The Movie “American Wrestler” Reminds Us Kids with Courage Can Conquer
Disclosure: This is a Sponsored post about American Wrestler: The Wizard brought to you in partnership with ESX Productions and What U Talking Bout Willis.
While my boys were in high school, my oldest went out for the wrestling team. He was a natural when it came to sports, so I wasn’t surprised when he decided this was the next sport he was going to try. My second son was just a couple grades below his brother and always struggled with his weight and sports. I always encouraged him in whatever sport he tried. I gave him so much credit because despite trying so hard it didn’t come as easy to him like it did his brother.
At the end of 10th grade my younger son went out for the baseball team once again. He was chosen and was a part of the team that year. When summer came he decided to go out for football, and during that season he not only lost weight but grew to be six foot tall. Gone was the chubby kid that had struggled with his weight, and in his place was a kid that showed more confidence and courage. He then decided in order to keep his weight off he would go out for wrestling. To be honest, he never won one match, but he always had the courage to keep on trying. I tried to teach my kids that with courage you can do anything, and even if you didn’t ‘win’ you can at least be proud that you tried. There’s a funny saying that we ‘wrestle’ with our problems. It’s even funny to think of someone saying they are “soccering with some issues.” In an age of cell phones, video games, and YouTube, we often see our kids lose focus and give up. Wrestling truly gave him the skills necessary to persevere in any situation.
This brings me to this wonderful movie called “American Wrestler: The Wizard”.
American Wrestler: The Wizard
This movie is a feel-good movie. Other movies that come to mind when I learned more about this movie are “Remember the Titans”, “Blindside”, and “Coach Carter”.
While it sounds like just another addition to the list, “American Wrestler: The Wizard” is actually making a statement via its title: the tale of a teenage refugee who flees his troublesome homeland only to find himself fighting for his own dignity in the United States. This feel-good drama actually concerns a young teenage wrestler, for whom victory in the ring earned acceptance from his peers, as he begins a new life in the land of opportunity, America.
About the Wrestler Ali Jahani
The wrestler’s name is Ali Jahani and quickly earns the nickname “wizard” for the sheer speed with which he pins his opponents — “faster than you can say his name,” as one local sports-page reporter puts it. His story, which was loosely inspired by true events, and comes from actor-producer Ali Afshar’s own experience growing up in East Petaluma, California. This was at a time when the local people weren’t any more friendly toward Middle Easterners than they are today in 2018.
Courage can be applied to anything in your and your child’s life. It does not have to be sports oriented. In school and in life itself it is found that we will ‘wrestle’ with different situations. It is important that our kids know that if you have the courage to try they can feel good about themselves. Even if they don’t succeed having the courage to keep going forward is important in everyone’s life.
You can learn more about this movie by visiting their Facebook page and website below.
