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UK Police Won’t Press Charges After Video Surfaces of Young Boys Cage Fighting
- Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:31am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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LONDON (AP) — Britons are reacting with a mix of condemnation and cheers to footage that shows an organized cage fight between two boys, one 8 years old and the other 9.
Police launched an investigation after video emerged of the fight at Greenlands Labour Club in Preston, northwest England, on Sept. 10.
Video posted on the Internet shows the boys grappling and wrestling, watched by dozens of adults.
The government’s sports minister, Jeremy Hunt, has called the images “barbaric.”
But club manager Michelle Anderson says the boys were never in any danger, and police said Thursday that they would not be charging anyone over the fight.
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Comments (70)
RN MOM
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:23amBBC stop behaving like you are the gauge of “civilized behavior”, or else England will have you to thank for the pansies that will be running a muck.
Report Post »Snorkelbacon
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:19amGuaranteed that this sport has made these young boys be “LESS” likely to start fights outside the mats, and conduct themselves with MORE integrity in the community, than the average child.
Report Post »Favored93
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 2:18amAmen!!!
Report Post »bigfatslob
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:17amThe uberlefty press in London was making a big deal about this, my god, this is submission grappling aka nogi jiu jitsu. The headlines in London implied it was MMA fighting for kids (totally dishonest, are we surprized ?). A form of MMA does exists for youth and is sanctioned by FILA, the organization that controls combative sports globally including the Olympics, its called Pankrartion. Please Progressives, don’t completely casterate our young males !
Report Post »Mark Tripp
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:26amWhat would that “form” be? Judo or Sambo? BOTH of those say children under 13 can NOT choke or am lock one another. So, all due respect, you are wrong….
Report Post »ThisisnotMMA
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:40pmMark Tripp The “Form” is No-Gi Brazilian or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. My kid started at 8 and did Gi chokes, triangle chokes, arm triangle, rear naked, oma plata, arm bar, straight ankle plus many others. No one ever got hurt and now at 13 he has never been aggressive off the mat. He started training MMA at 11 with punches, kicks, knees and elbows. Again, no one hurt other than a rare bloody nose or bruise.
Report Post »hi
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:12amIt’s wrestling. Libs want boys to do girl things.
Report Post »JRook
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:19amYep it was wrestling. As far as pee wee football they have already watered it down to the point you can get rid of the helmet and pads….its flag football at best. My experience in coaching some of my sons teams over the years is that we have let moms with their “participation trophies” turn a number of good, hard competitive sports into playtime. Always took some pride that my sons refused the participation medals and trophies.
Report Post »Snorkelbacon
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:30amMy Dad being a former college football coach, and knowing a ton of pro coaches and athletes, most agree full tackle pee wee football is dumb, and agree kids should wait till highschool or at least mid puberty to start full pads. Most kids don’t have command over their body to tackle and use it properly with added pads, studies show brain growth and physical developement can be hindered, and risk of head and neck injury is greater do to the fact that the muscles in the neck wont have strengthened and developed significantly enough to protect the child until puberty. You better off teaching fundamentals via base stance, blocking, shadowing, routs etc in flag football until said child has developed significantly. But its your kid.
Report Post »Shotgun167
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:43pmFootball is dumb even in high school.
“Heh, Bubba, get this. I want you to go over thar. About 20 yards. Yeah, that’s gooood. Now, when I say hut-hut, I want you and Rufus to run as fast as you can into each other. OK. Ready. Hut-hut…..Somebody call and AMBULANCE!!!”
People! It’s math. E=mc^2. Football is the only sport in my high-school where they just went ahead and had the ambulance come in at the start of the game and just wait.
I’m not against contact sports. I was a college wrestler. Injuries were common in the sport, but generally we don’t coach participants to get a running start before running into one-another. It’s dumb.
As to the poster whining about “men needing to fight to prove their manhood”. You’re a fool. The point of the combat is to FIND our manhood. You never know what you can do until you push yourself to the limit. Only then can you KNOW that you can be more than most BELIEVE they can be. You’re not wrestling they opponent, you’re wrestling yourself to outlast the opponent.
Report Post »hightide
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:09amI guess they will shut down Pee Wee football soon.
Report Post »ares338
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:08amIt seems to me the thing wrong here is the atmosphere in which this event occurred.
Report Post »KRAVGUY65
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:07amThere is absolutely nothing wrong with this. I practice Krav Maga and Commando Krav Maga. Self-defense (I prefer to call it self-offense) is a good thing to know! Especially the way the world is falling apart. What is going on in this video is no worse than what is going on in some free style wrestling that kids this age do. Thiose that are “offended”…get over it. There are more important things going to get your dander up.
Report Post »Snorkelbacon
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:03amAnybody who says this is wrong also must say children of this age cannot participate in wrestling, football, basketball, soccer, tag. People or so flippen ignorant it is just like wrestling. What is the big flippen deal. The only thing creepy about it is that it was at a bar around a bunch of drunk people, but it is not even close to child endangerment and the cps needs to step off.
Report Post »Mark Tripp
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:24amSorry, but you are wrong. Twisting the joints of children is NOT safe for them, as the Kodokan in Japan learned long ago. Anyone under 13 can not choke or armlock each other in Judo, or Sambo. Judo is a legitimate Olympic level sport… what is cage fighting?
Report Post »Snorkelbacon
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 11:10amI don’t know what is cage fighting? because I wasn’t watching cage fighting were you? Sounds like you have a little biased to your preferred martial art..no? Pretty typical. Ever heard of freestyle wrestling? Little kids participate in that, also peewee football, gauranteed thats more damaging than what I just watched. Rather my child do grappling than striking with gear or even peewee football. So your wrong. Are there dangers? yes are they slim? yes. Just like football baseball wrestling judo tag dodgeball tag hockey rugby racketball wakeboarding gymnastics or any other sport
Report Post »ThisisnotMMA
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:45pmMark Tripp
Report Post »You’re still wrong. All allowed in GJJ or BJJ. My kid did chokes and joint locks at 8.
conservativeKen1971
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:55amCage fighting is the new Roman Colosseum.
Report Post »ThisisnotMMA
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:52amThis isn’t cage fighting, it’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu no-gi in a cage. My kids been doing BJJ for years starting when he was 8. http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhum
Report Post »It’s not dangerous even with the submissions
Mark Tripp
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:25amYes, it is. The BJJ/GJJ world is woefully ignorant of the research done in the Judo and Sambo worlds that prove this. Lack of injury means lucky not safe….
Report Post »ThisisnotMMA
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:54pmWrong again..
Report Post »In 5 years of BJJ, 145 tournament fights and countless class grappling matches he has (now 13 yrs old) never been hurt. Neither has anyone (of the kids) in our 7 affiliated schools. Adults on the other hand…………..
twofoot_trucker
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:40amAnd just why SHOULD the police file any charges?
Absolutely disgusting that the Blaze is trying to turn this into something it isn’t. Having already read about this on a British news site, I expect such emotional nonsense from them. They have been losing their collective masculinity and sense for years. But to see it here is sad. Though considering some of the other things that have gone up here, I guess it isn’t entirely unexpected.
Did you watch the video? This wasn’t a “cage fight”. It was an exhibition bout between two boys that happened at an otherwise adult fighting event. No punches, no kicks, grappling only. Safer than most other contact sports. So it happened in a cage, so what? Where else was it supposed to happen considering the event and the location? On the hardwood or concrete floor?
My boys turn ten and nine at the end of October. We have an MMA instructor that lives in the neighborhood that teaches a children’s class. Right now the only thing keeping me from enrolling them both is whether or not I want them to study MMA or a more traditional style. It’s safe, it’s fun, and it will help reinforce what they are taught at home; that there are times to be quietly soft spoken and civil, but there are also times to use aggression.
Report Post »jedwards26
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:48amI don’t think the blaze is trying to pass an opinion on it, only reporting what the British are saying. I saw no opinion from the blaze in the report either way.
Report Post »Sandy
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:52amMMA is not martial arts. Your boys can learn self defense without the cage fighting mentality. I am a martial artist and have been teaching children for over 20 years. I do the ground fighting with Adults for their protection. The aspects of this being in a cage and beating someone senseless is disrespectful to the arts. MMA should rename it barbaric cage fighting, see how many people watch it then. MMA has become a show since the Gracie family sold the rights to it. As a martial artist, I would do what is necessary to defend myself then get help, not the aggressive mentality that MMA promotes.
Report Post »twofoot_trucker
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:54amThe very headline of the article suggests something that was NOT the case. This was not “cage fighting”, it was grappling. For the author to call it cage fighting only leaves one of two possibilities. One, he has no clue what he is talking about. Or two, he is trying to bring about an emotional response by trying to turn it into something it wasn’t.
Report Post »twofoot_trucker
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 9:15amSandy, MMA is not martial arts? According to who? Sorry, but that’s as funny to me as watching religious debates between different denominations. It all boils down to, “My guild’s better than your guild”. And heaven forbid a man know how to show aggression. Oh the shame of it all.
Report Post »atechgeek
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:37amI agree. This is basic wrestling and hand to hand combat. I grew up wrestling and it is by far one of the greatest one on one sports teaching you leverage, balance, and control in all aspects of life. American kids need this as they are very weak. Teach your kids to be able to defend themselves.
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:35am@preppymom .. PLEASE STOP WITH THE ( Unfair, unbalanced but amazingly accurate
Report Post »http://www.crackingthemalecode.com/ ) It’s so friggen annoying after EVERY DAMN POST, sheesh !!!
sissykatz
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:31amI see nothing wrong with this at all. I was expecting it to be grusome.
I agree with the other posters that said at least they were exercising.
I love martial arts. I think this would be a good entry level.
Report Post »FantaGirl
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:30amI practice BJJ and the only time you ever feel pain is when someone is tapping you out (which last a WHOLE 5 SECONDS, but OH NO, out kids can’t feel pain, or else it might hurt their self esteem). If they were having the little kids beat each other up, I’d say something different, but this is just BJJ. The little kids in Thailand are super tough compared to our kids though. They have their kids do far more excruciating conditioning (kicking a metal pole until your leg bleeds, then continuing to kick it, abdominal kicks by your coach), and when you spar in Thailand, no pads, you just get pummeled, bloody, et cetera.
Report Post »SkinBasket
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:19amHaving trained in BJJ, all I can say is shame on the Blaze for making this a story. There is no more brutality, danger, or aggression in this match than your average wrestling meet. In fact, most gyms that offer BJJ/grappling programs for kids instill a sense of respect and discipline inherent to martial arts that you don‘t find in kid’s wrestling programs. Any outrage over this video is born of nothing more than ignorance of the sport.
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:30amAahhh , the ole liberal way .. There was no “ winner ” they both won and the ref raised both their hands as to not make the boys feel bad … LMAO .. I find it funny that they show the 9 year olds face but block out the 8 year old.. What is the age of consent law in England , 9 and above ? This whole thing is insane ..
Report Post »Resist We Much
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:18amThis is little more than wrestling… like in high school!!! But, they are in a cage! Oh, no!
Go over to Thailand and watch the tough little kids practice Muay Thai.
Report Post »BrothersKeeper
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:10amThis is sport not fighting. Notice no gloves, that means no punching. They are practicing ju jitsu and russian sambo, which are forms of martial arts. Don’t let the cage fool you into thinking it is a no holds barred death match. There are dozens of grappling tournements held in the U.S. every month that have child age brackets and weight classes. More taditional kids can wrestle with AAU at this age also. Its no fight without punching and kicking.
Report Post »Disabledvet
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:06amThey are in training to become soccer huligans. But I must agree with N37BU6 at least they are not out learning about drugs.
Report Post »Airb0rne4325
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:04amThere is absolutly nothing wrong with this. There is no punching,kicking,kneeing,elbows etc. It is strictly Grappling/Greco-Roman wrestling/Jiu Jitsu till someone taps and gives up. Peewee football has more contact than this “fight”. Heck even soccer at this age has more elbows and kicks than this “fight”. I have been to many of these events and even participated at these events and the kids (both the winners and the losers) enjoy it. Anyone with an untrained eye will see the “brutality” and not understand what they are looking at.
Report Post »The kids use this as a learning experience to see if they want to continue to become a full contact fighter. Some do, most don’t, but they all learn something from it.
twofoot_trucker
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:50amGood point about flag football. My boys started flag football when they were 5 and 7. While I was an over the road truck driver at the time I made it a point to go to all their games when I was home. Every game I went to shared one thing in common; “flag” football turned into “tackle” football at some point in the game. Dogpiles of 5-9 year old boys are much more brutal that what was going on inside that ‘cage’.
Report Post »macpappy
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:02amThese are gonna be some well trained, tuff little future citizens of the whatever, Britian becomes after the muslims, and anarchist.
Report Post »jkjk
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:56amWe are becoming a bunch of pansies in this country. No more dodge ball, helmets and pads to ride a bicycle! This is nothing more than wrestling at school. As long as punching and kicking is excluded, have fun learning martial arts. I agree with the promoter, it’s better the kids are exercising and learning something useful, rather than running around getting in trouble, or sitting at home watching tv playing video games and getting fat.
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:50amWatch it and see how sensationalized and misleading headlines can be, even on The Blaze. You’ll feel used.
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:48amWHAT? Grappling and submission moves?
Who cares?! At least they aren’t doing drugs in an alley somewhere… man.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:03amThese are the same people who will put you up on murder charges if you stab a violent intruder in your own home. The Brits are slaves.
Report Post »rdietz7
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 7:43amThats just wrestling, the crowd is just over reacting to what anybody sees at a school wrestling match. If they get started at 8 they will be awesome when they hit teen years. No big deal. BBC sensationalism at its best.
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