Bullying

How Martial Arts Can Protect Your Child from Bullies

Bullying has been around for as long as we can remember, and so has martial arts. But is there a connection between the two? We think there is. Bullies often target weaker kids, which can lead to things like sleep loss, a lack of self-confidence, and unfortunately even suicide. But that’s where martial arts can come in. 

Along with teaching your child self-defense, it can help to put them into a mindset that blocks bullies and focuses on confidence. If used correctly, we believe your child can positively harness the power of martial-arts to up their confidence and deter bullies. 

Physical Self-Defense Helps with Mental Self-Defense

Part of learning martial-arts includes being confronted by an “attacker” and learning how to defend yourself. Through the techniques taught, your child will learn how to defend themselves (physically and mentally) and get out of real-life physical attacks. But it doesn’t stop there. 

The body affects the mind, and this is no exception. Your child will learn to diffuse tension to avoid a fight (as that’s the last resort). Being able to do so stems from a specific state of mind. When a child is bullied, their first response is to react negatively. But with the skills of martial arts, your child will understand how to not take a bully’s actions or words to heart, but rather to stand strong and confidently. They’ll also be taught to make calm and calculated decisions instead of ones out of anger. 

Bullies Stay Away from Confident Kids

Since your child will learn how to stand differently, he/she will give off an air of confidence. There are certain footing positions that your child will be taught, along with different ways to hold their core, shoulders, and their entire body. This is so that they will be “ready” for an attack. 

In real life, this can be used to show confidence. Since bullies normally target weaker kids, they’ll be more likely to avoid your child. 

Teaching your child these skills will also give them real self-confidence. They’ll know that getting pushed to the ground isn’t the end of the world. They can get back up and try again. When your child pushes themselves physically, they’ll focus on their goals rather than their anxieties. 

They’ll also know how to defend themselves. Knowing that they’re safe can be a huge relief to bullied kids, and can cause self-doubt to fade away. 

Your Child Will Know How to Handle Themselves

Martial-arts are about the body, but they’re also about the mind. Your child will be in an environment that teaches them that restraint is key. That means that they’ll be encouraged to provide the least amount of damage possible while still protecting themselves. While it may be tempting to injure their attacker due to anger, that’s not the point of self-defense. 

Your child will also be taught values such as respect, self-control, and discipline. Not only will these help in their self-defense education, but those ideals will stay with them for the rest of their lives. 

Your Child Will Know when to Walk Away

As we mentioned above, an important part of martial-arts is restraint. Sometimes that even means walking away from a negative situation. One of the most important things that are taught in self-defense classes is that the best defense is running away. If it’s possible to outrun your attacker, it’s better to flee than risk getting hurt. 

The same is true for bullying. Wordlessly walking away from an insult is quite often the best reaction. It shows maturity, self-control, and confidence. Normally those are all things that bully lack—and things that intimidate them. 

In the Case of a Fight, Your Child is Protected

But there’s no need to worry. One of the great things about martial arts is that it doesn’t promote violence. A physical fight is taught as a last resort. Educating your child in self-defense will give them the wisdom they’ll need to decide if they can diffuse the situation, walk (or run) away, or stand their ground. And if it comes down to the latter, your child will know how to defend him/herself with control. 

During a confrontation, you’re already mentally preparing for a fight. Having trained in martial-arts will make your child accustomed to that rush of adrenaline and emotions. That way, if a fight does break out, your child will be able to keep themselves in check. They’ll also be more confident in standing their ground in the face of aggression. 

It’ll Give Your Child the Confidence to Stand up for Others

Your child may find confidence through martial arts, but many others won’t have the opportunity. Standing up for others who can’t defend themselves is something to be proud of in your child. Martial-arts is a great way to teach your child to defend themselves against bullying. And with the ever-growing threat of cyberbullying, preparing your child mentally is important.

The Road to Confidence Leads to the Martial Arts

When I think about having confidence when I am feeling particularly without it, I am reminded of the scene in The Sound of Music when Maria is heading for the Von Trapp Estate for the first time. Swinging that clearly empty guitar case, she is singing Richard Rogers’ lyric, “I’ll make them see I have confidence in me!” Sometimes, having a little talk with oneself is enough to get the job done. Sometimes, it is not. So, how can one overcome that sense of inferiority that erodes self-empowerment so easily? For many, the answer is found in the martial arts. 

Life Challenges Don’t Wait for Us to Get Strong

Moms and dads certainly want their kids to be able to face the challenges that come along in life, which can be at any age, with a sense of self-assuredness and strength to avoid the consequences. Many times, we are not there when our kids are getting knocked down by the confrontation that leaves them feeling inferior. The natural tendency is for our kids to shrink from the experience and simply want to disappear, especially if the confrontation is that which comes from a bully. The bully counts on his or her victims to recoil as their only power comes from picking on those kids who feel helpless in their presence. Studies have shown that the effects of being bullied may cause long-term social anxiety disorder. 

However, it needn’t be just the bullies in life that we need to be careful of. Anytime a child feels inferior in the presence of others who seem stronger or more capable, there may be the chance that the child will feel inferior until he or she learns how to present themselves better, whether that is walking or talking or simple body movements. As we grow up, we may be faced with not feeling either masculine or feminine enough in the presence of others who might outshine us in these ways. As he gets older, a young man may not convey the sense that he is able to protect his family, something that women find attractive. 

Mastering the Body is Mastering the Mind

All these scenarios and others present a challenge to one’s self-esteem in the big wide world. The thing about Far Eastern combat technique is that you don’t need to try to find the solutions to every single possible scenario that might present itself in order to build a powerful sense of self. 

Building self-confidence could be from any one of these training regimens: 

• Judo
• Karate
• Wrestling
• Aikido
• Jujitsu
• Kendo
• Kickboxing
• Kung Fu
• Sumo Wrestling
• T’ai Chi
• Tae Kwon Do

Finding the right method of practice for you or your kids is a lot like finding the right pair of shoes; it helps if you know what you want so you can shop around until you find the one that is comfortable for you and that you like. 

Far Eastern Disciplines Ease the Troubled Mind

Another film analogy I recall when thinking about how practicing martial arts settles the mind is from The Last Samurai when Tom Cruise’s character is not doing well during a sparring session. A young man cautions him that he has “too many mind.” Without the self-restraint to be able to focus on the task at hand, we can become easily distracted from paying attention to too many things at once. It leaves us completely ineffectual, no matter what it is we are trying to achieve. When we become anxious, we tend to lose our self-esteem, and this can lead us to stop believing in our own abilities. Weakness leads to avoidance, and avoidance keeps us from facing our fears head-on, which is the only way to overcome that sense of inadequacy. 

The self-control that comes from combat training is all encompassing because you are learning how to master your body in the face of all manner of challenges, and mastering the body comes from learning how to master the mind. People often confuse this education as meaning a fight must always ensure for the student to demonstrate the skill of self-confidence. The martial artist has learned a way out of these situations, even if he or she never has to use their fighting skills to do it. 

With Self-Control Comes Fluidity in Motion

An improvement in self-confidence can occur on the very first day of training since kids are shown they can do things that they have never done before. They are taught to believe in themselves, especially when attempting new techniques. Gaining the ability to more confidently move their own bodies helps take the clumsiness out of merely walking. When their focus is concentrated on how their bodies move, even the kids who are famous for bumping into things become more attentive and focused on both their own bodies and their environment. 

Too often, what happens in a stressful moment is that kids will hold their breath. Even if for a few seconds, this is enough to cause tension in the body. Breathing through the panic is a way to develop the muscle memory to breathe through it making it possible to unlearn this automatic stress response. This can be applied in such situations as taking a test, participating in sports, speaking before others, just to name a few. Surprisingly, remaining calm and breathing through the fear allows one to do the right thing naturally. In essence, it puts the mind in the right place to receive the stimuli. 

In addition to using these disciplines to make new friends, avoid bullies and avoid conflict without resorting to violence, other gains to learning the combat arts are: 

• Courtesy
• Respect
• Discipline
• Paying attention
• Following directions

Training engages the mind, but it also works in the areas of the physical, mental and emotional planes of expression. These workouts benefit both male and female tremendously. The ability to go forward with a balance of these aspects of being has unending advantages for kids who are seeking to vanquish their timidity or shyness and to fully engage in a broader sense of relating to their immediate world. Their sphere of influence is enlarged and their sense of accomplishment soars when all cylinders are firing.

Bullying and Martial Arts

The issue of bullying has become so pervasive of late, the Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit devoted to emotional issues faced by today’s child and his parents, has posted on its website a “symptom checker” for worried parents (https://childmind.org/symptomchecker/). This tool is aimed at moms and dads who have no psychological training, but who are intuitive enough to sense that something’s wrong due to changes in their child’s behavior. 

If you’re reading this post, you may be one of these concerned parents; you may instinctively feel that your child is among the growing numbers of kids who are being bullied in school, around the community and even during organized activities where the child-adult ratio is so small, bullies take advantage of children they perceive as being weaker and more vulnerable. 

Talking to your child is the very first step parents must take to see if they can figure out what’s driving these unusual behaviors, and there’s always a chance the causation has nothing to do with bullying. On the other hand, if that’s the issue, you want to be prepared to tackle this problem head on for your sake and for the sake of your youngster. 

Is your child a target for bullies?

Sherri Gordon, writing for VeryWellFamilies.com, says that some children are more likely than others to be targeted for bullies and she offers these examples: 
-Kids who are good at sports, academics, and theater. Bullies target them because they feel inferior. 
-Gifted kids could be ridiculed by peers who are jealous of the attention bright youngsters get. 
-Bullies have a knack for identifying youngsters who are quiet, anxious, introverted and who won’t fight back. 
-Children with few or no friends are extremely vulnerable because bullies sense their fragility. 
-Popular/well-liked kids can be targeted by those who crave the attention these children get. 
-Special needs kids are extremely vulnerable to being targeted by bullies. 
-Children whose religious practices, sexual identification or racial differences are exploited by bullies. 

Want to know more? Access this link: https://www.verywellfamily.com/reasons-why-kids-are-bullied-460777. 

What can you do if your child is being bullied?

Staying attuned to a child’s mood swings and behavioral changes is the first step to identifying potential bullying. The biggest red flag of all? “School refusal,” notes Katie Hurley, LCSW, writing for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) (http://www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2016/10/child-bullied/). This sign is particularly worrisome if your child once adored school and now dreads getting on the school bus. 

Hurley stresses the importance of avoiding assumptions and getting your head into a non-judgmental place so you can ask questions and ferret out the cause of your child’s reluctance. If you can’t engage him with dialog, listen especially hard for clues and keep an open mind. 

And while some psychologists have recommended putting the bully, the victim, and their parents into the same room, this practice can exacerbate the problem and isn’t recommended by professionals because there is no trained adult in the room to mediate what goes on. You need to empower your child, not makes things worse. Giving your child martial arts training is the solution many parents turn to for a variety of reasons.

How martial arts empowers bullied kids

When the “Aiken Standard” newspaper sought the help of an expert to show readers how bullied kids in the paper’s zone were being trained to stand up to bullies, they chose Cameron Smith, a relatively young South Carolinian to profile (https://www.aikenstandard.com/entertainment/helping-put-bullies-out-of-business-north-augusta-sensei-empowers/article_904f40dd-4cd4-5b0a-8ba9-e20dd44b9406.html). 

Smith runs programs for kids as young as 6 who call him “Sensei” because he earns their respect as he helps them cope with bullies. Smith shows kids that posture and voice–“rather than bruises and bloodshed”—can help any child stand up to a bully, and because he is so young and understands what it’s like to be bullied, he knows just what to say to kids to empower them. 

In fact, the ancient skills he teaches his students are so effective, they may even work for children who have behavioral, learning and attention deficient disorders (https://www.understood.org/en/friends-feelings/child-social-situations/sports/9-benefits-of-martial-arts-for-kids-with-learning-and-attention-issues). Parents who have run out of options and patience say that this type of discipline is nothing short of a miracle.

How does learning a martial art change a child who is bullied? 

Whether they undertake judo, karate, tae kwon do or other training methods taught at martial arts studios, kids begin to absorb moves and maneuvers at their own pace. As they become proficient, their self-esteem increases, especially in kids who don’t have to have the skill sets other sports demand. 

Children undertaking this type of training learn balance, agility, discipline, fearlessness and their eye/hand coordination improves. Because each child learns and masters moves at a comfortable pace, they don’t have to worry about matching the accomplishments of other students. 

With the “competition barrier” removed, a child studying a martial art has no team to let down; they don’t have to compare themselves to anyone and as they are rewarded for accomplishments by earning colored belts for each new skill level, they learn how to set and achieve attainable goals. In sum, they build the confidence they need to blow off bullies and react to them in practical, non-threatening ways. 

How you can help

As your child learns to think differently about herself and her place in the world as a direct result of this training, you can help bolster her ego by emphasizing progress, complementing discipline and behaviors as she internalizes and excels at a sport that gives her a safe outlet for her energy, frustration, fear, and anger. 

Because the environment is healthy, negativity is not tolerated and peer support is heightened, you are the recipient of this bounty, so you can look for signs that her emotional health is getting stronger the more she engages in this healthy activity. Picking the right training facility is always a matter of convenience, scheduling, and affordability, so choose one that has the lowest child-to-instructor ratio, so she gets plenty of attention. 

It helps to mention to studio staff that the reason you are enrolling your child has to do with being bullied so instructors can focus on addressing the issue in ways that will maximize her progress. And by all means, do what you can to get him or her the “fashion” that stands as a symbol of accomplishment. Few bullies are willing to go up against a child dressed for self-defense—even if that karate kid happens to be your feminine girlie girl!

How Martial Arts Assist Children’s Growth and Help Them Learn How to Defend Themselves

During my childhood, bullying was the primary thing holding me back in school, and I never wanted to attend school because of it. Schoolwork was incredibly easy compared to the constant verbal and physical assault from my peers and I often wished to be home-schooled. Looking back, I really wish I could’ve had more confidence and assertiveness in dealing with my bullies, I eventually did develop those traits, but teachers and counselors often didn’t offer enough to ever permanently solve my issues with bullying. The only thing that really ever solved the problem was learning martial arts and defending myself when bullies attacked. 

The first thing I should immediately state is that I have never truly believed that violence is the answer to any problem and that learning a martial art doesn’t promote that either. The importance of it is learning to defend yourself when danger or violence strikes you, not spread it to others. It also greatly helps in building a child’s confidence and promoting fitness in their life, it isn’t just about fighting and it certainly wasn’t that way for me. It felt like it was about learning a new way of life, learning how to respond instead of reacting and learning to protect myself both physically and emotionally. 

Martial arts aren’t just a physically good activity for a child though, it can also be incredibly social. When I attended my first class as a kid, I met new people, I realized that not everyone was bad or out to cause harm. It truly expanded my horizons and allowed me to become a much more social person as I grew up. I started having something to look forward to after school, whether it be practicing a new technique with friends or engaging in thrilling tournaments. I would talk enthusiastically with my parents at dinner about impressive new lessons my instructor taught and started finding friends with similar interests in school. It felt like the world was my oyster for the first time in my life and hopefully, your child would also experience that if they choose to practice a martial art. 

Now, I have spoken about the other benefits I experienced with learning a martial art, but in the end, I did learn it to help defend myself when I was attacked at school. I had quickly learned the essential lesson that teachers and other adults wouldn’t always be around to save me in these dangerous situations and that’s why I chose to learn it, so I could defend myself independently of others. This is something I look back on and actually find really interesting too, as I was an incredibly skinny kid that had a lot of trouble standing up to others. After practicing martial arts, I suddenly found myself being able to put bullies that were two times my size in submission holds and actually succeed in getting away from most fights uninjured. Even in the worst situations where I was at a significant disadvantage, I was able to subdue them until adults arrived and could break it up. Either way, bullies started to leave me alone, I was no longer an easy target and other peers with the same issues started to befriend and respect me. I didn’t loathe going to school anymore, it was now a place I wanted to go and without the confidence and techniques I learned from a martial art, I don’t think that change would have happened. 

I believe I have extensively discussed the benefits and how my world changed as a result of learning a martial art, but you may be asking, what specific techniques did I learn and what do I recommend? I personally learned Jiu-Jitsu, a martial art that focuses on grappling your opponent and subduing them. It was founded based on the concept that a smaller person, young or old, can find success in defending themselves against stronger and heavier opponents. Its concept is applied through perfectly executing the techniques one would learn, correctly using leverage and taking fights to the ground to apply choke-holds and joint locks if it was absolutely necessary. Another benefit of Jiu-Jitsu specifically is that its sparring and live drills focus on sparring without hurting the other as it simply isn’t focused on that. Instead, it’s focused on successfully applying the technique and causing your opponent to tap out when it’s executed, meaning no one actually gets hurt. Now, I am not saying that Jiu-Jitsu is the only martial art your child could use for self-defense, as there are many others that can serve the same purpose. Just some of the others that I recommend are: 

• Muay
  Thai
• Krav
  Maga
• FMA 
• Aikido
• Hapkido

All of these are viable options for learning how to defend yourself in potentially dangerous situations and although I personally use Jiu-Jitsu, I have seen others attain great success with the rest of these. Lastly, I just wanted to mention that these self-defense techniques that I have learned have lasted me a lifetime and have protected me in situations as an adult just as much as when I was a child; Because of this, you and/or your partner could consider learning a martial art with your child, it could be a great bonding experience after all. 

In conclusion, learning a martial art is something that changed my life as a kid and it could change your child’s life as well. It didn’t just allow me to defend myself, it also gave me self-esteem and made me a much more mature person in general. It helped me make new friends and connect more with family as well; I truly got a new lease on life. I personally learned and recommend Jiu Jitsu, but there are other styles that are great for self-defense and I have seen others achieve great success with them. Overall, I think that learning any martial art can help children defend themselves from bullying and help them grow as people.

Martial Arts training is to help students develop the confidence they need to be successful in life

Who doesn’t want their children to be successful in life? Has it ever occurred to you that training in the Martial Arts can instill confidence in your child that will make them secure not only in discovering commitment but gaining the knowledge they need to succeed? The training address some of the most anxiety-causing situations your children will face. With the training, they might someday successfully navigate everything from abusive kids to panic disorders and high anxiety.

Marred Future
The training helps students develop the confidence they need to be successful. Take social anxiety. The problem of bullying is getting so out of control that parents and teachers are at wits end about what to do for children. Social anxiety creates a horrible future. It may be a future marred by:

• Depression
• Drug abuse
• Suicide

Is it any wonder parents want a solution? The training diminishes the harm of teasing and abuse. With this social anxiety, it’s about lop-sided power. The powerful want to make the fragile do what they want. Is it hard to imagine a trained person unable to address the unevenness of power or the distress of being provoked by a loud-mouth kid?

Who are the Victims of Teasing and Abuse
With the teasing and abuse, who stands to lose the most? It’s the kids who are different that are often singled out by other children and teased or assaulted. The victims have similar traits:

• Less physical strength
• Less mental ability
• Less money
• Fewer friends

Those qualities make them targets. It’s unfortunate, but the weakest children are the easiest targets. The stakes are actually quite high. The damage done is far from trivial. Nobody wants their children to suffer this.

The training can also help children suffering from social anxiety. Adults are human, and they can make mistakes. They criticize a child in front of other kids. Other children then tease and abuse the criticized child. The natural response to this behavior is a child who is socially anxious. Social anxiety can also be overcome with Martial Arts training. Setting and reaching goals will create self-belief in a child and help them overcome social anxiety.

Accountability
Some people associate the training with effort, but participants can focus on self-control and discipline too. Children with panic attacks can learn self-discipline and ways to overcome the panic that is often associated with having the spotlight shown on them. Many classes incorporate spiritual values:

• To foster peace and non-violence as approaches to teasing and bullying
• To encourage meditation and training that leads to inner peace
• To promote Accountability

If every teasing, abusive child in the school were held to a level of accountability, would there be less social anxiety in children?

The Value of Practice
The training also addresses anxiety in children by providing a place that is consistently safe. One aspect is the fun that the kids experience, and having a good time at every class might ease a child’s anxiety over things like being separated from their folks. The children learn social skills in groups and practice sessions. Practice makes perfect. The more occasions a child spends having fun and being independent of the parent, the less the anxiety will plague them.

The Training is a Tool
Every child needs faith to succeed in life. If a child imagines a response to anxiety and rehearses a response, it can give a child the belief to thwart it. By learning a discipline, the child can confront something as scary as violence with knowledge of what it is and how to deal with it. Taking away your child’s fear may actually instill the faith to repel abusive kids before the behavior starts. If bad kids pick on weaknesses, then the martial arts removes weaknesses. Practice is the best way to prepare your child to meet anxious situations. It builds self-confidence. The more belief your child gets from practice the more likely they can stand their ground. It may become clear to the child that faith will make them less of a mark.

About Practicing and Feeling Good
The goal of attaining colored belts is both a short-term goal and a long-term goal. This helps children understand what goals are and how they work in real life. The goal orientation in the training is designed to motivate the children to excel. The best goals are pursued because of internal pressures in the child. The pursuit of such goals makes a child feel good. External pressures are important in reaching goals too, but goals must be something children really want to achieve.

The Training Teaches Kids Values
Kids learn the ins and outs of respect by earning it and giving it. As a rule, teasing other kids is not a behavior that deserves respect so teaching children not to respect certain behaviors is a positive thing. Kids learn the ways to express respect in physical combat like shaking hands and acknowledging when you’re beaten. Children learn through the training how to measure an opponent’s true abilities and to respect their own. Children in the classes learn the social skills necessary to interact with people, and they learn to deal with bad emotions generated by their peers or adults. The training will give them feedback and a place to develop social skills. The training is a place to develop self-belief and be successful in life.

The training can help kids deal with social anxiety, panic attacks, and bullying. There’s no silver bullet that fixes every problem, but it provides a good place to start.

How Martial Arts Can Help Your Child Against Bullying

Approximately one in every three students in the U.S. cities being bullied at least once in the course of the school year. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of students who get bullied in school report it. Anyone who has experienced bullying can tell you that it can be devastating. Several studies have demonstrated that students who experience it tend to have a greater risk of anxiety, depression, poor performance in academics, as well as poor sleep hygiene.

Addressing the Problem

In recent years, the problem has garnered substantial attention from the media, educators, medical professionals, parents, and lawmakers. An increasing number of schools have set up measures to prevent and discourage it. Additionally, students are increasingly being instructed to stop being bystanders and step up to assist those who are victims, while victims are often motivated to stand up to the challenge.

Many educators and mental health professionals have suggested that teaching kids martial arts is an effective way of empowering children to stand up against bullying. To most parents with no knowledge of what martial sports entail, it can seem like a perilous and violent activity for kids. Nonetheless, parents that sign up their kids in these programs find that their children reap countless benefits. Besides preventing sedentary lifestyles and getting children to be fit, these training programs can help kids to learn other valuable lessons, chief among them being building the confidence and ability to deal with bullies.

Getting Started

Regardless of the kind of techniques you try, it is important to start by creating a clear line of communication with your child. For starters, you want your kid to feel comfortable to discuss his/her experiences with you. Try to begin by listening to what your child has to say. You can then proceed to ask questions about particular incidents until you get to understand the full picture. You may also share your personal experiences when you were in school. This will help your child to understand that you also know what they are going through and how it feels. You can then proceed to try ways to address the situation. These are some effective interventions.

• Role Play

Roleplaying some of the common threatening situations with your kid will teach them how to react to physical confrontations. Martial sports such as King Fu, Taekwondo, and Karate are not any different since when practicing, you are merely role-playing different self-defense scenarios.

• Taking to the Mat

It is important to understand that enrolling your kid in these programs does not mean promoting or glorifying violence. Instead, having that skill and knowledge will help your kid feel more confident. Furthermore, in case you child finds that they are in a situation where they have to defend themselves, the mat practice will offer a certain degree of safety and confidence by enabling the child to perform some moves instinctively once under threat.

What are some of the Benefits to Martial Arts Training for Kids?

There are several ways in which the training can benefit your child beside preventing intimidation or dealing with bullies. Here are some of the obvious benefits martial sports can offer your child.

Determination

In the course of the program, the trainees get to progress through a series of ranks in order to earn titles. Children that enroll in these programs must show determination and commitment. Setting and accomplishing goals through determination and commitment is one of the valuable skills that your child will get to take away from any of the numerous programs.

Learning to Manage Disappointments in a Positive Way

Regardless of how dedicated your child is or how hardworking they are, there is always a possibility that they will be upset by a mistake in the course of training or a failure to advance. Instead of shielding the kid from such feelings, the training will offer the child an opportunity to gain a valuable learning experience. This will help the child to gain the strength necessary to cope with disappointment in a healthy way.

Restraint and Discipline

The fundamental principles of all martial sports programs place a significant emphasis on self-restraint and discipline. Willful, stubborn young ones that often have a difficult time dealing with controlling their impulses can benefit immensely under the coaching of an experienced trainer or instructor.

Improved Social Skills

In many cases, shy kids tend to be bullied a lot in school. Consequently, training can offer your child an opportunity to spend a couple of hours each week interacting with different people in a controlled environment. This usually helps kids who are shy to open up and build more self-assurance when dealing with other people, especially their peers.

Improved Communication Skills and Body Language

The stances involved in various training programs all exhibit confidence. During practice, your child will get to learn about the correct posture and eye contact to maintain when dealing with a potential threat. Additionally, the child will get to learn how to breathe in a manner that exudes composure and talk in an assertive tone that can help to deflect any potential threat. This does not mean that your child has to sound or look confrontational. Instead, the child will be in a better position to stand their own ground, while being able to communicate and develop a rapport with others.

In conclusion, enrolling your child in martial arts classes can benefit them immensely. Not only can it help your child to defend themselves from bullying, but it can also help to build other useful interpersonal skills. Enrolling your child in any of the many programs does not necessarily have to do with teaching your child to be violent or to react violently to confrontational situations. Instead, it has more to do with teaching your child how to cultivate discipline and composure that is necessary to deal with potentially threatening and confrontational situations. In a nutshell, these programs help to build an all-rounded individual who can fit in and cope with different situations.

Bullying and Martial Arts: The Healthy Answer to Big Problem

You send you child off to school or play without giving it a second thought, but next to parents’ fears of having a child kidnapped, there’s a cruel world awaiting her the moment she leaves the safety of your home. It’s heavily populated by bullies using frightening tactics to exert power.

Obviously, you can’t tether yourself to your child, but you can arm him with tools he needs to stand up to bullies with confidence: Eastern combat techniques. We call it the healthy answer to a growing problem and here’s the best part of mastering martial skills: once a child gains the confidence to stand up for herself, she may never have to put learned physical moves into practice.

About bullies’ tactics
When the American Psychological Association conducted a study in 2015 called “Bullying: What We Know Based On 40 Years of Research,” scientists couldn’t have known that the problem would grow exponentially worse over the past three years. Instances of harassment against adults and children are on the rise (http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/05/bullying-research.aspx).

Adults develop coping mechanisms to deal with bullies, says Communications Coach Preston Ni, writing for “Psychology Today” magazine (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/communication-success/201611/8-keys-handling-adult-bullies). They include seeking help, keeping one’s distance from bullies, learning not to be reactive or intimidated and acquiring techniques for compelling respect.

Easier said than done, say folks cowed by bullies, and children who haven’t the wherewithal to understand or apply self-defense tactics are particularly vulnerable. As a result, confrontations can be doubly frightening—-but fortunately, there are tools to help your youngster cope. One of the best is adopting Eastern combat techniques, so whether you’ve tried other methods and failed, or your journey is just beginning, you’ll want to consider this solution.

This training helps kids stand up for themselves
The post has been hanging around for a few years, but Karl Romain’s “Huffington Post” essay titled “3 Ways Martial Arts Helps Bully-Proof Your Child” is one of the best tutorials on the topic we’ve read. As an instructor, Romain has worked with kids for years, so he knows what he’s talking about. He even wrote the definitive book on the topic: “The Self-Confidence Factor: A Parent’s Guide to Bully Prevention.”

Take his word for it: You can put into place measures that help turn the tide, whether a child is entering kindergarten or middle school. Adopt these four principles and see how steadily things begin to change, even before you enroll your youngster in self-defense classes:

-Open lines of communication so your child feels comfortable talking to you about being bullied.
-Share your own past experience about being bullied so she doesn’t feel isolated and alone.
-Try role playing, setting up scenarios in which you help your child learn to respond to bullying.
-Show your concern by suggesting a martial arts class that can help him learn to exude confidence.

5 Ways Eastern combat techniques help children stand up to bullies
1. Kids learn to assume physical postures that tell bullies they’re messing with the wrong kid: body straight; eyes focused; feet firmly planted.
2. Children learn the art of breathing. It helps them stay calm and composed when bullies threaten.
3. Yes, your child can learn to control his fear under extreme circumstances.
4. While gaining confidence, your child learns to relate to others in better ways.
5. Even your child’s vocabulary improves: she can learn words that diffuse situations before they escalate.

Techniques go beyond helping kids feel confident
We don’t have to tell you that you’re raising a child in a world filled with strife. Demanding jobs. Financial pressure. Social pressures, too. The impact of these sociological pressures contributes to a rise in harassment and there’s not much you can do to change it. But once your little one takes his first Karate, Kung Fu or Tae Kwon Do class, you’re going to see changes in the way she behaves and responds.

He’s going to feel more comfortable in his own skin; more self-assured. Knowing he can defend himself in any situation serves as only a backup action that doesn’t need to be on display to show the world he is prepared to take care of himself. Children who study these skills learn early coping skills, hone leadership abilities and carry with them a sense of self-empowerment that prepares them for anything life throws their way.

It’s not just for boys
If you’re sitting on the fence about turning your little girl into the cutest Ninja on the block, rethink that. Girls can benefit more from this kind of training than boys, and the younger a girl is when exposed to self-defense techniques, the more prepared she will be for future, negative confrontations (https://blog.centurymartialarts.com/martialarts/-raising-empowered-daughters-with-martial-arts).

Girls face unique challenges that may include body image issues and the potential of sexually-related threats down the road, so they get double the benefits of boys if they learn early to become stewards of their bodies. Confidence? You may not believe your eyes when you see your child stand up straight, walk confidently and show the world they’re not going take this behavior lying down. You’re going to be proud!

Picking the right Eastern combat method for your child
If life offered guarantees, you would never have to second guess how your child will react to new schools and experiences. You don’t know which of the many self-defense programs is right for your youngster until you realize that these disciplines are personality-driven. Knowing your kid inside-out will help you identify a program that fits, say trainers at ActivityHero.com (http://blog.activityhero.com/kids-martial-arts-guide/#sthash.Pdpi7V9F.dpbs).

Does your child dislike physical contact or tight spaces? Take a pass on Judo. Both Karate and Tae Kwon Do require kids to learn striking and blocking techniques, but Karate is more about “hand-to-hand” combat while strong legs are required to excel at Tae Kwon Do. For kids who love to fly solo, kickboxing should be at the top of your list.

Not sure where your youngster fits? Enroll him in a mixed program so he samples a variety of styles. Talk to other parents to get insights when you visit local training schools. They’ll share tips based on their own search for the right discipline. And don’t be surprised when you discover how many of them brought their children to martial arts classes because, like you, they sought ways to help them cope with bullying, too.

The Power of the Bow: Introducing Martial Arts at an Early Age to Prevent Bullying

Children being mean to one another is nothing new; instead, it’s an ageless tradition born of insecurity and power struggle. Fortunately, our children are growing up in a time where public awareness is ever-increasing and children are taught empathy, confidence, and respect. School-wide anti-bullying programs are the norm, and it’s on nearly every parent’s radar. Despite these efforts, it still pervades our children’s day to day life. Rather than feel powerless against it, we need to educate ourselves to strengthen our children’s confidence and ability to prevent bad behavior before it happens.

One way to do this is through martial arts. The value of self-defence classes are timeless, with participants from all over the world singing its praises. Self-defence teaches awareness, composure, strength, grit, and confidence. Less obviously, it is a proven measure to prevent torment.

Fitness

The physical benefits of self-defence are tremendous, with students exercising their core, their limbs, and their heart as well as their mental strength. While other aerobic activity can be fun and is also an important component of fitness, the benefits of self-defence merge both aerobic and anaerobic functions. Students will jump rope and perform jumping jacks to get their hearts moving, but focus more on the anaerobic functions of stretching, resistance, and gravity. This affords the participant enormous benefits in toning and strengthening their muscles. Students are typically lean, strong, and fit.

Confidence

One of the best things we can do for our children is to help them build confidence. Having faith in yourself and feeling strong and empowered creates stability in relationships, jobs, sports, and school. If a child is constantly doubting their own abilities, they will suffer in a myriad of ways including being more prone to bullying. Unfortunately, bullies look for easy victims, and insecurity is pretty easy to spot.

Consider enrolling your child in a taekwondo or karate class and you will quickly see their confidence grow. The tools they learn in these classes will help them stand up for themselves early and often.

Focus

One of the foundational components of all self-defence classes is focus. Students are taught to use their whole bodies and whole minds to execute precise techniques. This is not the realm for generalized or imprecise movement. Since this requires such intense focus, self-defence students improve their ability to focus. This translates well to playground politics where antagonistic behavior can cause children’s mind to overload. They will find a remarkable composure the next time someone tries to mess with them. In turn, they will be able to make better decisions in those intense moments.

Individual Achievement

One important aspect of self-defence is the focus on individual achievement. Team sports promote relying on your peers in a group arena, while individual sports promote self-awareness, grit, confidence, and motivation. Your student will be determined to learn the skills to reach the next level, whether that is moving from a yellow belt to an orange belt or to a higher level of black belt. This process offers students a unique opportunity to finetune their sense of self. In turn, they will face conflict directly and with resolve, giving bullies no chance to pounce. self-defence students see themselves as self-reliant, a formidable opponent for a potential bully.

Respect

One of the first things you learn in self-defence is that the space where you study is sacred and requires a sense of reverence. Students call this place dojo, a word that encomapsses both the physical space and the practices and behaviors expected within it. Dojo promotes the importance of respect as a primary function in practice.

Most often, when we think of martial arts as a method of self-defense for the child who is receiving the bullying. However, it is also beneficial for preventing children for those prone to asserting power in the wrong ways. Since self-defense encourages respect of others, it engenders a more balanced power relationship amongst its students. Rather than trying to beat someone or win a game, students are taught to work on their own skills and consider themselves equal to those around them. In turn, this discourages the unnatural idea that your peers need dominating (an underlying subtext of bullying).

Anyone can do it!

Some children feel they are not athletes or may say they are not “into” sports. When they self-identify this way early on, it can be a difficult pattern to break. They may have joined a soccer team when they were four or attempted little league in first grade, only to determine that they lacked the hand-eye coordination or interest to continue. Break this cycle by introducing self-defence. One of the absolute best parts about being a student of self-defence is that it is so inclusive, meaning anyone can do it.

With no expensive or intimidating gear and no experience needed to jump in at any age, self-defence offers an attractive and inviting option for people of all ages. You will find that your child claims to not like sports, but takes really well to karate or taekwondo. Since there are few cost or gear barriers, this is a great way to foster confidence and health, thereby bolstering self-esteem.

Lifelong Possibilities

How many adults do you know who still play football? Not many, I’m sure! Some sports are fun while you are young, but torture on your bones. One of the best attributes about self defence is that we can (and do) participate for life. Most martial artists never stop practicing and still attend classes as senior citizens. The classes are designed to be gentle on your body while you are gaining strength, so there is very little concern about blown out knees and torn rotator cuffs. Encourage your child to look at fitness as a means to initiate lifelong learning and health.

Teach your children to be strong throughout their lives with the power of martial arts.

Getting Bullies to Stay Away

As a parent, there is nothing more agonizing than knowing your child is suffering from the emotional abuse of a bully.

If you, too, were bullied as a child, you know yourself that the scars can take a lifetime to heal.

Sadly, children who are quiet, shy and unassuming tend to get bullied. For such children, it is essential that they turn their attitude around and learn the steps they must take to avoid this problem.

Martial arts schools teach children exactly how to make the bullying stop — and it doesn’t involve fighting. Along with the martial arts skills, children learn how to deflect verbal and physical confrontation through role-playing exercises and guidelines.

We clearly spell out the procedure to use in dangerous situations: When they are harassed by a bully, children need to understand there is a very specific course of action that must be taken.

Martial arts students learn how to be in control during such situations – so on the playground, bullies get the message.

Help, I’m Being Bullied!

• Practice being confident: ways to you can practice ways to respond to a bully verbally or through your behavior both by yourself and with a friend or a parent. The most effective thing you can do is to practice feeling good about you, about being confident about who you are.

• Talk about it: if you are being bullied it can help to talk to a parent, a teacher, or a friend about your feelings and frustrations. It’s always a good idea to ask for help when you feel insecure or threatened.

• Don’t get angry, walk away: When someone is bullying you it’s tempting to get angry and fight back. But if you don’t respond and walk away, sooner or later they will probably get tired of harassing you. Be confident and walk away proudly. Body language like this sends them a message that you’re not vulnerable.