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?

Come on Rhubarb, we all know cruelty exists in all strata of society, but this is a particular exploitative type. Possibly equal to young chess masters/pianists or whatever, but it involves violence for entertainment. And the family are scum, that doesn't have to mean poor/working class, just scum.

erm... I'm not wound up.
Just wondering why this sport seems to gather much more objection than other martial arts which seem to be almost universally praised and encouraged for young kids.
The entertainment thing seems a bit out of context to me. They had one childs bout before an adult competition, I'd imagine if they put on a stand-alone childrens competition nobody would pay and very few would turn up. I've been to football matches where they've had some sort of childrens exhibition either at half-time or before, it doesn't mean that 40,000 people paid in and drank to watch a group of kids chase a ball around.

I, for one, was not shocked that these people were a certain sportwear wearing type. Just as I wouldn't be shocked at a 'blooded' child being upper middle class.

But it's cage fighting....not football.

according to QI, bare knuckle fighting was much safer than boxing is now. something to do with the gloves making it easier to actually kill someone. no one ever used to die bare knuckle boxing. many die boxing with gloves.

just saying.

i think the other martial arts are a better idea though.

My point is, I didn't say what the parent did or how he was educated, he could have been a barrister or a builder before his time in jail, that doesn't make any difference... however in my opinion he was someone who made some bad choices in life for himself and possibly for his family

The difference is in most children's martial arts, they are designed to be very low or no contact. When they're not (in grading/tournaments etc) they're usually very well padded with protective gear, there are strict rules in place and someone ready to leap in quickly if it gets out of hand. But then if this was a grappling-only match has someone has already suggested, then I can understand why less protective gear would be needed.

As I've mentioned, in my experience reputable clubs which have higher levels of contact generally have a higher age limit for joining.

I was just talking about the assertion that this is being done for entertainment, surely every youth martial art competition has people who show up and cheer etc, as such they are equally being done for entertainment.
As I said my only interest is why some find MMA distasteful but not judo,jujitsu,wrestling,boxing etc. If someone finds all of them wrong and child abuse I can at least see their logic even if I don't agree with them, however singling out MMA when I can see very little difference in the actual sports (if people want to argue about this being in the wrong venue, then I'd agree with them up to a point) is what is baffling to me.
The boxing gloves reason is that in a bare-knuckle fight you'd mainly hit the body etc, because if you punch someone full force in the head you'll most likely break your hand after a couple of punches. Gloves mean an ability to hit an opponent in the head more, more harsh blows to the head means an increased risk of death, brain damage and a host of other problems.

how di this get to bare knuckle fighting?

i think they should make 8 year olds tidy up on camera an give them prizes - if nothing else lots of parents could laugh heartily

i hate to see it its horrible make me feel sick when i see it why would you want to put your child through that

through waht?

My BIL does this on the Old Kent Road. Well he used to. The first time he had his arm broken, he kept fighting til the end and was hailed a hero. The second time his arm was shattered in several places, required surgery and metal plates to restore it and he was told by the doctor that if he continued he would lose his arm and his livelihood (he is a head chef at a top restaurant, has worked tirelessly since he was 17 but obviously is a working class scumbag according to some of you on here.)

My view is that it is not appropriate for children. My sister can't bear to watch him being beaten up, I don't know how any parent could watch similar happen to their child.

After 16 - well do what you like...

And to be honest - it's the cage aspect I find a bit unsettling.

I think cage fighting for adults is grotesque. My partner watches UFC and the blood splattered on the canvas just horrifies me. I don't like boxing either, or any kind of activity that involves purposely inflicting pain on another human being. So if you bring kids into the equation it leaves me so lost for words that I can barely form an intelligable argument. Here goes...IT IS WRONG.

There was something about that video that made me feel sick - the adults watching as if it was some sort of dog-fight. If my children had been involved I would have pulled them out immediately.

YANBU I also think cage fighting should be
Illegal I was horrified when I was horrified. on the news this morning

If you attribute the word 'scum' to all classes Posie then yes, fair enough. But 'scum' is commonly seen as an insult to hurl at working class people. Not middle class or upper class, just those who are presumed to be working class. Hence the term 'working class scum' as opposed to any other class.

And little girls get dolled up and exploited for adult entertainment in beauty pageants. Children are bullied and pushed into often painful athletics which have, wait for it, an adult audience. These two kids were copying an adult sport for the entertainment of other adults.

I can't think of any other sport that does not have a childrens section.

Yes it's grotesque and unsettling, but then I also find boxing to be disturbing yet that now appears to have a distinctly more middle class audience these days.

If you are talking about 2 kids in a cage fighting please do not start making statements about what class they or their parents or the audience are in or what clothes they are wearing as it detracts from the actual point of the debate - which is whether or not kids fighting for adult entertainment is ok or not.

It's funny how the parents of my other two examples would not be called scum.

I totally agree Rhubarb0, it has nothing to do with Class and I think bringing that into the agrument distracts from the main point.

fwiw, my DH trains with some middle and upper class people who bring their kids along. They dont let them fight but are happy for them to learn the sport.

I had two reactions:

1. Barbaric

1. Blimey, with ds1 and ds2 we've been missing a trick- they'd easily slaughter kids on enws

But mainly 1. ANd it should be illegal yes. And the man on news who said ;if theyw ere not ehre they'd be on street corners getting up to goodness knows what'- er mate it's YOUR job to know what! The kids were 8 / 9 that they showed; you should bloody well know where theya re at that age!

This shouldn't have taken place in a social club in that sort of atmosphere where alcohol was being served. If it is a contact sport, like Tae Kwon Do and rugby etc. then fair enough but not with a crowd of baying adults. That takes it to a whole other level.

Touchline parents on Saturday afternoons are bad enough!

after all the publicity it will surely be stopped for young children

The venue seems to be the main problem.
Other than that there's no real difference between this and any other martial art.
As it was an exhibition there wasn't even any winner or loser declared so the argument about submitting/humiliating the other to give up wouldn't seem to apply either.

On what grounds though chilli? If you stopped MMA for young kids I fail to see what criteria you could set that would outlaw MMA but allow Judo, Jujitsu or tae kwan do to continue.