Kids and MMA: Review and Commentary on ESPN’s Outside the Lines Piece

(Note: This article was originally posted on FightTicker.com)

A Review
As many of you may know, ESPN’s Outside the Lines (OTL) recently aired a story on kids and mixed martial arts (MMA). Since this was a topic Dave Ching and I tackled in our book, I thought I had an obligation to comment on various aspects of the story and bring in perspectives from (1) some of the men we interviewed; and (2) some of the applicable background research we conducted.

To begin with, I feel the OTL story was very well-done and showcased a variety of methods by which instructors may teach children MMA (or certain aspects of it). The OTL piece is a three-part documentary (about 11 minutes), followed by a short debate between Dan Doyle and mixed martial artist Frank Shamrock. Both the story and the debate can be seen HERE.

The OTL documentary begins by showcasing a gym in Southern California that teaches children MMA, and by this I mean almost full MMA. The instructor reportedly allows the child participants to spar with small MMA gloves in only their second class. Children in his class are shown sparring, frequently with no headgear, and some kids are said to be as young as 6 years old.

Within this section of the story, MMA kids tournaments are also shown in which the “watered down” MMA rules only prohibit elbows, knees to the head, and punching above the collar bone.

Children were shown crying, being kicked to the mid-section, and being punched—again with small MMA gloves and no headgear. Yes, parents, coaches, and referees were present. I was appalled.

The second part of the story overviews an alternative method by which children are taught aspects of MMA in which the youthful students essentially play with each other and their instructor.

Again, for the most part, no headgear is worn, but that is because in this example, the youth participants are not allowed to strike each other at all. In striking drills, there is literally no physical contact.

Strikes, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu moves are taught, along with what appear to be fun reaction drills. However, when “sparring” takes place, contact is forbidden. The instructor in this portion of the OTL documentary states the children’s tournaments from the first part are abusive.

In the third part of the documentary (click HERE

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?