I remember playing a game in which we would take turns punching each other in the stomach as hard as we could while trying not to flinch, but I viewed it as positive sum. Even though you get punched it’s still a lot of fun.
Glad to know it wasn’t just my own summer camp which was that deranged.
Might’ve been fun for you, but was it fun for everyone who was pressured into playing? I’m also slightly skeptical of your after-the-fact judgment that the initiation ritual was fun. But not too skeptical, for different people are different.
The ones for whom it was not fun were the ones in most need of the game.
It’s natural to be afraid of pain. It’s your body’s signal for damage. But pain in that kind of controlled environment, where you know you are fundamentally safe, and no damage will occur, gives you a chance to get over your fear of pain, which in most cases is much more painful than the pain itself.
There are few things that a child will face that is more painful than the fear of pain. I think it’s healthy for a child to be gently led out of that fear. When I was young, I was too afraid, and wish that someone had helped me to get past it.
Glad to know it wasn’t just my own summer camp which was that deranged.
Far from it. I suspect it’s a fairly universal game, either to signal “I am tough”, or practice for handling pain or fear.
The version of this game popular in my country involves taking turns kicking a soccer ball at each other from a given distance, usually while the target is facing a wall. Whoever kicks the ball is up next, even if they miss. I assume it is a positive sum game, because kids would play this game of their own volition, though that could be because they don’t want to refuse when invited. It was a rather uncommon game, relative to proper games.
I’ve also seen a game called “mercy” where the fingers of both parties are interlaced and bent backwards until someone gives up, the game called “chicken” involving driving cars at each other (which I’ve heard a lot about but never seen played), the crushing handshake, truth or dare. However, the most intriguing one is the drinking contest.
We played it with thrown balls, and the target had to stand there until someone missed. But every time someone hit the person the throwing distance was increased by a step.
I totally agree about it being practice for handling pain and finding out what the limits are in a safe manner. You’ll see baby animals doing the same thing as they play, slowly ramping up the level of roughness until somebody squawks.
Unfortunately, it’s also a way to reinforce an in-group if you can get some out-group players involved. I only played it once since it didn’t take me long to notice that, somehow, I was the only one who ever got actually hit with the ball whenever I was involved.
I remember playing a game in which we would take turns punching each other in the stomach as hard as we could while trying not to flinch, but I viewed it as positive sum. Even though you get punched it’s still a lot of fun.
Glad to know it wasn’t just my own summer camp which was that deranged.
Might’ve been fun for you, but was it fun for everyone who was pressured into playing? I’m also slightly skeptical of your after-the-fact judgment that the initiation ritual was fun. But not too skeptical, for different people are different.
The ones for whom it was not fun were the ones in most need of the game.
It’s natural to be afraid of pain. It’s your body’s signal for damage. But pain in that kind of controlled environment, where you know you are fundamentally safe, and no damage will occur, gives you a chance to get over your fear of pain, which in most cases is much more painful than the pain itself.
There are few things that a child will face that is more painful than the fear of pain. I think it’s healthy for a child to be gently led out of that fear. When I was young, I was too afraid, and wish that someone had helped me to get past it.
Far from it. I suspect it’s a fairly universal game, either to signal “I am tough”, or practice for handling pain or fear.
The version of this game popular in my country involves taking turns kicking a soccer ball at each other from a given distance, usually while the target is facing a wall. Whoever kicks the ball is up next, even if they miss. I assume it is a positive sum game, because kids would play this game of their own volition, though that could be because they don’t want to refuse when invited. It was a rather uncommon game, relative to proper games.
I’ve also seen a game called “mercy” where the fingers of both parties are interlaced and bent backwards until someone gives up, the game called “chicken” involving driving cars at each other (which I’ve heard a lot about but never seen played), the crushing handshake, truth or dare. However, the most intriguing one is the drinking contest.
We played it with thrown balls, and the target had to stand there until someone missed. But every time someone hit the person the throwing distance was increased by a step.
I totally agree about it being practice for handling pain and finding out what the limits are in a safe manner. You’ll see baby animals doing the same thing as they play, slowly ramping up the level of roughness until somebody squawks.
Unfortunately, it’s also a way to reinforce an in-group if you can get some out-group players involved. I only played it once since it didn’t take me long to notice that, somehow, I was the only one who ever got actually hit with the ball whenever I was involved.