Kids and MMA

[GeneChing]

Children's mixed martial arts cage fights draw fire
Youth fights the future of the sport, says trainer
CBC News
Posted: Jun 23, 2012 11:58 AM AT
Last Updated: Jun 23, 2012 12:18 PM AT

Children take part in a mixed martial arts cage fight. Children take part in a mixed martial arts cage fight. (CBC)

A mixed martial arts competition in Moncton, N.B., is garnering controversy after it featured a cage fight between children last month.

The adult–oriented event included exhibition mixed martial arts matches, made popular by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, involving children as young as eight.

"It's not like the MMA you see in the movies, or what you see on TV," said John Williams, the Canadian representative for amateur mixed martial arts.

The fights are "extremely safe," he said, because the children have "lots of equipment on."

Williams said the rules were approved by the Moncton boxing commission, but psychologist Charles Emmrys disapproves of the fighting, especially as entertainment for adults.

"Violence is exciting. That's why we have action movies, they pump us up. Children should not be pumping us up by beating each other up," he said.

"When parents are talking about encouraging kids to beat up other kids, well that's called encouraging a bully to be a bully."

But Williams argues the sport is as safe as karate or taekwondo. As a precaution, he said there were two doctors and an ambulance on site during the fights.

"There are more people who get hurt and killed in cheerleading than this," he said.

Williams, who is also a trainer, said youth fights are safe and here to stay. He hopes to one day see the sport in the Olympics.

In the meantime, Williams is organizing Provincial, Atlantic and National championships. He said children and teens will be part of all future competitions.

"There are more people who get hurt and killed in cheerleading than this" is a poor argument. You could just say ""There are more people in cheerleading than this" which is really the factor at play. There is potential for injury with any activity, and given the magnitude of cheerleading vs. MMA, there would have to be a significant adjustment for the population difference to make such a claim valid. That being said, cheerleading is fairly injurious.

[GeneChing]

Six-Year-Old MMA Fighter Imitates Tito Ortiz's "Grave Digger" Celebration After Defeating Opponent
Yahoo! Contributor Network
By Eric Holden | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Jul 17, 2012 2:07 PM EDT

Something struck me as a bit creepy watching six-year-old Armenian MMA fighter Minas Avagyan doing his best Tito Ortiz impression with a "grave digger" routine after tapping out his seven-year-old opponent via a guillotine choke.

Poor Sportsmanship?

Whether or not it alarms you watching young kids fight in competitive mixed martial arts tournaments, the Ortiz-esque grave digger routine showed poor sportsmanship and came across to me as more disturbing than "cute."

Think about it. You essentially have a six-year-old child pretending to dig a grave for an opponent he just beat. A coach or parent should have told Avagyan pre-fight to not show up his opponent by performing this routine, as a classy MMA fighter would never do such a thing.

Respecting Your Opponent

If you're going to develop young MMA fighters, it's paramount to do so the right way, by pushing the idea of sportsmanship and respect towards an opponent. Respect is easily the most important part of martial arts, and children getting involved in the sport are going to model their behavior after the adults who compete in it.

Ortiz matured over the years, but he clearly had an influence over young students of the game. Hopefully, current UFC fighters will take a cue from this situation and see what kind of impact they have on some of the new kids getting into the sport.

I admire athletes like Junior dos Santos and Kenny Florian, who take new students under their wing to lead them down a good path and show them how to have respect for the sport by being classy towards opponents.

Kids Competing In MMA

Besides the post-fight actions, the fight itself was a bit too extreme for my liking.

I don't see anything wrong with young kids learning to compete in mixed martial arts, but at the tender age of six, striking should be modified and ground-and-pound should be limited or banned completely.

By the looks of the video, striking seems to be perfectly legal in this league. Avagyan's opponent opened the tilt with a wild, looping right cross that likely would have caused some major damage if it connected.

Later in the fight, Avagyan softened up his opponent with body shots before securing the choke.

Should They Wear Helmets?

At such a young age, punches to the head are quite dangerous. In the United States, six and seven year olds start playing football and engaging in wrestling, so MMA is not that far removed from other full contact sports.

"Other kids practice sports that could result in head injuries or concussions, but that doesn't stop parents from encouraging their boys to play football," said Yahoo! contributor Cheryl Ragsdale. "Injuries happen even when players are fully suited with protective gear."

Ragsdale's assessment was right on the money. Injuries can occur in any sport, especially at a young age when bodies are still developing.

Forcing young fighters to wear headgear might not be the answer, as that would take away from the development of head escapes from submission attempts. I think the proper solution would simply be to ban strikes to the head, and disallow ground-and-pound.

Here's the vid: 6 years fighter MMA Champion.ArmFC-10.Hayk Tashchyan vs Minas Avagyan HD

[sanjuro_ronin]

If a person is NOT taught respect, they will not have it.

[bawang]

what wrong with the grave digger routine? i think its pretty funny of tito to do that.

[David Jamieson]

My view on this is that it is a failure at teaching children well.
Teaching kids deliberate violence is in my opinion stupid. Especially as a pass time.

Let them be kids and have their tussles and such, but training them?
Utter bollocks.

[pateticorecords]

What most people seem to forget is that constant blows to the head are not good for the brain in the long term. In 20-30 years the result of it all

A child should not be introduced to the full blown sport at such an early age, IMO.

One of the gripes I have with MMA characters is the lack of respect. I am not trying to clump everybody together but for the most part what I have experienced firsthand has been arrogance.

It is what it is I guess.

[GeneChing]

Ban minors from attending MMA events. Make MMA just like porn and alcohol. What do y'all think of that?

Farmington Hills Ordinance Would Keep Minors from Mixed Martial Arts Events

Officials are expected to hear more public comment on the proposed ordinance at their Feb. 11 meeting.

By Joni Hubred-Golden
Email the author
6:00 am

If promoters bring mixed martial arts, wrestling or similar events to Farmington Hills, city officials want to make sure young people aren't exposed to the violence.

ouncil members agreed during a Monday study session that new rules, discussed at a November study session and tabled Dec. 10, should include a provision that prohibits anyone under age 18 from attending the matches.

"I don't like the idea of kids watching this stuff," council member Randy Bruce said. "Kids really don't have the ability to put these things in perspective. To me, this is an adult activity."

The ordinance, drafted after Police Chief Chuck Nebus received inquiries from event organizers, would replace an existing ordinance that is only about a sentence long. While State of Michigan rules govern professional mixed martial arts events, there are no state-wide rules for amateur events.

City attorney Steve Joppich said the proposed ordinance is "totally defensible on a legal basis". It requires a detailed application with information about the promoters, the nature and layout of the event, and acknowledgement that the organizers will bring in their own emergency medical and security personnel, among other things.

Joppich said he doesn't know of any other city that has been as restrictive.

"This ordinance is meant to keep the unscrupulous people out of our city," Mayor Barry Brickner said. "I would just as soon not have (the events) at all."

Resident Mary Johnston railed at officials for not banning the sport.

"This entire discussion is appalling," she said. "You're talking about doing things people get arrested for ... This is not a sport at all, this is unadulterated murder."

Johnston said there should be a public hearing, and Brickner said members of the public will be able to comment when the ordinance is introduced. City manager Steve Brock said that will likely be at the council's Feb. 11 meeting.

Officials noted they cannot ban any business that is allowed under Michigan state law. Brock said anyone looking for a channel through which to ban the sports should contact state legislators.

[TaichiMantis]

Are kids allowed at boxing matches or wwe?....

[GeneChing]

I think kids fund WWE.

[TaichiMantis]

Interview of Aiden and his mom. I thought she presented the sport and the reasons she allows her son to participate in a positive manner.

[GeneChing]

What is MMA about again then?

MMA for kids exploding in popularity
MLB star Prince Fielder trains with his children
Author: Matt Papaycik, Producer, mpapaycik@wkmg.com
Published On: Feb 27 2013 11:27:48 PM EST Updated On: Feb 28 2013 12:48:20 PM EST

New craze for kids: fighting in a cage
OCOEE, Fla. -

The videos may look painful, but the sport is becoming wildly popular, and many parents are having their children train in mixed martial arts to battle bullying.

In Central Florida, children as young as 5 years old are learning mixed martial arts, known as MMA. The kids get in a cage and learn how to punch, kick and choke each other out.

"The trend I've seen with children and mixed martial arts is an explosion," says Jonathan Burke, the owner of The VI Levels, a mixed martial arts gym in Ocoee.

He's not surprised by the latest numbers, which show that more than 3 million kids under the age of 13 are taking MMA classes around the country. In fact, YouTube has numerous videos showing boys and girls competing in MMA.

But unlike the violent fights you see in those YouTube videos, Burke says his goal is not to train boys and girls to fight in a cage like the pros.

"We use it to teach these kids self-defense, and how to deal with mental issues," says Burke. "It's not about fighting, it's about getting in great physical shape, improving your mental focus and discipline."

Parents tell us that they got their kids involved to deal with one of the most troubling issues out there.

"We thought he might have had a bullying problem because he's small for his size," says Keith Ori, a local father who's talking about his 8-year-old son, Ayrton.

"It happened to me as a kid, and it happens to them as well," says Prince Fielder, the All-Star first baseman for the Detroit Tigers.

Even a pro athlete like Fielder knows the painful realities of bullying. He and his two sons train at The VI Levels. And Fielder says that MMA is already turning his kids into men.

"I just never want them to feel, have their feelings hurt or lose confidence, just because of what someone says," says Fielder.

Even though the lessons at The VI Levels are pretty PG, you can't deny the violence and aggression in those YouTube videos, where kids are fighting in a cage.

So it had us wondering -- could MMA, over time, turn these children into bullies themselves?

"I think there's always a chance," says Dr. Andrew Pittington, a child psychologist in Lake Mary.

He says parents need to find an MMA school that teaches good values first, like self-control and discipline. Otherwise, kids may get the wrong idea.

"It's self-defense, and it's not to be used in an aggressive manor, or to attack other people, or to intimidate or bully other people," says Pittington.

We asked Burke at The VI Levels: How can you guarantee that these kids won't take these fighting skills, and become bullies themselves?

"I can't guarantee they won't be a bully, but I can guarantee that the way we present the information, we're going to make bullying look so bad, they're going to be ashamed to be associated with that word," says Burke.

And, of course, there's always the risk of injuries, especially concussions.

That's why doctors recommend that children wear headgear when they train.

[Vash]

it looks like you accidentally posted an article about karate in the 80s that someone had edited to contain the phrase "mixed martial arts."

[GeneChing]

But I must confess that I've made many mistakes....obviously...or why would I be stuck here with this forum?

[Vash]

No good deed goes unpunished.

[@PLUGO]

A New-York based photographer, Sebastian Montalvo, traveled across the country and compiled a photographic essay in which he attempts to shine a light onto the ferocious sport, giving names and faces to the little children whose parents are encouraging their fighting spirit.