Dad Who Let Daughter, 8, Kickbox in Aussie Match Has Fight on His Hands

These parents should be given an award. Kids need to learn discipline and how to be competitive. The girl seemed to want to compete and she learned a very valuable lesson. Instead of eating chips watching people compete more people should get up and give kickboxing a try. I bet if the girl were playing football getting pushed to the ground every 2 minutes it would be ok because it's more widely accepted. People should pull their head out of their butt.

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I don't think there's anything wrong with teaching a child how to defend themselves. I wish my parents would have let me do it as a child, I really wanted to, but they said it was against our religion. Shame. But letting children this young fight each other, I think that's wrong. We throw a fit when people make roosters and dogs fight each other, but preteen girls, that's okay? No, I think violent sports like this that can seriously injure a person should be reserved for adults 18 and older.

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Stupid and dangerous--- possibility of concussion ,of brain bruising , ,bleedind acute and chronic ,We are concerned about prevention of athletes head injuries and make seat belts compulsory , --yet parents enter 7 and 8 year old children in kickboxing competitions ?? --a form of child abuse!

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Girl is too young for contact kick boxing. Period. To me it is sad that her parents would let her partake in this at THAT age. Glad that she emerged from it without serious physical injury. Can't comment on her psychological reaction, but clearly her crying after the first round suggests that it was not a particularly fun experience for her. Kids at that age need to be kids, have fun, enjoy their childhoods.

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if the kid loves it and wants to do it why not let them? they have protection on that will help. i dont see anything wrong with it..

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I have been doing Muay Thai for 9 years, 10 in Feb. I have fought, helped train and been to many exciting cities and countries thanks in part to the sport. I have also partaken in a number of other martial arts from Jiu Jitsu to Krav Maga.
I also personally know John Parr. I have trained in his gym in Australia and trained with him here in the U.S. He is a great guy, one of the nicest guys I have ever met.
I don't think that what he is doing is wrong. It teaches the children a number of things from; discipline, self defense, confidence, sportsmanship, and most importantly mental toughness. It teaches them about the world, in that sometimes you will get beat up or knocked down but you have to get right back up. Kids are going to cry, every little thing hurts them at that age, but they are never in any real danger. Fights are sanctioned and followed by strict rules, and they always were safety pads.
I know here in the states a number of parents that have been putting their children in fights for years, heck in Thailand kids start fighting as young as age 4. This is only getting attention because it is taking place in a westernized country and by over sensitive people that would rather shield themselves from the reality of the world than allow a parent who knows what he is doing raise his child the way he sees fit.

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i am 14 and all i have to say for this is you all need to calm ur selfs because this girl has the right to dream. if thats what she wants to be let her ! and i think she had a wonderful dad because he respects her dreams. and if ur the type of people/parents to not be fully supportive of ur childs dreams then ur not a good parent and u have issues, sorry to br the one to tell you. any u know watt i bet the lil girl has fun. and at her age thats all that matters because when she gets a little older things change and so do people. give her and her dad a break ur all hungry hungry hypocrites.


-kim

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An excellent age to start a child into a combat sport like boxing and kickboxing. In the U.S.A. they start the youngters at eight years old. USA Boxing who controls all amateur boxing in the country say that 8 years old is a good age to start with proper coaching and safety standards. This father didn't do anything wrong as a matter of fact he did everything right by finding another child that was willing to do it in the ring with safety gear. There is a lot of discrimination against the young girls that want to learn a combat sport. They learn dicipline and self defense. The people that are against the girls learning to protect themselves live in the stone age.

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I have my 9 year old daughter in martial arts and she competes too. The difference is there are certainly no knock outs. You are supposed to use control and make contact, not follow through with a punch. In the Karate she competes in you would be disqualified and your Sensei or I would take away your belt if you knocked someone out.

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The fact that an 8 year old was in a 3 round boxing match with a peer does bother me a bit. But I have to admit I am even more shocked that people are reacting very shocked themselves. Is it the age or that she's a girl?
I say this because I has having to defend my self physically in school from bullies at that age. The bullies would leave me bruised from head to toe and the school nor their parents did anything that was a punishment accurate enough to make them stop. The only thing that ever worked was when at age 7 I began to fight back and learn how to better and better. That lasted until age 12 when they gave up out of maturity and eventual respect for the fact I could dish out any thing they served up. So, personally I feel nothing wrong with children learning fighting skills at such ages as long as the adults responsible for them make it certain that they are not to use the skills in a bullying manner. I'm just concerned about him already making paid matchs and such like the adults who get seriously injured sometimes from the sport. But I suppose being young she will at least most likely heal better and fast than many adults. :-/

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What you do not realize is that this is common many many parents place there kids in martial arts. In Thailand the home of Muay Thai many kids become professional kickboxers at the age of 14. With proper training and practice a student of kickboxing will grow stronger and less likely to get injuried when she competes as a teenager

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I think that if that child whats to try it and if they like it, let them, a child needs to develope self confedence and decepine and that they can do what ever they want to in life and don't be affraid about life, I wouldn't put my child in harms way, so I think that CPS or any other group should stay away from the sports world, cause that's what it all about competion in life, no matter what kind of sport you play you going to get hurt sooner or later....

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Thats very sexist just because she is a girl she can't kickbox there are thousands of boys who do kickboxing who are 8 and even younger i think people should let her and her dad do their thing and people stay out of their bussiness!

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As dumb as the human race has proven itself to be, we should let them fight until one of them can't get up just like the days of the gladators. The father of this girl is a nitwit. Just look at the stupid reasoning he uses. And if you read most of the comments made by other nitwits that think it is OK, then you understand how far the human race has sunk in it's morals. What ever happened to "love thy neighbor"? I think I heard that somewhere before!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and don't bother to reply, I wouldn't take the time to answer morons, which is what most of this world has become.

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I have been involved in the martial arts for years, we have children that compete and spar all the time, it is a sport like any other. There are 5 year olds playing hockey, football, etc, etc why is this any different. More power to this little girl for knowing what she wants at an early age and for her dad for making it happen for her. YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!

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Dog fighting and Cock fighting is not a sport...! Usually the people that do this let the animals fight to their death for money. The children that do this want to do it as a sport. There are safety precautions that are in place to insured that injuries are minimal. Boxing is one of the worlds oldest sport and it's been around since the beginning of time. Children are thaught the art of fighting and also the rules that they are to abide by. Safety gears are introduced, such as: headgear, body protector, mouthpiece and gloves. There over 40 thousand people that die in Highway accidents every year in the USA but people still get in their cars and drive it off. I have not yet seen anyone saying don't drive your car because it's dangerous.

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It's obvious who practices martial arts and who doesn't. I liked how JL Bradford put it. And those who equate martial arts with "violence in America and all over the world" clearly don't know the first dang thing about martial arts.

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