Young boys cage-fighting in UK prompts outcry But organizers of sold-out event will face no charges,

[Liberal_in_LA]

Young boys cage-fighting in UK prompts outcry
But organizers of sold-out event will face no charges, police say

The government's sports minister, Jeremy Hunt, called the images "very barbaric," and London-based National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children expressed outrage.

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Video posted online shows the boys, ages 8 and 9, grappling and wrestling, watched by an audience of about 250 people. A scantily clad female paraded on stage between rounds, The Telegraph reported. The fight, presented to a sold-out, tickets-only audience, lasted about ten minutes, said the U.K. newspaper.

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Nick Hartley, the father of one of the boys in the video, told the BBC his son was never in harm's way.

"He loves the sport. It's not one bit dangerous, it's a controlled sport," he said. "He likes to do it, he's never forced to do it, he wants to do it, so leave him to do it."

He also denied the kids were cage fighting.

"The children weren't doing cage fighting, they were doing what they call grappling. The cage fighting only comes when they're older," he said in a separate interview with Sky News.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44623486/ns/world_news-europe/t/young-boys-cage-fighting-uk-prompts-outcry/#.TnuUiuzAWU0

[Denninmi]

1. "The cage fighting only comes when they're older"

Oh, I see. That's MUCH better. :sarcasm:

[Auntie Bush]

3. What is cage fighting?

I guess fighting in a cage...but what are the basic rules and conditions?

[Eddie Haskell]

5. Think gladiators w/o the weapons.

Virtually anything goes (no kicking in the groin, poking in the eye or kicking the head of a downed opponent) and it's a very dangerous sport.

[Auntie Bush]

6. Do they have to fight in a small cage where you can't get away from your opponent?

[Poll_Blind]

2. At 1:28-1:33 one child puts the other into a submission hold which could have easily...

...dislocated their arm. An extremely painful move (as you'd imagine), it caused the other fighter to "tap out".

Maybe we should just let parents put their children in situations like that. I mean, they're probably not going to amount to anything so why not?

:sarcasm:

PB

[DrunkenBoat]

4. What kind of people would want to watch this, let alone pay to watch it.

[seabeyond]

7. in a mere decade, we have devolved as a people. entertained by the very worst

of who we are. entertained in a manner we would not have allowed in the past.

[Lionessa]

8. And this realization, that it is across all media and in virtually every aspect

of our speech to one another now as well... it's this realization that leaves me entirely hopeless about the future for our species. We will never live in peace, we will never strive for empathy and compassion; it just isn't going to happen, ever.

[seabeyond]

9. i wonder.... nt

[FedUpWithIt All]

10. I agree and it is incredible how fast the decline.

Some would say it is that the worst of us is simply more visible due to the spotlight being directed at this type of thing but i disagree, it is evident everywhere.

Really disturbing.

[seabeyond]

12. good adn certainly bad of internet. the nets allow people to have validation

to all this exploitation and degradation we feed the populace. it is an easy spread and feed of society with the net.

more and more is becoming the norm as we gain validation and allowance for our hate and disrespect.

[War Horse]

11. Kids fighting is now an event in the UK, apparently...

With adults watching as if this were just another sporting event.

No laws were probably broken here, but this is still despicable. It's one thing to have your kids engage in martial arts, quite another to have them engage in "UFC light".

I've seen kids fight in Thailand before - muay thai. This is worse.

[joeybee12]

13. With these ages, this is borderline child porn...

I mean, why else would one watch this? This is sick.

[War Horse]

14. Nothing to do with child porn

It's bad, but another kind of bad.

It's a "gotta start them early" mindset, related to fighting.

[Darth_Kitten]

15. Why do all the stupid people of the world breed?

:eyes: