John Stossel is the man. Big support for MMA. Gotta love it!

Politicians against freedom… How lovely…

I’d never let me kids do something competitive in a supervised area. I’d prefer they became fat watching TV and playing video games about stealing, killing, and demons. Then when a bully picks on them at school they don’t release the tension with their fist, they let it build and build into a rage that ends with guns.

On a serious note, I was please with this story. As in any kid sports the parents are responsible for a good atmospher or a crazy one…

MMA is fine for kids. It is safer than most contact sports. What suprises me the most about this subject though is not the common persons opinion on this. For years I’ve listened to naive people talk about MMA. My suprise is that even people that are well educated about MMA disagree with it.

i think there should be an age limit when it comes to mma fights. kid should be allowed to pratice mma and learn it, just like a kid could start wrestling at age 3. when the kids are young, they should spar but not fight. i think around age 12 would be a good starting age to fight, supervised fight that is.

I’m all for kids practicing and learning MMA, but my personal believe is that they should only start competing once they become adults. Still I’m definitely against government having a say in it, it should be left for the parents to decide. It seems like they wear pads and protective gears for kids MMA, and I think I heard that they can’t punch in the face. As it was mentioned in the piece, more kids get injured with cheerleading and baseball.

No matter how often this is being asked, I am totally against it.

Every single discipline might be fine for kids (with a certain age), but the combination is too intensive for a childs physique. Especially the joints are relatively weak compared to the power they could generate.

Do you really want to see one kid choke another kid out?

Children should not learn striking IMHO. A person that learns MMA needs to be responsible for themselves just like if they where given a gun. By definition children don’t fit the bill.

I want to add one more thought in. What you learn in a martial arts gym is not just how hurt other people. That is a key point people should realize. You learn discipline, self-control, strategy, team concepts, etc. You get mentors, a goal, healthy competition, a place where a kid can let out his frustrations, etc. It is not about violence, its about elevating oneself.

If you visit a gym where the instructors are all about “kicking ass” or something boneheaded like that, it is not a true gym.

MMA is a way of life. It’s a great sport and the it would be great for kids to have fun and learn the aspects of grappling and striking put together. I would of love to be back in H.S. and take MMA101..that would be the badest gym class. BJJ. Mauy Thai. Wrestling.

Most dangerous sport per child participation in the U.S. with regards to fatalities and serious injurt: polevaulting. Who’d have thunk it?

They should put that major in the cage with Kimbo so he can stop this BS that guy has probably never done anything competitive in his life but run his mouth it is the same thing as putting you kid in a karate wrestling judo boxing class the kid is going to become a better person healthier stronger more confident more discipline and it’ll keep them out of the streets this guy needs to stop being such a pu$$y

Kids are going to fight if they want to weather its allowed or not so for them to compete in a mma club with sanctioned rules with protective equipment just like many, many other sports i think it is very much alright. Its a contact sport with equipment just like football, soccer, rugby, boxing, judo, and many other sports which kids already compete in. whos to say they cant do something they enjoy and keeps them fit. If they were in for it just to fight (which is not what mma is all about) i believe they would be doing just that outside of a organization that has safe rules and structure to compete in. I think it is rediculous some govener is trying to make some laws prevnting it. Yes there are alot of parents out there that dont have time to see their kids threw the sport of mma which is another reason it is great because it is a structure building sport. I think this guy is scared of change and scared of what he doesnt know, he barley has any insight and by the looks of the guy he looks like he hasnt seen much of any sport and just accepts those because theyve been around and he has probly watched them on tv a fair amount. I think the guy doesnt really know what he is talking about and kids are going to get hurt if they want to compete in any sport or do anything so it may as well be something they enjoy and that helps them build structure keep fit and all at the same time be safe about it. This dude needs to worry about his kids and maybe get in the gym or involved in some sport himself.

I’m on the fence s far as the age they should be allowed to compete. I have no problem with the training. Skateboarding is insanely dangerous. How about trampolines, pop warner football, swimming…etc. However, I would defer the “age of competition” question to doctors that work closeley with MMA already.

I was sick when the Mayor said: “This will teach the kids to hurt someone.”

Then they had a Doctor from Good Morning America make a statement: It was dangerous’

John Stossel did his research and just made them look like the old, overprotective, uneducated, anti-establishment, that they really are. I’m sure they’re good people but know nothing little about combat sports and even less about MMA… I was smiling when Stossel made the comparison to Baseball deaths and cheerleading injuries…THAT WAS AWESOME!!!

20/20 A JOB WELL DONE!!!

Like the fields in baseball and soccer get bigger as the kids get older, like the hoop in basketball gets higher, I think the gloves should be bigger, certain things (ex. headgear) should be required, and under supervision, like other sports, as they grow, they can handle more.

I think you all have great viewpoints on this matter. Myself (being 14) love the sport (yes, a sport. Not some caveman brawl, as some politicians and parents call it) of MMA. Ive been wanting to train my stand up for sometime now. Me, being so young, know that its wrong to fight at our age. I personally would DIE to get in a ring and fight, but i know i need to wait till im fully developed (even though i am quite large for my age 6"1’ 150LBS). But i am in agreement with sparring. I belive training and sparring at our age gets punks a sense of decency, angered kids relieved, and teaches sportsman ship. I say this because of personal experiance, i used to go around school hitting punks and immature kids, but ive paid for it dearly…So personally i think if i would have gotten to a gym earlier, all of this could have been avoided. At age 12-17 hormones are running rampant, Other kids and myself, at these akward teenage years feel the need to show “dominance” and “control” over others. Thats why i think a gym next to us would be nothing but good. So, long story short i belive sparring is ok at 13. As for real fighting, i would say 18. At 18 your a legal adult and know that MMA can take a serious toll on your brain.

Look, im 17 years old, and have learned 99% of every single martial art known, ive trained with the gracies, ufc champions, boxing champions, and so forth, so if any one knows about getting hit in the head at a young age it is me. While all of my friends, at a young age and even now, were playing regular sports, i was learning different martial art styles, before half of you knew what in the hell any of this was, as a baby i watched UFC, it was still a blood sport then. I grew up with the UFC, an have been training for it since as long as i can remember, not very long you say, but hey, how many of you have been to Brazil, Thailand, Aruba, and California? Probly non of you have been to all or even any, well i have, and while i was living at each location, i learned martial arts, and since i was about 9 or 10, i have wanted to be able to compete in a Mixed Martial Arts fights, now dont get me wrong, i competed in every other tournament i possibly could, but at the same time i was only allowd to use one part of all this information that i knew,but honestly if you dont live for this sport and have not been training for this your whole life, then you have know idea how aggravating it is to train 24/7 and be told, " oh, well you have to wait until your 18, because its against the law", because if you are like me then you know that this is a sport, so why shouldn’t you be able to fight MMA at a younger age, i mean come on, there is even MMA gloves you can purchase now from tapout.com, that feel the same as getting punched with a 16 ounce boxing glove, i have a pair that i use to spar with. The politicians say that it can cause brain dammage, so can football, soccer, baseball, boxing, wrestling, and any other sport you can think of so why should this one be any different, they also say it make you more aggressive, so do other sports, just because of the competition, so thats not a factor. Now like i said earlier, ive been training for MMA all my life i love it and ill die doing it, but i still have one more year to go because im not 18, but i have done everything else, and i have a GPA of a 3.7. so if this causes brain trauma so bad, then how come im so freakin smart, i speak 3 languages, i have been in advanced math for forever, need i continue? so with everything in consideration, i think it should be legal for younger competitions, and i really dont care what any of you have to say, because honestly, half of you on here are posers any way, i just want to be heard, not just for me, but for the younger fighters in my gym and every where else in this world, because i know how at some times when your there, and you know you cant fight any time soon, it takes alot to keep training , because it seems pointless because of how long you have to wait. So my vote is, at 13 years of age it should be legal for boys or even girls to fight MMA, but against his or her own age and gender, while wearing a fitted mouth guard, and using 16 ounce MMA gloves, and maybe take away the use of elbows, while on the ground. The only thing i would like to know from the politicians is, wtf do think of my idea?

Look, im 17 years old, ive been traing Martial Arts, since before any of you even knew what the hell it was, ive traveled around the world with my family, while being home schooled; just so i could travel with them. Ive trained with the Gracies, UFC chapions, Boxing Champions, Muay Thai Champions, and so forth. So ive been hit in the head harder and more than more than 99% of all of you and i have a 3.7 GPA, ive competed in submission wrestling tournaments, kick boxing tournaments, boxing matches, etc., so i know my shit. Ive been traing and waiting until the day i turn 18 so i can fight MMA, so ive done everything else that i could and(or) can do. But honestly, at 13+, anyone that meets medical requirements, should be able to compete against some one of their same age and gender, in an MMA tournament, if i could have i would have, so why wouldnt other young fighters of todays world? I mean come on you can get all the same injuries playing football, as you could in MMA. All i have to say is it should be legal, and until they are 18, just dont let them use their elbows on the ground, make them wear fitted mouth guards, and wear the tapout gloves that feel the same as a 16 ounce boxing glove, i have a pair and i use them to spar with, they would work perfectly. So what do you politicians and dumb asses have to say to that? I mean half of you politicians dont know a damn thing about MMA or any of half the shit you make laws on, you ignorant pricks, why dont you let the Fighters choose, you know; THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW EVERY THING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS, NOT YOU OR ORDINARY PEOPLE, JUST US FIGHTERS!!!!!!!