Both of my kids have voiced a sincere interest in participating in MMA when they are old enough. They are doing youth wrestling now, and will soon be going back to BJJ, along with Judo and Sambo. I was curious what people feel about youth Pankration, it seems to me to be the closest thing to youth MMA, with rules that seem as safe to me as any BJJ competition or TKD tourney that kids already participate in. I guess my question is, what does this community think about it? And if my children want to be competitive in MMA when they are old enough would getting involved in this give them a serious edge? And finally, would the edge that kids who competed in this ruleset be seriously significant enough that not getting involved in it could hurt their chances as this sport evolves of doing well? These links are some of the information I have on it. http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/435743/7-year-old-youth-Pankration-competitor-on-CNN/ [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOc9BDc8Tsw"]Kids MMA fight! - YouTube[/ame] [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmLQYK_zo5w"]ANNA 6yr old girl mma fighter - YouTube[/ame] Those were just a couple of fight videos, this is more of an "expose". [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7xmjeup8U4"]The Amazing Phenomenon of Cage-Fighting Kids - YouTube[/ame] This article sheds some light on what the author views is some stretching of the truth by the media on the subject: http://www.bjpenn.com/youth-mma-com...a-leading-promotor-discusses-with-bjpenn-com/
Rules as I understand them. The rules seem to vary depending on where you are competing. There are laws against "Kids MMA" in many states that I think are fueled by people being ignorant about this. Most of the organizations I have seen that handle this have rules against kicks or punches to the head, for example. Some require the use of headgear even with these rules to be even safer. I guess another part of my question would be, would training in that ruleset create bad habits that could actually harm a future MMA fighter?
I wouldn't say so at such a young age. The general rule is that you train in "full rules" as it were. But in coming up to the competition, you get rule specific. When Pride FC fighters went to UFC, there was talk of the rulesets affecting their fighting styles (Pride had no elbows and allowed stomps, downed knees). For some there was a "transition" period, but they were also fully grown adults who have been competing in Pride ruleset for nearly 10yrs. As a child who won't be fighting as much, it won't affect them.
Moved to the MMA section. What Works, please don't cross post, or duplicate threads in different forums.
