Originally posted by ddean
Very curious..........
Why? How?
If I may ask.
I've raised my kid the way most guys would raise their sons. It all started the moment my kid was born and I held her in my arms in the delivery room.
I don't know what happened, but it must have been divinely inspired. I felt an allegiance to that little life that was so intense it defies description. I made an unspoken, and really, an unthought promise that I would do everything I could to help keep her safe.
And that meant making her as self-reliant as possible.
I've taught her how to hike, camp, read a map, how to shoot firearms of various types, bow and arrow. Taught her what I knew of sword fighting, and what I've learned since. Taught her the basics of the hand-to-hand combat I learned from my Ranger and Special Forces instructors when I was in the army. Taught her how to use hand tools, power tools.
Taught her how to cook.
Taught her much. In fact last night we fenced epee against each other. I still win more bouts than she does, but that margin is fading fast. In two bouts she beat me 3-0.
Last week I introduced her to the 9mm semi-auto she took a fancy to a few years ago (S&W 6906). She got a good rhythm going and at 7 yards put five rounds into a group I could cover with a fifty-cent piece.
Some 18 months ago we saw Lord of the Rings, and my long dormant love of swords suddenly erupted like a volcano, and I was shocked that my daughter was taken by them as well. I taught her how to fence. She took off like a shot and I was unable to teach her more, so enrolled her in fencing lessons.
The kid's good. Real good. It won't be long and she'll be better than me.
During that period I bought a few wall hanger swords, was disgusted. Finally discovered "functional" swords. Bought a couple, showed them to my kid and she was smitten by them. Since then her interests in swords kinda follows mine, but she's always known her own mind and allowed her interest in blades to follow where it will.
One of our "quality time" things we do is look at hunting, camping and weapons catalogs together. About six or eight months ago I learned that she'd become a fan of "big knives", it, Bowies and Khukris. I thought, "That's nice" and basically didn't pay much attention to it other than to note it.
Then just last week as we were looking at the Cold Steel catalog, she was really drooling over the Khuks. And I finally took a good look, for the first time really, and I had to admit, that those things had a "sairten soomthin'" as they say in Scotland.
Don
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