What do you think of children getting involved in mixed martial arts/cage fighting?

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My son does it and he is in 4th grade. He has been doing it since the 1st grade. Although no punching to the head. It is tough but it certainly does not make him go out and fight outside. It is a sport and he realizes that. I’ve never had any problem with him getting into any fights. In fact it is the opposite impact. He is so tough that he doesn’t feel threatened at all by other kids. He said one time a kid was trying to punch him and he just blocked all the punches without even hitting back.

I personally think kids need to learn how to live in the real world and come out of the fantasy world.Martial arts is ok to an extent,but to be used to prove nothing of the sort ,as cage fighting.It’s STUPID.

In my opinion I think its better to start kids in a more traditional martial art to learn the values of respect, honor, integrity and self discipline if they are very young. Bottom line MMA is sport fighting where the main goal is to submit or injure your opponent. I don’t think a child has the capacity to tell when its time to fight and not to fight when in that format the goal is to fight.The traditional martial arts is about not having to fight and having the choice to walk away from a potential fight with pride. I all so think the potential for injury is greater since the goal is to inflict injury or submission. Children don’t have the self control to know the difference. I don’t care how much safety equipment you put on a kid’s hands and head. A lay back arm bar leads to a broken elbow just the same.

Kids training in MMA is fine but to actually make them fight
is going a bit too far. As long as thier not getting punched
in the head like Bruce was saying thats ok. You dont put
tattoos on kids before they’re old enough to realize how
stupid and ridiculous that certain tattoo looks, same goes
with smashed in noses, scar tissue and coliflower ear.

like any other martial arts, it provides discipline and an outlet, what is so wrong with it?

As long as he is learning discipline and respect at the same time and you aren’t just giving a great new set of resources to a bully. Knowledge is power and that knowlegde comes with a big responsiblilty when you are full of rampaging hormones.

The state of Missouri is just now sponsoring a bill against this that comes up next week due to an AP news story the week before. If you go back to that story and listen carefully to what one of the ten or eleven year olds is saying when being interviewed I think there is some justification for this. He indicates its cool to be able to beat other kids up and wants to do so. Being able to and wanting to are two different things. In traditional martial arts such techniques as chokes, and primary joint locks, etc. were not taught to beginners or children until they had attained some rank, shown the proper attitude and demonstrated the proper self-control, behavior, and responsibility for such techniques. That along with the safety factors of causing excess play in their joints and growth plate while still growing are additional factors in all this. Some schools and instructors out there lack the skill, experience, and knowledge to do this safely with children and will possibly turn out an adolescent that will have skill, knowledge, and ability but lack the discipline, attitude, and proper responsibility that goes with it. It has only been several years since the one young gentleman in Florida killed his sister who was a few years younger while practicing his WWF/WWE moves. Give it time and I think you will see it happen with this as well. Judo, ju-jitsu and wrestling are closely monitored and controlled with respect to what techniques are allowed, practiced, and used in most every state based on age or level of competition. MMA is not but this is a needed attempt to bring it into line with those other sports or activities that are already regulated primariliy for safety reasons as well as for some of the other reasons as stated above.

Number one, and I can’t stress this enough to some people.

TEACHING KIDS DISCIPLINE AND RESPECT IS A PARENT’S RESPONSIBILITY, NOT A DOJO’S!

Discipline and Respect come from within you! Martial Arts may try to help instill it, but you shouldn’t be enrolling your kids into Martial Arts so that they can learn discipline and respect.

YOU SHOULD TEACH THEM IT!

Dojos are not ultra daycares.

As far as the answer saying most MMA places (the few that have kids programs) are under qualified? You have to be kidding me? They have practical knowledge of what they are doing, and are way more qualified then the vast majority of so called Black Belts who think that they are qualified to teach your kid about discipline and respect, as well as a Martial Art.

MMA is WAY MORE Closely monitored then have a 13 year old brown belt leading a class of 40 kids.

Tell me in all honesty people what is it about Martial Arts that teaches discipline and respect?

Humility towards your Sensei? Listening to what he has to say?

You get the same thing in team sports, or MMA.

Training towards a goal, becoming more physically fit?

Again, team sports, little league, MMA, it is all the same.

Learning to get along not fight, listen to authority?

Again, same thing in team sports, MMA, etc.

Most children’s MMA programs train WITHOUT strikes to the head. They also don’t pit kids against each other in cage matches.

They spar, the same as kids in ANY other art spar. But they spar according to rules with kids, and do some with close scrutiny and supervision and are usually reprimanded for losing their temper, or over roughness with training partners.

I think kids MMA programs are not different than Traditional programs, except they are learning a wider array of techniques, and aren’t presented with a false sense of ego or security that comes with a belt.

In most MMA programs, a beginner kid isn’t getting bossed around by a more advanced student and expected to uphold some sort of strict hiearchy.

Everyone is equal, everyone is without ego, and there for fun and training.

The things people are talking about in Traditional schools are things learned anywhere, and especially should be harbored and taught IN THE HOME!

Having to bow and say Sensei doesn’t make you more respectful or disciplined then shaking someone’s hand and saying good game after you have just lost, or calling someone Coach, or Sir.

If a parent does their job they don’t need a Sensei to “whip their kids into shape” or “teach them values, discipline and respect” because THEY ALREADY HAVE THEM!

Martial Arts just provides a kid with a FUN physical activity that harbors good values (good values that you should have already instilled). But so does Little League, Pop Warner Football, Youth Basketball Leagues, and anything else.

MMA for kids is fun, and that is how it should be. It should discourage anger, help kids work out frustrations, provide a fun physical activity in a safe environment under supervision and actually give them some skills.

Because Sensei Shogun hits kids with shinai and talks about honor and self respect, while DEMANDING kids call him Sensei (even outside of the dojo) and that they show obedience and subservience to advance students to a ridiculous degree does not mean he is teaching them better discipline or respect.

Bowing, standing at attention, and yelling like you are in the military doesn’t equal any more discipline or respect then the kid who has geniune respect for his peers, has good manners, and gets up and exercises, and does well in school.

You can’t force respect.

Discipline is worthless unless it is from within.

Parents teach values, dojos do not. And schools and traditional arts proclaiming some greater teaching of discipline, respect, etc are using that as a selling point is strictly to promote children’s programs where they can make more money. Sensei’s are not babysitters, or bestowers of discipline. They should only help reinforce what you are already doing.

Just my opinion, sorry for the book.

WOW! I had no idea thats what kids are doing. That is awful that our world has gotten so bad that kids are ‘cage fighting’. I suppose it came from rooster’s fighting.

NO I would not have young children involved in MMA. A little more maturity in later teens depending on the individual I think than it is OK. Chage fighting!!! If my son was doing it I’d kick his stupid sorry A–.

I think that we are assuming a great deal if we believe that a child enrolled in an MMA class will start fights and a child who is in a boxing, judo, wrestling, karate, TKD or kung-fu class will not. Remember the Kobra Kai from “The Karate Kid” (I know….just bare with me here) a fictitious dojo, but there were and are still MA instructors who breed irresponsibility like this. I guarantee if you wanted to find a kid, in a traditional martial arts, that would say he would like to beat on some classmates…you could. Just because some AP reporter stuck a microphone is some kids face and got a statement like that, doesn’t mean there is some national epidemic about “bully” factories.

As far as letting the “kids” compete against one an other in a competition similiar to what professionals do, I don’t think that is such a good idea. Boxing can be pared down and we already have little kid jujitsu competitions, but MMA could potentially get dangerous. I would be hesitant to let my own kids compete, but I do think that it is very much OK to let them learn this type of sport fighting.

In our society we constantly try to find reasons and excuses for the results of our actions. I’m too fat…must be McDonald’s fault, I’ve got lung cancer….must be big tobacco’s fault, I lost my house to forclosure…must be the lending company’s fault. If your kid is going to start fights as soon as he or she learns a few punches and kicks, they should be in any martial arts classes…MMA or otherwise. If we take responsibility for ourselves and our children, things like this will never be a problem.

I don’t think it’s any different than any other martial art. After all, it’s just several martial arts styles rolled into one. In all martial arts kids can spar once they’ve reached a certain rank.

The kids at our MMA school are taught the respect and discipline as at any single martial art school, and use the belt ranking system. When they do spar, it’s in full protective gear and with no head shots.

I’m sure there are a few schools making a bad name for the sport out there, but people should do some research before enrolling their kids at a particular school.