Will this make my child overly aggressive?

Children who are bullies usually are angry, scared children. There is usually something going on in their lives to cause anger and fear. Often they are being bullied or abused themselves. They in turn bully others because that becomes “normal” behavior for them or because it’s their way of taking control they don’t normally have.

Learning a martial art or self-defense does not lead to making children violent or prone to engage in bullying behavior. In fact, it makes children cope better. Confidant children are not bullies.

Will martial art training teach my child discipline and responsibility?

It will facilitate learning discipline and responsibility, but it will not take the place or do the job of effective parenting.

A structured class will force the child to be disciplined and responsible for the training session. The habit of training will be instilled in the child. That discipline and responsibility will carry over.

If, however, discipline and responsibility is not something the child is taught at home obtaining it from somewhere else will be difficult at best. Basically, if a child’s parents aren’t going to require the child to be disciplined and responsible the child probably won’t be anywhere else either.

Is the WOLVERINZ program good for tournaments?

Tournaments are not a consideration for the WOLVERINZ program. There are aspects of combat sports that are applicable and utilized for self defense training, but tournaments are definitely NOT part of the focus. Tournament styles and rules require different training. We can make recommendations to other schools depending on what kind of tournaments or combat sports you’re interested in.

Is the WOLVERINZ program suitable for girls?

Of course!
It is our belief that girls need the training just as much as boys, more so when they are older. It’s best to make girls understand at a young age that they have the right to defend themselves.

Some believe that self-defense and athletic ability are not for girls. We strongly disagree. Some believe a male should protect females. We agree that boys and men should defend girls and women, but we don’t believe girls and woman should be dependant on someone else to defend them. In fact, when girls or women really need to defend themselves there is usually no one else around.

Isn’t all this “defense” stuff scary to children?

Not if it’s presented the right way. It’s a serious subject presented in a fun, enjoyable and supportive environment.

How can children defend themselves against an adult?

Depending on their age a child can defend themselves against an adult by being aware and avoiding certain situations or by escaping when avoidance is not an option. We can site real life examples of both trained and untrained children who have fought off adult attackers and escaped harm. We have one news item that involved a nine year old boy being pepper sprayed by a would-be abductor and fighting off the attacker anyway!

If the child is very young then self-defense is a function of the parent or guardian.

Can my child watch a class before trying it?

Absolutely!
A potential student can try a class for free to see if it’s for them as well.

What should my child wear?

Comfortable clothing and footwear (sneakers, cross trainers, running shoes, hiking boots—NO flip flops, slippers or anything will come off easily)

The official “uniform” is a blue “wolverinz” t-shirt and black sweat, karate or kung fu pants.

Don’t all martial art classes offer self-defense and fitness?

People engage in martial art training for various reasons, all of them good. Not all training in all schools carries over to real life when the stress is real and the attackers are real. We focus on function and not on form. We’re more interested a child’s ability to think on his feet, be aware and choose a correct response based on the attack. We don’t care on how pretty a kick looks we care about how a student will respond to a “sucker punch” and if the student knows how to “diffuse” a bully encounter.

Most schools include some sort of a “workout”. We are the only school in Suffolk County that offers training based on the CrossFit method. (Go to www.crossfit.com for more info) The instructor for the WOLVERINZ program is the trainer from the only CrossFit affiliate in Suffolk County(Spartan Performance).

Questions or concerns not listed here?

Should you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us at (631) 226-8383