By rssfeeds-admin It’s an intense training program run by ex-military and police throughout the city and suburbs.
On Sunday, about 160 children participated in Life Tough Kids Boxing Club’s child safety seminar and went through weeks of training to get to this point.
“We are a big proponent on preparation over panic. If the kids have muscle memory, they have neural pathways, if they have experienced these things, when the real situation happens they won’t freeze up and go into shock,” Steve Linder of Life Tough Kids Boxing Club said.
One scenario they prepare for is an active shooter at school, and the four kids chosen to run the scenario looked nervous.
“Do you guys even think or just react?” WGN-TV’s Erik Runge asked.
“I just react,” one of the child participants said.
That’s exactly what the coaches are hoping for.
The children were told to go into a classroom where they played a game and without warning, the sound of gunfire and explosions were played. That’s when the children are supposed to barricade the door, hide and find a weapon.
They then headed to a cafeteria where the make-believe gunman struck again.
This time, the children are supposed to find exits and run. The experience was so real that it brought some of the children to tears.
“It’s terrifying but it’s real and they make a really good example by…they’re prepared. God forbid this happened in life, they wouldn’t be prepared. Now they know what to do – run, yell, scream, bite, kick – there are no rules today,” parent Diane Lourmas who has two children in the program said.
The program also features boxing and self-defense, but also so much more as evidence above suggests.
“It just teaches you confidence, eye contact, and I just think that these kids don’t have those important values that they need in order to protect themselves, never be a victim. So much more than boxing, it really is a life-skill program,” Lourmas said.
It’s those life-skills that could one day save their lives.
More information on the program can be found here.
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