To think Cage fighting for eight year olds

[Springyknickersohnovicars]

Should be illegal?

Children as young as six are taking up the controversial sport of "cage fighting", alarming medical experts and sports officials.

The violent sport, also known as "ultimate fighting" , combines martial arts, wrestling and boxing but with few rules often looks like little more than a brawl.

It has come over here from the states, parents are in a club, drinking, baying for the chldren to carry on fighting even when they've been hurt.

I know it is legal, and it shouldnt be IMO but what kind of "parents" want their children cage fighting? What chance have these children got in life? I wonder what should be done to protect these children?

Or do some think it's no worse than boxing?

awful, awful spectacle. The adults watching should be ashamed of themselves. It's exploitation at it's worst, and made me feel very sad that such young children should be in that situation.

It's not sport, it's abuse.

Violence is now entertainment. How fucked up is this society?

violence has always been entertainment, nothing to do with present day soceity becoming in some way debased or lacking in the moral fibre of a time gone by.

"No punching, oh I thought along with grappling, striking techniques were allowed - is this not classed as punching?"

They shouldn't be at that age and if they are then I'd say it's a poorly run gym/competition. Any of the decent gyms I know of only do grappling for contact sparring sessions at that age and any striking would be on the bags, as it is with most other martial arts or decent boxing clubs.

oh and yes OP, it should be illegal. YANBU

"I have to say I'm shocked Vallhala at you thinking it is ok for people to put children in a cage to fight each other, and watch them while drinking alcohol and cheering them on shock.

Replace the word "children" by the word "dogs" and I suspect you might have a coronary.

I don't like the cage, i don't like the alcohol, I don't like encouraging children to deliberately hurt each other. None of these happen with rugby or with other martial arts, as far as I know."

So much wrong with that I don't know where to start and am on way out, so briefly:

1. I said to start with that I know nothing of childrens MMA but that if it's like adult MMA then adult MMA is a highly disciplined sport. I didn't speak in favour of MMA for DC particularly, nor against it particularly, though said that IF the regs for DC MMA are as tight and disciplined as for adults PLUS with extra boundaries I'd have no issue with MY child participating. Said child would make conscious, informed decision and is old and intelligent nough to do so.

1. Dog analogy is bloody ridiculous, for so many reasons.

1. Where I did speak out in praise of MMA was about the ADULT version, as practiced by a friends ADULT son, a dedicated, highly disciplined professional MMA champion AND an adoring, gentle, caring family man whose kids are his world, quickly followed by his mother and wife. Knowing this, I took issue with Posies shitty and prejudiced comment about "the sort of people I wouldn't want any of my family to associate with". I still do.

But hey, you know what, Posie? Given your shocking prejudice and given the nature of the MMA fighter I spoke of above, I'm bloody glad that you would keep your family away from him and his.

jeez Valhalla, if that's brief then I can't wait for the extended version

Im not sure how adults can sit and watch or let their kids take part in cage fighting for gods sake. Yet another example of our fucked up society!

Wrong wrong wrong

Scum watching scum-to-be! Surely this should be classed as abuse of the children by their parents? How fucked up are we!

I would be less impressed with parents who took their children hunting to be quite honest, and plenty do that.

Oh, but most of them are "the sort of people" who go to private schools, and have probably never stepped foot in a social club.

would those wanting it outlawed equally want judo, karate & boxing outlawed?

Why has this turned into a convo about class?

I was brought up in Oldham in a very very working class background - I have 5 siblings, we all went to state school and rubbed shoulders with plenty of other kids who ate less than we did, whose parents were never in, etc. Why does that make 'us' more likely to condone violence?

State school kids may use their fists and private/public school kids resort to flushing heads down the toilet or other sadistic 'punishments'. It's all violence at the end of the day. And child abuse is classless.

so do you feel that judo and other martial arts, which do involve striking, are also akin to dog-fighting and parents who have their children participate are abusing them?

I see judo and karate more of a 'defensive' sport, and any contact is usually in competitions or grading, I may be wrong about that but I'm sure I'll be corrected. I do think the discipline from these activities can only be a good thing - not to mention the fitness aspect, but for me, boxing and cage fighting doesn't really fit that category IMVHO.

Again, the connotations surrounding the word cage make me shudder, perhaps I just can't get past that tbh.

"Scum watching scum-to-be! Surely this should be classed as abuse of the children by their parents? How fucked up are we!"

Pretty fucked up if we're now happy to describe 8 year old kids as 'scum to be'

video of the youth judo championships. Levels of contact are pretty much on a par.

The alcohol/drinking thing is a bit of a red herring though isn't it? There are soft-play centres round here with licensed bars, after all.

Rhubarb, I grew up less than 5 miles from you. It is a fact that working classes in general are more likely to spectate at a wrestling or boxing match than a polo match.

Children from working class families are also unlikely to get the opportunity to engage in the sort of sports that the middle and upper classes enjoy. However the children still want to do sports and hobbies. I loved kick boxing and karate when I was a kid. My parents were not all that happy about me doing it, but it was in a controlled environment, and it was good fun.

My cousin was one of the best karate fighters in the country.

And Posie is looking down her nose at people, as her comments have very clearly shown.

It just looked so undisciplined......not like martial arts.
I find it all very distasteful, making it adult entertainment in a social club.

Tacky and just wrong.

Pretty fucked up if we're now happy to describe 8 year old kids as 'scum to be'

To be fair Mayor, the father said that if his son wasn't cage fighting he'd be on street corners causing havoc.

As if they are the only choices open to the 8 year old, fight or cause havoc!

The 8 year old doesn't have a much of a chance with a father like that.

Of course it's about class.

Are we going to ban kids from riding? That carries a risk of spinal injuries and death. It's also a mainly middle and upper class sport.

And lots of athletes with working class backgrounds say the exact same thing about their sport (whatever it may be) keeping them from going down a bad road and hanging out on street corners with mates.
In fact the lack of things for young people in disadvantaged areas of Dublin is often highlighted as a reason for anti-social behaviour and problems with juvenile delinquancy. So de we now accept that any child who is encouraged to take part in any sport to keep them out of trouble and provide them with discipline are simply 'scum to be'? I mean if you can say that someones dedication to football is what kept them out of trouble surely they are just scum to be.

"It just looked so undisciplined......not like martial arts."

Go on then, what in particular is so undisciplined compared to other martial arts.

Again, injury is a by product of the skill of riding.....not the main goal.

And the sort of people that watch and encourage their kids to fight for the entertain of people, mostly men no doubt, at a social club on a Friday night are not the sort of people I would want to mix with. And to balance the class issue, I wouldn't mix with people that hunt either.

If Vall would like to treat animals better than children that's her business. And to be offended on behalf of a cage fighter's family honour is less interesting to me that whether or not next door's cat likes tuna.