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I’m not a parent.
At the age of 17 I began to train in karate, eventually got a black belt and then got involved in boxing. The fighting arts or sports or whatever you want to call it are a large part of my life.
Since I started training 33 years ago I haven’t got in a street fight, despite jobs in bars, pro boxing and rehabs.
Still, I feel good knowing I’d be better off with the training and I believe it does something for your spirit. There are clichés like, “The best way to insure peace is to be prepared for war…” but I don’t know if that explains it.
Not everyone shares my view. Some don’t want their children any where around fighting.
Others want their kids able to protect themselves. And what about how the children feel about things like fear and bullying.
I’m curious–how do you feel?
For a fun video showing boxers fighting karate guys click here.
Tom Schreck 
Hi, Tom. I have no formal fight training, but I appreciate that training teaches discipline. Kids who learn self-control are more likely to stay out of fights than kids who don’t. A few months ago, I became interested in Verbal Judo, as espoused by the late English professor-turned-cop George “Rhino” Thompson. In short, Verbal Judo teaches you to maintain a professional face, to deflect verbal abuse with language that defuses conflict and elicits cooperation from others. I’ve found Thompson’s strategies more effective than just instinctively speaking my mind.
Would love to hear more about that–wannna do guest blog here someday?
Thanks for the invite. I’d be glad to blog about whatever you like, but I don’t consider myself a Verbal Judo expert yet. Here’s a link to a lecture Thompson gave to Columbia business students:
Yes, all the way.
However, it took me ages to learn that learning to fight, being a 250lb behemoth who can lift twice his own weight, does not solve the internal issue of fear, or anger at bullying.
Learning to fight must come with the lesson from The Gambler… knowing when to hold and when to fold. You don’t want to raise a bully, or get your kid killed by teaching him to be a white knight.
I think any sort of fight training offers the opportunity for these lessons.
I also highly recommend reading Marc MacYoung – http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com – for the psychology of anger, fear, and how to overcome it. He also writes excellent books on the roots of street violence, how to avoid it, how to end it quickly, which are great resources for both writers and humans.
Love the Gambler advice..always on target!