Video: is this the future of MMA?
I’m not sure how I feel about this video by Bobby Razak, maker of glossy Tapout commercials masquerading as MMA documentaries. Certainly these two kids have amazing abilities. Their wrestling is particularly impressive. But…
It does give me a faint queasy feeling when I see little limbs twisted painfully behind little backs. And scripted or not, there’s definitely something unnerving about the two brothers announcing that they’re the future of MMA. That’s an awful lot of pressure and expectation to place on kids who aren’t even ten years old. The future of an entire sport? Let’s wait until they’ve been punched in the face a few times before we expect them to walk on water.
3 comments
Parents living through their kids ahhhhhh nothing is scarier to me! Yeah these kids are awesome but man theres more to development than sport.
I think people are misunderstanding what they mean when they say “we are the futrue of MMA”, yeah you know the people filming had those kids say that, but ultimately what they are trying to say is look how good these kids are at such a young age, right now its rare to see this but soon kids training in mixed martial arts at young ages, and being good at it will be the norm.
As far as feeling queasy for little limbs being twisted…I work in an ER and more kids come as a result of injury sustained on the football, soccer, and baseball field and I never hear how anyone thinks its appalling or sickening that these little kids are participating in such physically demanding sorts….
Yes, KB, the kids were coached to say this. They’ve been coached to do a lot of things. As someone wrote on the FW Facebook page (everybody should fan it!), let’s see how long these kids stick with it. Every kid does something because their parents encouraged it (soccer, piano, hockey, chess) and then never give it a second thought once they mature a bit and realize their parents’ dreams aren’t their own. Besides, you don’t have to train from age 5 like these kids (or Machida) to be a great mixed martial artist. Just look at GSP and Anderson Silva, neither of whom took up the sport until their teens. It takes a bit of natural ability and a whole lot of drive, determination and blood, sweat and tears. MMA is actually one of the easiest sports to compete in, in terms of accessibility (a little talent and dedication and the aforementioned blood and sweat and you too can get a pro fight on some card somewhere earning $200 and $200).
Obviously more kids come into an ER with injuries from soccer, football, baseball etc. There are simply more kids playing those sports. And I’m not saying the sport isn’t safe – at a mature, adult level it’s one of the safest their is. I’m talking about little kids whose bodies are still growing and developing, little kids who might not have the same kind of restraint/control when it comes to easing off a submission (through no fault of their own except youth and inexperience). And yes, those sports you mention don’t cause the same kind of stomach-churning reaction for one very simple reason – none of them explicitly involve the hurting of an opposing player. Yes, in football people get tackled, but the point isn’t to hurt them, only to stop them, and they are wearing protective equipment. No one’s continuing to punch them once they’re down. MMA is quite different, as you well know. MMA isn’t just physically demanding, as you call football, soccer, and baseball. It is physically – intentionally – punishing.
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