By Briton Underwood of Punk Rock Papa
The first rule of fight club is not to talk about fight club. Apparently, that isn’t the case for toddler fight club founder Jimbo Russ, 36, of Tuscaloosa County, who boasts that the toddler fight club he started has boosted his three-year-old’s self-esteem.
“Before fight club, my boy didn’t have any friends. Now, he hangs with his best friends every weekend.”
The idea for a fight club came to Jimbo when he noticed his son wasn’t very social.
“He never left the house. I would go to work and come back and there he would be, watching the TV with his momma. I decided that boy needed some friends and needed to get out more.”
With the help of a drinking buddy, Jimbo got to realizing his vision for his son. Using a series of baby gates, Jimbo created an enclosure for the toddlers to fight in his backyard. Jimbo also fashioned a belt out of discarded Copenhagen tins and crushed cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Asked if there had been any backlash in the community, Jimbo cited that the local sheriff’s daughter was a part of toddler fight club and current holder of the Copenhagen PBR Championship belt.
“[Everyone] gets really into it. It is a big draw in this area.”
Jimbo is correct. The local high school cited declining attendance to Friday night football games due to the rise in popularity of the toddler fight club. Athletic Director Bud Halek, of TC High School, states that people don’t want to go to the football games due to the lack of safety in the sport. As of the writing of this article, 4 players had already reportedly been diagnosed with concussions, whereas no injuries had been reported from toddler fight club. This data has Bud Halek looking to cut the football program in lieu of creating a safer fight club at the school.
“No one wants to see their children get hurt, so I am going to see about transferring the funds for the TC Gators into a fight club.”
When asked about the amount of attention toddler fight club has gained, Jimbo shrugs off the popularity.
“I didn’t make toddler fight club to talk about it. I made it to get my son more active and social. The fact that it has caught on just means there are more parents out there wanting to help their kids socially.”
The current toddler fight club has fifteen members, aging from one-and-a-half to four. There is a set of strict rules that Jimbo enforces to ensure safety in the fight club. The biggest rule? You must be able to walk to fight. No crawlers.
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About Briton Underwood
Briton Underwood, better known as Punk Rock Papa, is a parent above all else. When he gets sick of being at their beck and call he likes to escape to his page or site. He writes about any and everything he wants, but mainly about his twin boys or his newest addition- another boy. He also would like the world to know he has a beautiful wife, because the couch isn’t that comfy.
Blog- http://punkrockpapa.com
Fb- https://www.facebook.com/PunkRockPapa
Twitter- https://twitter.com/punkrockpapa1