Anyone know about the martial arts?

by pennycandy 33 Replies latest jw friends

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  pennycandy

  CYP--His step-dad is all for it, and I think has a balanced attitute about violence and self-defence. My son sees his dad twice a month, and doesn't hear from him aside from his visits. His dad is still a JW and probably isn't going to react well to the classes when he finds out.

  I like the idea that he'll have this skill to draw upon all his life. I hope he'll never have to use it, but maybe he'll live with less fear if he knows he can hold his own. Maybe I'LL live with less fear of my sweet baby being pummeled by a mean ol' bully.

  The situation is this. My son is kind of a loner, sweet but insecure. Impulsive and a little emotionally immature. Skinny as a stick. And . . . how shall I say this . . . hasn't come into his masculinity yet (not that there's anything wrong with that). He doesn't get beat up, but he gets thumped on the head, bumped into, and verbally picked on. Nothing serious at this point. Just a few trouble makers on the bus. I wonder if I've taught him to be a little too passive, but at the same time I worry that he wouldn't be able to use good judgement if he ever did defend himself.

  I guess what I'm looking for is something fun, that he can be proud of, a skill/hobby that teaches him how to avoid fights, but what to do if you can't avoid it. I also love the idea of teaching respect, self-control, and discipline. I'd like him to start this summer, so maybe in 1 1/2 years, he can enter junior high as a normal confident kid and not as a target.

  You guys are a great help, especially defining the specific styles. I'll have to look up each one. Of course, being in a small town, there may not be much variety to choose from.
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  pennycandy

  Don't worry Six, he has some tofu in his sandwich today.
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  Check_Your_Premises

  Penny,

  Ok, it sounds like the situation isn't to bad. He isn't getting pummeled or anything. Don't worry Mom, EVERYONE gets picked on some. It is good for him, so he knows what it feels like if he thinks about doing it to someone else.

  If you are just looking for fun, practical, and effective I would recommend judo or wrestling. The good thing about wrestling is it is free, and every school should have a program. It is a great sport for a kid who doesn't have a lot of size or strength because he will be matched up with other kids who are the same weight. Judo clubs are hard to come by sometimes, and can be pricey. During summer there are all sorts of wrestling camps available.

  The other nice thing about judo and wrestling is it allows you to handle someone as nicely as the situation calls for. If you don't need to cream a guy, you can wrap him up. If you need to really thump somone you can throw him on his head. He will still need to know how to hit someone if he has to. Step-dad can teach how to do that I am sure.

  If he whines when you tell him to go out for wrestling, pin him down and give him a nuggie. Keep doing this until he gets mad enough to do something about it.

  Step-Dad is around so he has someone to rough-house with. That is important.
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  Check_Your_Premises

  if you can't get him into wrestling or judo right away, there are some good books I could recomend that you could get. Him and Step-Dad could go through some of the wrestling stuff together to get him ready for next season.
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  ColdRedRain

  "I would recommend Judo or preferably jiu-jitsu. Encourage him to take wrestling in school.

  These arts emphasize grappling/wrestling. This is important because most fights end up on the ground after two seconds, at which point all the garbage he learned in a karate/tae kwon do dojo will be worthless. "

  As much as I hate to agree with him, he's right. That's why my TKD instructor told me to take up kempo when I get to redbelt level. Kempo is more of a grappling martial art which teaches submission holds.
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  Check_Your_Premises

  Here is a really good wrestling book

  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0873224825/qid=1116006157/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-0384520-1071848?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

  Get this, and have your boy and step dad take a look at it, and then spend the summer out in the yard beating the crap out of eachother.

  (Be glad you aren't a guy)

  It will be the funnest summer of his life. And it will help step dad and son build a good relationship. You'll be needing that when he is in high school.

  Call his school to see if they have a wrestling program, or any wrestling camps available.

  Next year when wrestling season comes sign him up.
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  Stromboli

  Hi,

  I've done Ju-Jitsu for years and I can tell you that it's the best I've seen in terms of all rounded fighting skills. I would not reccomend Karate as they take positions that I don't like and can be harmfull for the body. But I would say that if you have a place in your town where they teach Ju-jitsu and Kick-Boxing it would be perfect.

  Do not let him do anything but semi-contact as it's not harmfull but will teach him spead and control. One thing will not do the job a combination of things it's much better.

  Many Gyms have few of the above. Remember that to learn how to defend yourself you need to test it with a fight so as you are sending him to martial arts it's better if he has fun in the ring rather then outside and kick-boxing (semi-contact) can do the trick.

  Also in kick boxing the protetion for feet and gloves are much softer compared to karate wich adds safety to it.

  Kick-boxing alone is not good as it does not teach discipline as much as ju-jitsu.

  In ju-jitsu you can do demonstrations (KATA) with music and sounds that can be very nice and add a nice team fealing to it with rehersal and stuff.

  It all depends on the gym so check them out well.
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  Elsewhere

  My favorite form of martial arts is Aikido. It has its origins in Japan and means: Way of the Spirit of Harmony
  

  The theory behind it is that you make your actions harmonize with the actions of your opponent , instead of resisting your opponent. It is purely defensive in nature and has absolutely no offensive techniques. If you were to put two Aikido Black Belts in a fighting ring, nothing would happen. When there is a tournament, the Aikido contestants must have opponents that use another martial art in an offensive manner before anything will happen.

  The techniques used are primarily rotational motions and pins and actions to set your opponent off balance. Watching a master is like watching someone dance using very smooth and fluid actions. I took a few classes and I was amazed at how many of the techniques used cause you to end up behind your opponent so quickly that they have no way of harming you, and once you are behind them they are completely vulnerable to being pinned or set off balance so that they end up flying across the room. The force for sending them to the floor or across the room comes from the opponent's own momentum resulting from their trying to attack you.

  With all martial arts, it is critical that you find a sensei who teaches respect and peace. If you find that your son's sensei is a hot-head who loves violence, it is time to find another.
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  Check_Your_Premises

  Well Penny, it looks like you got some good ideas.

  Let us know what you do and come back in awhile and tell us how things worked out.

  CYP
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  pennycandy

  I will. I hope to get him started in a few weeks.

  You guys are great.