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The fight club videos kids post on the web can be gruesome, brutal.

“Some of them would stop when the guy just got knocked out cold. Totally knocked out. Unconscious, got knocked unconscious,” says 19-year-old David Dixon, who fought in, and watched many fight clubs during his high school years.

And yet, kids say it is… fun.

“It’s just an adrenaline rush, it gets you pumping,” says 18-year-old Brandon Wright, “It’s like you’re fighting this other person, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I’ve broke fingers, I’ve broke toes. But a couple of the guys got real hurt,” adds Dixon.

But Dixon fought throughout his four years in high school. He says there’s a kind of “glory” in fight clubs.

“They all the time, ‘Oh, did you see so-and-so fight’, and everybody would hear about it and you know, he’d be lifted up on an imaginary pedestal because you know, he beat the hell out of somebody. Cause he won, and you know, everybody wants that kind of fame between their peers.”

Experts say if you suspect your child is involved in a fight club, first, send a clear message.

“That this is very dangerous,” says psychologist Tracy Talmadge, Ph.D., “That you can get hurt, other kids can get hurt. I love you, and I certainly don’t want you to get hurt.”

Second, he says… parents should be emphatic: fighting is simply unacceptable.

“You don’t let up. You stick on it with them. And you say that this is not going to be allowed.”

Third, he advises parents to report fight clubs to their child’s school… and to the police.

“This is such a serious issue,” says Talmadge, “that you want to bring in all the possible resources that can reasonably be expected to help.”

What We Need To Know

• Violence, like fight clubs, where there’s positive reinforcement, can become addictive. The child will then be more likely to use violence in other facets of his or her life. (Tracy Talmadge, Ph.D., Psychologist)




• Violence is a learned behavior. Kids who see their parents being violent, or parents who use corporal punishment on their children, are more likely to have a child prone to using violence. (Focus Adolescent Services)




• Children who struggle in school and have little extra-curricular activities are more likely to be involved in fight clubs, since it may be something thay can ‘shine’ in. Try to find something your child can do, particularly after school, that gives them positive reinforcement. (Tracy Talmadge, Ph.D., Psychologist)

Resources

• U.S. Department of Justice — Delinquency Prevention
• Partnership Against Violence
• Stop the Violence

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