<p>Well, it could also be a permanent lesson …</p>
<p>As the mother of a bunch of sons, I think all guys have a tremendous desire to try their strength against each other and I’m not sure that is a bad idea - a young man who can take care of himself has more confidence and is less likely to get bullied or pressured into things.</p>
<p>In my experience, there is little you can do to stop them entirely from doing this stuff. If you stop the boxing, it’ll be wrestling 
Probably the best thing you can do is say, “Great! I had no idea you were into boxing. I’ve called a trainer and he’ll meet with you on Tuesday at 2pm. You’ve got some tough training to go, but I’m sure you’ll love it.” Your enthusiasm will take any desire to rebel out of it and the work will either wear him out or make him good enough to survive :-)</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone for the advice, anecdotes, and parental back up. </p>
<p>The Wii is a great idea, if only it were possible to find one. (He does have a birthday this summer.) </p>
<p>Razor: I must say you vocalized the 16-year-old’s pov perfectly. But my answer would be that he has to protect himself against the risks inherent in any sport. This is, have supervision and the recommended protective gear. </p>
<p>Huguenot: Yes, I agree that S and this particular friend have the need to lock antlers as a part of their friendship. I would prefer wrestling to the amateur hour boxing these guys had in mind. We’ll look into a program that might satisfy the urge and at least he’ll hear from someone other than mom and dad what the dangers are in boxing without protection.</p>
<p>Jazzymom, I think your son was in the same spot I was as a high school kid- picked on a little bit for having a “nerdy” hobby. Talked to my dad about it, he said, “well, if you’re carrying a horn home, maybe you should be carrying it with some guns.” Tough love from the youngest of four brothers. I started lifting- and it was great. Bullies are jackals- they back off after it turns out a victim can defend himself.</p>
<p>SofO: I remember some of your dad’s posts in another thread about bullying and fighting back. I’m not sure if the choke-hold roughhouse was happening to my S his freshman year because he played in jazz band instead of playing a sport, or if it was more that he was on the short side at the time and the other kid, who he was occasional buddies with in middle school, shot up and was overloaded with testosterone. </p>
<p>I will agree that weight training, getting stronger in the upper body, has made a huge difference in S’s appearance and his confidence. (And, of course, he grew.) Midway into sophomore year, I asked if he was being bothered by the same kid any more and he (S) said, “nah, I’m stronger than he is now. I can put him on the ground.” </p>
<p>There have been times when I’ve wondered if he was devoting too much time to working out, instead of some club activities or more studying, but I’ve mostly kept quiet about it since it is a healthy hobby and it has given him a sense of personal accomplishment, even if it’s not the kind of thing that fits on a college resume. He also became much more nutrition conscious and reads the labels of everything now. </p>
<pre><code>BTW, do you still lift?
</code></pre>
<p>True, it’s hard to say what the specific reason would be. And it seemed a lot of times like the target is selected and a reason created subsequently to justify it.</p>
<p>Confidence is a nice bonus from weight training. Not that you should fight, but knowing that you can, and well, is a key to projecting the image of “more trouble than it’s worth to pick on this kid.” </p>
<p>Bullies never seem to find their growth spurt. I had six inches and thirty pounds on the kid that picked on me by junior year. We had a conversation at one of the dances that year. Was cathartic for me. Scared the crap out of him.</p>
<p>I still lift, but it’s not near the schedule I kept in high school. The sport I’m training for now is more cardio and endurance than size, so the weight schedule has adjusted accordingly. Is your son putting in bodybuilder-type hours at the weight room? A few times a week for about an hour or so is about the most that will do you any good unless you’re taking supplements- muscles can only recover from workouts so quickly. There’s probably still time for other activities if they’re interesting.</p>
<p>For awhile last summer and in the fall, he was going to the gym almost everyday after school, but working on different sets of muscles. When the jazz band season, combo rehearsals, and AP studying began to interfere, he went fewer days. He eats protein bars and drinks protein shakes, but no other supplements. He’s not an athlete with anything riding on his strength development and I don’t think he’s looking for Arnold Schwartzenegger type body building. He’s doing it because he enjoys the feeling of accomplishment and the camradarie with the other guys. </p>
<p>It may affect his college search, though. The requirements for him are strong sciences, lively college town, “chill” fellow students, and great recreation and weight-training facilities.</p>
<p>Food for Thought:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Broken bone, perhaps, but with boxing, we’re talking about high degree of likelihood of brain injury. I’d rather break his spirit by telling him “not without training and supervision” than have him destroy his future with a brain injury.</p>
<p>Or by that saying, would you let your kid go skydiving without instruction, too?</p>
<p>I agree. He can exercise his spirit and attempt to break bones snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking, etc. to his heart’s content. Boxing is out unless it’s part of a supervised, instructional program, but I really suspect that both boys will get busy with jobs and other obligations this summer and it will wane in appeal. Hopefully.</p>
<p>Oh, and one more thought - it would be horrible if he injured himself, but if he’s like a normal teenage boy, he won’t believe it could happen to him. Ask him to imagine how he’d feel if he were responsible for seriously injuring his friend - perhaps he’d believe that.</p>
<p>Ok, so I’m sure everyone thinks this boxing idea is so bad. But honestly, I think he should be allowed to do it.
My friend and I started boxing this year. And don’t get me wrong, we’re no buffs, we’re just the typical skinny asians. We box with only gloves, but our rules are not head or crotch shots. That said, I have been accidentally hit in my jaw before. It hurt, but it wasn’t that bad, and I really think boxing makes me feel better about myself. it is physical activity after all, and provides a good workout. The most important thing to make sure of is not supervision, but rather that all concerned parties are consenting, and not being forced are peer pressured into it. If everyone does it out of their own free will, then it should be fine.</p>
<p>Boxing - even under proper supervision - is a potentially deadly sport:</p>
<p>[I-Team:</a> Bending the rules puts amateur fighters’ lives at risk - 11/25/08 - San Francisco News - abc7news.com](<a href=“http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=6525477&pt=print]I-Team:”>http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=6525477&pt=print)</p>
<p>Boxing is the only sport that I am aware of where the objective is to cause the opponent to suffer enough physical damage that they can no longer participate. </p>
<p>And, awesomeidiot, it does not take a head shot to kill you - more than one boxer has died from shots to the heart.</p>
<p>Bottom line, don’t do it - especially not unsupervised.</p>
<p>My daughter attends a college where boxing is required. Females take “combatives” which is basically boxing. This is a supervised class with experienced teachers and the injury rate is quite high. Many, many kids get serious concussions, broken jaws, loose teeth and/or broken toes.
This is with proper headgear and other safety equipment.</p>
<p>awesomeidiot - I am sure you are one. You also have just violated the most important rule of “fight club”.</p>
<p>Hell no. Boxing is not something you learn on your own. Teaching yourself boxing (esp. among young kids) is a ■■■■■■■■ idea and a disaster waiting to happen.</p>
<p>Boxing in an awesome sport if you learn it right. Enough with the nonsense with the anti boxing rants…</p>
<p>Awesomeidiot…you aren’t boxing. I suggest you get your ass to a real gym and start taking lessons.</p>
<p>Disfigurement is also a real risk. There’s the broken nose and lost teeth. Take a look at [Cauliflower</a> ear - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauliflower_ear]Cauliflower”>Cauliflower ear - Wikipedia) . Not pretty and not easy to fix once it’s happened.</p>
<p>Show him images on Youtube of Ali then and now…his problems stem in part from having his brain bruised a few too many times. </p>
<p>Ebay for the Wii…you may pay a bit more but you’ll get one. Just make sure you aren’t getting a whole lot of ‘extras’ you don’t need.</p>
<p>Sad state the world is in when people resort to some nonsense gaming system over athletic pursuits…whatever.</p>
<p>It’s not either/or, I Love…everything in moderation, yes?</p>
<p>Boxing in a gym with lessons and supervision–OK. Boxing with friends in the backyard–heck NO.</p>