Fight Fight Fight!

[boldie]

Quite easy for me really, my sons are now 20(tomorrow) 23 and 26, I have the experience. I also taught self defence/arrest and restraint as a PTI during my time.

You wouldn't think it looking at me  - lol

Geo

yeah

[ ]You don't look like you can handle yourself at all.

[George2Loose]

Proud?  He lost.

BTW- results orientated imo

[kinboshi]

Proud?  He lost.

BTW- results orientated imo

LOL!  It was just variance.  He needs more fights for a larger sample size.

[Geo the Sarge]

Proud?  He lost.

BTW- results orientated imo

LOL!  It was just variance.  He needs more fights for a larger sample size.

My bad, I giggled

Geo

[kinboshi]

Geo's right though.  Some sort of martial art is a great idea.  It'll give them confidence and help them to avoid trouble as well as helping them to look after themselves.

Either that, or practice makes perfect.

[mondatoo]

Surely at 4 years old he's a bit young to need to go to martial arts class' or out like that,imo i wouldn't be giving him the life story on how he needs to be able to look after himself at just 4yo keep his "innocence" as long as possible i say

[cambo]

Teach him to head butt. He wont lose next time.

yes glasgow kiss ftw

[kinboshi]

Surely at 4 years old he's a bit young to need to go to martial arts class' or out like that,imo i wouldn't be giving him the life story on how he needs to be able to look after himself at just 4yo keep his "innocence" as long as possible i say

4 years old is the ideal age to start.  It's not about being able to defend yourself at that age, it's about fun and doing something you enjoy.

[phatomch]

i started judo at 5 and quit at 14, I wish I had kept it up but before it seemed cooler to go out with my mates I loved Judo and you learn much cooler stuff then Karate for kids.

[GreekStein]

maybe it's just because I'm a woman, but no, being proud doesn't seem right.  I'd be devastated if I ruined my nail varnish

Fair play Neil, each to their own.

Many congrats George. Starting at 4 he'll be awesome before he hits his teens. Just teach him fight selection.

'If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten'.

[DaveShoelace]

If you ever want a good read, then get Jackie Chans biography. In it there is a story where, at the age of 7, a group of older boys in his neighbourhood were dishonouring the family name. Chan's father told him he had to go out and fight them, to restore the honour of the family name, he went out and they beat the shit out of him.

So his dad told him to go out and do it again the next day, he did and they beat the shit out of him again.

This continued for weeks until he finally beat them in a fight, he returned to his father who congratulated him on honouring the family name.

At which point his father stuck him in a dustbin and made him sleep in it in the street overnight, as a punishment for fighting.

Top book.

[technolog]

Thinly veiled 'Jackie Chan's Dad is a mentalist' post imo.

[EvilPie]

Get him to wax your car, paint your fence and then sand your floors.

He'll be ready for anything next time.

[action man]

can't remember my first fight at school, but it was probably, 5-6 years old. I was pretty good at fighting when i was 12-18. My tollerance level was low, if someone said something to me i didnt like i would just hit them. Got me into a lot of trouble and i became a douche without knowing. Been in two fights since then. One in my home town when a guy was harrassing me for an hour before, it got violent and one in manchester where i luckily recieved a bind over (??) where i have to keep the peace or face a heft fine and a record. Nowadays, fighting for me is a last resort im much more stable and at peace.
I guess what i am saying is, if he's not a good fighter he wont get into trouble, however might not be able to defend him self properly come 13 or so years old.

[EvilPie]

Well I've done shed loads of kick boxing and brazilian ju jitsu so class myself as being more than capable of looking after myself. I'm also 6' 4" and was until recently built like a brick shithouse.

Would that make me a target for thugs or would they steer clear? I don't know tbh.

Fortunately however I've found that by being a nice bloke and having the ability to talk my way out of situations I've been involved in the sum total of 3 (uncontrolled) fights in my 34 year long life.

People skills are far more important than fighting skills and will stop almost any situation before it develops. That's what you need to teach your lad imo.

It's all about being able to diffuse a situation before it turns nasty. Avoid eye contact with people who look like they want to fight. Maintain a calming but confident composure when forced in to talking to a potential assailant.

You can't afford to look weak and feeble, the thugs will pounce on that because they are bullies. Avoid the fight but make sure that inside they know that if they'd started on you they would've been in a world of hurt.

Scrapping should be the last resort. There's no harm at 4 years old because nobody really gets hurt but you could use this as a stepping stone to teach him a few life lessons.

Judo and ju jitsu are far better classes to take if you ever consider anything for him. Karate is all well and good but you need a bit more rough and tumble. It teaches you to take a few hard knocks and be able to get back to your feet. The ability to be able to get to your feet is the most important aspect of any survival situation. If you can get to your feet there's always the option to run!!