Each father at some time or other during the "growing" years of his sons sees fit to instruct his protégés in the art of self-defense.

This chapter is designed to help you, as a father, give the right answers to the many questions that will be di­rected toward you during this procedure. With a little careful study and digesting of this and the past chapters, you can get right down on your knees and be a "coach" of whom your son will be proud. Learning the proper blocks as illustrated in prior chapters will also prevent that embarrassing "black eye" that would be awfully hard to explain to your associates the next day.

I stated at the beginning of this book that we intended to be very fundamental, and that the ensuing instructions could be used for the little boy of seven, grade school and high school boys, as well as the amateur golden glover, C.Y.O. boxer, and the collegian. Practical experience has proven that the "little guy" of seven can absorb the funda­mentals almost as readily as his big brother of twenty. We have been teaching "kid" classes since 1933 and find that boys seven to fifteen are very apt pupils—alert and reten­tive—and that because we get them from "scratch," they have no bad habits to break.

One of the most important things a dad can teach his son is "how to make a proper fist," in order to avoid future hand injuries. We all know how a painful thumb or finger injury results when a baseball or football strikes the wrong part of the hand.  The same is true if the thumb of your boy's fist is not properly folded, or if on landing a blow the force is centered on protruding knuckles. When the blow is properly landed the knuckles of the fist should be straight across (no protruding knuckles), thereby allowing the whole fist to absorb the force of the blow. The result gives the boy more power to his blow and minimizes chances of injury to his hands.

I suggest that as the next step you (the father) hold your left hand, palm open and inward, and hit your palm with a closed right fist. In going through this procedure, check to see if the right thumb is properly curled over, and if the fist on contact is landing on all four knuckles, rather than on one or two protruding knuckles. After you have properly trained yourself (preferably the night be­fore giving son a lesson), teach him the same procedure, hitting the open hand with the closed right fist, and stress­ing the proper points of a "right" and "wrong" fist. Then reverse the procedure, holding the right hand open and hitting the palm with the left fist.

It is odd but true that the average youngster in making a fist without being properly taught, will fold his thumb inside his closed fingers. (Illustration 89, right fist.) For some unknown reason he has the feeling his thumb be­comes better protected in this manner. This is the surest way to sprain, dislocate, or even break the second thumb joint.  Boys also make the mistake of allowing the thumb to stick up (as in Illustration 89, left fist) instead of prop­erly curling the thumb over the closed fist (as in Illustration 90). Impress this upon your son. Illustration 89 shows the two "wrong ways." Illustration 90 shows the "right way."

It is surprising how many boys grow to college age with­out even having been taught how to hit properly. Hence if the father gets no point across to his son other than the proper care of his hands, he has done a good job. A boy who is taught the proper fundamentals at an early age has a distinct advantage over others. If he chooses to box in high school, college, or as an amateur, he has a head start on the beginner. The coach will not have to break any unorthodox or bad boxing habits he has acquired by himself.

Your son, whether he be seven or seventeen (assum­ing after seventeen you would rather have another "coach" take him over) can be taught just exactly as we have illustrated in previous chapters. However, just to simplify the father-son relationship, get on your knees, put across the points suggested, and then proceed as out­lined in the following paragraphs.

Illustration 91: Father is showing son the all-important on-guard position. Note that the left foot is always out, the chin is down, and the shoulder and hands are up. Put your son in the right position, impress each point, and rest assured he will retain his coaching.

Illustration 92: The right way to throw the right hand. Father is pointing to the left foot which is forward as it should be, with the right foot back.   The right hand is thrown straight out, and the chin is down. The left hand is back in position and raring to go.

Illustration 93: The wrong way to throw the right. Son has followed his right hand by crossing over with his right leg. Father is pointing to his mistake. Son is off balance; also, his arm is bent instead of being straight. Moving the right leg across when throwing the right is a common mis­take made by boys, but it should be immediately corrected if you want your son to do a good job.

Illustration 94: After son has learned how to hit prop­erly and to assume the correct on-guard, put the gloves on with him, get on your knees, and practice the punches with him. Show him how to block as well as to hit, and be sure you know the blocks yourself. In this illustration both father and son have thrown the jabs simultaneously, thus learning both the punch and the blocks.

Illustration 95: Son is practicing his trusty right with father's chin as target. Father drops his left to allow the right to come across, and blocks with his own right. See that your son snaps the right straight across with a lot of zip, and that he has his fist closed, chin down, shoulder up. Be sure he does not throw a "roundhouse" right.

Illustration 96: Sons sometimes become over-exuberant, forget their teaching, and come in swinging wild with head down. A good "object" lesson is readily taught by landing a light uppercut as shown in this illustration. Be sure and duck that wild right, however.

Illustration 97: Take your boy to a sand-bag or some such object, and have him go through the punches you have taught him.  Be sure to correct any mistakes he is making, or he will become careless when he is actually boxing.

Illustration 98: Punching a light bag is fun. It is great exercise, and increases speed and coordination. Little boys pick up the knack very quickly after a minimum amount of practice. Fathers also find a punching bag excel­lent exercise, and unlike most exercises, they enjoy it. You may wear the same pleased expression as the father in the illustration after a few sessions of coaching your son on how to do it the right way.

Sportsmanship can be taught a boy through the medium of boxing, perhaps better than through any other sport. We have always conveyed to youngsters in our "kid" classes that the boxing they are being taught should be used only in the boxing ring, not on the school grounds, or in taking advantage of the untrained boy. The results have been very gratifying. I have had grade school teachers inform me of occasions where our boxing class boys had oppor­tunities to engage in the usual school skirmishes, but retorted, "I'm not going to fight with you. I've had boxing lessons and you haven't." I have also known of instances in which boys aggravated to action found their boxing lessons very handy in teaching the neighborhood bully a good lesson, and in making him a better sport.

The process of teaching your boy the fundamentals of boxing often proves to be a great "equalizer" for him. It cannot help but increase his confidence, an asset which we as fathers all know too many boys lack. Again, I have seen many, many times a very timid boy gain confidence in himself as the lessons progress. Boys who were afraid to be in the same ring or class group with certain "tough" boys at the beginning, later, with the confidence gained through instruction, asked, "Coach, let me box him; I'm not afraid any more."

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