Kirsten Taylor

While further researching children in MMA, I came across a video of an interview with Dana White on CBS regarding this exact matter. The media bias in this interview is absolutely rediculous. The language that the interviewer uses to describe the sport is so insanely negative I could hardly believe it. Dana also makes some really great points that relate to my other piece of children in MMA.

http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/03/31/mma-for-kids-youve-got-to-be-kidding-me/

After hearing this interview and being so blown away by the words used to describe the sport I came across another article about media bias in MMA. The writer is dead on about so many things that he even predicted this “But now it’s out there. As shoddy as this story is, now that it’s appeared on Drudge, there’s a very good chance it may jump all the way to one of the national morning talk shows or evening cable shouting matches.” This is exactly the same Missouri youth league discussed in the CBS morning show interview with Dana White.

Here’s the article “When the AP Gets MMA Wrong, the Entire Mainstream Media Follows” written by Michael David Smith.  I have to say I think it’s great that SportsTalkBuzz does not report with this same bias and represents the sport in a positive and honest way!

There is not, to the best of my knowledge, a single American newspaper reporter whose primary job is covering mixed martial arts. That means to the extent that newspapers (or newspaper-dependent sites like the Drudge Report) feature any MMA coverage at all, it usually comes from the Associated Press.

And that’s a serious problem, because the AP apparently assigns reporters who don’t understand the first thing about the sport to cover it. That’s the conclusion I’d have to draw from this dispatch that moved over the AP wires Thursday morning. The piece is misinformed from the very first word:

Ultimate fighting was once the sole domain of burly men who beat each other bloody in anything-goes brawls on pay-per-view TV.

There is no such thing as “ultimate fighting,” any more than there is such a thing as “major league baseballing.” There is a sport called mixed martial arts, and the most popular league in that sport is called UFC, an abbreviation for Ultimate Fighting Championship. When you begin a story about mixed martial arts by referring to the sport as “ultimate fighting,” you are announcing to your readers that you know nothing about the sport you’re covering.

But it gets worse.

The story continues:

But the sport often derided as “human cockfighting” is branching out.

We’ve now reached the point where the only fun thing about reading newspaper stories about MMA is trying to guess when the words “human cockfighting” will appear. If you predicted the 31st and 32nd words, you win. The next sentence begins even worse

The bare-knuckle fights are now attracting competitors as young as 6 whose parents treat the sport as casually as wrestling, Little League or soccer.

Emphasis mine, because I can’t imagine what bare-knuckle fights the AP is talking about. All sanctioned MMA fights feature competitors wearing gloves. What’s more, the photo accompanying this AP dispatch clearly shows that the competitors are wearing gloves.

As for parents who send their kids into MMA: Good for them. Have you ever seen 6-year-olds play sports? They’re clumsy and weak. I would be much more worried about a kid with no coordination accidentally hitting another kid with a bat in Little League than I would be about a kid hurting another kid in MMA.

The changes were evident on a recent evening in southwest Missouri, where a team of several young boys and one girl grappled on gym mats in a converted garage. 

Two members of the group called the “Garage Boys Fight Crew” touched their thin martial-arts gloves in a flash of sportsmanship before beginning a relentless exchange of sucker punches, body blows and swift kicks.
No blood was shed. And both competitors wore protective gear.

I’m guessing the writer means “sucker punches” in the same way he meant “bare-knuckle,” which is to he doesn’t mean it at all. But it’s good to hear that no one was hurt and they were wearing proper padding. And so we can conclude that these little kids, who in most cases wouldn’t be strong enough to do serious damage to each other even if they tried, aren’t getting hurt, and we can all have a juice box and go home happy, right?

The trend alarms medical experts and sports officials who worry that young bodies can’t withstand the pounding.

This is the part where the reader expects a quote from one of those medical experts — or at least a name of some medical authority who is alarmed.

But no, the AP doesn’t quote any of these alleged medical experts. It does quote parents who have positive things to say about their kids’ participation in the sport, “which is also known as mixed martial arts or cage fighting,” the AP casually mentions.

“Cage Fighting”? Again, the reader waits for the next paragraph to describe Missouri youths shoved inside a chicken-wire box and brutally pummeling each other with one bare-knuckled sucker punch after the other. Alas, the image never comes. Maybe that scene was cut by the editor.

(For the record, “cage fighting” is a phrase like “arena football.” It’s not an activity you can enjoy unless you have a cage handy. Some mixed martial arts organizations use a ring like boxing, others use a mat like wrestling, still others use a cage. Because of the cost and availability of cages, I seriously doubt there’s a single youth MMA organization that uses them.)

Now, back to the misinformation:

 

Joe Miller, administrator of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission, said youth fights are banned in his state, and he wants it to stay that way. 

“There’s too much potential for damage to growing joints,” he said. 

Now, Miller is the only person quoted in the story who says anything negative about young people participating in MMA. And, from what we can glean from the story, Miller isn’t a “medical expert.” He’s a boxing administrator.

Asking a boxing administrator to evaluate the merits of MMA is like asking the CEO of Pepsi to judge the merits of Coke, or a Democratic politician to evaluate the work of a Republican president. Miller might be an exceptionally forthright and unbiased voice, but it’s not in his interests to be one.

Everyone who follows either boxing or MMA knows that many supporters of the former worry it will be eclipsed by the latter, and that the relationship between the both sports has been contentious. As such, Miller’s opinion is a shoddy basis for judging whether MMA is healthy for kids.

The story ends with a very nice, very positive picture of how parents feel about their children’s participation in MMA. So why did the story get off to such a harsh start, with the “bare knuckles” and the “human cockfighting”? I see a few obvious reasons.

Because that’s the way newspaper articles about MMA are always framed. This AP writer played it safe by regurgitating the scenes he saw in other stories, and simply added the youth angle.

Because fear sells. I’m no media basher, and I have no problem with a report leading with the most engaging or salacious facts when those facts actually exist. I know “MMA Enriches the Lives of American Youths,” is something of a dog-bites-man story. Which is fine. If there’s no story here, just don’t write the story.

But now it’s out there. As shoddy as this story is, now that it’s appeared on Drudge, there’s a very good chance it may jump all the way to one of the national morning talk shows or evening cable shouting matches.

There’s no competition to call the AP out: The culture of newspaper reporting has long revolved around the urge to not get “beat” by competitors at other papers or news services. With few papers covering MMA, the AP doesn’t have to worry much about being shown up by anyone other than bloggers like me.

There are some exceptions. The Orange County Register provides excellent MMA coverage. So does the Dayton Daily News. The Baltimore Sun has had a good MMA blog for the last 16 months, and even though blogger Pramit Mohapatra recently left to start his own blog, the Sun says it’s still committed to covering the sport.

But even in those cases, the papers don’t have full-time beat reporters assigned to the sport, and considering the way newspapers across the country are cutting staff, it’s unlikely that any paper will hire a full-time beat reporter to cover MMA.

Which means it’s basically up to the AP to provide almost all the coverage of MMA that American newspaper readers consume, and up to blogs and other new media sources to call them out when they don’t.

Kirsten Taylor

After watching this weeks episode of “The Ultimate Fighter” and hearing Matt Brown talk about how MMA changed his life, keeping him away from drugs, alcohol and street brawls, I became very interested in how beneficial MMA really is! I began researching different articals on the internet and came across one that I personally completely agree with. “Should Kids Compete in Mixed Martial Arts Bouts” written by Mike Adams courtesy of NaturalNews.com

First off, let me air some of the factually incorrect statements and labels that have been used by the mainstream media in describing MMA competitions. The Associated Press and other news organizations have called the sport human cockfighting, cage fighting, no-holds-barred fighting, bare-knuckle brawls and televised street fights. Not a single one of these descriptions is accurate. (Then again, since when did the Associated Press give a darn about being accurate anyway?)

I do not personally participate in MMA fighting competitions, but I’m at least informed enough to be familiar with the rules: All fighters wear padded gloves, all are extremely well trained in various arts such as wrestling or kickboxing, all MMA bouts are managed by an on-the-floor referee whose primary job is to protect the competitors, an on-site doctor can also stop the fight for a medical reason (to protect the athletes), competitors may “tap out” and stop the fight at any moment by either physically or verbally “tapping out,” all participants wear mouth pieces and protective cups, the floor of such events are padded, and so on. Top MMA competitors are elite athletes, displaying the coordination, endurance and dexterity of top gymnasts. Don’t believe me? Watch George St. Pierre compete, and you’ll see for yourself.

I find it curious that none of these facts about MMA — and the UFC in particular — are ever mentioned in the mainstream media. Instead, the MSM has already pre-judged the sport, deciding in advance that it’s “too violent” and therefore must be dangerous for children.

Too violent? Who are they kidding? Professional football is far more dangerous than mixed martial arts. Even pro basketball produces at least as many injuries per participant as mixed martial arts. And hockey, of course, is far more violent. Hockey players are issued sticks! On a pure statistical basis, kids engaged in gymnastics received far more injuries (and far worse injuries) than kids involved in MMA.

Is Mixed Martial Arts dangerous for children?

The idea that mixed martial arts training is “dangerous for children” does not have merit, in my opinion. You know what the real danger to children’s health is these days? Sitting on the couch playing violent video games on a game console, drinking soda, gaining weight and getting diabetes. It is the inactive kids who are at the highest risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, low self esteem, low bone density, poor cardiovascular health, behavioral disorders and so on.

You want to know who the healthy kids are? They’re the kids that actively participate in sports. It hardly matters what sport, actually: Track and field, football, baseball, soccer, wrestling, and yes, MMA. Kids that train in MMA are engaging in a health-enhancing, confidence-boosting activity that burns calories, builds physical strength, teaches personal responsibility and demands rigorous training discipline. It’s like learning a formal martial art (like Tai Kwon Do), except that MMA has more practical applications. A kid that learns MMA is not only healthy; he’s also more capable of taking care of himself at school, on the street and when traveling.

In fact, a lot of studios around the country that teach MMA to kids also teach self-defense classes for kids based on Krav Maga, the Israeli-developed combat system. Kids are taught how to escape an attacker, freeing themselves from wrist holds and strangleholds, and then flee while attracting attention. These skills can save kids’ lives.

The mainstream media (MSM), of course, isn’t interested in the factual benefits of teaching such skills to children; they’re more interested in the tabloid sensationalism invoked through the use of terms like “human cockfighting” and “bare-knuckle brawls!”

Personally, I’m very impressed with the athleticism, professionalism and humility of many top UFC fighters. Randy Couture, one of the most highly-regarded athletes in the sport, even pursues a nutritionally-dense diet, consuming green superfoods on a regular basis to keep him in top physical shape. George St. Pierre is a true professional, acting with great humility and professionalism no matter what challenges he faces. Former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell is practically a superhero in the eyes of many MMA fans today. I recently interviewed Chuck in person about his new line of nutritional supplements (www.IceManRx.com) and will be posting that interview on this website shortly.

What about the violence?

Is MMA violent? [Editor's note: This is the primary area where I've updated this article to better explain my answer to this question.]

I’ve trained alongside many children in a Mixed Martial Arts studio. The truth is, children who train in martial arts are less violent than those who don’t. Do you know which kids start the fights these days? It’s the kids who have no discpline, no training, and no self esteem. But kids who train in martial arts — any form of martial arts — tend to become more responsible, more mature and far less likely to engage in any sort of violence. The very process of going through a program of intense exercise, stretching, hand-eye coordination and paying attention to an adult instructor makes kids more intelligent and more responsible. Sure, there are a few exceptions to this, but by and large, martial arts training makes children less violent, not more violent.

Remember: It’s all adult supervised, and the kids are fully padded. They compete on cushy mats, and the risk of any real injury is remarkably low (and far lower than gymnastics, which I already mentioned).

Personally, I’m a very non-violent individual. I’ve never started a fight, and I’ve never had to try to end one. I’m a huge believer in natural health and in protecting the health of the human body. Even so, I openly support the participation of children and teens in any sport where safety standards exist, including MMA. If Mixed Martial Arts is an activity that a child will enjoy while training their mind and body, then the very small risk of bodily injury is inconsequential compared to the risk of getting obese, diabetic and overmedicated from sitting in the couch, playing with your Wii or otherwise avoiding physical activity altogether.

The bottom line in all this? Children experience tremendous benefits from participation in any sport, including MMA. Kids who train in martial arts, wrestling, kickboxing or other so-called “violent” sports are actually learning valuable skills, discipline and self-esteem. They’re staying healthy and active, and they greatly reduce their risk for typical couch-potato diseases like diabetes, depression, osteoporosis and obesity. The real risk to kids’ health today is the risk of diseases caused by a LACK of exercise!

Kirsten Taylor

The show started when Rampage brought in former training partner and previous TUF winner Michael “the count” Bisping, to talk to his fighters, give them some inspiration and train with them. He gave them the advice to not get into trouble at the house, don’t drink, get all your sleep in and train hard. Will the fighters listen to this advice?? Nah I don’t think so!

During the fight selection Team Forrest retains control of the pick and they chose Dante Rivera (Team Forrest) Vs Brandon Sene (Team Rampage)  Rampage is extremely frustrated with his teams losing streak so far, but has faith that this fighter will pull through for the team. However, Brandon is a definite underdog in this fight and the question of whether he can pull off a win for his team can’t be answered with confidence. As much as I really enjoy Rampage as a fighter, I personally believe that his lack of coaching experience is coming into play. The coaching he yells from the corner during a fight is just a bit ridiculous. In the first fight of this season, for example, Rampage yelled continuously to his fighter to stand up, well rampage HOW WOULD YOU LIKE HIM TO DO THAT? Forrest yells specific directions to his fighters, telling them step by step how to do each move.

Team Forrest used a really smart tactic of looking at forests notes from the qualifying fights in an attempt to know what Brandon will be doing in the fight. In previous seasons the coaches haven’t had the opportunity to do this, but during the qualifying fights of this season the coaches had the opportunity to make notes on each individual fighter, not knowing at this point who would be on their team. Unfortunately I don’t think that Rampage made very detailed notes if any about most of the fighters, as he joked in the first few episodes saying “oh I might actually write notes on this guy”.

The Fight:

The first round of the fight was really close and could’ve gone either way. Dante had a big take down and a submission attempt, but Brandon was throwing a lot of knees to the legs and body as well as landing a number of punches. At the end of the round both coaches were telling their fighter that they had won that round. If it were up to me to decide I would have to give that round to Team Rampage. He appeared to do more damage.

The second round I would definitely give to Team Rampage. He clearly landed the most punches, had a nice sweep and ended the round strongly on top, landing short elbows and punches to the head.

The judges must have given the first round to team Forrest as the fight went to a third and final round to decide the winner. At the end of the fight I was absolutely SHOCKED that team Forrest won this fight. There is absolutely NO WAY that he won that fight. He barely even threw a punch. Extremely bad judging in my  opinion and Dana White agreed. Although Dana did say something that I’d have to agree with, neither of these fighters had an impressive performance, you definitely didn’t watch this fight and say “thank god we have these two in the UFC” haha

After the fight Quinton went on a Rampage (haha) and honestly I don’t blame him at all. He said that he has had his anger under control, but  now it’s starting to come back. I guess losing 3-0 so far will do that to a guy!

The best quote of the night however was when Rampage stated “I used to go to anger management classes, but they made me angry” LOL