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?

Mayor - unfortunately I have seen kids like this with parents like this grow up to be a pointless drain on society.

That is why I moved on to say this should be classed as abuse.

I firmly believe that good parenting significantly increases the chances of the child growing up to be "nice". There is a chance that the kids cage fighting could grow up to be a Bill Gates but lets be honest, it will take a tough kid morally to go past the low standards of the parents.

I would never allow my kids to do this - My son did karate and now he is in army cadets where they take them out and do survival skills and visit rifle ranges etc. I am happy with this and actively encourage him by taking him and paying for lessons. I do feel though that there is a world of difference between a child learning self defense or playing a team contact sport such as Rugby and CAGE FIGHTING FOR KIDS!!!

There are a lot of sports that can cause harm and lots that I actively encourage my children to do so I am not a mamby pamby mother who wraps her children in cotton wool or prevents them from taking part in the real world but I just can not in my own mind justify a sport for my child that other adults actively bet on.

I don't like cage fighting for adults let alone children.

I seriously dislike bans on things such as this as they tend to lead to sports going underground and becoming deregulated but I shall not be watching and I hope that regulation is put in place to protect the children involved, surely this must be seen as a form of abuse or exploitation.

I can not stomach this it is horrendous!

I did Karate when I was younger too, I never put on a show at the local social club. I trained and fought for belts and competition...not so people made money out of me. Whatever next baby strippers?

Bollocks that this should be about class - absolute bloody bollocks!

I went horse riding on the back of gypsy pony so suck that.

Some arseholes thought it was a good idea to stick 2 kids in a cage and tell them to wrestle each other for the enjoyment of the adults around. Other arseholes beat their kids for fun. Others force their kids to spend hours in pain doing ballet or gymnastics, putting them under unendurable pressure to win. Others spread make up all over their kids, pluck their eyebrows and force their feet into high heels so that adults that ahh and oooh.

None of this is acceptable. Upper classes and the middle classes are just as capable of abuse as working classes but on a different level. Those parents who force their kids to do painful and strenous gymnastic moves, banning them from playing out with other kids and pressurising them to win every trophy going are just as bad as those egging on 2 kids in a cage.

I fucking hate it when people spout utter bollocksy shite about this all being the fault of the scummy working classes. How fucking offensive.! I hope you damn well keep your kids away from mine, because I teach my kids to be polite and accepting and I wouldn't want them polluted with the kind of ignorant mindset I see here.

I was in pantomimes and plays as a child. Adults had paid to watch, and there was a bar in the hall too. Was I being exploited?

yup baby strippers is the only logical progession.

"Simply because the intention here is for one child to deliberately hurt (and humiliate) the other. "

And do you think that the object of judo,jujitsu or wrestling is equally to hurt the other?
Surely the potential for injury is a higher risk by-product of these sports but it is not the intention and I would view it as the same for MMA.
Just because it has a different system of rounds compared to having set points doesn't seem to be that big of a difference to me.

mayor.....get a sense of humour. Obviously baby strippers isn't logical progression.

A one way ticket to fuck all for those poor children though, with parents who feel they're for making money.

Fighting and performing on stage....now where are those similarities.

Did the kids parents get any money for this?
It says there was one childrens bout before an adult exhibition. Surely the entrance fee etc. was for the adult bouts.

Personally I am actually a massive fan of MMA, I have been to 2 UFC's and an Expo to meet fighters, my DH does it as a hobby and I do really enjoy watching it. The level of discipline is outstanding.
However I dont not think anyone under the age of 18 should participate in competitions, by all means go to a good gym and spar with other children and learn all the different types of martial arts but it is acceptable for children to fight in a cage. I assume they didnt have a licence to put this event on and i'm amazed that anyone would actually go to watch.

unacceptable

what Rhubarb said - it saves me from posting and expressed so much more effectively than I could manage

Hmm, I'm on the fence.

I think the reporting is a little OTT, like so many have said before me, "cage fighting" is an inflammatory way to report an MMA match. Highly disciplined, lots of rules, yadda yadda said before.

BUT

I do martial arts. Both clubs I've been a member of have been heavy contact. The first wouldn't teach anyone under 14 years of age, my current club won't teach anyone under 16 years of age. I think that's pretty responsible and right.

Most kids martial arts clubs (karate, judo etc) are very carefully controlled and are generally much lower contact than the adult versions. I haven't heard of kids MMA before now and given the amount of cross-discipline training you need for MMA it surprises me that there are any. No way a small child would have the experience or discipline.

Eight year olds competing like that? Makes me uncomfortable. I wouldn't like my kids to take part despite being perfectly happy if they were to take up a martial art. And I'm generally pro-MMA/martial arts. But I do think the reporting in this instance has been overblown and aimed for outrage.

I wouldn't want my kid involved in any martial arts at that age, what interests me though is how people find this one uniquely wrong but not kick-boxing, jujitsu or judo?

The only parent I know who told me with pure pride that both his sons under 12 were training as cage fighters, is now in prison (for theft) - just saying

I assume its not the sport people have a problem with its that people are making children do it for entertainment?

Once knew a woman who tought her children to speak fluent japanese and advanced physics by the time they were 6.
I once saw her kill 10 kittens and hitch-hiker for the laugh.

mayor Why so wound up by people who disapprove of children fighting for entertainment?

www.lep.co.uk/news/regional/cagefighting_boys_no_police_action_1_3797866

Latest news update regarding the 'cage' fight

One of the boys has a nickname "The Bone Crusher" [shudder].

dont, I know a privately educated schoolboy who went fox hunting with his parents and is now doing time for assaulting a female protestor and threatening another.

I also know of lots of privately educated men who went on to become Headteachers and Teachers of schools and who abused small children.

What's your point?