there’s alternative combat sports that avoid it, like wrestling, judo, and jiu jitsu.
There’s definitely alternatives to full-contact football that are lower-impact, especially wrt to the head. But I’ve got a friend who runs a jiu-jitsu gym and he’s constantly got wraps on something. Fingers are really common. Knees are bad, too. He nearly dislocated his shoulder after a bad throw. One of his friends managed to brain herself in the middle of a throw when she bounced her head off her partner’s hipbone and had to be treated for a concussion.
My sister and I did taekwondo as kids. Other than the occasional sparing (lots of pads, relatively light contact), it was all about flexibility and learning the forms. You still get injured overextending or balancing wrong. But it’s comparatively far better for kids than actual combat sports.
Like, if you’re old enough to make your own decisions, more power to you. But if you’re coming off Ninja Turtles as a 12-year-old, hell no. The combat sports are a recipe for getting wrecked.
judo is good if you think your kid might be into it
Of the three, it’s probably the best. I would still stick my kid in a karate-themed exercise class, if it came to that.
These can also get hella expensive, depending on who you’re training with and where. I can definitely understand a parent not being able to afford private lessons, much less the time to commute with practice. And the kid - not understanding the economic reality - deciding their parent is just being mean, or overprotective, or small-minded.
There’s definitely alternatives to full-contact football that are lower-impact, especially wrt to the head. But I’ve got a friend who runs a jiu-jitsu gym and he’s constantly got wraps on something. Fingers are really common. Knees are bad, too. He nearly dislocated his shoulder after a bad throw. One of his friends managed to brain herself in the middle of a throw when she bounced her head off her partner’s hipbone and had to be treated for a concussion.
My sister and I did taekwondo as kids. Other than the occasional sparing (lots of pads, relatively light contact), it was all about flexibility and learning the forms. You still get injured overextending or balancing wrong. But it’s comparatively far better for kids than actual combat sports.
Like, if you’re old enough to make your own decisions, more power to you. But if you’re coming off Ninja Turtles as a 12-year-old, hell no. The combat sports are a recipe for getting wrecked.
Of the three, it’s probably the best. I would still stick my kid in a karate-themed exercise class, if it came to that.
These can also get hella expensive, depending on who you’re training with and where. I can definitely understand a parent not being able to afford private lessons, much less the time to commute with practice. And the kid - not understanding the economic reality - deciding their parent is just being mean, or overprotective, or small-minded.