12-Year-Old 'Throws' Wrestling Match So Boy With Cerebral Palsy Can Win

**sambosteve** · Posted On: 12/09/2012 12:30pm

I found this video (which I saw about a week ago) to be very uncomfortable to watch.

I spent most of my career (before running my gym full time) working in pediatrics and before that in a group home for people living with developmental disabilities.

I have worked extensively with Make-a-Wish, various camps like the Hole in the Wall Gang, and the like. I don't see myself supporting this "wrestling" event. At least not in the way it appears (I am assuming the boy with CP wanted to do this).

Most wishes and the like I was involved with dealt with activities the child COULD do to some degree. The difference here is that, as noted in this thread, when kids with disabilities go horseback riding, boating, etc, they are still actually horseback riding. They are still experiencing the feel and thrill of sailing or riding, etc. This kid in the video could have strapped in for a tandem sky dive and he still would have been sky diving and experiencing what it is like to sky dive.

When I worked for Kids Kicking Cancer, we would teach martial arts in various pediatric oncology centers. The kids would never be Jackie Chan, but we focused on what they could do depending on their physical state. It built up their esteem, etc. It was a great experience. But we never held up mitts for someone who could not punch.

The difference I see in this "wrestling" video is that it is not wrestling, never will be wrestling. After this experience, this child still does not know what it feels like to wrestle. There is a point where I feel we simply need to stop being PC and be honest with people about what they can and can't do.

This vid reminds me of the guy with quadruple loss of limbs that "fought" MMA. He got his ass kicked. But the bottom line is that it was not MMA. It was some kind of bizarre sideshow display, but not MMA. NJ would not license him for the fight, but he went to another state that did. And after the fight he realized that it was pretty dumb to have done it.

There are many ways this child could have realistically been involved in the wrestling scene in a way that he can contribute (assuming all his faculties are there). Teach him to coach, get him involved with the team in a way that he can really play a role. Not as some kind of feel good display.

**Bok Choy** · Posted On: 12/09/2012 10:37pm

Hey.. why not man. Good for him. Nothing to be harmed by it. If I had that illness, I would be happy too. The kid who let him win is a true human being. Give others a chance before oneself.
Enjoy life.

***battlefields*** · Posted On: 12/09/2012 11:13pm

It seemed more like a jits match than wrestling. Weird strategy by the guy on his side, I suppose that the unexpectedness of it is what put the other guy off. I saw a decent attempt at a modified seio nage, but while they were both on the side he wasn't able to get his hips underneath him. I just have to wonder who is coaching these two, neither of them seemed to know anything about wrestling. I was screaming at the screen when he started dragging the other guy on top of him, I was like, "DUDE, what the **** are you doing?!"

Anyway, the strategy seemed to work, the other guy fell right into the trap. I think the attempted victory breakdance was a bit much, I'm glad the adult picked him up off the floor to stop him, that kind of flamboyant showmanship is uncalled for at their age and likely to cause problems, especially when it appeared as though he was relatively unresponsive when his opponent tried to shake his hand to congratulate him on his victory.

I might be going to hell, but at least I got the comfy seat.

**alex** · Posted On: 12/09/2012 11:30pm

i giggled, so ill join you there

**Ignorami** · Posted On: 12/10/2012 7:27am

There is one sad truth to accompany all this...

If the healthy kid had smashed the **** out of the CP kid, it would have gotten more views on Youtube.

Merry Christmas everyone.

**legomepanda** · Posted On: 12/10/2012 11:20am

Originally Posted by It is Fake

So, for the third time, tell me where anyone said he can't participate in wrestling.

I'm saying he can't participate in wrestling. Because he... can't participate in wrestling. At least not the part where people wrestle. He could probably watch, or maybe keep track of statistics with his wheelchair computer or something. But he'll never wrestle.

**Monsieur** · Posted On: 12/10/2012 11:51am

Cut the kid some slack. It was probably his first time wrestling, so it's normal for him to be a bit of a spaz.

**Devil** · Posted On: 12/10/2012 11:58am

Originally Posted by legomepanda

I'm saying he can't participate in wrestling. Because he... can't participate in wrestling. At least not the part where people wrestle. He could probably watch, or maybe keep track of statistics with his wheelchair computer or something. But he'll never wrestle.

He can sit in the audience and yell "Wooooooo!!!" and hold up four fingers every time somebody lands a backhand chop.

**Cowardly Lurker** · Posted On: 12/10/2012 6:53pm

I actually see both sides and particularly appreciate the post from zwarte piet. Bottom line for me, as a dad, is that there's a sweet spot. On the one extreme, there's crushing your child's dreams and shackling him with your own doubts and judgments about what he can and can't do. On the other extreme is sheltering and lying to him to the point that he ends up in the gag reel on the first week of American Idol. The goal is to hit the sweet spot somewhere in the middle, letting kids take risks while protecting them from irreversible damage.

In this particular case, I don't know the entire story. We're looking at a snapshot in time and drawing all sorts of conclusions from it. On the surface, it seems harmless, and I still think it took courage on the part of the kid with CP to risk ridicule.