Fighting the Inner Battle: What The Smashing Machine Teaches Every Martial Artist

When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson first entered Hollywood, few imagined he’d one day deliver a performance critics would call Oscar worthy. Yet in The Smashing Machine, which opened October 3, Johnson sheds his blockbuster image to portray mixed martial arts pioneer Mark Kerr with raw vulnerability and emotional depth. Directed by Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems), the film is more than a sports story, it’s a lesson in discipline, self-control, and redemption that every martial arts school owner can appreciate. Based on true events from 1997 to 2000, The Smashing Machine follows Kerr’s meteoric rise in the early days of mixed martial arts, when the UFC was still defining its identity,