J a n I S u S a U

newsletter r y E

2 2 0 6 1 Youth Culture 0 Are You Looking For A Fight? Ultimate fighting's rapid growth in popularity is also reflected elsewhere. Boys today might not know the name of the • Street fighting: there has been a rise in the world's heavyweight champion but they popularity of actual street fighting. YouTube has know the names Georges St‐Pierre, Anderson many no‐holds‐barred, bare‐knuckle fighting Silva and . They are mixed martial videos with over one million views. “Friendly” arts champions. (See the vocabulary box.) but bloody street fighting is being done just for In an ultimate fighting match two combatants are the adrenaline rush and to be able to upload paired in competition inside a wire cage for three the recording, hopefully both barbaric and rounds of five minutes. Fighters adhere to a simple popular, to YouTube. set of rules which allowed sports commissions to • Video games: UFC 2009 Undisputed sold one legalize ultimate fighting after 1997. The rules? million copies in May and was voted the best No biting, eye‐gouging, head‐butting, bending of single‐person of 2009 by Spike TV. ln the U.S. ultimate fighting began in fingers and toes or hits to the groin, throat or • Among women: their MMA league is called 1993 as a televised competition to find spine. Otherwise almost anything goes. A match the Women's Ultimate Fighting Association. the best fighting style. It was a bloody, may end in three ways: when one combatant is •Among children: an ultimate fighting league for no‐holds‐barred brawl. By 1997 ultimate knocked unconscious, when one combatant taps children ages 6‐12 has been started in Missouri. fighting was banned in 36 states. out in a guillotine choke hold, an arm bar or some other dangerous hold, or when the clock Vocabulary runs out – then the three judges decide a winner. Mixed Martial Arts: (MMA or ultimate fighting) In 2005 ultimate fighting surged in popularity combines boxing, , , jiu-jitsu, and when the show first aired on into one form of fighting. television. Ultimate fighting surpassed professional UFC: (Ultimate Fighting Championship) the main body overseeing MMA events. boxing in year‐long, pay‐per‐view revenue in 2006, Tap out: tapping the mat three times or drawing $223 million. The summer of 2009 saw verbally surrendering to avoid further pain or another surge by pitting the Canadian MMA star injury; giving up or crying “uncle.” Georges St‐Pierre against the college wrestling Submission hold: used to force an champion and professional wrestling star Brock opponent to tap out. Usually a choke or a Lesnar in Ultimate Fight Championship #100. It had potential injury hold. 1.7 million pay‐per‐views. Eight-year-old Ultimate Fighters 2. Encouraging and equipping the worship time and celebrated the Boy, Oh Boy! fathers and sons to work together Lord’s Day Opening! In between Intense? ~Contributed by Jim deSpelder to overcome the challenges in a these fun activities we squeezed in Everything in youth culture is I wouldn't want to go through godly manner some engaging talks on challenging getting more intense or puberty again – not at my age. I 3. Providing the time for fathers issues encountered during the extreme. Movies are faster wouldn't want to go through it at and sons to develop their rela‐ adolescence years. Our sessions paced. Avatar, a movie any age! I certainly wouldn't want tionship and to begin working on addressed: released this week, is a case in to go through it now. the above goals. • Handling Negative Peer Pressure point. Its 3D technology sucks you right into the film. Video Raising strong sons today is not • Physical Changes in games like Grand Theft Auto easy. A good dad has to help Adolescence and Call of Duty move at a them handle hyper hormones, • The Canyon of Inferiority blinding pace. Youth novels pervasive pornography and an • Relating to Girls like Twilight and Harry Potter avalanche of music, films, video • Handling Emotions are page turners. The X‐Games games and TV shows. He must • New Powers of Thinking bring new thrills to sports‐on‐ train them in godliness, honesty, • Brothers Together boards, and everywhere you responsibility, personal purity, look the sexual boundaries are The talks were based on a set leadership, integrity and respect getting extended, whether on created by Dr. James Dobson for others – especially women – TV by Gossip Girl or in music entitled “Preparing for and he must do it for a son who by Lady Gaga. has more distractions than a Adolescence.” They were To keep youth connected to it moth at a strobe‐lit‐disco. Doing this weekend with other fathers and sons was enhanced for the specific a huge help. The material was very effectively pre- needs of the fathers and sons all there are cell phones, the Helping dads to help their sons sented. That made it easier to have longer and more in Sword of the Spirit internet, facebook, twitter and was the goal of the recent in-depth, one-to-one conversations. The group discus- communities. e‐mail, plus the necessary en‐ “Preparing for Adolescence sions were also very helpful because good points ergy drinks to keep youth going Weekend” held Friday night to were made by everyone. It didn't all depend on me. The weekend was designed by – like Red Bull and Rockstar. To ~ Craig Galer, the Work of Christ Saturday night, October 16‐17, a development team of dads get away from it all they can 2009, in Grass Lake, Michigan. Our weekend started off with a from Michigan, consisting of slip into the virtual worlds of Dan Smith, Peter Giles, Matt Stoll, The weekend was designed for boys short horror show – the boys got to SecondLife or Habbo or just and Jim deSpelder with Kairos about to reach puberty. We had 17 see what their dads looked like “slow their roll” with Drank. Junior High Program Director, Stan pairs of fathers and sons present when they were in junior high! The Return to real life Mathay, serving as the team leader. and aimed at three main goals: weekend ended with the fathers The best reality show isn't a praying over their sons. 1. Communicating the challenges of For information on putting on a show. It's real people in the going through adolescence in our In just over 40 hours, we played weekend like this or on junior high present moment. It's also one culture and the changes the boys pool volleyball, soccer, floor hockey, boys adventure trips, contact Stan of the best antidotes to youth culture. were about to encounter and football. We had a campfire, a Mathay: [email protected]