---

Welcome back to The Word of Dad.

This is the fifth post and each week I will be writing about what I have learned and experienced as a Father of two sons.

I will also be keeping a journal of what has been happening over the week. This may give some insight into what it is like to be a parent and we also serve to remind me of all the little details that get lost and forgotten otherwise.
 
 

 
 
This weeks topic is,

Fighting.

The last week and a half my sons have been on school holidays. This is great because I get some extra time with them but it has been difficult at times.

The weather here has been wet and miserable so they have been inside quite a bit and this has lead to constant arguing and fighting.

It has been over nothing but they have lots of energy, which if not used up , releases it self in violence.

Now they are boys and it is natural for boys to fight. I have no desire to suppress this instinct but clearly it must be channeled in a more productive and healthy way.

 
 

 
 

My Solution

When I was about their age I started to do karate classes, I liked it and although I couldn't continue because we moved away , I was left with a fascination of martial arts.

In my early 20's I trained for some time in Wing chun kung fu and Thai boxing.

I really enjoyed these too and they were a great way to stay fit and gain confidence.

I had always had it in mind to start the boys in martial arts and now is the time.

I have decided on Wing chun as it was my preferred martial art and it is very philosophical as well as effective.

I contacted a local Wing chun school and although they have not done children's classes yet they agreed to start with us.

I can hopefully train too and we can all practice together.
 
 

 
 

Conclusion

The boys need to learn some discipline and use up excess energy, this seems to be the perfect solution.

It will also teach them how to defend themselves in a responsible way, which can only help their confidence.

We shall see what happens and I will do an update as things progress.

Journal.

It has been great having the boys around more in the day but clearly they have been a bit wild.

We have been out for walks, out on bikes at the BMX track and we went to an old traditional farm museum for a day out.

We bought monopoly a few weeks ago and that is very popular of an evening.

I have been taking them to see my parents as well which is very important.

My eldest and I have been doing some computer building stuff, we are planning on building a pc soon.

My youngest has been learning to ride his bike without stabilisers, he is getting the hang of it and is very daring.

Lots of joking and mucking around

 
 

 
 
If you have any questions about woodwork, furniture or being self employed as a crafts person let me know.

I know my wood and I have spent years teaching myself furniture making , furniture history as well as living it as a self employed cabinet maker .

I am also in the process of writing a

'How to series: Setting up a Woodworking Business'

Which you can read here;
Part 1: Workshop
Part 2: Tools and machinery
Part 3: Finding a good timber yard
Part 4: Deciding what type of woodwork you are going to do.
Part 5: Advertising and getting customers
Part 6: Dealing with Customers.
Still I am learning every day and the journey is the point.
We have started a woodworking community here on steemit and would welcome you. We have a discord channel, link here: Woodworking on Steem Discord Channel

And a weekly woodworking post competition ,which you can read about here

 
 

 
 
@woodworkcurators is a daily curation service for the woodworking community.

You can read about us here
Win SBD in our Weekly Woodworking Competition
 
 

 
 

Many thanks for viewing,

Onwards and upwards,

@jist

---

▶️ DTube
▶️ IPFS