I am speechless today, and not because of my sore throat. Flabbergasted doesn’t really come close. I saw an absolutely incredible article today; 2 little Aussie girls fighting in public, in a match arranged and encouraged by their parents!
I don’t really agree with ‘sports’ like this. Boxing strikes me as mindless and I can’t really comprehend martial arts as a sport. I understand the discipline involved, I understand that it might be useful if someone jumps you in a dark alley, but self defence needn’t be practiced on someone else with spectators baying for blood!
Now we have that out of the way, I’m not sure that’s even the point here; the little girls were aged 7 and 8, and they were made to physically fight one another by the people they are supposed to be able to trust over anyone in the world. I know Daddy is keen for me to be able to stand up for myself when I’m bigger, but this is surely taking things too far.
Irrespective of how much protective gear they’re wearing, these girls are going to get hurt. Literally bruised and battered. What sort of mummy or daddy could watch that? And other paying customers? Weird.
A bigger question than for me to answer tonight (I’m still tired and under the weather) but are they even able to think for themselves and take responsibility for their actions? In the eyes of the law for example, not for some time yet.
Have a look for yourself. What do you think?
http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Eight-year-old-girl-to-participate-in-kickboxing-bout-061711/?GT1=39002
CB
When I read your post CB I was expecting the article to be similar to the story about the mothers that encouraged their young children to fight while filming it on mobiles. That was child abuse in my opinion. The kick boxing issue is different. I would imagine at that age, like with many sports it is a watered down version of the adult sport. Think tag rugby for young kids. I'm no expert but in a competetion you may find that they are awarded points for technique rather than actually beating the other child. I think that these girls will be learning a skill and getting enjoyment from something other than a computer screen, Hurrah! It is a tricky one, I agree. I'm not sure how I would feel about my own daughter taking part. Keep up the good work CB, I'm enjoying your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Anonymous, and for your support. I hadn't considered it as a watered down version of grown-up sport. I just hope they are enjoying it themselves, and not doing it just because their parents think it's a good idea.
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