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Thread: Kids and MMA

  1. #16
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    i dunno. As a papa, it looks scary to me. No offense to anybody, but the parents of these kids must be a little nuts. I mean, I have no intention of letting my son go full contact, or even train to go real hard, until he is like 16--and only then if he pesters me until I break. I don't think anything good can come from an 8 or 12 year old beating someone's face in, getting their face beat in, or popin someone's shoulder...that would be messed up. IMO fighting full contact needs to be an adult decision, made by the adult that is competing.

  2. #17
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    More grist for the mill

    I've heard of other MMA teen leagues starting. Six seems too young to me.

    Ultimate Fights Expand to Include Kids

    By MARCUS KABEL – 4 hours ago

    CARTHAGE, Mo. (AP) — Ultimate fighting was once the sole domain of burly men who beat each other bloody in anything-goes brawls on pay-per-view TV.

    But the sport often derided as "human ****fighting" is branching out.

    The bare-knuckle fights are now attracting competitors as young as 6 whose parents treat the sport as casually as wrestling, Little League or soccer.

    The changes were evident on a recent evening in southwest Missouri, where a team of several young boys and one girl grappled on gym mats in a converted garage.

    Two members of the group called the "Garage Boys Fight Crew" touched their thin martial-arts gloves in a flash of sportsmanship before beginning a relentless exchange of sucker punches, body blows and swift kicks.

    No blood was shed. And both competitors wore protective gear. But the bout reflected the decidedly younger face of ultimate fighting. The trend alarms medical experts and sports officials who worry that young bodies can't withstand the pounding.

    Tommy Bloomer, father of two of the "Garage Boys," doesn't understand the fuss.

    "We're not training them for dog fighting," said Bloomer, a 34-year-old construction contractor. "As a parent, I'd much rather have my kids here learning how to defend themselves and getting positive reinforcement than out on the streets."

    Bloomer said the sport has evolved since the no-holds-barred days by adding weight classes to better match opponents and banning moves such as strikes to the back of the neck and head, groin kicking and head butting.

    Missouri appears to be the only state in the nation that explicitly allows the youth fights. In many states, it is a misdemeanor for children to participate. A few states have no regulations.

    Supporters of the sport acknowledge that allowing fights between kids sounds brutal at first. But they insist the competitions have plenty of safety rules.

    "It looks violent until you realize this teaches discipline. One of the first rules they learn is that this is not for aggressive behavior outside (the ring)," said Larry Swinehart, a Joplin police officer and father of two boys and the lone girl in the garage group.

    The sport, which is also known as mixed martial arts or cage fighting, has already spread far beyond cable television. Last month, CBS became the first of the Big Four television networks to announce a deal to broadcast primetime fights. The fights have attracted such a wide audience, they are threatening to surpass boxing as the nation's most popular pugilistic sport.

    Hand-to-hand combat is also popping up on the big screen. The film "Never Back Down," described as "The Karate Kid" for the YouTube generation, has taken in almost $17 million in two weeks at the box office. Another current mixed martial arts movie, "Flash Point," an import from Hong Kong, is in limited release.

    Bloomer said the fights are no more dangerous or violent than youth wrestling. He watched as his sons, 11-year-old Skyler and 8-year-old Gage, locked arms and legs and wrestled to the ground with other kids in the garage in Carthage, about 135 miles south of Kansas City.

    The 11 boys and one girl on the team range from 6 to 14 years old and are trained by Rudy Lindsey, a youth wrestling coach and a professional mixed martial arts heavyweight.

    "The kids learn respect and how to defend themselves. It's no more dangerous than any other sport and probably less so than some," Lindsey said.

    Lindsey said the children wear protective headgear, shin guards, groin protection and martial-arts gloves. They fight quick, two-minute bouts. Rules also prohibit any elbow blows and blows to the head when an opponent is on the ground.

    "If they get in trouble or get bad grades, I'll hear about it and they can't come to training," he added.

    In most states, mixed martial arts is overseen by boxing commissions. In Missouri, the Office of Athletics regulates the professional fights but not the amateur events, which include the youth bouts. For amateurs, the regulation is done by sanctioning bodies that have to register with the athletics office.

    The rules are different in Oklahoma, where unauthorized fights are generally a misdemeanor offense. The penalty is a maximum 30 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000.

    Joe Miller, administrator of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission, said youth fights are banned in his state, and he wants it to stay that way.

    "There's too much potential for damage to growing joints," he said.

    Miller said mixed martial arts uses a lot of arm and leg twisting to force opponents into submission. Those moves, he said, pressure joints in a way not found in sanctioned sports like youth boxing or wrestling.

    But Nathan Orand, a martial arts trainer from Tulsa, Okla., said kids are capable of avoiding injuries, especially with watchful referees in the rings. He thinks the sport is bound to grow.

    "I can see their point because when you say 'cage fighting,' that right there just sounds like kids shouldn't be doing it," Orand said.

    "But you still have all the respect that regular martial arts teach you. And it's really the only true way for youth to be able to defend themselves."

    Back in the Carthage garage, Bloomer said parents shouldn't worry about kids becoming aggressive from learning mixed martial arts. He said his older son was picked on by bullies at school repeatedly last year but never fought them, instead reporting the problem to his teachers.

    And fighters including his 8-year-old son get along once a bout is over, Bloomer said.

    "When they get out of the cage, they go back and play video games together. It doesn't matter who won and who lost. They're still little buddies."
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #18
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    Personally I say eliminate the cage and it will do wonders for public perception and the olympic future prospect.
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  4. #19
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    They had 6 year olds fighting in Tulsa the last time we fought, and as a result of poor officiating during those boughts (the judges were allowing head striking on the ground) Oklahoma suspended all amateur MMA for 1 year. They just recently started it again, but it's for 18+ and up.

    The Garage Boys fought in that fight, and I have to say, these sorts of back-yard clubs have no business bringing people into fight when they don't even have adequate facilities in which to train. There were several of these clubs fighting that night, and I really felt sorry for the kids. In many cases, they didn't have people to wrap their hands or even warm them up properly.
    Last edited by MasterKiller; 03-27-2008 at 01:10 PM.
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  5. #20
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    Any place that allows minors to box can, in theory, allow MMA IF it is not in a cage and if there is no GnP.
    A case can be made for MMA under those circumstances, its basically a combination of Kick boxing and wrestling, both sports "sanctioned" by local sports jurisdictions.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by sanjuro_ronin View Post
    Any place that allows minors to box can, in theory, allow MMA IF it is not in a cage and if there is no GnP.
    A case can be made for MMA under those circumstances, its basically a combination of Kick boxing and wrestling, both sports "sanctioned" by local sports jurisdictions.
    Kids shouldn't be arm-barring one another, imo. I say 16+ is fine. Anything under that, and you better have HIGHLY restricted rules.
    He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher. -- Walt Whitman

    Quote Originally Posted by David Jamieson View Post
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  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterKiller View Post
    Kids shouldn't be arm-barring one another, imo. I say 16+ is fine. Anything under that, and you better have HIGHLY restricted rules.
    I agree, hence a combination of wrestling and kick-boxing.
    Some have been using that here to circumvent some of the "issues" with MMA.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  8. #23
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    You wouldn't let a kid drive a stock car just because they like NASCAR would you? Same with MMA. If a child is interested in it, then get them started off in something age appropriate like wrestling or one of the traditional martial arts. By the time they are in thier late teens, they will know if that is the right path for them and will have a skill set that will allow an easy transition into MMA. If not, they will still be healthy with no destroyed joints, trick knees or any other activity related disability.
    Quote Originally Posted by Oso View Post
    you're kidding? i would love to drink that beer just BECAUSE it's in a dead animal...i may even pick up the next dead squirrel i see and stuff a budweiser in it

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Becca View Post
    You wouldn't let a kid drive a stock car just because they like NASCAR would you? Same with MMA. If a child is interested in it, then get them started off in something age appropriate like wrestling or one of the traditional martial arts. By the time they are in thier late teens, they will know if that is the right path for them and will have a skill set that will allow an easy transition into MMA. If not, they will still be healthy with no destroyed joints, trick knees or any other activity related disability.
    Kids do judo and BJJ and wrestling, these sports don't effect the joints??
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterKiller View Post
    The Garage Boys fought in that fight, and I have to say, these sorts of back-yard clubs have no business bringing people into fight when they don't even have adequate facilities in which to train. There were several of these clubs fighting that night, and I really felt sorry for the kids. In many cases, they didn't have people to wrap their hands or even warm them up properly.
    That's exactly what worries me, incompetant instruction. One of my instructors has a kids BJJ class. He is a legit BJJ Brown Belt. He has never had a kid injured in class or competition.

    But the 'MMA craze' is giving birth to these poseurs who open up gyms and have no business teaching. Sounds like these guys are part of the problem. It's bad enough when adults are fooled by a bs resume and train with these guys, but it's even worse when they teach kids.
    When given the choice between big business and big government, choose big business. Big business never threw millions of people into gas chambers, but big government did.

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  11. #26
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    It's a little Spartan, isn't it? I mean, if it's just a combo of MA and wrestling, it seems fine--as an activity. But venues and competition with ground striking, etc?

    MMA might pride itself on its hardcore nature, but in terms of developmental psychology for kids? It's ridiculous........and I think this is just evidence of irresponsible parenting (by "irresponsible" I mean--pushing one's personal agenda onto a kid to do something one doesn't have the gall to do oneself). MMA requires a level of maturity. But like I said, if it's BJJ and MA, but with strict rules and regulations, with strict measures of "qualification" to keep out the wolves....I don't see an issue. Traditional MA's (including BJJ, etc.) do have ways of curbing bad behavior, and they require discipline. MMA might just be too.....well, there's not really a word for it.

    I don't know of any MA group or educational institution that teaches kids the same way they teach adults.

    Can you imagine a Punch Drunk teen? Kids just aren't built like fully-grown men...it's so obvious, it sounds ridiculous saying it. Plus, they're not independent, and they're not making their own health decisions. That's a big issue. I say: 18+.....no younger. Before that time, work on the arts you're going to eventually mix.
    Last edited by Shaolin Wookie; 03-29-2008 at 07:10 AM.

  12. #27
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    Wookie, MMA is a sport, and legitimate MMA programs are run in the same vane as organized programs like wrestling, boxing, football etc.

    If those programs can provide character building for youth, so can MMA. My concern is that young kids should be performing submissions on one another because their joints are not fully matured.

    Your perception of MMA schools seems to be based on your exposure to fanboys online more than experience in a sport gym.
    He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher. -- Walt Whitman

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  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterKiller View Post
    Wookie, MMA is a sport, and legitimate MMA programs are run in the same vane as organized programs like wrestling, boxing, football etc.

    If those programs can provide character building for youth, so can MMA. My concern is that young kids should be performing submissions on one another because their joints are not fully matured.

    Your perception of MMA schools seems to be based on your exposure to fanboys online more than experience in a sport gym.
    I don't know about that. The key to winning MMA is not pinning, scoring, or tackling (take-down), it's the brutalization of your opponent or pain-compliance holds leading to tapouts.

    I 100% agree MMA can be used to build character--and I think it does so even with many pro-MMA fighters. Just look at Tito Ortiz. He's become a fine member of society and has married a very respectable woman.

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shaolin Wookie View Post
    I don't know about that. The key to winning MMA is not pinning, scoring, or tackling (take-down), it's the brutalization of your opponent or pain-compliance holds leading to tapouts.
    You score points for landed and attempted techniques. That's how matches are decided in case of a non-submission or non-KO.


    I 100% agree MMA can be used to build character--and I think it does so even with many pro-MMA fighters. Just look at Tito Ortiz. He's become a fine member of society and has married a very respectable woman.
    Check the "Busted Teachers" thread sometime.

    Even SD produced at least one child rapist.
    Last edited by MasterKiller; 03-29-2008 at 02:48 PM.
    He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher. -- Walt Whitman

    Quote Originally Posted by David Jamieson View Post
    As a mod, I don't have to explain myself to you.

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterKiller View Post
    You score points for landed and attempted techniques. That's how matches are decided in case of a non-submission or non-KO.


    Check the "Busted Teachers" thread sometime.

    Even SD produced at least one child rapist.
    LOL....because we all know it was the SD, and not bad genes and a messed up psyche (and probably a history of abuse).


    **** you SHAOLIN-DO!

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