Yukon high school and self defense

[Cedar Creek]

My kids got in trouble at school a few times for the usual stuff, but I had to take my son to the police station once for threatening to kill another student that he had already roughed up pretty well when he and a friend got into it after school with the boy and his brother. My guy lost it when the brothers were driving away and one yelled out the car window at my son and his buddy, calling them "wagon burners" because they are both Indian. My son would have thought it was funny when they said that, but his big, strong best buddy got so upset that he cried. He was totally out of control over his friend's hurt feelings. The police were nice (small town) and understood the situation - no more problems and the brothers moved soon afterward. My son grew up to be a good man and a good father, but he did have a short fuse back in the day.

The school administration knew all the kids & parents involved and took no action.

Cedar Creek

 

[Sanford]

Just saw this quote from a single mom I know:

"It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless."

If this is truly her philosophy (and I don't doubt that it is based on other conversations) I feel that while it's a noble thought she's seriously misguided as far as preparing her son to deal with the realities of life. Frankly, I hope I managed to raise mine with a bit of both.

 

[n8thegr8]

....

I did TKD growing up, but I was also homeschooled until Jr. High, so the only fights I had outside the studio were with my brother. Luckily I never had to use it, not sure why no one ever tried to mess with me. I agree that at a young age, TKD isn't very useful. The most useful things learned at a young age are more mental than physical, however learning proper technique can help keep you from hurting yourself (falling and punching wrong can cause more damage to yourself than your opponent).

We were lucky, we had a good studio with realistic instructors. It wasn't a traditional TKD studio, because when we progressed enough, we started learning grappling and judo techniques. Realistically, on the playground or in real life, you almost never face a trained opponent, and brawlers almost always try to take it to the ground. You never want to go to the ground, but it's not always avoidable, so it's good to know what you're doing if (when) it goes there. We also trained with weapons and disarms.

My advice for anyone looking is to get them started out in something like TKD or Karate when they're really young. Try to find a studio that spars and draws from other disciplines, and not a "black belt factory". If you see any black belts under the age of 18, walk out. Then, as they get older, get them into MMA.

I can't recommend any studios since I grew up out of state, and haven't gotten back into it since I've been here. I'm looking into finding a studio that does krav maga/combatives type stuff when my finances open up a bit. I'll be looking for a good TKD studio in about 4 years when my son gets old enough.

 

[cichlid-dave]

Del city aka mid del schools has the same rule.