Consequently, a 100-km forced march would be another challenge which would truly show a boy that he has transitioned into being a man. One of the best ways to test soldiers is with a rucksack march, and some of the most stringent special forces’ testing in the world includes forced marches. Initiation Challenge 2 – The 100-Km March Either way though, surviving such a test would show the boy that he is indeed a man.
Or, alternatively, this challenge could be completed with rounds of grappling instead of stand-up fighting. Note as well that the goal of this challenge is not for the boy to really fight the opponents in any significant way rather, the goal is that the boy faces the challenge and never quits, no matter how tired or in pain he is.Īdditionally, realize that, if desired, such a test could be Westernized by changing the fighting to boxing rather than karate. After all, he would be on his own in the ring and would have to use all his strength, will, and wit to survive. Thus, if your teenage boy is into martial arts, and if at least 10 participants are available that can rotate in and out of the fighting, then the 100-man kumite-or a scaled-down version of it-would be a test that would truly show the boy that he is a man. Now, as you can imagine, this is a type of challenge that only a man can complete. Come hell or high water, the fight continues or you fail the test. If you are so tired that you cannot raise your arms, too bad. If you get injured, but you can keep going, then you do so.
In essence, what this challenge consists of is fighting 100 opponents in a series of two minute rounds without any significant break in-between the rounds. He also created what is arguably the most brutal martial arts test known to man: the 100-man kumite. Long before the UFC ever existed, a karate master named Mas Oyama invented Kyokushin karate. (And please note that since these challenges are physically demanding, it is strongly suggested that your medical skills are up-to-date before undertaking any of these tests.) Initiation Challenge 1 – Hundred Man Combat To that end, let me propose five different initiation rites which men could use today to mark the ‘boyhood to manhood’ transition for their sixteen to seventeen-year-old sons or nephews. In fact, in our feminized society, there is little doubt that any attempt to reintroduce a formalized initiation ritual exclusively for boys would be met with howls of protest and indignation from feminists and their ilk, but that does not mean that Western men, in small groups, cannot create initiation rituals with their own sons to allow those boys to have a true initiation challenge. Not the kind of initiation ritual that Western boys need.Īt present, there is no way that Western society will reintroduce some type of initiation ritual which all boys can experience. And they are unsatisfactory because they fail to capture the unique essence of manliness: namely, strength, a tough physicality, a biting intellect, self-sufficiency, sacrifice, discipline, and an undying grit which never quits even when your body cannot move another inch.Ĭonsequently, proper initiation rituals, wherever possible, need to emphasize such traits in order to truly mark the transition from boyhood to manhood. Now, while the above options are potential points which could mark a boy’s transition into being a man, all those options are actually quite unsatisfactory. So then is it when a boy gets his first job? Or when he first starts to drive? Is it when he finally goes to college? Who knows, which is precisely what the problem is! After all, is a boy considered a man the first time he has sex? Maybe, but even boys can have sex. But in the West, no such rituals really remain.Īt present, there are no established initiation challenges that a Western boy must complete before he is considered a man. And even today, such initiation rituals still exist in other cultures.
In past times in the Western world, young boys underwent various hardships and pains which, once completed, marked their transition from boyhood to manhood. Within the manosphere, one of the best-known problems that confronts young men in the West today is a lack of genuine initiation rituals.