MMA in high schools?

So, the Ultimate Fighting Championship folks have come to Toronto, set up an office and now will look to get this sport legalized in Ontario.

 

Defined by some people as a sport that is combative, others refer to it as mixed martial arts, once Premier Dalton McGuinty and his team start feeling the pressure from those who enjoy watching individuals get violent with other people, the government just may kick in.

 

Why? Money.

 

UFC could also bring lots of loonies (and I did mean a reference to money) to Queen's Park and there will be lots of marketing people trying to sell the critics that the sport is good for the economy.

 

So, why am I raising this - other than an opinion. It won't be long before someone figures this might make an interesting high school sport. Popularity is there. The sport is growing. Students are looking for ways to release aggression.

 

Some people might think I may be suffering the after effects of heat exhaustion in the past 24 hours, not so.

 

MMA is not as bad as it appears, some will say. Others are dead set against it. Some people have already told me that rules can be modified to accommodate high schools, colleges and universities.

 

Wait a minute. The striking and grappling we see in UFC can be severe - as if we don't have enough concerns with young people getting hurt in football and hockey (with equipment) or wrestling and rugby (without equipment). I know youngsters take judo, Tae kwondo and karate classes, but it just isn't the same as telling mom and dad that you've just joined the mixed martial arts team at your school.

 

At the Toronto District School Board girls' soccer championship on Tuesday, I actually heard athletes talking about how great a career it would be in MMA. I don't think they were referring to an MBA, the masters degree, but maybe.

 

I can remember the fuss when, several years ago, the word got out that a Toronto Catholic high school had converted a room in to a boxing ring. I was told it was a boxing club, just like any other sports club and people told me that boxing helps balance, speed, strength and endurance. I can see boxing endorsed in military schools and I believe in some U.S. schools, too, but it brings me right back to MMA.

 

As if we don't have enough people waiting to sue for anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Jimmy]

I would think there is a better chance of ballroom dancing in schools before mixed martial arts but the way things are happening these days, I wouldn't be surprised if MMA becomes some kind of a school club.

[Michael M.]

I can just see the people at OFSAA launching Quad-A mixed martial arts, triple-A...double-A...and single-A....all revenue-generating for OFSAA because that's all they think about and certainly not what's best for school-age athletes.

[Robert]

It will never happen in high schools. My female Principal already goes ballistic when the girls start talking about a wrestling team.

[Charlie Cynic]

Please, no. This martial arts stuff is starting to drive me crazy. Take your combat games and go far away.

[Kenneth Lesley]

Combat sports in schools.
Goes over well, don't think so.
Would not be the least surprised if one school started it up as some variation to the real thing and just to test the territory.

[Hussain]

Mr. Grossman, great topic. I would like to see more people offer up their opinions about UFC. I don't see it any more violent than some of the current school sports. I know OFSAA offers up money each year through your tax dollars for schools to try new sports and activities.

[G.F.]

Someone will surely have some words to say about me but when it comes to physical beatings in sports, there is not much difference between mixed martial arts and rugby.
UFC is still not permitted in Ontario and it may never be.
Keep it banned.

[MRussell]

FYI, MMA is a combination of sports like wrestling, judo, Tae kwondo and karate.

What would the difference be between people training and competing in all of these disciplines or just one?

At a high school level, the combatants would be competing under amateur rules, meaning they would likely be required to wear knee and shin pads and possibly boxing-style headgear.

If you read through any of the multitude of studies done on combat sport injuries (I suggest you Google "Johns Hopkins combat sport injury report) you will likely be surprised to know that MMA is a much safer sport than boxing hockey, football and even cheerleading (which caused the most number of deaths and injuries of any sport in the US in the past decade).

[Dave]

Haha - makes for a debate I guess - my two cents - zero chance of it happening. Dana White has talked about the precautions they take in interviews - Full medical before each fight - the kind of medical a high-schooler doesn't have access to. Emergency doctors at the fights. And again, a full physical after the fight. Love your work - but I can't seriously see anybody making a case for the sport here in Ontario highschools - and if they do, it own't get any traction.

[Paul]

When you mention the word "loonie", that's a nice comparison to the people who support MMA.
God help us all if high schools allow this as a "sport".

[Basshat]

Nothing more than a strawman argument.

[Al]

Tell me, please, is MMA any different from the spearing in hockey, the tackling from behind in football, the massive hits in rugby. Get my point. Either school officials need to deal with some of the brutal stuff already going on in high school sports or let a variation of MMA go ahead. At least it gives kids an opportunity to get off their frustrations.

[Mr. Dawson]

You guys at the Toronto Star do a wonderful job covering school sports. I'm from just north of Orillia and we don't even come close to what you offer for schools in the big city.
I'm in favour of mixed martial arts in schools - within moderation and strict rules. No different from some of the other sports now.

[Sandy]

What's next roller derby and kick boxing?

[Anonymous Coach]

I can not provide my name because I am a teacher and certainly would be put on a special list by my teaching partners and the teachers federation for sharing my comments. I have heard and watched some ridiculous things since becoming a coach of a school sport in Toronto. I am no longer a coach because of the political shenanigans going on and the network of people who can't see by their own face. Kids are learning how coaches and associations get away with things because there is no accountability.While it would not surprise me to see some form of mixed martial arts show up one day in our schools, that would be just the kind of disaster that I have experienced taking my teams to an OFSSAA playoff. I am talking about chaos and disorganization from the top. Let's get some common sense back to high school sports and a structure that works for students. Time to eliminate the incompetent people running the joint.

[Alex]

I'm an avid fan and practitioner of MMA, but it's not right for high school. Other than the obvious fact that there are not enough teachers within schools to coach it at a high and safe level, it is fighting, and I don't high school athletes don't have the maturity for it.

I would instead love to see Jiu Jitsu or "submission wrestling", one of the more important components of MMA, become an option.
The fitness, proprioception and core strength you develop are a big positive for developing athletes, and if monitored properly injuries are rare. It is also a very cerebral activity, not too different than a chess match at higher levels.
The main attraction though would be the values of respect and discipline carried in the art's long history.

[G.B.]

Alex has raised a very good point - there are not enough teachers who know how to coach MMA. There aren't even enough teachers with the knowledge to coach frisbee which raises a point for principals to get off their mighty horse and start allowing more "qualified" community coaches in to coach. Yes, screen them. But, good grief, there are community coaches who can do a much better job teaching kids than some of the hapless characters who stand around looking important when they should really be back in the classroom where my tax dollar is being spent wisely.

[Golden Boy]

Mr. Grossman, great job covering high school sports and keeping it on the sports pages. This is a great thread too. My viewpoints is that MMA in schools is ridiculous. It`s an open invitation for kids to get seriously hurt and for lawyers to salivate. I see lots of people don`t like OFSAA, add me to the group. My experience is that anything they get involved in becomes a disaster.

[D.J. Talbot]

MMA does not belong in schools and that also goes for some of the other nonsense sports like ultimate frisbee and rock climbing. Why don't schools get serious about physical education and development and focus on the well-being of these young kids.

[Basshat]

No need to go looking at community coaches for all of the coaching shortages; one need look no further than the pool of available teachers. There are plenty with experience and even certification. The problem is that too many schools and school boards treat the job of coaching like the job of treating lepers. Instead, they place more value in putting fellow teachers asleep with a pointless power point session during a PA day or coming up with a project to create yet more paperwork for teachers that will never be used in any meaningful ways. Ask how many teachers only got their permanent job after giving up coaching for something that admin valued. Ask how many teachers didn't get into the VP pool until they walked away from coaching, since it isn't valued by the board when deciding promotions. Ask how many new permanent teachers are hired to fit the new 'image' of a teacher the ministry is trying to create, rather than hired to actually do something the kids will value the rest of their lives.