More idiot kids arrested for “doing UFC”
Dangerous disobedience Police chief says backyard fights could have serious consequences The arrest of two Reed-Custer High School students and…
Dangerous disobedience
Police chief says backyard fights could have serious consequences
The arrest of two Reed-Custer High School students and a parent has some local parents up in arms, accusing police of turning backyard horseplay into a criminal activity. But police say that so-called horseplay is really an illegal activity that’s potentially deadly.
The incident started with a call to a Braidwood home on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Braidwood police officers were responding to a report that there was a fight happening at the residence, but upon arrival, the participants of the fight had scattered.
The following day, video of the alleged fight was obtained by the Braidwood police. The investigation that followed eventually led to the arrests. It was those arrests that prompted some parents to speak out.
“To my knowledge, our police department responded to a call at a home on Sept. 16 where a group of people were supposedly doing Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), also known as mixed martial arts,” resident Linda Santerelli told the Braidwood City Council on Sept. 20. “My biggest concern over this incident is why the two boys were arrested, and when and where the arrest took place.”
Santerelli and another parent, Tonya Boyer, were upset that the teens were arrested at school. The pair added that they believed the fight to just be backyard horseplay, and questioned police involvement.
Acting Police Chief Brandon Myers, however, says the characterization of the fight as “horseplay” is wrong.
“It is unfortunate that some adults are viewing this as simple horseplay, the children can be seriously injured or could be potentially be killed by performing these stunts,” Myers said.
Myers and Santerelli were both referring to UFC-style mixed martial arts. Mixed martial arts is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, including grappling, punching and kicking, both standing up and on the ground. Myers, who is a 5th degree black belt in the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do, a 4th degree black belt in the Okinawan art of Ken-KyushoJutsu Ryu karate, and a certified Self Defense instructor in Brazilian JiuJitsu, said the sport is nothing to mess around with, as it can cause serious injury and even death. Myers added that the investigation suggested that the fight was not an isolated incident, and several high schoolers have been participating in these UFC-style backyard matches since early summer.
“Very few [of the teenage participants] have any training whatsoever and do not know the limitations of their actions,” Myers explained. “Even professional fighters are seriously injured through full contact fighting after training for years. These kids are performing chokes using the carotid artery, and chokes using the trachea which both can be vitally injured with just a small amount of pressure. They are using joint manipulations that can cause breaks with the wrong type of manipulation or a small amount of resistance. The kids are kicking and punching each other with full force and this too can cause serious injury or death even accidentally. I am sure that no one would appreciate this type of life changing experience. It is not simple horseplay.”