Is MMA a suitable activity for children and teens?
**Newsflash** MMA is taking the world by storm. The sport seems to resonate with the highly desired 18-34 year old male demographic. More simply put. Young (predominantly white) guys dig MMA.
Therefore, it is being marketed heavily to teens and pre-teens via MTV shows, T-shirts with insane graphics, movies and video games just to name a few. Advertising agencies, hollywood and popular trend makers are devoting tremendous resources towards your children and apparently MMA is not be left out of the scrum.
MMA which took root as an underground sub-culture has begun to morph into a lifestyle genre. But this phenomenon is nothing new. Southern California has its' surfer dudes. The South/Mid-west has its' cowboys. The Pacific Northwest was/is known for its grunge. Skater kids continue to thrive in small packs throughout the US. Snowborders are still considered a radical fringe by many traditional skiers...and the list goes on.
The real potential for danger is in intentionally blurring the line between legitimate MMA and the teen street fighting that is glorified in movies and internet clips. Just as movies like the Fast and the Furious were box office bonanzas and glorified horrifically, dangerous street racing, a similar cash grab is being attempted with street fighting while indirectly misrepresenting it as MMA (i.e. the movie Never Back Down)
Basic rule of thumb...If it's being done outside on grass or concrete, in a warehouse or night club and NOT publicly advertised, it is NOT MMA.
Competitive MMA (with revised pediatric safety rules) for those older than 10-12 years of age and training (without sparring) for those younger than 10 is an appropriate activity for children under adequate, properly trained adult supervision.
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