interviewee says, “after fighting in front of 250 people, giving a speech in front of 30 doesn’t seem so bad.” By achieving such extreme physical goals, other hurdles — personal and professional — become easier to jump.

Matthew is active in Seattle’s media arts scene, having screened work at Northwest Film Forum and STIFF (Seattle’s True Independent Film Festival), as well as dedicating time to workshops and youth programs at 911 Seattle Media Arts Center and SOTA Humanities in Tacoma. He also works as a freelance editor and videographer. Despite Matthew’s broad range of media and life experiences, making Walking to the Cage has provided him with valuable lessons. “I feel more sensitive and empathetic to people and situations. It just feels good to create something [videos] that can bring some thought or emotion to an audience, and hopefully cause someone to think about the subject with a different perspective. It is my pleasure and passion to make movies…I couldn’t see myself doing much else.”

Walking to the Cage will informally screen on June 6, 1:30pm at the JewelBox Theater at 2232 2nd Ave. As an official selection of STIFF it will ‘premiere’ on June 11, 7pm at Central Cinema. Central Cinema is located at 1411 21st Ave., at 21st and Union.
More of Matthew Hickney’s work can be seen at www.chokeproductions.com.

Nichole Rathburn is a Seattle-based writer and student at Cornish School of the Arts.