It is sick and interestingly watched on Sky news where one of the famous cage fighters too thought it was wrong - not the grappling as he noted in the video they showed it was more tossing each other down with wrestling type moves - but the environment he felt was offensive and wrong.
You see this while coaching kids - coaches who were nothing (likely whimpy youth who never played) who encourage violence in youth sports where things get far out of control. When you went against former pro players as coaches or other top amateurs you mostly just worried about how well prepared that team would be - not that they 'd be dirty as these guys know that is not what the game is about.
I think the order of violence is:
Shoving < Wrestling < Punching and Kicking (Martial Arts included)
To some extent, wrestling is a milder form of a violence outlet. When once wrestles the other, we don't see it as 'fights breaking out'. But when one starts throwing punches and kicks, the fight officially began.
But from how it's set up, the kids will go overboard and hurt other's joint (as shown) to win because to win, you have to wrestle down your opponent and it may take tissue damaging moves to get to that point.
Martial Arts competition is more violent, but the point system and equipments discourage hurting your opponent.
But we can't conclude the cage fighters didn't receive training to limit their strength and learn to prevent doing moves that will twist the opponent's limb and permanently damage their joints.
Question is, would this setting encourages violence against other children they met in their daily life more so than martial arts?
The police don't have the hands on numbers, and the owner even suggested that it'll decrease the number of crimes because this outlet exists - which could be possible, given the lack of numbers.
So what rights do we have to kill the sport just because we don't agree to it?
Bloodsport was a sport, and they used brokenglass knuckles once.
I disagree that wrestling is bad and at all leads to violence. The wrestlers I have known for years are quite the opposite and highly disciplined in all aspects of their lives. I mean the kind they do in high schools and universities.
I know my university produced a number of Olympic medalists and wrestling was one of the strongest knit teams with the right kind of support culture in the univ. A number went on to play pro football and came back off seasons. From the head coach to the volunteer coaches and athletes wrestlers were some of the best. One thing is that a wrestling team is both individual and team at university. All must do well to win, not just you. I'd have no hesitation in having a child in that sport if they liked that sort of sport.
Not sure their reasoning behind not having protective gears. Maybe it has the image of looking too dorky for audience to howl at. The more dangerous it looks, the more likely it'll draw specific audiences. Those muscular bald tattooed guys probably won't spend their time going to the place if it looks too safe. I'm not qualified to comment on whether there's a need for head gears. It may prevent hard impact onto the ground, but I think twisting nerves/joints are the main causes of injuries in wrestling.
I think what you're getting at is the term 'sports' connotate a healthy activity and this particular activity shouldn't be categorize in it and thus make it legitimate.
Either way, I don't have a strong opinion for or against it. I just thought aside from the uneasy feeling of seeing 2 kids wrestle it out, you don't have solid evidence that it is harmful to the society to take away this activity from them.
Last edited by Creative83; 26-09-2011 at 09:46 PM.
Where's Howard? In the crowd?
This reminds me of a story.. My dad took my 7 yr old brother (yes I know, young) to a karate class which was open to both parents and children. Sounds weird right?
Anyway, as my dad stood there, he realised he was the only parent joining, and all the other competitors were kids. Suddenly they were put into pairs to fight, my dad with a 7 yr old girl.
My dad tells me he looked across and made awkward eye contact with the girl's parents (who gave him a firm glare) before allowing her to beat him up good n proper. Kpow.
Not sure why I wanted to tell that story.