My Facebook news feed has been full of links to various photos of muscled bound children beating each other up and crying. Apparently, parents all around the country are sending their kids to Mix Martial Arts training camps so they can be the next UFC sensation. You have check out Sebastian Montalvo’s photos of 7 year old fighters in the octagon. I stumbled across this video of a Tucson kids camp at the APEX MMA training facility. The 20 second video highlights children attacking punching bags, heel toe dancing on medicine balls and doing push ups.
It’s like Battle Royale training.
I have a respect for the fighters and the sport, but whatever happen to little league baseball or the chess club? I guess fighting is good exercise, but should parents subject their children to this kind of violence? One can argue that Pop Warner football is just as bad or worse.
I can’t wait for the History Channel to make this concept a reality television show. Just imagine the all the failed MMA fathers living vicariously through their children looking for their 15 minutes of fame. You would watch it. Don’t lie.
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2013.
Oh boy. I am positive this will go well.
Sebastian Montalvo cherry picked some pictures and put a sensational spin on them to make it look they were in some UFC for kids league. Nothing could be further from the truth. The kids compete in the sport of FILA Pankration which is sanctioned and governed by the same organization that runs Olympic wrestling. There are no strikes allowed to the head and their are also many other rules that make it a safe and fun sport for kids.
One of the top youth Pankration teams in the country, The Wrecking Crew, fights out of Power MMA & Fitness in Gilbert AZ. It’s not a gym specific team so kids from other gyms can be on the team. Anyone interested in the actual sport of Pankration can find information at the main FILA webpage or at fightleague.org