Former top boxer Eva Wahlström reflects on the movement of young people and especially the lack of exercise. He also talks about his son's boxing hobby, in which he is also heavily involved.
Professional boxing former world champion Eva Wahlström shakes the hard claim: “We are committing some kind of collective suicide”.
And right after another: “Humanity is forgetting that we are bodily beings.”
It's about exercise, or rather the lack of it, and especially exercise for young people.
If Wahlström could decide, he would immediately do two things to school days: ban smart devices and exercise every day.
Wahlström sees downright red from the impact of smart devices on movement. He makes a comparison.
“It's strange when you get a new device, for example a phone, it is examined very carefully, what all it can do and what features it has. When it comes to ourselves, we often don't explore what we can do with our bodies.”
Wahlström emphasizes that it is not only about exercise.
“If I'm feeling bad or stressed, I release it through movement. Movement releases endorphins, which produce a feeling of well-being and reduce pain, and serotonin creates a feeling of satisfaction, it fights depression. This is being forgotten, because when feeling bad, we often seek medication or use our smart devices even more.”
Wahlström brings up dopamine. Dopamine is the central nervous system's message or neurotransmitter, which is secreted the most in the brain and intestines. Dopamine is known as the pleasure hormone, which plays an important role in generating feelings of pleasure, satisfaction and joy.
“When dopamine comes from a smart device, you can no longer do things for it. Not going to play basketball or run a race or walk in the forest.”
In Finnish Wahlström sees a lot of good in the school system, but in his opinion, the school does not offer enough, for example, movement or life management.
“If you are young and have a life ahead of you, you have to sit all day at school. Then they come home and have to do homework for a couple of hours. At the same time, you should exercise for three hours a day, so it's not really possible.”
In Wahlström's opinion, physical education should be increased a lot in schools, but it is not only about physical education classes.
“You could learn through movement. You don't always have to sit still and listen, although that is also an important skill. Nowadays, it is sometimes possible to sit on a bouncy ball or stand during lessons, but I don't think that drives this issue enough,” Wahlström reflects.
“Children are naturally curious and interested in learning, and children show their emotions physically – by jumping and running. This should not be stifled but supported.”
Wahlström envisioned that schools would have, for example, climbing walls and other stimuli that would inspire movement. He also brings up martial arts.
“This may sound crazy, but martial arts should be in schools right from the elementary grades.”
Wahlström explains the matter in more detail.
“In martial arts, you learn to break bad moods. For example, if you learn boxing or another martial art, you rarely use violence. It is often thought that young people should not be taught to hit, because then they will also use this skill, but the opposite is true.”
Wahlström takes himself as an example.
“I really knew how to calm down when I started boxing at the age of 15. I went to practice in the mornings, and after that it was easy to sit in the lessons.”
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“For some reason, there has been a lot on my mind about where this world is going with regard to children and young people.”
In 2015, Eva Wahlström celebrated the WBC upper featherweight world championship in Helsinki.
Why Wahlström now talking about youth exercise? He has closely followed the lives of young people, because he and his spouse Niklas Räsänen the family includes two teenagers, one of whom is a special child. In addition, the family has a three-year-old child.
“For some reason, there has been a lot on my mind about where this world is going with regard to children and young people.”
At the very least, Wahlström has tried to ensure that exercise is a part of the family's children's lives.
“I don't want to say that I do things better and my children are sometimes too much on devices, but it has been really important for me to make the children understand their potential in themselves and their own bodies. I have used this smallest one as a weight when I do gymnastics. At the same time, he learns different body positions.”
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“Then one day I heard those voices.”
15-year-old son, Leon Kaislamawas already involved in Wahlström's training at a very young age.
“Leon was ten days old when he first went to the boxing gym.”
After that, he was almost always Wahlström's “training buddy”.
“When I did a cycling run, he sat on the porch and cheered me on. It's as if he grew up watching me box.”
However, Leon himself was not interested in boxing. He already played football when he was under school age and also started dancing at the age of five.
“Then one day I heard those voices. He punched in front of the mirror and said: Mom, I might want to try boxing.”
The experiment has since produced, among other things, a youth championship gold and the victory of several international tournaments.
Eva Wahlström and Leon Kaislama are sparring with boxing coach legend Risto Merone in the video published by Eva Wahlström on Instagram.
From a dance background has been very beneficial to Leon's boxing. Wahlström emphasizes that you shouldn't specialize in any sport when you're too young.
“It's really important that young people get to exercise in a variety of ways. Leon also now has his own rhythm and his own way of moving.”
Wahlström emphasizes that he is not his son's coach, but he is involved in the coaching. The actual coach is Miika Forsström In Borgå Boxing.
“Of course I help him in the gym and help others when I'm there. At home, we talk a lot about boxing and practice sometimes. It's so cool that there is such a connection with one's own teenager and that we are also training buddies.”
All in all, Wahlström does not want to create success pressure for his son.
“I see the sport more as a breeder than that sometimes you need to be successful.”
I have to this is also to ask: when you are still shaking, is it possible to return to the ring?
“I could certainly take matches because I'm in good boxing shape, but that wouldn't lead to anything anymore. I got to the top, I was there for a long time and from then on it would only go down”, says Wahlström and laughs.
Read more: Boxer Eva Wahlström tells why she became a boxer and how she became world champion. And why he quit.
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Read more: Eva Wahlström opened up about her difficult years: “The doctor said it's a miracle you're even sitting there”
Read more: Niklas Räsänen's body and mind were broken – now suicidal thoughts have changed to a desire to help missing youth
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