Teaching Kids About Fighting

Love it or hate it, mixed martial arts, as a highly entertaining sport is here to stay. Made increasingly popular by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) franchise, women as well as men are coughing up big bucks to view the latest night of heart-pounding action.

carlos ruffo and giovanni ruffo doing brazilian jiu jitsuKids like it too.

Giovanni Ruffo (age 8) and Carlos Ruffo (age 9) are known as two child prodigies in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Yes, I'm talking about cage-fighting.

The sport is safer than it used to be. The rules have been cleaned up. Refs and medical staff are immediately on hand to patch up or wake up the fighters as needed.

Carlos Ruffo, Sr., a Muay Thai kick-boxing instructor, started training the boys when they were toddlers.

When they were 18 months old, Carlos played with the boys by teaching them striking - how to punch. Dad says, "We were playing games. It was fun!"

Giovanni says, "My father is a good teacher."

carlos ruffo, giovanni ruffo, and randy coutureThe boys train with well-known practitioners like UFC Hall of Famers, Randy "the Natural" Couture and Mark "the Hammer" Coleman.

In this 10 minute video called, "The Future of MMA by Bobby Razak" the two boys show off their fighting skills. Their dad, Carlos, credits martial arts for helping him raise boys who are self-disciplined as demonstrated by:

• Their grades are high.
• They're not shy students. They raise their hands in class.
• They're not bullies. They know the difference between the gym and the school.
• They can protect themselves.

Young Carlos says, "In competition, I take it all out on the mat. When I'm on the mat, they're not my friends. When they're off the mat, they are my friends."

Remember their names. We'll be cheering for them in the future.