Matador Rafita Mirabal: Too Young to Risk Death?

June 3, 2010— -- He entered the ring for his moment of truth -- prancing, posing, even walking like a grown man. But appearances can be deceiving.

Rafita Mirabal may have looked like a toreador, but he was, in fact, a little boy in a bullfighter's costume. Only it wasn't Halloween. He faced a real bull with real horns.

When asked if he was scared of bulls, then-11-year-old Rafita quickly answered, "Well, maybe a normal kid, but not me!"

Rafita isn't the only little boy facing danger in the bull ring: Jairo Miguel of Caceres, Spain has been fighting since he was eight; Michelito Lagravere of Merida, Mexico has tempted the fates since he first faced 500 pounds of fury at the age of six.

But are these little bull fighters too young to be risking death in this extreme sport that they love? Not if you ask Rafita, who said he doesn't think about danger in the ring.

"For bullfighting there is no age," Rafita, now 14, told "20/20." "The only thing that counts is the decision to be there in front of the bull and enjoy being there. That gives me satisfaction!"

For Rafita, who lives south of the border in the small town of Aguascalientes, Mexico, it's not the danger, but the cheers from the crowd that give him the courage way beyond his years.

In Mexico City, Rafita performs at the biggest bullfighting ring in the world. He does well and though he's not strong enough yet to actually kill the bull, the crowd is not disappointed.

"These are experiences that can never be compared to anything else," Rafita said, "to be carried out on people's shoulders, hearing the people shout, 'Torero, torero.'"

Rafita's parents -- who first dressed him in a bullfighting suit when he was only three years old, sent him to a special toreador school, and then arranged for a private coach to practice with him -- are well aware of the risks. In fact, they agonize over them. His father, who nervously stands watch at the edge of the ring during each contest, worries that if something terrible happens he will be blamed.

"Many times I have asked God if I am making a mistake," said Rafita's father, Rafael Mirabal. "Should I cut off Rafa's career right there and say, 'That's it, it's over?' I've lost sleep over it and the one who is responsible in this case would be me."

Rafita Knocked Down by 500-Pound Bull

Rafita is in serious training to turn professional. He is still among the youngest bullfighters in the world, and arguably the best for his age. But despite his skills and the quickness of youth, he has often been hurt.

Rafita hit one the lowest points of his career nearly four years ago in Texcoco. Then just 10, he was knocked unconscious when a bull hit him in the face during a pass. He was sent out of the ring in an ambulance.

Rafita tried to downplay the injury when asked what it feels like to be hit by a bull six times his size.

"It feels like I made a mistake, like I messed up," he said.

When "20/20" first visited Rafita in October 2007, he was charged again by a 500-pound bull. He was knocked off his feet, and although he tried bravely to challenge the bull again, he was pummeled to the ground for a second time. Rafita's eye was cut and with tears in them he looked every bit the 11-year-old boy he was.

"Yes, I know about the blows, about the risks and that one day a bull could gore me to death," said Rafita, who wouldn't let it stop him from doing what he loves.

Should Parents Encourage Kids to Pursue a Dangerous Dream?

Suffering only minor injuries so far in his career, Rafita has been luckier than other kid bullfighters. Michelito Lagravere was once seriously injured when he was repeatedly stomped and thrown about the ring by an out-of-control bull, and Jairo Miguel nearly died when he was gored over and over again in front of thousands of fans.

So, should parents intervene before their kid matadors are seriously injured, or even killed? The elder Mirabal recognizes his son's happiness and determination and has decided all of the anguish is worth it.

"When he has a good bullfight and I see him smiling in front of the bull, I think he is really enjoying life," he said. "I suffer at night, think of the possibility [of something bad happening], but while he keeps demonstrating that he wants to do this ... not just facing the bull, but his studies, his commitments ... I will continue to support him."

But Columbia University's Dr. Elisabeth Guthrie, a pediatrician and psychiatrist, said there are actual physiological reasons for parental caution. Recent studies show that the brain does not fully develop until a child is past the teens, and one of the last parts to develop is the frontal lobe where judgment is formed.

"I think parents have to be their kids' frontal lobes for the first 10 or 15 years of their lives," Guthrie said. "And that's really our task."

How young is too young for a child to face the extreme dangers of fighting in a bull ring? For the parents of a child with a special skill like Rafita, it may be the toughest question of all, and a risk that can end in huge personal rewards or cost a family its most precious gift.

"I don't feel like a bad parent, nor a very good parent," his father said. "I've tried to find the best in me and give it to him. [And] ... I think it would do him a lot of damage to just stop him from doing this."