13 year old Muay Thai fighter dies from head injuries

[shincheckin]

https://thethaiger.com/thai-life/13...NtWDaQ5UTQAgdFJutm29Y0YYu6tlMMUHLBRPiSEn0J2Rg

very sad to see, it raises the subject of kids fighting in thailand.

"The death of this young muay thai fighter takes place as the National Legislative Assembly is poised to pass a draft bill to prohibit children under 12 from muay thai fighting."

Im on board with some law being put down to protect these kids but i would think enforcing kids wear full protective gear would be somewhere in there.

 

[Captain]

8 year old kids shouldn't be sparring, period.

 

[AndyTran]

the dark side of muay thai

the price to pay to get that much grow-ups as experts ...

 

[Tayski]

I know they are fighting to make money and support their families and scholarship, but when I was watching fights in the Bangkok stadiums and there would be the odd fight with 2 very young fighters, I just felt bad. Of course they were very technical, but inside I just knew it was wrong for adults to be cheering and gambling on two kids beating each other up.

Personally I don't think anyone should be fighting professionally before age 15-16, or at least not full contact with blows to the head.

RIP Petmongkol Por Pinapat.

 

[Broadcast]

Under 12? To prohibit under 17 or under 18, and if they want to allow less only with helmet to be (amateur Muay Thai).

 

[genecop]

Training OK, full contact, disaster at any age, but kids skulls and brains are so much more fragile.RIP

 

[Tayski]

Training OK, full contact, disaster at any age, but kids skulls and brains are so much more fragile.RIP

My main issue isn't just in terms of "fragility" or because their brains aren't fully developed yet (even though that's also important), but because at that age you just don't have enough perspective and sensibility to responsibly weigh in the pros and cons of fighting professionally and the physical and mental damage that goes with it as well as considering the early retirement and what you'll be doing after. On top of that, it's easy to get exploited at that age as you won't have the knowledge and experience to know when you are being exploited or not, or even have the courage to go against adult authority.

A lot of times I have a feeling that those kids didn't exactly choose to be there and were more or less forced to do so by their families or by the simple appeal of money. That's essentially child labour.

 

[shincheckin]

My main issue isn't just in terms of "fragility" or because their brains aren't fully developed yet (even though that's also important), but because at that age you just don't have enough perspective and sensibility to responsibly weigh in the pros and cons of fighting professionally and the physical and mental damage that goes with it as well as considering the early retirement and what you'll be doing after. On top of that, it's easy to get exploited at that age as you won't have the knowledge and experience to know when you are being exploited or not, or even have the courage to go against adult authority.

A lot of times I have a feeling that those kids didn't exactly choose to be there and were more or less forced to do so by their families or by the simple appeal of money. That's essentially child labour.

I dont see anything wrong with children under 12 fighting, as long as the kids have on full protective gear including the chest pad as well. I think the way it is ran in the US is a good example. 8 yrs old is the minimum age, full prective gear is worn up to the age of 18. Once 18 you must fight, and have won 3 fights, to remove the protective gear.

I think this would be a better option than trying to ban kids under 12, i picture that being something that would be difficult to enforce in thailand.

 

[UWanaPlayDaGame]

I dont see anything wrong with children under 12 fighting, as long as the kids have on full protective gear including the chest pad as well. I think the way it is ran in the US is a good example. 8 yrs old is the minimum age, full prective gear is worn up to the age of 18. Once 18 you must fight, and have won 3 fights, to remove the protective gear.

I think this would be a better option than trying to ban kids under 12, i picture that being something that would be difficult to enforce in thailand.

I don't have no legit source but I guess if they ban kids fights then there will be clandestine unsanctioned fights anyway

 

[Snubnoze707]

I swear I read that mouthpieces aren't even required for kid fights in Thailand. They definitely need to reformat this aspect of the system. I know their are some challenges dealing with an impoverished country but situations like this shouldn't happen. You shouldn't be taking head trauma when your brain isn't fully developed. Where was the ref in looking out for this kid?

 

[fighthug]

That is why I say we should not copy everything that exists in the Thai muaythai. Minors only struggled with maximum protection.

 

[Foppa21]

My main issue isn't just in terms of "fragility" or because their brains aren't fully developed yet (even though that's also important), but because at that age you just don't have enough perspective and sensibility to responsibly weigh in the pros and cons of fighting professionally and the physical and mental damage that goes with it as well as considering the early retirement and what you'll be doing after. On top of that, it's easy to get exploited at that age as you won't have the knowledge and experience to know when you are being exploited or not, or even have the courage to go against adult authority.

A lot of times I have a feeling that those kids didn't exactly choose to be there and were more or less forced to do so by their families or by the simple appeal of money. That's essentially child labour.

Is is child labour essentially. But as most have pointed out, it's a way of life for those that are not well off. In order to support their family. We all wish it wasn't like that

 

[NoSmilez]

I think if you ban it; they will just ferry them to the border and fight there.

 

[Hagelslag2]

I think if you ban it; they will just ferry them to the border and fight there.

In this case, the simplest solution is to hit the people that put up these fights and manage the kids with very hefty fines. When it comes to it, it's just a money making business. Once you destroy that incentive...

 

[THEfightsAREfixed]

Honestly no different than young kids in America playing football and ice hockey, in which kids die as well

Okay so its a little different but you know what I mean

 

[NoSmilez]

In this case, the simplest solution is to hit the people that put up these fights and manage the kids with very hefty fines. When it comes to it, it's just a money making business. Once you destroy that incentive...

They will just cross the border to do it or have the fights at outdoor fairs. It is more than money making business. It is the national sport, they teach it for gym class.

 

[Hagelslag2]

They will just cross the border to do it or have the fights at outdoor fairs. It is more than money making business. It is the national sport, they teach it for gym class.

The ability to cross a border isn't an argument to not have laws in place to combat a certain practice. Loads of countries allow or disallow certain things their neighbours do allow, that doesn't mean they have to change their laws. These fines would also apply to fairs, so I don't see the problem. Also, the same trends you see in basically every developing country, you see in Thailand: the more educated people get, the more they tend to shy away from full contact fighting as a profession. The lower socioeconomic classes might still partake, but football is bigger now in overall viewership.

 

[MadSquabbles500]

Kids box full contact in Western world. American Football and rugby are also full contact for kids. WTF TKD for kids also can get kicked in the face. Hockey actually bans checking until certain age group.

I wonder if kids are also fighting in pradal serey, or Bando in Burma full contact professionally.

 

[spannered]

I think one thing that's overlooked here is the number of fights this kid has had by the time he died - 170 fights for a 13 year old is INSANE.

No kid should be fighting 20+ a year. That's once a fortnight.

I agree that they aren't going to ban fighting for kids under 12..it's not even illegal for kids under 12 to fight in Australia. It IS illegal for kids to fight without headgear and full sized gloves. Realistically, small children can't even generate enough power to hurt each other when fitted with headgear and full sized gloves (the equivelant of 16oz gloves for kids). Still, no one, including kids, should be fighting more than a few times a year. Particularly for a developing brain.

A big factor that wasn't covered is what ground these kids were fighting on. The article mentioned the kid died when he fell headfirst to the floor. A lot of these small shows are fought literally on the dirt ground. A hard surface could be what killed him. Obviously all fights should be on padded canvas.

There's a lot to this story we don't know, but properly sanctioning fights and putting rules on protection, flooring and the amount of fights kids are allowed to participate in would be more effective than banning children fights altogether.

 

[Mike K.O]

I think one thing that's overlooked here is the number of fights this kid has had by the time he died - 170 fights for a 13 year old is INSANE.

No kid should be fighting 20+ a year. That's once a fortnight.

I agree that they aren't going to ban fighting for kids under 12..it's not even illegal for kids under 12 to fight in Australia. It IS illegal for kids to fight without headgear and full sized gloves. Realistically, small children can't even generate enough power to hurt each other when fitted with headgear and full sized gloves (the equivelant of 16oz gloves for kids). Still, no one, including kids, should be fighting more than a few times a year. Particularly for a developing brain.

A big factor that wasn't covered is what ground these kids were fighting on. The article mentioned the kid died when he fell headfirst to the floor. A lot of these small shows are fought literally on the dirt ground. A hard surface could be what killed him. Obviously all fights should be on padded canvas.

There's a lot to this story we don't know, but properly sanctioning fights and putting rules on protection, flooring and the amount of fights kids are allowed to participate in would be more effective than banning children fights altogether.

170 fights for a 13yr old is truly insane. And the hard surface, as you mentioned, also led to trauma. Rings or Cages in MMA have more padding on the floor, but boxing or kickboxing and muay thai, especially small shows, is almost no padding.