Headhunter
Senior Master
If they continue doing rubbish like this they won't be able to because they'll be in wheelchairs
Backyard fight between teenagers-mixed feelings
- Thread starter Monkey Turned Wolf
- Start date
Midnight-shadow
3rd Black Belt
As my Dad used to say, "it's all good fun until someone gets hurt"
OP
OP
It's all fun and games until someone breaks a bone...then it's hilarious! Was the one me and my friends used to say.
JR 137
Grandmaster
It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Then it's hilarious.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
I would never have pegged you as a helicopter parent. Can't wrap kids in bubble wrap and expect them to be resilient and self reliant.
Headhunter
Senior Master
No I'm not I'm also not a stupid parent either
Steve
Mostly Harmless
Parenting is a sort of pass/fail thing. But we are seeing the problems with overprotection now, as we have a generation of kids who are entitled and afraid of risk or failure. Fortunately the gen z kids are righting the ship. They're a bunch of risk takers, and good on them.
Headhunter
Senior Master
Call me old fashioned but I think it's stupid kids beating each other up in an uncontrolled environment causing serious risk of being paralysed or brain damaged. If kids want to train in gyms and spar hard there and then compete in fights then fine but this kind of thing is simply dumb
Midnight-shadow
3rd Black Belt
There is a big difference between taking risks and doing something stupid for no reason. Fighting as they were with minimal training and gear and nobody to oversee the fight is stupid. Yes there is always a risk of injury when sparring but the key is to a) understand those risks, and b) minimise them as much as possible. These kids clearly have done neither of those here.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
That's actually new fashioned. Old fashioned is understanding that kids aren't like delicate China.
TSDTexan
Master of Arts
If bull sharks, and great whites don't get you the saltwater crocs will.
TSDTexan
Master of Arts
No but you can put lots of cardboard flats in layers on the ground, if you are too cheap or broke to buy mats. And wear mouthpieces, and sparing head gear.
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Steve
Mostly Harmless
I agree and yet I don't have a problem with kids doing mildly stupid things. Some people are risk averse and thats fine. What they did wasn't completely safe. It also wasnt all that smart. But theyre not straling cars, shooting heroin or running with gangs. There are things that they could get into thst are actually dangerous.
TSDTexan
Master of Arts
No Ref on duty! Brawl at your own risk!
Headhunter
Senior Master
Yeah and like I said I have no problems with them fighting properly but acting like idiots in a garden with minimal protection no referee or anyone to break it up, no first aid is just plain dumb...there's enough dangers in proper legitimate competitive fights let alone a couple of untrained guys and their idiot mates filming it.
Headhunter
Senior Master
Fighting is dangerous. Boxing in a ring with a ref, doctors, rules, commissioners is dangerous fighting in a back garden with no insurance, no rules, no medical help and minimal protection is just stupid
TSDTexan
Master of Arts
Testasterone!!!@
Steve
Mostly Harmless
Absolutely.
Let me try to clarify my opinion here. I agree with you guys that this is pretty dumb. I just don't happen to believe that it's any dumber than any other thing that kids can get into. I also think kids should be expected and encouraged to take some risk in life. Our job as parents isn't to protect them from everything that can cause them harm or prevent them from making mistakes. Our job is to do our best to ensure that the mistakes are ones they can overcome and help them become better people, not worse.
In this case, I don't see a ton of risk here. There is some risk, and TSDTexan makes some easy, smart suggestions. But overall, kids are resilient, and this isn't any more dangerous than anything else.
Way I see it, as long as they're not taking it too far, I have no real problem with it. And from that video, it didn't cross that threshold for me.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
Smart kids do a lot of dumb things. And I think when we are overprotective and keep kids from doing every dumb thing that's out there, they become adults who are afraid to do anything dumb, ending up fearful, overly conservative and risk averse.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
You remind me of all the times we went swimming in places where there wasn't a life guard. Or explored in the woods without a map or a compass. Or in Louisiana, swam in a lake with the water moccasins and snapping turtles. The world is a dangerous place. Protecting kids from all risk doesn't teach them to live in a dangerous world. It isn't fair to kids to do that. They enter the world woefully unprepared for adversity or failure, and as a result have not learned to be resilient or resourceful.
To reiterate, I think instead of trying to protect kids from all stupid risk, the real goal is to keep them from doing stupid things from which they will not be able to recover. The areas where we should have zero tolerance are in matters of integrity. Stupidity is not just negotiable, it should be expected and in some cases encouraged.
