Is it ok to teach kids to fight?

[gumby]

I saw a compilation video of women being assaulted/robbed but knew martial arts and basically hand their a**es back to them. It was amazing and inspiring to want to get back into martial arts. If I ever had kids I'd put them in some class to use as a form of protection and help train their confidence.

[ElementalCards]

Don't teach them to fight just to hurt others without reason. To defend yourself is another story.

[thisisatrial]

As long as they know not to just go pick fights, teaching any skill is fine.

[Pacific85]

No even if you teach them martial arts.

Edited March 18, 2017 by Pacific85

[Grundy]

I think if the environment that child is raised in is good ( if the parents know how to raise him ) it lowers the possibility of him becoming a violent person .

 

[ezikialrage]

Kids should be taught how to defend themselves. Bullies generally don't like it when their prey can fight back.

[pinkmattered]

I think "fight" and "defend yourself" are very different things, teaching a kid to fight implies you want to teach them to be aggressive and instigate confrontations, whereas teaching them how to defend themselves can provide a multitude of lessons on discipline and when it's better to just walk away from an instigator

[(Kirito)]

Self defense is a good thing that children should be taught but they should also be nurtured by their parents/guardians, not to abuse their power at any cost.

[King23]

I think it doesn’t hurt to teach children self defense, especially when a lot of martial arts – such as karate, Brazilian jiu jitsu, judo – have competitve aspects. It can help with discipline, and also be used as a way of keeping fit.

[WIRLYWIRLYPOOL]

I took martial arts growing-up. I don't actively practice it today, but I can still recall just about everything I learned. Even though I'm glad I took it, I don't expect to ever be in a situation to use it. However, I rather be ready and never need it, than need it and never have known it. I'm sure that in the moment, the years I spent learning that skill will make all the difference. Being taught that as a young child makes no difference.

[huskyhunter24]

Its totally fine i would like to teach my kid too if i ever have one.Ill make sure he doesn't use his skills to bully others.And i am glad that i am not the only one here.

[Green Dragoon]

Only if you enroll your kids to the karate or kung fu school. I saw them when I was heading to the store in a plaza. A sensei teaching around 10 kids learning the ways of stance and movements.

[Zemekis]

I'd say that knowing how to fight is almost never a detriment. As long as your kid can control their anger and isn't known for being uncontrollably violent...what's the problem?

[Dave55811]

Self-defense is something that, throughout my life, I've noticed people frown upon....though, to be honest, what's mostly frowned upon is self-defense via firearms.  As for self-defense via physical means (fighting), one thing I've noticed is that people don't care who started it; they only care about seeing who throws the punch.

 

In my opinion, it's okay to teach kids to fight.  The catch is making sure that they don't use their fighting for bad purposes.  Martial arts teachers often tell their students that they must only use their techniques for self-defense; that makes sense.  If someone learns martial arts just so they can harass other people, that's not okay.

 

My view of violence is strange, and could be seen as defeatist by most people.  I paraphrase Big Boss, from Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake; "Whoever wins, the battle does not end.  The loser is freed from the battlefield, the winner must remain there, and the survivor must live his life as the warrior until he dies."  Although his quote here is used in the context of war, I think that it can also be applied to fighting, in the sense that it can be an endless road.  If you get into fights and you keep defeating your opponents, people are going to keep coming after you, because they see you as the strongest and they want to take your spot.  Or, people will be coming after you because they want revenge.

However, my perspective of violence is mostly ideal, and it isn't wise to wear the ideological lenses all your life, because we don't live in a perfect world.  Reality triumphs over ideology, and this is certainly the case for circumstances involving self-defense.  As such, there come times when you must do what's necessary to survive.....or, at least, if you care about your teeth, eyes, and ribs being in order.

 

So, basically....yeah.  Actually, I should've used the term "CQC" or "CQB", instead of "fighting", because I see some people questioning whether or not the term "fighting" is appropriate.  CQC (close-quarters combat) could refer to martial arts, too, even if it's still a broad term.  My point is that teaching kids self-defense can be a good thing.

[Koby]

Just now, Dave55811 said:

Self-defense is something that, throughout my life, I've noticed people frown upon....though, to be honest, what's mostly frowned upon is self-defense via firearms.  As for self-defense via physical means (fighting), one thing I've noticed is that people don't care who started it; they only care about seeing who throws the punch.

I conceal carry a CZ 75 Compact 9mm because with my daughter with me, I want to ensure I can protect her if worst comes to worst. I think it's always a good idea though to get some close combat quarters training and to keep alert to your surroundings. The gun should never be your first resort, but if the situation calls for it, it's nice for it to be an option imo. The alternative is to be at the mercy of the attacker and to me waiting and hoping someone else comes to my rescue isn't really a good idea. As the saying goes, when seconds matter police are only a few minutes away. You've gotta be able to defend yourself because you're the one that is there and by the time someone else shows up, it's usually over.

 

Just now, Dave55811 said:

I think that it can also be applied to fighting, in the sense that it can be an endless road.  If you get into fights and you keep defeating your opponents, people are going to keep coming after you, because they see you as the strongest and they want to take your spot.  Or, people will be coming after you because they want revenge.

This was my experience in middle school. I was the 6ft 3in 200lbs guy so every other boy thought fighting me would prove something about themselves and have a go at me. I'd whoop them and then their buddy would want to go. Got to the point I was tired of fighting people and it always seemed to happen in the bathroom where teachers wouldn't see it, so I just learned to hold it until after school and not enter the boys bathrooms at school. This worked through high school. Avoiding the bathrooms made it to where I didn't get into even a single fight in highschool.

[Zemekis]

On 1/22/2024 at 4:38 PM, Koby said:

CZ 75 Compact 9mm

Oh, cool. I've been thinking about getting one. I like the CZ 82.