5 year old son is obsessed. Happy Dad
35 y.o Dad here. I have a grappling background only (wrestling and BJJ). My son who's now 5 years old is EXTREMELY shy and challenging in many ways. Swim lessons, soccer, etc have been really hard.
Anyway with his preschool almost being over, I've explained to him i want him to try either BJJ or this new muay thai gym that opened near me. We'll after given the choice, he immediately picked muay thai after watching both.
So 3 days ago, I asked if he was ready to try a class and to my suprise he said yes. I messaged the owner of the gym before hand and mentioned how shy and semi anxious he can be in situations like this just to give the guy a heads up. As we were driving there I literally felt slightly sick to my stomach, anticipating a repeat of swim classes (PTSD situation lmao).
We get there, and the instructor tries to say whats up and high five him and my son didn't even look at him haha.
Long story short, my son fuckin blew my mind. First they did an obstacle course to which he nervously participated in which honestly was a big deal in itself. Then the instructor tells him to go pick out some gloves and began to call him over to hit the pads......
This is where my mind was really blown. My son absolutely loved it. Hooks, jabs, elbows, "teets"?, kicks etc. The look on my sons face said it all, locked with a grin. Participating and putting more effort into an uncomfortable activity than I've ever seen before. The instructor was honestly a massive piece of why this was successful too for he was great with the kids. At the end of the class, my son high fived him with passion!
We leave and before he was even buckled into his car seat he goes "can we do muay thai again tomorrow!?" .... I just looked at him and smiled/laughed "we can do muay thai any day you want".
Guys sorry for the long post, im just a proud and excited dad. I always said I wouldnt be spending hours in a MMA style gym again unless I was going with one or both of my kids. Now all of a sudden im realizing I might finally be implementing some stand up/striking into my own game.
We have now gone 3 nights in a row. I signed him up day 2 and I plan on signing up very soon myself.