The Wild Way Protective Dad Sylvester Stallone Taught His Daughters Self-Defense
Sylvester Stallone has five children, and he doesn't mess around when it comes to their safety. In the second season of his docuseries, "The Family Stallone," the "Rocky" star's daughters discussed how he taught them self-defense. Sistine Stallone recalled that their father sent her to school with a tiny knife in her bag to ensure that nobody would mess with her. He also made his girls understand the power of pepper spray and the correct way to use it by making them spray it on each other.
The training was far from over even when they reached adulthood. When Sistine and Sophia Stallone informed him of their intentions to move to New York, he was gravely concerned about their safety. In the docuseries, the "Rocky" star explained that he had a horrifying experience living in the city while he was homeless. "Everyday robbery, physical attacking. Cars were coming over curbs. People throwing acid on you," he recalled of his time in the city, per Business Insider.
Not wanting his daughters to face the things he did, he surprised the women with a day-long trip to a training camp run by former Navy SEALs. However, they weren't entirely surprised when he brought up the idea. Speaking to the New York Post, Sistine shared, "Through our entire life, we grew up with him doing these military-esque self-defense training." Sophia said that every morning at 6 a.m., he would promptly serve them a breakfast of eggs with ketchup or a gigantic bowl of oatmeal with whipped cream. After that, they would undergo a strict strength training regimen followed by sports.
Sophia Stallone made her dad proud at self-defense camp
In "The Family Stallone," Sophia Stallone shared that she was confused about why her dad, Sylvester Stallone, thought they still needed training. "When you're raised by someone whose entire identity is being the biggest badass in the world, I knew how to run faster, hit harder than anybody else in their grade," she explained. Meanwhile, Sistine Stallone pointed out that she always carried a miniature knife in her shoe, similar to the one her dad sent her to school with.
However, Sly clearly didn't think they were prepared to take on New York, so off they went to training camp. Sophia's training started on the way to the self-defense camp because the "Rocky" actor put a blindfold over her eyes. He then asked her to pretend she had been kidnapped and asked her to identify where they were headed based on the direction the car was heading in. As the sisters walked into camp, they were messing about to ease the tension, but their dad told them to get real and take it seriously.
Their training regimen started with boxing and self-defense and ended with them trying to catch chickens, a cheeky reference to "Rocky II." They also had their mental endurance tested with an ice bath and included what the trainer believed to be some practical New Yorker skills like carrying 60 pounds uphill. Although Sylvester was impressed by Sophia's self-defense skills, he was a little disappointed in Sistine because he felt like she was flirting with the instructor, which turned out to be true.
He's equally protective about their dating life
Sistine Stallone admitted that she had been flirting with the self-defense instructor post-training in a confessional on "The Family Stallone." However, she didn't see herself getting into a relationship with him because his Instagram following list was full of women with a fuller body type. It's probably best that they didn't go the distance because her dad, Sylvester Stallone, is unsurprisingly overprotective about their romantic life.
In another episode of the series, Sistine recalled the first time she ever brought a boy home. "The first time a boy came over to meet my parents he's going in for the first kiss and I was so nervous but I was excited, and he looks up at the balcony and he goes, 'Oh my God. What is that?'" she shared "And it was my dad standing on the second-floor balcony backlight, so just see a silhouette." The intimidation worked, and her date wanted nothing to do with her after that.
Sistine further explained that being the daughter of a celebrity already reduced her dating pool, and the few that remained were scared by her father's behavior. However, Sylvester didn't see the problem and simply thought he was working in their best interests to keep them away from no-good men. Unfortunately, the sisters can't find many fellow stars to bond over their shared experiences with because Sylvester keeps his celebs away from his daughters. Still, it's clear the Stallone family gets along swimmingly because their daughters seem to understand that their dad has their best interests in his heart.