Karate gives peace of mind for dad

In a previous article I told you about the Department of Defense sending me to San Diego for a summer to work on Coronado. I had a great time, loved it. But I noticed several disturbing things about that part of the world. I think the most troubling was the frequency of Amber Alerts. At least one per week. Children were abducted and then somehow whisked across the border with alarming frequency.

But even in other cities like Seattle, I saw these Amber Alerts often enough to make me wonder what the heck is wrong with the world. As a parent of six children, I was especially concerned. I had to work hard at striking a balance between over-sheltering my children and maintaining tight control of their whereabouts at all times. When I was a kid in Manchester, Wash., I would frequently ride my bike all over the south end of the county. I rode my bike to school (about five miles away) beginning in fourth grade. I rode into Port Orchard (about five miles in the opposite direction) all the time. As long as mom knew where I was going and why, it wasn’t a big deal. And this was before cellphones.

Not so with my kids. No way do I allow my younger children to ride their bikes beyond my line of sight. Not even in the street in front of my house, which I can’t see through the trees very well. At the store, they don’t leave my side. When we’re camping or dipnetting, they have to stay where I can see them. I hate that I feel it has to be this way, but when I think about even the slimmest possibility of losing one of my children, there is no other alternative.

There were several reasons and benefits to moving back to Alaska. I told my wife that in Alaska, there are far fewer cases of child abduction than there are in the Lower 48 because of the isolation.

“Alaska is like an island,” I said, “Creeps can’t take a child through Canada, and obviously there’s no way they’re going to get off on an airplane with an abducted child, so I think that’s why it’s not a big a problem.”

Lately I’m starting to wonder if I spoke to soon. Seems a bunch of cases of child abduction have sprung up lately. Granted, still nowhere in scope to what I saw while in the Lower 48, but is it on the rise? If there’s any hope at all, it seems to me that there is still a strong incentive for creeps to think twice. It seems the police usually know or suspect who the abductor is and they are frequently caught. I don’t see the same problem I saw in the Lower 48 where the child disappears and — poof — he or she is gone. I can’t say I agree with the punishment for kidnapping. I think kidnappers, rapists and child molesters should all be eligible for capital punishment, but that’s another topic. At least we see a high success rate with these children being found and the criminals apprehended.

But I’m still paranoid.

Which brings me to my daughter. Every dad knows that his daughter is beautiful. I’m no exception. Portia is very, very pretty. She’s also very outgoing and quite small for her age. While I’d like to think that she will always be within my sight or under the protection of her towering, athletic older brothers, I know that’s not true. We can’t be there all the time forever.

So she has learned how to shoot. But since schools and society as a whole take a rather dim view of a fourth-grade girl packing heat (geez, lighten up already) what’s a dad to do? Enter the Alaska Center of the Martial Arts.

A couple summers ago they had a booth set up at the state fair that caught Portia’s interest. Since she’s always been such a natural athlete, a light bulb went off in my dim little head and I signed her up. If I couldn’t always be there to protect her, I could at least buy myself the satisfaction of knowing that any creep who ever tried to grab or otherwise lay their hands on my little girl would get a ride to the hospital in the van with the siren and pretty lights for his efforts. So far, she has done well.

Alaska Center of the Martial Arts is a neat place. Granted, I only dabbled with martial arts when I was a kid and later did some boxing, so I’m no martial arts expert. But I did my studying and was pretty impressed with what the center offers. Portia started out with the basics, where they use Tang Soo Do (Korean) to introduce them. When they have gained some degree of proficiency, they are allowed to choose a different art.

Portia chose seibukan jujutsu, which uses a lot of grappling, throws and (her favorite part) knives and sword. She is trying to work her way up to Brazilian (Carlson Gracie) jiu-jitsu. This is especially relevant for her because it specializes in overpowering and then defeating a larger, stronger and heavier opponent. They teach other forms of martial arts there as well, should she ever change her mind. The instructors are absolutely great at making it fun for the younger kids and Portia is excited to go every time (usually once or twice per week). She hates missing a class.

I guess it sounds like I’m writing a promo for the Alaska Center for the Martial Arts. I’m not trying to, even though I’m beyond impressed with them. I’m trying to talk about what a great idea it is for parents like me who feel paranoid regarding their younger children and would like some peace of mind on the matter. I can tell you as a father, this helps. Even if it’s not to the same place we go, seriously think about finding some a martial arts center and checking them out. Your child gets exercise while, at the same time, learning something they can use the rest of their lives. You get to rest a little easier knowing they are better prepared when they’re out there in that big, bad world.

Ben Compton is a Palmer resident and publishes his column as “Compton’s Corner,” the same title used by his grandmother, Phyllis Compton, a longtime Frontiersman columnist.