REPORTER: Thai Neave
It's fight night in Parker, Arizona.
MAN: Take him!
In front of an electrified crowd, kids as young as six do battle in a cage. This is youth pankration, a pint-sized version of Mixed Martial Arts. Recently banned in California, this fast-growing sport is attracting plenty of controversy, but kids like Regina 'The Black Widow' Awana can't see what all the fuss is about.
ANNOUNCER: Out of the blue corner, jujitsu fighter, a National Pankration champion, loves to play with her dolls, please welcome 'The Black Widow', Regina Awana!
REGINA AWANA: You want 'The Black Widow'?
REPORTER: Yeah, absolutely.
In the week before the fight, I catch up with Regina at her home in Riverside, California.
REPORTER: And are you look forward to fighting on Friday night?
REGINA AWANA: Yeah.
REPORTER: Yeah? Are you gonna win?
REGINA AWANA: Maybe.
REPORTER: What do you think about, like, do you think about winning more or do you think about losing more?
REGINA AWANA: Um, winning more.
JULIA AWANA, MOTHER: Is it this one?
RICKY AWANA, FATHER: Yeah, that one.
Regina's father, Ricky, and mother, Julia, have seen their daughter quickly become a pankration pin-up. It all began two years ago, when Regina was bullied.
RICKY AWANA: We were at a party and she got slapped by a boy and I had to get her to do something to be able to defend herself. That's the best decision I made, to get her to do that.
Kids' MMA is fast and furious - kicks, punches and knees are all allowed, with the exception of strikes to the head. Fights are won by points or submission. 'The Black Widow's trademark move, the arm barks where an opponent's elbow is hyperextended until they submit, what's known as a tapping out.
JULIA AWANA: At first I wasn't really happy about it. I didn't agree with the decision. I wanted her to go to dance class, or something different. I didn't want her to be a tomboy.
REPORTER: What do you think of the nickname?
JULIA AWANA: 'The Black Widow'? She likes it. At first I was like, "Why 'The Black Widow'? Why not princess something?"
RICHARD ARREY, COACH: Let's go, guys. Remember - punch like you're fighting, kick like you're fighting, even though it's shadow boxing.
Richard Arrey is Regina's coach. He runs Riverside Submission, one of over 30,000 MMA schools now operating across the country.
RICHARD ARREY: She's so small, she comes out like a little girl. She's like, you know, she's that little girl. Like, "You're gonna beat that little girl." All of a sudden, boom, guys are going home puzzled because she just taps your boy out.
During summer break, Regina and her teammates will train nearly all day, every day. It's a tough regime covering pankration's many disciplines, including wrestling, jujitsu and kickboxing. Today she's honing her skills by practising one-handed.
BOY: Come on, Gina. Come on, Mario.
CHRIS MANZO: There's 30 seconds left, you're down by 10 points. There's no reason to quit on me. Don't quit on me. You can still finish the fight. It only takes a second. Keep going.
You're fighting for a belt. He's working hard right now. You need to work harder. Go!
Amongst the busy highways in nearby San Bernardino, former MMA fighter Chris Manzo is pushing his group of kids to their limits.
CHRIS MANZO: Go, go, go! Lift those knees up high. The last one to walk through the door does 50 push-ups.
Here, nobody's black, nobody's white. I tell them when you walk on the mat, you're not a boy, you're not a girl, you're not seven or 12, you're a fighter.
One of those fighters, his own son, seven-year-old Evan.
CHRIS MANZO: Choke him right now! There's nothing that I love more in this world than my son, period. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him. However, he chooses to wrestle. He chooses to be a fighter. I'm not gonna take that away from him. He can do it. Does that mean I don't love my son, because he's in there with the potential to get injured? No. I love my son more than anything and nothing will ever take that away.
It's gonna hurt! You gotta throw. If you don't like it, you better wrestle. Let's go.
The hardest thing that you could put somebody through, you have to put them through that in order for them to not quit when they're in there. Because they're not trying to hurt each other in there, these kids really aren’t. But they are trying to win.
REPORTER: They're not too young for that kind of attitude?
CHRIS MANZO: That's a good question. You know, sometimes I wonder. It's like I told one of the kids today - "I didn't go to your house and knock on your door and say, hey, come join my fight team." They came to me and said, "I want to do this."
Evan is sparring with 'The Black Widow's next opponent, seven-year-old Durande Johnson, who she will meet in a few days' time.
DURANDE JOHNSON: I have to get out of the Black Widows web man, I have to pass the web... Like, I'm like - I'm the bug, she's the spider. So, I have to get through the web without getting in the web.
CHRIS MANZO: Regina Awana, 'The Black Widow', is a cute little, petite girl that will rip your arm off and take it home with her. She beats up anybody that comes near her on the mat. But, again, when she's off the mat, she's playing with her dolls and joking around and playing like a little girl.
Back home, I find Regina rapping along to Eminem. She takes me on a tour of her bedroom to show me some of her paintings. Her dolls.
REPORTER: Very nice.
REGINA AWANA: This one's her mom. This one is Ariel.
All under the gaze of her favourite pop star.
REPORTER: I can't help but notice Justin Bieber over here. What do you like about him?
REGINA AWANA: His hair and...what he wears. And his songs.
REPORTER: Do you think, like, a lot of the boys, they think, like, you're small, you're cute, you wear pink, and then they take you lightly?
REGINA AWANA: Um, yeah. A little.
REPORTER: How does that make you feel?
REGINA AWANA: Mad.
REPORTER: That makes you feel mad? How come?
REGINA AWANA: Because I want everybody to go hard on me.
ANDY FOSTER: While there are probably many, many boys that she can beat, at some point, whether it be now or be later, she will run into a boy she can't beat.
Andy Foster is a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter turned staunch critic. As California Athletic Commissioner, he banned Youth Pankration tournaments in the state after seeing a YouTube video of a girl getting punched in the head.
ANDY FOSTER: I don't think children are mature enough to understand that perhaps these activities that they're doing could harm them for life. My solution for the parents, instead of living vicariously through their children, would be just to sign up and get in the ring themselves.
Over three million American kids under the age of 13 reportedly take part in some form of MMA, and that's largely down to the phenomenal success of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. UFC fighters, like Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman, have helped make MMA one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.
CHRIS WEIDMAN: It's huge. I'm up in Times Square right now. It's only gonna get bigger.
And Chris Weidman sees no problem with kids trying to emulate their idols in the cage.
CHRIS WEIDMAN: As long as they have it safe. It's all about safety. I don't think they should be getting pounded in the head every second. But other than that, I think it's good, yeah.
REPORTER: Do you see kids coming in with injuries from Mixed Martial Arts?
HEATHER GILLESPIE, PAEDIATRIC SPORT: I do. The injuries we see from that tend to be more hand, upper extremity injuries, either sprains or, you know, from falls or pulls.
Paediatric sports doctor Heather Gillespie from the University of California says she sees far more injuries from sports like football or skateboarding, but she's concerned with the fundamental concept of pankration.
HEATHER GILLESPIE: The intent is to kick someone down in various ways and there is a skill to that. But I think as opposed to other sports, where the intent is to score a goal, you know, the intent is not to hurt someone else. At some level, our rule as physicians, parents, legislators is to protect our kids from the decisions that they're not old enough to make.
REGINA AWANA: I believe I can fly!
Ricky believes the risks are being blown out of proportion and the sport is a chance for his daughter to have a better future.
RICKY AWANA: Something good is gonna happen to her. It already is, you know. At such a young age on what I make I can’t get her into college.
On a low income, the family struggles to pay entry fees and travel costs for their daughter's competitions. The ban on the sport in California means they have to travel interstate for every one of her fights.
BARBER: Kind of keep me on my toes a little bit.
REPORTER: Strangers see you and they're like, "That guy's pretty tough. Got a spider."
RICKY AWANA: Either that, or they think I'm crazy, because they don't know I'm doing it for!
Haircuts complete, it's time to finally hit the road. I'm about to cross the border from California, heading to a place called Parker, Arizona. From Riverside it's about a four hour journey. It certainly is a long way to go so your kids can compete. In this sport, win or lose, it could be over in a matter of seconds.
At the Bluewater Casino, the young fighters go through their pre-fight ritual.
ANNOUNCER: 49.8 for Manzo. How about a big hand for these two?
There are promotional-style stare-downs, doctors' health checks and a stern safety warning from the United States Fight League President, John Frank.
JOHN FRANK: Anything that you would not do in a hard, hard practice, you don't do in here, because you're not gonna hurt your opponent. That's not what pankration is. So, you don't win by beating up your opponents. You don't give anybody beat-downs. You can't win by knock-out, you can't win that way. The way up win is by scoring points.
Then, as the sun sets in 51-degree Arizona heat outside, it's finally fight time. Dressed as a ninja, Evan enters the cage.
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome Evan 'The Evanator' Manzo!
The fight is close. Father, trainer and biggest fan, Chris, urges Evan on.
CHRIS MANZO: Are you having fun? Go out there and have a good time!
The fight goes the distance, but after two three minute rounds, Evan is judged the winner on points.
CHRIS MANZO: I'm very proud of the way he fought. I'm just proud of him in general. He's a fighter, you know? So, I'm proud of anybody, his opponent or anybody, especially kids with the kind of courage to step in there because your average man can't do what these little kids do.
Nearly three hours of pankration showcases an incredible amount of technical skill, respect and sportsmanship, passionate and proud parents, and, yes, just a few tears. Then, late into the night, it's time for Regina and Durande to enter the cage.
ANNOUNCER: Regina Awana!
It doesn't take long for 'The Black Widow' to hit the canvas and snare her opponent. After a four hour journey, the fight lasts a mere 20 seconds.
ANNOUNCER: The winner by arm bar submission, 'The Black Widow', Regina Awana! How do you feel? That was awesome.
REGINA AWANA: I feel good.
ANNOUNCER: Mixed Martial Arts is a lot of fun, huh?
REGINA AWANA: Yeah.
ANNOUNCER: Will you go home and play with those dolls now?
REGINA AWANA: Yeah.
ANNOUNCER: Congratulations.
A tearful Durande is a reminder that whether stage or cage, performance at such a young age is demanding. Meanwhile, 'The Black Widow' is wrapped in a web of familiar praise, ready for bed and already dreaming of her next opponent.
RICKY AWANA: Daddy's girl!
ANJALI RAO: Thai Neave reporting. Now, as a mum and someone who's kick boxed for 12 years, I have to say there is absolutely no way I would let my kid do anything like that. Well, I would love to hear your views. Leave your comments on our website.
Reporter/Camera
THAI NEAVE
Producer
GARRY MCNAB
Editor
DAVID POTTS
Original Music Composed by
VICKI HANSEN
It's fight night in Parker, Arizona.
MAN: Take him!
In front of an electrified crowd, kids as young as six do battle in a cage. This is youth pankration, a pint-sized version of Mixed Martial Arts. Recently banned in California, this fast-growing sport is attracting plenty of controversy, but kids like Regina 'The Black Widow' Awana can't see what all the fuss is about.
ANNOUNCER: Out of the blue corner, jujitsu fighter, a National Pankration champion, loves to play with her dolls, please welcome 'The Black Widow', Regina Awana!
REGINA AWANA: You want 'The Black Widow'?
REPORTER: Yeah, absolutely.
In the week before the fight, I catch up with Regina at her home in Riverside, California.
REPORTER: And are you look forward to fighting on Friday night?
REGINA AWANA: Yeah.
REPORTER: Yeah? Are you gonna win?
REGINA AWANA: Maybe.
REPORTER: What do you think about, like, do you think about winning more or do you think about losing more?
REGINA AWANA: Um, winning more.
JULIA AWANA, MOTHER: Is it this one?
RICKY AWANA, FATHER: Yeah, that one.
Regina's father, Ricky, and mother, Julia, have seen their daughter quickly become a pankration pin-up. It all began two years ago, when Regina was bullied.
RICKY AWANA: We were at a party and she got slapped by a boy and I had to get her to do something to be able to defend herself. That's the best decision I made, to get her to do that.
Kids' MMA is fast and furious - kicks, punches and knees are all allowed, with the exception of strikes to the head. Fights are won by points or submission. 'The Black Widow's trademark move, the arm barks where an opponent's elbow is hyperextended until they submit, what's known as a tapping out.
JULIA AWANA: At first I wasn't really happy about it. I didn't agree with the decision. I wanted her to go to dance class, or something different. I didn't want her to be a tomboy.
REPORTER: What do you think of the nickname?
JULIA AWANA: 'The Black Widow'? She likes it. At first I was like, "Why 'The Black Widow'? Why not princess something?"
RICHARD ARREY, COACH: Let's go, guys. Remember - punch like you're fighting, kick like you're fighting, even though it's shadow boxing.
Richard Arrey is Regina's coach. He runs Riverside Submission, one of over 30,000 MMA schools now operating across the country.
RICHARD ARREY: She's so small, she comes out like a little girl. She's like, you know, she's that little girl. Like, "You're gonna beat that little girl." All of a sudden, boom, guys are going home puzzled because she just taps your boy out.
During summer break, Regina and her teammates will train nearly all day, every day. It's a tough regime covering pankration's many disciplines, including wrestling, jujitsu and kickboxing. Today she's honing her skills by practising one-handed.
BOY: Come on, Gina. Come on, Mario.
CHRIS MANZO: There's 30 seconds left, you're down by 10 points. There's no reason to quit on me. Don't quit on me. You can still finish the fight. It only takes a second. Keep going.
You're fighting for a belt. He's working hard right now. You need to work harder. Go!
Amongst the busy highways in nearby San Bernardino, former MMA fighter Chris Manzo is pushing his group of kids to their limits.
CHRIS MANZO: Go, go, go! Lift those knees up high. The last one to walk through the door does 50 push-ups.
Here, nobody's black, nobody's white. I tell them when you walk on the mat, you're not a boy, you're not a girl, you're not seven or 12, you're a fighter.
One of those fighters, his own son, seven-year-old Evan.
CHRIS MANZO: Choke him right now! There's nothing that I love more in this world than my son, period. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him. However, he chooses to wrestle. He chooses to be a fighter. I'm not gonna take that away from him. He can do it. Does that mean I don't love my son, because he's in there with the potential to get injured? No. I love my son more than anything and nothing will ever take that away.
It's gonna hurt! You gotta throw. If you don't like it, you better wrestle. Let's go.
The hardest thing that you could put somebody through, you have to put them through that in order for them to not quit when they're in there. Because they're not trying to hurt each other in there, these kids really aren’t. But they are trying to win.
REPORTER: They're not too young for that kind of attitude?
CHRIS MANZO: That's a good question. You know, sometimes I wonder. It's like I told one of the kids today - "I didn't go to your house and knock on your door and say, hey, come join my fight team." They came to me and said, "I want to do this."
Evan is sparring with 'The Black Widow's next opponent, seven-year-old Durande Johnson, who she will meet in a few days' time.
DURANDE JOHNSON: I have to get out of the Black Widows web man, I have to pass the web... Like, I'm like - I'm the bug, she's the spider. So, I have to get through the web without getting in the web.
CHRIS MANZO: Regina Awana, 'The Black Widow', is a cute little, petite girl that will rip your arm off and take it home with her. She beats up anybody that comes near her on the mat. But, again, when she's off the mat, she's playing with her dolls and joking around and playing like a little girl.
Back home, I find Regina rapping along to Eminem. She takes me on a tour of her bedroom to show me some of her paintings. Her dolls.
REPORTER: Very nice.
REGINA AWANA: This one's her mom. This one is Ariel.
All under the gaze of her favourite pop star.
REPORTER: I can't help but notice Justin Bieber over here. What do you like about him?
REGINA AWANA: His hair and...what he wears. And his songs.
REPORTER: Do you think, like, a lot of the boys, they think, like, you're small, you're cute, you wear pink, and then they take you lightly?
REGINA AWANA: Um, yeah. A little.
REPORTER: How does that make you feel?
REGINA AWANA: Mad.
REPORTER: That makes you feel mad? How come?
REGINA AWANA: Because I want everybody to go hard on me.
ANDY FOSTER: While there are probably many, many boys that she can beat, at some point, whether it be now or be later, she will run into a boy she can't beat.
Andy Foster is a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter turned staunch critic. As California Athletic Commissioner, he banned Youth Pankration tournaments in the state after seeing a YouTube video of a girl getting punched in the head.
ANDY FOSTER: I don't think children are mature enough to understand that perhaps these activities that they're doing could harm them for life. My solution for the parents, instead of living vicariously through their children, would be just to sign up and get in the ring themselves.
Over three million American kids under the age of 13 reportedly take part in some form of MMA, and that's largely down to the phenomenal success of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. UFC fighters, like Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman, have helped make MMA one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.
CHRIS WEIDMAN: It's huge. I'm up in Times Square right now. It's only gonna get bigger.
And Chris Weidman sees no problem with kids trying to emulate their idols in the cage.
CHRIS WEIDMAN: As long as they have it safe. It's all about safety. I don't think they should be getting pounded in the head every second. But other than that, I think it's good, yeah.
REPORTER: Do you see kids coming in with injuries from Mixed Martial Arts?
HEATHER GILLESPIE, PAEDIATRIC SPORT: I do. The injuries we see from that tend to be more hand, upper extremity injuries, either sprains or, you know, from falls or pulls.
Paediatric sports doctor Heather Gillespie from the University of California says she sees far more injuries from sports like football or skateboarding, but she's concerned with the fundamental concept of pankration.
HEATHER GILLESPIE: The intent is to kick someone down in various ways and there is a skill to that. But I think as opposed to other sports, where the intent is to score a goal, you know, the intent is not to hurt someone else. At some level, our rule as physicians, parents, legislators is to protect our kids from the decisions that they're not old enough to make.
REGINA AWANA: I believe I can fly!
Ricky believes the risks are being blown out of proportion and the sport is a chance for his daughter to have a better future.
RICKY AWANA: Something good is gonna happen to her. It already is, you know. At such a young age on what I make I can’t get her into college.
On a low income, the family struggles to pay entry fees and travel costs for their daughter's competitions. The ban on the sport in California means they have to travel interstate for every one of her fights.
BARBER: Kind of keep me on my toes a little bit.
REPORTER: Strangers see you and they're like, "That guy's pretty tough. Got a spider."
RICKY AWANA: Either that, or they think I'm crazy, because they don't know I'm doing it for!
Haircuts complete, it's time to finally hit the road. I'm about to cross the border from California, heading to a place called Parker, Arizona. From Riverside it's about a four hour journey. It certainly is a long way to go so your kids can compete. In this sport, win or lose, it could be over in a matter of seconds.
At the Bluewater Casino, the young fighters go through their pre-fight ritual.
ANNOUNCER: 49.8 for Manzo. How about a big hand for these two?
There are promotional-style stare-downs, doctors' health checks and a stern safety warning from the United States Fight League President, John Frank.
JOHN FRANK: Anything that you would not do in a hard, hard practice, you don't do in here, because you're not gonna hurt your opponent. That's not what pankration is. So, you don't win by beating up your opponents. You don't give anybody beat-downs. You can't win by knock-out, you can't win that way. The way up win is by scoring points.
Then, as the sun sets in 51-degree Arizona heat outside, it's finally fight time. Dressed as a ninja, Evan enters the cage.
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome Evan 'The Evanator' Manzo!
The fight is close. Father, trainer and biggest fan, Chris, urges Evan on.
CHRIS MANZO: Are you having fun? Go out there and have a good time!
The fight goes the distance, but after two three minute rounds, Evan is judged the winner on points.
CHRIS MANZO: I'm very proud of the way he fought. I'm just proud of him in general. He's a fighter, you know? So, I'm proud of anybody, his opponent or anybody, especially kids with the kind of courage to step in there because your average man can't do what these little kids do.
Nearly three hours of pankration showcases an incredible amount of technical skill, respect and sportsmanship, passionate and proud parents, and, yes, just a few tears. Then, late into the night, it's time for Regina and Durande to enter the cage.
ANNOUNCER: Regina Awana!
It doesn't take long for 'The Black Widow' to hit the canvas and snare her opponent. After a four hour journey, the fight lasts a mere 20 seconds.
ANNOUNCER: The winner by arm bar submission, 'The Black Widow', Regina Awana! How do you feel? That was awesome.
REGINA AWANA: I feel good.
ANNOUNCER: Mixed Martial Arts is a lot of fun, huh?
REGINA AWANA: Yeah.
ANNOUNCER: Will you go home and play with those dolls now?
REGINA AWANA: Yeah.
ANNOUNCER: Congratulations.
A tearful Durande is a reminder that whether stage or cage, performance at such a young age is demanding. Meanwhile, 'The Black Widow' is wrapped in a web of familiar praise, ready for bed and already dreaming of her next opponent.
RICKY AWANA: Daddy's girl!
ANJALI RAO: Thai Neave reporting. Now, as a mum and someone who's kick boxed for 12 years, I have to say there is absolutely no way I would let my kid do anything like that. Well, I would love to hear your views. Leave your comments on our website.
Reporter/Camera
THAI NEAVE
Producer
GARRY MCNAB
Editor
DAVID POTTS
Original Music Composed by
VICKI HANSEN