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Ultimate fighting expands to include kids

Associated Press

Latest comment posted at 11:26 AM EDT 27/03/08

Some children as young as 6 fight with parents' blessing ...Read the full article

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  1. Will M. from Montreal, Canada writes: We are about six months from 'The Running Man' becoming a reality TV show methinks. We get the society we deserve.
  2. R OBryan from ottawa, Canada writes: I can't believe it!!! i am speechless!
  3. Vern McPherson from writes:

    Ban it. Should have banned it when it began here several years ago.......... gratutious violence is not a thingy anyone or any society should celebrate.

    6 year old kids ? That 's abuse. Lets have some action here COns. Earn your pay this week and do something useful for a change instead of playing jerk politics. ............

    Oh don''t forget he focus groups and the polls. Paid for by taxpayers ........ of course. Just f do it..........
  4. Gavin Nettlefold from Canada writes: I am an ultimate fighting fan but this crosses my line. Organized competitive fighting has a degree of respect and restraint involved. There are rules and regulations galore, and even so, people get hurt. Show me a six-year-old who wants to fight and I'll show you a six-year-old who needs therapy. The degree to which people get hurt in ultimate fighting is much greater than other sports. Parents who encourage this are terrible; at least wait until they're old enough to make up their own minds. They don't even allow hitting in junior league hockey and they've got the full set of pads on.
  5. Wandering Willy from Victoria, Canada writes: Give me a break! I have had my son in Karate since age 4 and will introduce him to other disciplines when he turns 6. We fight at home all the time and its his favorite thing to do.

    Go plant a flower and leave the heavy lifting to others
  6. zaphod beeblebrox from FilthyOilCapital, Canada writes: Will plant a flower when some gangster pops a bullet in your sons head. Violence breeds violence. Grow up already.
  7. zaphod beeblebrox from FilthyOilCapital, Canada writes: Karate also is a far cry from ultimate fighting. There is discipline in Karate and self control. U.F. is nothing more than glorification of a gladiator mentality that is pure barbarism. To find any kind of thrill in this means you should seriously seek mental help. Most likely people like this also would find rape, organized deathmatches and other barbaric activities as socially acceptable and entertaining.
  8. SomeGuy From Hamilton from Hamilton, Canada writes: I am a fan of MMA, and I don't many problems with this. My nephews (4 & 6) are in Tae Kwon Do and hockey, both quite physical. The only reason anyone has an issue with this is due to MMA's supposed bloodsport image. But generally those with that perception are those that are ignorant sheeple and only gloss over what some columnist say about how bad it is.

    Kids have taken Karate, Judo, Tae Kwan Do, jui jistu for years. The current middle weight champion of the UFC has been in martial arts since he was a child. It isn't like this is new.

    Those who are against should do some research instead of doing their typical knee-jerk "i don't know, but I have been told it is bad" reaction.
  9. SomeGuy From Hamilton from Hamilton, Canada writes: "zaphod beeblebrox from FilthyOilCapital, Canada writes: Karate also is a far cry from ultimate fighting. There is discipline in Karate and self control. U.F. is nothing more than glorification of a gladiator mentality that is pure barbarism. To find any kind of thrill in this means you should seriously seek mental help. Most likely people like this also would find rape, organized deathmatches and other barbaric activities as socially acceptable and entertaining." Wow, way to generalize everyone who enjoys the sport as sociopaths, instead of people who understand what the sport is really about. I bet your the type that hates boxing too and thinks fighting in hockey is barbaric. If you took an MMA class, or even read the article, you would see there is a lot of discipline instilled into these children, the same as in karate and other martial arts. Who do you think the instructors are? Oh, I bet you think they are former street-fighters and such, not actually former collegiate wrestlers, karate instructions or boxing coaches..... This is to the 21st century as karate was the 80's. Both same in principle and structure. It is just the ignorance of some that continue to perceive this sport as nothing more then glorified cock-fighting, and are unwilling to actually learn about the sport, that continue to drag it down. Not because they actually know what they are talking about, but because they think they know what they are talking about and want to tell others how to live their lives. And no, I don't find rape appealing. I am against capital punishment, and I am not keen on the idea of organized death-matches. I am keen on letting people live their own lives and letting them choose the sport they want to participate in.
  10. Kim Philby from Canada writes: I help teach kids MMA skills at the dojo where I train. Based on what I've seen over the years, kids are far more likely to get bashed playing hockey. Are you naysayers proposing that kids shouldn't learn self-defense?

    If there's anything wrong with this, it's that, as usual, some parents will likely ruin the experience by wading in and, instead of treating this as friendly competition and an opportunity for their kids to develop self-defense techniques, they will make it an ultra-competitive thing and try to instill in Johnny or Janie some kind of rabid win-at-all-costs blood-lust mentality. You know - like a lot of those hockey moms and dads.
  11. Wendel Clark from Canada writes: MMA is sport just like hockey, soccer and boxing.
  12. It Is Me from Canada writes: This "sport" is nothing but the glorification of human violence and brutality. The people that try to rationalize it as some sort of sport that creates "discpline" are doing just that: rationalizing a barbaric activity. Many activities can create "discipline" and beating up on other may well be one of them. It doesn't follow that it is a virtuos actvity. Chess creates "discipline" as well. But no one gets beaten up.

    Having said this: if adults want to engage in UF, then so be it. I won't watch--it's as simple as this. But children should not be "pushed" into this. That borders on abuse. Someone above said it right: show me a 6 year old that wants to fight and I will show you a 6 year old that has some major issues..... and comparing this to Karate is fallacious. Karate--the traditional version--is about more than hitting and physical moves. it is about meditation and contemplation. It is about the "beauty" of movement. Fighting only comes later in the equation--almost as an after-thought. In UF, fighting is not an aftert-thought. It is in fact, the FIRST thought.

    FInally, I wouldn't want my kids to play with yours. If my kids were to get beaten up by one of your kids, I would press assault charges.
  13. Sue City from Canada writes: Geezus. What's wrong with people? Violence is now tolerated, even exalted, in our culture and children pay the price.
  14. Kim Philby from Canada writes: It Is Me From Canada: I'll agree with you on one thing - kids who don't want to do martial arts should not be pushed into doing it.

    Other than that, your post has done nothing but display in a public forum your profound ignorance of martial arts in general and mixed martial arts skills (sparring, takedowns, grappling, submission holds) in particular.

    Your post has also tarred and feathered kids who learn MMA skills as nothing but potential bullies lurking out there waiting to beat up your kids. I've taught hundreds of kids MMA skills over the years and, guess what? - they're nice kids.

    By the way, in case you're interested, your handle is bad grammar; it should be It Is I From Canada.
  15. Eric the Red from Uzbekistan writes: @zaphod: Sad, but true.

    People are mistaken in equating MMA with defending themselves.

    They're two separate things.

    MMA on tv = beat the crap out of your opponent while onlooking fans glean a sense of satisfaction.

    Defending yourself = requires discipline to decide when and where and what needs to be done, and usually only when you're put in the position to be defended. To defend yourself you usually require a pre-existing situation. Does going out and beating the sh!t out of someone qualify? No.

    Ease up on the vicarious soldier games with your kids.
  16. Jack Jones from Canada writes: And to think how many folks condenmed Mike Vick for letting dogs fight! Really what is the difference here?

    Can you say T R A S H , bubba?

    I think Rome is crumbling.
  17. Mark H from Columbus, IN, United States writes: I don't think I'd let my kids do this, but they play football and hockey, and the kid down the street from me does competitive judo. I guess I just don't see a huge difference. If there are rules in place, and no one is getting hurt, so what? Little boys love to beat on each other - at least have them wear pads.
  18. Dana Cruickshank from Canada writes: The romans used violence to conquer most of their known world. They didn't view it as immoral or wrong, it is amoral, a part of life (though not for 6 year olds). I just find it kind of ironic that someone said rome is crumbling because Rome was built on conquest and it crumbled when people didn't feel the need to fight anymore.

    kids shouldn't be involved in MMA, but martial arts is fine because it does teach disipline and a spiritual aspect of it. MMA is about using anything you can to beat your opponent. As I said before, martial arts teaches you to fight SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO, thats the beauty of it. And when two consenting PROFESSIONAL adults want to test themselves against each other in a controlled environment then there should be no problem with that, but kids is a different story.
  19. Eric the Red from Uzbekistan writes: " Wendel Clark from Canada writes: MMA is sport just like hockey, soccer and boxing."

    Uh huh - skating to put a puck or a ball through the opposition's net is the same as beating the crap out of someone. I can see how the principal aims of both are the same.
  20. Kim Philby from Canada writes: Eric the Red - yeah, a few days ago Jonathan Roy really demonstrated what a "sport" hockey is, compared to MMA.

    To summarize mixed martial arts as "beating the crap out of someone" shows only your ignorance about martial arts. I continue to be amazed at the posters here shooting their mouths off about this topic when they don't really know anything about it. But, I suppose that, since we live in a democracy, everyone is entitled to an opinion, no matter how ill-informed.

    And enough already with the nonsense about other martial arts, like karate, being okay because they're "spiritual." If I'm confronted by some bad apple who wants to clean my clock, "spirituality" is not going to do me much good, and if you think practitioners of martial arts other than MMA can't do you serious bodily harm, think again. By the way, what do you think MMA is, exactly? It's a combination skills from those other "spiritual" martial arts - kicks and punches (karate), takedowns (judo), submissions (aikido), and grappling (wrestling).
  21. Eric the Red from Uzbekistan writes: Kim, regrets. I'm talking about Ultimate fighting. And yes, it's about beating the crap out of someone. Last time I saw a match on tv, they weren't trading recipes.
  22. J M from Superduperhockeyville, Canada writes: "Ultimate fighting" is to "sport" as "sexual assault" is to "romantic dinner". Personally I won't let my kids even associate with kids like these nor hockey kids for that matter as a goon is a goon is a goon and a bully a bully. Treat them like the animals that they are.
  23. Luke P from Vancouver, Canada writes: J M from Superduperhockeyville, Canada writes: "Ultimate fighting" is to "sport" as "sexual assault" is to "romantic dinner". Personally I won't let my kids even associate with kids like these NOR HOCKEY KIDS (emphasis added) for that matter as a goon is a goon is a goon and a bully a bully. Treat them like the animals that they are.

    And yet you're from Superduperhockeyville. LOL.
  24. Jim Cohoon from Chilliwack, Canada writes: Whenever I see these type of stories indicating an almost sociopathic disregard for true parental responsibility (and they seem to be increasing sharply every decade now), I am reminded of this quote from Bruno Bettelheim: "Whenever the older generation has lost its bearings, the younger generation is lost with it."
  25. Adam Kobic from Winnipeg, Canada writes: MMA is a sport. There is no debate here. It is a skill that is learned, it is not a street fight without rules. You cannot hit the back of the head, eye gouge, kick to the head while your opponent is down or defeceless, hair pull, bite, or low blow. MMA is actually less dangerous than 2-260 pound untrained hockey players throwing wild haymakers at each othe while on skates. So all you hypocrites who watch hockey but think MMA is not a sport get educated before you run your mouth.
  26. Rodney Haines from Canada writes: MMA is a false description of what is happening anyway. It is not a Martial Art, it is some wrestling, punching, kicking, hybrid. True Martial Arts have a spiritual content, there is none in the MMA. It is new world bare knuckle brawling and that is it. It absolutely does not teach your child defence, if you think it has any real-world applications, you are sadly mistaken. Your personal self defence if attacked should take 5 to 10 seconds, that's it. And you do not obtain that skill learning "ground and pound", and being held in a cage...I mean I know every so-called Martial Artitist is trying to teach this stuff, and that is dangerous too...people with the idea this is anything other than physical fitness are not paying attension.

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