Thoughts regarding mixed Martial Arts at age 6

[Pyrock]

I was just curious as to what everyone thought about learning a mixture of martial arts at a young age. I ask because my 6 year old son studies Tae Kwon Do while also studying Freestyle wrestling. He is also taught some Jui Jitsu at his Tae Kwon Do class now and then. He happens to enjoy all of it and is also very good. He has yet to lose a sparring match or a wrestling match. So far, I let him study them all as long as he enjoys them and respects all aspects of art forms. Any thoughts?

Bragging time: I have yet to see another 6-7 year old who even comes close to his ability or who could even beat him (regardless of rank). His tournament matches are typically blow outs. Wrestling matches are closer but still pretty impressive. Must take after his dad.. (NOT!) Done bragging! :ultracool

 

[terryl965]

I personally see harm being done at that age, but then again it is your son and his instructor does not mind teaching Jujitsu to a six year old then go at it. The main problem is all the locks and does he really understand what samage can be done if he does not let go or pulls to hard.

 

[Pyrock]

I personally see harm being done at that age, but then again it is your son and his instructor does not mind teaching Jujitsu to a six year old then go at it. The main problem is all the locks and does he really understand what samage can be done if he does not let go or pulls to hard.

Good points as I also was concerned with the locks and holds associated with Jiu Jitsu but he hasn't been taught any of those things yet...just how to graple, fall properly, and how to be confortable on the ground. Also, those concerns are why I chose to go with wrestling instead of formal JJ classes. Great input...Thanks

 

[arnisador]

It's fine, if done sanely...it's just (kick)boxing+wrestling+BJJ, after all, all of which can be done safely.

 

[Kacey]

As long as you trust the instructors and he's having fun, I don't see a problem. But those two factors are key.

 

[Twin Fist]

MMA for minors is not something i think very highly of.

 

[Tez3]

We teach TSD and Judo with some BJJ in for our juniors. No locks until they are into the adult class at 16.
MMA is what it says, Mixed Martial Arts, there's nothing taught in MMA that isn't taught in TMA schools as over the world. If an MA school teaches children they will modify their techniques so they are suitable for children, MMA is no different. Many schools won't teach children because they don't wish to 'water down' their techniques or don't believe their style is suitable for children. I wouldn't allow children to fight full contact karate no more than I would allow children to fight on MMA shows, in fact our children don't compete.
I think people need to understand that MMA fightnights are for adults but training MMA for youngsters is no different than training any martial arts styles where they teach stand up sparring and ground fighting.

 

[Pyrock]

I totally agree with the above. When I refer to Mixed Martial Arts, I mean multiple martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do, Jiu Jitsu, and Free Style/Greco Roman wrestling. I'm NOT talking about any sort of cage fighting which is not "real" martial arts IMO, just deluted martial arts to win cagefights. Nothing against it, just not what I'm talking about.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I totally agree with the above. When I refer to Mixed Martial Arts, I mean multiple martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do, Jiu Jitsu, and Free Style/Greco Roman wrestling. I'm NOT talking about any sort of cage fighting which is not "real" martial arts IMO, just deluted martial arts to win cagefights. Nothing against it, just not what I'm talking about.

That's what I gathered from your question but the term "Mixed Martial Arts" is a bit overloaded

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I really think at 6 he should be focusing on getting a based art down.

To many styles may burn him out.


Also at such a young age he should be enjoying it and having fun and if he is enjoying it then its fine.

Kids are kids let them be it for a while they might miss it later on in life.

 

[Deaf Smith]

MMA for minors is not something i think very highly of.

Me neither.

A question guys.... this MMA for young kids, do they teach respect? Control? Do they have a core set of values? That's just as much a part of the martial arts as kick/punch/block/grapple.

Deaf

 

[Andrew Green]

Kids are sponges when they are interested, they can learn all sorts of things. He can learn multiple subjects in school, all sorts of team sports, etc. Learning more then one martial art is no different.


As for this:

Me neither.

A question guys.... this MMA for young kids, do they teach respect? Control? Do they have a core set of values? That's just as much a part of the martial arts as kick/punch/block/grapple.

Deaf

Yes, absolutely. Sportsmanship is very important in training any contact sport, if it's not there people get hurt.

Bad sportsmanship comes from overemphasis on winning, doesn't matter if they are competing in traditional karate, TKD, sport karate, wrestling, Judo or even MMA.

Control and Sportsmanship are key elements in MMA, especially when training kids, without it there would be a ton of injuries. For what its worth, some of the worst sportsmanship I have seen in martial arts has been from some of the clubs that spend the most time preaching discipline and respect and behaving like little soldiers.

 

[Steve]

I'm surprised that anyone has a problem with grappling for kids. It's funny how differently people can approach a topic. Where you guys argue that the joint locks are bad for their development, I disagree. The stress on the locks is minimal so long as they're taught good technique, when to tap and proper breakfalls. When compared to the pressures on their bodies of pitching a baseball, gymnastics, tackle football, rugby or practically any contact sport, grappling is downright gentle. Grappling is also a natural inclination, particularly for boys. They're always wrestling around. Add to this that kids have been safely practicing and competing in wrestling, judo, and brazilian jiu-jitsu for the better part of a century in various parts of the world (longer if you just count wrestling), and I'm comfortable with the risks.

As for OP's child, I say that at his age encourage him to pursue anything that he shows an interest in. He's too young, IMO, to force him to specialize in any one thing. Would you force him to pick a musical instrument at 6 and stick with that, or encourage him to experiment and find one he likes that suits him? As he gets older, like 10 or 12, you can start nudging him in one direction or another if appropriate. For now, let him enjoy being a sponge.

Deaf Smith, to answer your question, the youth program at my school teaches kids practical self defense and values such as respect, teamwork, sportsmanship, and integrity along with kicking, punching, grappling, etc. I'm not sure why you would even have to ask such as question.

Edit to add: Or, in other words, pretty much what Andrew Green posted as I was typing this.

 

[Tez3]

I totally agree with the above. When I refer to Mixed Martial Arts, I mean multiple martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do, Jiu Jitsu, and Free Style/Greco Roman wrestling. I'm NOT talking about any sort of cage fighting which is not "real" martial arts IMO, just deluted martial arts to win cagefights. Nothing against it, just not what I'm talking about.

Whoa hang on there! there is nothing diluted about our martial arts! Most of us in the UK are blackbelts in a TMA and spend a lot of time training in other martial arts, we have very competent fighters who often also compete in single style comps.
We teach the children the styles separately but in the adults classes it's joined up MMA. That's what MMA is, joined up martial arts. There's no 'just' cobbling stuff together to win cage fights!

 

[Tez3]

Me neither.

A question guys.... this MMA for young kids, do they teach respect? Control? Do they have a core set of values? That's just as much a part of the martial arts as kick/punch/block/grapple.

Deaf

Damn right they do! I wish people would get it out of their heads that MMA is full of hooligans and not martial artists. if you don't have respect o control in MMA you can't do it, simple as. Are you telling me that every single club/school in TMA teaches core values? MMA is nothing without good sportsmanship which to be honest I've found more in MMA than at many karate comp where I competed. There's an honesty in MMA that's rare these days.
Andrew and Stevebjj have made these points well!

 

[arnisador]

You can't train BJJ without having respect for your partners' well-being, or everyone will have broken arms by the end of one training session. You're also taught in MMA (when I have seen it done) sportsmanship, as a boxer is.

 

[terryl965]

You can't train BJJ without having respect for your partners' well-being, or everyone will have broken arms by the end of one training session. You're also taught in MMA (when I have seen it done) sportsmanship, as a boxer is.

This is so true

 

[jlhummel]

My son started at five for both Farng Mu Sul and free style he loves it.... wouldnt even think of stopping him

 

[Nolerama]

I think MMA is great for kids in terms of exercise and discipline. There's no higher power telling them that personal determination is important to performance. There's only their performance that's telling them to discipline themselves. That kind of freedom is why I initially moved from TMAs to MMA.

This might be an assumption based on my personal experiences, but a lot of the TMA's I've trained in have straight answers for situations. That's good if you're searching for one answer.

But the fact of the matter is, there isn't one answer to a situation, there's an infinite number of possibilities. MMA people learn that there's adaptation and progression through thinking, athleticism, and training. I haven't seen that in other forms of MA (with the exception of my Escrima training).

Almost all of the MMA people I've met in life are well educated, worldly, well spoken people from all backgrounds of MAs. The assumption that we're mindless thugs is pretty funny. However, if I were in a fight with a traditional martial artist, I wouldn't mind the underestimation in order to gain an edge.

Personally, I'd say that MMA would be great for kids. If I were coaching a bunch of kids, I wouldn't have to reiterate slogans on personal strength or discipline (the way I've seem some schools do) because I feel that force-feeding information is terrible for children and counterproductive to learning. The coaches I know that teach kids MMA teach though example, through performance, through positive criticism (which is SO needed in America's youth), without ego (because that's left at the door) and without mystic pretensions.

If I had a kid, I'd sign him up.

 

[Pyrock]

Whoa hang on there! there is nothing diluted about our martial arts! Most of us in the UK are blackbelts in a TMA and spend a lot of time training in other martial arts, we have very competent fighters who often also compete in single style comps.
We teach the children the styles separately but in the adults classes it's joined up MMA. That's what MMA is, joined up martial arts. There's no 'just' cobbling stuff together to win cage fights!

I apologize for my earlier statement as I did not mean to offend anyone. I was talking about the wannabe's who I've seen at many gyms that claim to be mixed martial artists but hold no "real" rank in any of the martial arts they claim to practice. Most, if not all, of the MMA athletes you see on TV actually have black belts in one martial art or even multiple otherwise they wouldn't be at the level they are at. Sorry for being so broad with my statement.