My kid has some talent, I taught him to box when he was 3, he's 20 and want's to go MMA.......?

Question

and I have mixed feelings. I have been involved in boxing and martial arts for the past 40 years, and I have seen just about everything there is to see. The kid has some talent, but there are easier ways to make a living and I'm not in too big of a hurry to see him take the punishment I know he is going to take. He KOed his Mu Tai instructor the other day with his knees after taking a rabbit punch, now he asked me about going pro. As a parent, I really don't want to see my son take head shots, but as a boxer myself I'm kinda of in a bind here. Any advice for the kid, I have mixed feelings.

Answer 1

I too have a similar  situation, I have two young sons 19 years old and 14, both have accomplished some interesting feats for their age, amateur boxing is a great sport individualized so that people recognize when a young man gives his best  in and out of the ring. My 19 year old was invited to the Olympic trials over the summer, but with conflict with one of the area gyms, we had no place to seriously train therefore leaving an opportunity of a life time left in question.

So I tie that into this by saying if your son wants to venture that, and it is entirely his own mission, 100% be his strength and his mentor to be part of a sport that takes more heart than a boxer. It truly is a more violent sport, but a sport that can gain publicity over night. You notice that most of those guys are all of the same family (collie flower ears) just kidding.

20 is a great age but unfortunately it is but a blink of an eye.  Make a deal with him, give it a try if it does not work out for him and he does take to much punishment, then seek another career. When he is 30-40 and decides he wants to try it then, most definitely it will be most dangerous then.

Answer 2

It's probably one of those things that he will always question if he doesn't give it a shot but I would definitely encourage him in another direction. Fight while attending college at the same time or at least have a fall back contingency. You could point out that even the elite boxers and mixed martial artists have another trade at least the smart ones do like the Klitchko doctors or Marco Antonio Barrerra who was on his way to being a lawyer. Rich Franklin was a teacher in Cincinatti. It is not something you want to still be doing later in life no matter what the pay is. Look at Tank Abbott and the beating he took recently. At 42, he probably doesn't know anything else. The danger is just having nothing to fall back on or trying to maintain a lifestyle you were use to when you made it big. Being around it his whole life it is natural to want to go further I hope he does well in whatever the decision is. Be sure to keep us posted.

Answer 3

Well blog the two issues are safety and money.For the first, as we know MMA is a lot safer than boxing, just because of the lessened head impact.

Head impact aside ,either sport is less likely to maim, cripple, or even cause joint surgeries than most ballsport codes.

Even women's netball wrecks more knees, ankles and hips than MMA.

As to making a living, there is not much big money in it (unless you are real good) but plenty of 'small money' and general good times trying, as with any sport.

I can't see any harm therefore in him at least having a try.

Answer 4

At 20 years old there's not much you can do, even if he's living in your house. Try to steer him towards boxing but if he really wants to go pro as an MMA fighter then you'd better support him. At that age if he really wants to do something he'll do it without your consent.

Answer 5

Wow, not a easy answer. It's natural for a parent to want to protect their children. There comes a time when it's up to them and their decisions. I have a 22yr old stepson. I taught him how to box, but he never displayed the love of it. He never seemed to have that inner burn to excel. He told me he wanted to get serious about training at 20 & I discouraged it because in my opinion, he just didn't "have it".

Your son sounds very different. It takes a lot of courage to compete in those two activities he has chosen. If he decides to go foward in this sport. You'll need to en-courage him 100%. Dis-couragement wont help him compete or succeed. It can only help him to know that his father supports and respects his choices!

The choice is up to him as to go foward or not. You are to choose between two different types of courage. Encourage vs Discourage. Your answers, in this forum, always seem to display wisdom. I'm sure either way, you'll do the right thing!

Good Luck!

Answer 6

Pray and meditate on it, after this the first clear feeling that comes, go with it, do not second guess yourself!

Answer 7

You know I would more like my kid to take up boxing more then MMA. With MMA you will be brain dead quicker. You have knees, elbows, kicks and punches with 2-3oz gloves. With Boxing you fight with only hands and the gloves are 8-10oz. I am planning to include my son and nephew in the sport to keep them focused and out of the streets.