Don't know as I haven't discussed it with his mom. Given that I haven't said his name, his mom's and while my "real identity" can easily be figured out I doubt even the most dedicated CF sleuth could figure out who some largely random person is in Minnesota I don't think that will be much of an issue.
Yes that is concern. What I'm more concerned about is possibly getting him injured given the differences in size and strength. I don't think adults will deliberately injure him but this is a rough contact sport and even with the best intentions accidents still happen. What we've decided is that he will come and observe both a kids and an adult class next week and see what he and his mom think. I've also been doing informal classes in my backyard and will start them again when it warms up so might do that instead.
The problem with physical contact is a very big concern of mine. If he can't handle physical contact there's not much I can do as Judo requires a lot of close physical contact.
Exactly. That would definitely be a concern. But if it is an issue, he'll find out quickly and then either find a way to deal or have to quit.
Does foil. Which is what most people enter on. He's tried epee and sabre but wasn't too keen on them. Sabre is crazy. The ref says fight, they swing at each other, and then someone has scored but, for the life of you, you don't know who or understand why.
Yes, I remember Sabre. It is totally insane. I do feel like being good at foil would help you for self defense if you had a stick. It seems that wild and nuts. I always preferred foil myself. Epee was cool but at a certain point the easiest way to score wasn't as much fun as trying to score in foil competitions. I always like hearing about people getting into fencing. One of my favorite things to watch in the olympics.
Kids reach puberty at different ages. Some as young as 9 and some as late as 17. My next door neighbors son didn't start puberty until 16 years old and didn't really start growing until 18. He was a little bit over 5 feet tall his junior year in high school, and I saw him recently after graduation and he's a little over 6 feet tall. My neighbor who is closer to average height said he was the same way so he wasn't worried about his son's height.
Yes. that is true but sometimes seeing the differences can be surprising just how different two 14 year olds can be.
Man this title. Maybe it's me or just knowing where this place can go. Let's just say my mind went elsewhere.
There are bad apples and I've had a few students who weren't really good people. In some cases some of the best competitors weren't good people. With training young people though I see it as my duty not just to make them good Judoka but to help them develop into good people. For this kid though I have a soft spot for awkward kids getting bullied. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to help him or even teach him but would like to at least give him the opportunity.
King Cheetah made that pretty obvious. My bad for not coming up with a better title. At this point though I'm not going to change it. People can think what they want.
I honestly thought this was intended as a Carl Herrera style thread title, though now I'm a bit concerned that's where my mind immediately went.
No one is thinking anything -- it's a funny/ awkward thread title in the hangout and when that happens we make jokes. It is our code of honor
Why would someone care that an anonymous 14 year old potential martial arts student is being discussed anywhere? No one here knows who the kid or the mother are or anything about them other than the topic of the thread. No names are being discussed. No identifying information is being presented.
Judo, autism, teenage boys, wrestling, eye contact, anime, martial arts, Easter egg hunts. What’s this thread about again? Oooo weeee Wolves being back in the playoffs got @rocketsjudoka feelin some type of ways.
