Siblings (?) Fighting - safety and supervision for children in combat sports

[Coach James Poidog]

So Im curious as to people's responses to this video here. I know my opinions based on me being a coach of kids as well as adults, but Id like to hear others as well. In you answer please also include your experience level for curiosity sake. Also, no judgement on people's opinions please.

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

I've seen a few versions of this now. One in which the girl is wearing a frilly dress, one in which they look dressed more or less the same, and this one. They're all in hotel rooms, which is a bit odd.

I have 3 older brothers and none of us ever learned combat arts to a significant degree. I think my brothers did 3 weeks of Aikido or something. So, when we hit each other it was unskilled.

All that said, I train in a gym that has seen and currently has a few sets of brothers. They are not the same size as each other (not nearly as close as these two appear) and occasionally take it upon themselves to clinch or spar. Our trainer doesn't match them up - that often leads to "Jai Rohn" emotional states because... well, siblings. But when they choose to do it on their own it's very playful, even when rough at times. I'm a fan of it. The other day Alex and Bank, who are not real siblings but have grown up in the gym together for the past 5+ years (ages 13-18, so significant time at that phase) were sparring - directed to do so by our trainer because they have fights at the same time - and it got HEATED. They never lost control, but I haven't seen them look that much like brothers in years, just by the rivalry.

[Coach James Poidog]

32 minutes ago, Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu said:

All that said, I train in a gym that has seen and currently has a few sets of brothers. They are not the same size as each other (not nearly as close as these two appear) and occasionally take it upon themselves to clinch or spar. Our trainer doesn't match them up - that often leads to "Jai Rohn" emotional states because... well, siblings. But when they choose to do it on their own it's very playful, even when rough at times. I'm a fan of it. The other day Alex and Bank, who are not real siblings but have grown up in the gym together for the past 5+ years (ages 13-18, so significant time at that phase) were sparring - directed to do so by our trainer because they have fights at the same time - and it got HEATED. They never lost control, but I haven't seen them look that much like brothers in years, just by the rivalry.

See, this stuff with protective gear and in a controlled environment with experienced trainers all over it Im a fan of and think to a degree is necessary. But in a hotel room, no gear, with clear intent to harm? Gets me itchy. And supposedly these two go to the same kung fu school. They have a place to do this probably safer...so why here? Feels off. 

[Kero Tide]

I've only been doing Muay Thai for three years (that's for my experience level). Seeing kids fighting with or without gear doesn't put me off - even if it looks like hard sparring and setting is odd, etc. I don't know the context of the video and I don't understand what the person filming is saying. I'm wondering what is the purpose of putting this video on the internet. I'm way more wary about kids simply being exposed out there, than about the fighting itself. I don't mind the fighting. As a matter of fact, the very first thought that crossed my mind watching this video was: "why the hell are they keeping their shoes on?"

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

1 hour ago, Kero Tide said:

the very first thought that crossed my mind watching this video was: "why the hell are they keeping their shoes on?"

hahaha, I also thought way more about why it's in a hotel room and why they are dressed (well, only the girl is ever dressed particularly) than the actual sparring element.

5 hours ago, Coach James Poidog said:

But in a hotel room, no gear, with clear intent to harm? Gets me itchy. And supposedly these two go to the same kung fu school. They have a place to do this probably safer...so why here? Feels off. 

I also watched pretty closely and it doesn't seem like they make contact very often, and when they do not very hard. If you look, there's almost no impact response from the receiver at all. But, who knows. I'm not there. As someone who witnessed Phetjee Jaa and Mawin do TONS of "show fights" for a couple of years, I can attest to how "real" something looks from a short distance and how utterly choreographed it is in real life. People still share videos of their demos with gushing comments that reveal they believe it to be a real fight, whereas in reality they're barely touching each other.

Also, having watched little kids train in the gym with huge gloves and shinguards, versus tiny gloves and no shinguards, I tend to believe that protective gear is far less protective than it's made out to be. Is the issue headgear? That their gloves are small? That they don't have chest protectors? Mouthguards? Chest pads? Why is a gym safer than a hotel or livingroom, other than obvious obstacles like furniture, which they don't seem to be getting close to? Have you seen those videos of the little girl with the crazy ponytail that whips around while she does super-speed boxing combinations? It's super rehearsed, people share it like she's a phenom, and it's all a set pattern but just really, really fast. Is that different just because she's hitting pads or a tree (again, not really touching the tree, obviously) instead of having someone in front of her? It's Wu Shu performance more than it is real sparring or fighting, in my eyes.

[Jeremy Stewart]

My first reaction was wow, this is cool. But, I can see how to western eyes this may appear over the top. 

[Coach James Poidog]

6 hours ago, Jeremy Stewart said:

My first reaction was wow, this is cool. But, I can see how to western eyes this may appear over the top. 

My first reaction was actually the same. Especially the first video where shes in a dress. It was just this one, seeing it a few times, seeing the damage from the leg kick, the kids face at the end of it. The more I watched the more it felt off. Not sure what I was responding to so I focused on the safety issues. Agreed that gear doesnt mean much, but its better than nothing.