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Here is a piece that recently ran on the news in Texas about some kids training MMA. That’s not a big deal. That’s happening all over our country and many others. But what might get some people all jazzed up is that these kids are competing in “smokers”, which is when two or more schools/gyms get together to test their abilities, and well, fight.

Someone that is just interested in being a practitioner of MMA might not take place in a smoker. But if you are looking to begin a career as an amateur fighter, you should definitely be fighting in smokers before you take your first real fight, and I think it’s a common practice for most legitimate gyms.

But what about if you’re haven’t even reached high school yet?

Danny and Alan Arau used to be quiet and shy. Their mother, Amanda, thought introducing martial arts into her sons’ lives would up their confidence. It did. The boys wanted more. So they started mixed martial arts. It became love at first fight.

“It’s just my life,” said Danny. “My passion. I’d like to make a career of it. My dream is to be in the UFC.”

“At the beginning, I was very, very afraid. Now, I am more confident,” said Amanda.

Her sons started training in martial arts at ages four and six. Danny is 13 and Alan is 11 now. Both have had cage fights. Too young?

“That’s just an opinion,” Alan quickly answered.

Danny fought a 20-year-old in his first cage fight and won. Alan does well inside the cage, too.

“I almost knocked my opponent out,” said Alan. “He was stumbling.”

The kids are wearing headgear, gloves, mouthguards, cups and padded shin guards. But is it too young? For myself, it would depend on the rules of the matches, as well as the ages and matchups of the kids. I’m not letting a 13-yr. old fight a 20-yr. old under any circumstances. I would limit them to two rounds of 3 to 5 minutes, and the rules would be significantly more enforced than a regular MMA match. No one complain about kids playing tackle football at such a young age, so why should they care about this?