Father-Daughter Ninja Morning Unleashes Inner Warriors

The all too familiar father-daughter play fights with which dads will be well acquainted are usually instigated at home. On a crisp September morning, the essence of these friendly tussles was brought to the Father-Daughter Ninja Morning for our girls and their dads to enjoy. The event took these everyday moments and created a special memory with a purpose for all who participated.

Around 200 daughter-dad duos eagerly converged in the school gym, ready to channel the legendary fighter spirit of the heroines like Mulan seen on the big screen. The dads and girls were taken through an hour of tactical self-defence training, run by Big Judo instructors Ben and Nellie Stallworthy, who’ve clocked five New Zealand judo titles between them.

The dynamic pair of instructors kicked off the morning by comically acting out a scenario that would result in needing self-defence. In an ideal world, de-escalation is the gold standard for safety. But the girls came ready to throw a few punches! So, they gathered everyone into a huddle to watch them as they demonstrated different defence movements, from ducking, hand-chops, and kicks.

The girls were extremely excited to try these new techniques on their dads. Shrieks of glee ensued as they karate-chopped their dads to the best of their abilities. The dads were kind enough to oblige the beating as the girls' confidence increased.

In amongst the giggles, our girls were taught some important lessons: identifying a threat to safety, diffusing hostile situations, and strong positioning to hold in conflict. While our efforts persist in striving for a world where their skills won't be essential, the acquired knowledge will empower them with confidence as they flourish into strong young women.

After an hour of adrenaline-infused self-defence, appetites were well-earned. Breakfast was provided by the Girls’ School P&F, who had a delicious array of warm breakfast bites, hot drinks, and nibbles. On the way out, each father was given a bag full of all sorts of things to help cement their new ninja personas, including a gym trial, protein powders, drinks, and an assortment of ‘man stuff’.

Thank you to the P&F for putting on an empowering morning for the girls to spend quality time with their dads. We’d also like to thank our generous sponsors who donated items for the take-home bags. Finally, a word of warning to our dads - we anticipate some more evenly matched play-fights coming to your family’s home soon!