The BBC has again caused quite a stir with an ill informed judgement on a topic they know very little about.  I am of course referring to the footage of the two young boys grappling in a MMA demonstration bout.  Opinions will of course vary on this matter and I’ll outline my thoughts and relate them to what we teach at the studio.

If you want to read the BBC article and watch the news report click here.

And if you want an alternative view from the Telegraph's MMA reporter click here.

The context in which any event takes place changes just about everything in life, and this is a perfect example.  Had these two young boys been in a community hall, in the early evening, wearing crisp white martial arts suits, supervised by a Jujitsu or Judo instructor, then no one would have even questioned the activity. 

However this demonstration bout occurred at a social club, late in the day, with alcohol present and with paying adults.  I have conflicting thoughts about this.

Firstly I truly believe this demonstration bout was arranged in all good faith to promote a local training gym and to raise some funds.  The notion presented by the BBC that this was some sort of illicit den with the equivalent of human cock-fighting is both ridicules and entirely typical of the BBC.  (The BBC doesn't broadcast the sport and have no dedicated reporter – in short they know little or nothing about it).

However as a parent of two young children I can understand and do have a sense of the lack of proprietary in involving kids in an event of this type.  I’ve attended kickboxing fight nights where children, the same age as the boys involved in this story, have fought semi-contact bouts in front of adults, who were there to support their children, and local clubs, and to raise much needed funds.  I can honestly say that at every event I’ve attended there was nothing but positive support and encouragement of these youngsters who, in turn, where enormously proud to be chosen and asked to take part.

If it were me, I would probably choose to showcase children and teenagers in a separate event held earlier in the day.  In the end I think that where the intent is positive and the safety aspects are properly considered then it is my opinion that there is little in the way of harm that can come to the children.

How does this relate to what we teach?  In short, I don’t think that it really does.

We teach semi-contact (points) sparring in our children’s classes.  This type of sparring is based on a “who’s fastest” principle with light and controlled hand and foot strikes.  There is an official description of this style of fighting in the FAQs section.

Children participating in competition sparring in our classes and at competitions wear full protective equipment.  This is compulsory.  When children join the beginners classes they are issued protective hand and foot pads which allow safety practice of strikes and blocks.  We also encourage “touch sparring” where contact is light and no striking to the head is allowed. 

The instructors made a decision earlier this year to stop teaching and entering children in the light continuous style of fighting.  We will only consider training a child in this style of fighting once they become very proficient in the semi-contact style.  Other factors such as age, height, maturity and training ethic will also dictate suitability.

We hope you understand that the safety of students is always our highest priority.

By Craig Reid