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Part of me wants to say it is ok( the true sport of it), but then I also think that the younger kids might be too young for something like this. Many people train in their art for many years. This is where you can see the different techniques that each fighter uses. How much technique has young kids really gained by this time. Are they at the point to understand the responsibility of the whole fighting art, and with their bodies still growing and forming, what types of injuries can happen. I have been knee bared and arm bared before to the point of where I did not have time to tap and got injured. It took a long time for me to heal and recover.
If it was only left to the big boys it would not bother me one bit. I has seen kids compete and have refereed kids bjj matches before. It does not bother me at all. But, It kind of rubs me in a weird way to see one kid ground and pounding another kid. I lean more to the side of them having to wait to a certain age, but I can understand arguments from either side.
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Sounds like Serra is all for kids training in MMA, just not full on competition. Which i think most of us can agree on. Kids should be allowed to have fun without the added pressue of winning or losing. They should also be protected, at least at a young age from unnecessary injury. As the get older, as thier skills improve and they become more mature mentally, competition should be encouraged. But as Serra mentioned, its not the kids training under professional instructors, its the kids in the back yard with the camcorder who we should worry about.
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I know in our gym we have a kids BJJ class, but only for the kids who were advanced already in the regular Karate classes. I agree with that. You want them to have the discipline of having mastered a TMA, then bring them into the world of grappling.
Most our kids BJJers are 10-12 years old and have done outstanding in the Gracie Tourneys out here.
They pick it up very fast too. Some of these "kids", if they stick with it? At least in BJJ? Are gonna be scary when they're 18, 19, 20.
Some of the classes sometimes have the adults roll with them, not to beat them down or anything, but to present the problem of what a far larger opponent presents. More for technique than anything. Make the kids think out of the box in other words.
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I say let them, kids need to learn how to defend themselves and MMA is great for that, just make sure you're a responsible parent and teach them to only use it to defend yourself and not to be a bully. That's all it comes down too is the parent making sure to teach their kids when and when not to use it.
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allowing kids at age 8 or something like that to learn how to punch and hurt others, with little to no understand with the consequences is ridiculous... i guess this is a "fighting" forum, but i was shocked to see everyone thought it was ok
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GSPALLTHEWAY
allowing kids at age 8 or something like that to learn how to punch and hurt others, with little to no understand with the consequences is ridiculous... i guess this is a "fighting" forum, but i was shocked to see everyone thought it was ok
I never really said it was okay. It kinda rubs me the wrong way actually.
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My take on this is that we must remember that all sports a child participates in are inherently dangerous.
-The worst injury I ever had in my entire life was from little league baseball.And I've played high school football,I've wrestled,and I've fought.I broke my leg in 3 places sliding into 2nd base when I was 10.
-A kid had an asthma attack and died in my pee wee football league.
If kids are wearing pads,and are supervised I don't find it any more dangerous than any other sport they participate in.The only difference is that now they have a skill that could very well protect them in the street.Kid's fight when they are young,it happens,this would I think make a child more confident and less likely to be bullied.Also,think about it,if a 40 lb kid is wearing 8 or 12 ounce gloves,he really isn't going to be able to generate any kind of power.
It's certainly more productive than setting on myspace and playing video games all day.I would never force my kid to do anything,but if this was something he was seriously emphatic about doing,I would allow him to.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryduce
My take on this is that we must remember that all sports a child participates in are inherently dangerous.
-The worst injury I ever had in my entire life was from little league baseball.And I've played high school football,I've wrestled,and I've fought.I broke my leg in 3 places sliding into 2nd base when I was 10.
-A kid had an asthma attack and died in my pee wee football league.
If kids are wearing pads,and are supervised I don't find it any more dangerous than any other sport they participate in.The only difference is that now they have a skill that could very well protect them in the street.Kid's fight when they are young,it happens,this would I think make a child more confident and less likely to be bullied.Also,think about it,if a 40 lb kid is wearing 8 or 12 ounce gloves,he really isn't going to be able to generate any kind of power.
It's certainly more productive than setting on myspace and playing video games all day.I would never force my kid to do anything,but if this was something he was seriously emphatic about doing,I would allow him to.
but i love myspace...
i agree with your points, but child mma would draw mostly the bullies... who would most likely further bully and be stronger at doing it. i just dont see many kids who are getting picked on going into mma at that age
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GSPALLTHEWAY
allowing kids at age 8 or something like that to learn how to punch and hurt others, with little to no understand with the consequences is ridiculous... i guess this is a "fighting" forum, but i was shocked to see everyone thought it was ok
I do not think the age that I have been seeing is appropriate. Those who say it is a sport just like every other sport that young kids compete at, yeah that is true but this sport is unlike anyother. I really do not see this spreading too much. I think people will take issues with the ages, mentalities, and size of these kids as some of the reasons not to encourage this type of competition till an older age.
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I see a huge problem with this.
I understand that some kids will use this as a tool to prevent from being bullied. But what's going to happen, when a kid defends himself on the playground and chokes another child unconscious (or worse)?
Seriously, all it is going to take is one drastically bad incident for MMA to lose 10 years worth of growth.
MMA is lucky that no child has been seriously injured in a sanctioned event. What's more scary to think about is how a child may be injured at practice or elsewhere and such injury could plague them throughout their life.
This obviously, is the same chance that an adult takes with practicing MMA. Let's be honest, children do not choose a sport after thoroughly looking at all the consequences.
I love MMA, I just think it shouldn't be practiced by young children.
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A big problem I see with this in say boxing kids wear very large padded gloves to minimize injuries, in MMA thats a much harder thing. Yeah I think there should be a limit to when you can start fighting. My old boxing coach would always let anyone of any age train but you could not spar to a certain age, and then actually fight till a couple years after that.
Is it ok to let little kids do MMA?
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