Thursday, October 11, 2018

Say Yes to Martial Arts, Say No to Bullying


Say Yes to Martial Arts, Say No to Bullying



Bruce McCorry's Martial Arts Center
220 Newbury St
Peabody MA 01960

Phone: (978) 535-7878
Email: info@brucemccorrys.com

Bullying is probably that menace without which our children’s school lives would be ten times better than it is today. In 2006, PACER’s Bullying Prevention Centre started observing October as the National Bullying Prevention month, due to increasing instances of bullying among under-17 age group. Since then, anti-bullying organizations and several others have been engaged in coming up with a solid solution to fight bullying. Among the several proposed solutions, there is adult intervention, awareness building, counselling and self-help. However, no single solution has been proposed that can address the issue at its root. This is evident when we see that:
  •          28% of US kids between 6th and 12th grades have been bullied (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011)

  •          30% of children in US admit to bullying others (Bradshaw et al., 2007)

  •          70.6% of children have witnessed bullying (ibid)


This is why martial art as a potential solution to prevent bullying becomes important. As this article shows, martial arts can be an effective and useful self-defense for those kids who are the victims of bullying. Interestingly, martial arts also help those who involve in bullying as bullies and witnesses.

Martial Arts to Fight Bullying
Martial arts for children are commonly looked upon as a beneficial co-curricular activity, or at most an effective physical activity for children. However, martial arts are much more than that, and its many benefits equip children to deal with bullying in different ways.
  1.  Self-Defense: Martial arts teaches kids to defend themselves. It makes them physically stronger, alert and courageous. Kids who learn martial arts tend to resist bullying rather than meekly undergo it. Often they also stand up for their friends and classmates.
  2.  Confidence: Martial arts can alter the diffidence and vulnerability that is often a character trait of potential bullying victims. Martial arts make children assertive, bold, confident and strong in character. This makes them less likely victims of bullying.
  3.   Emotional Strength: If a child has already faced bullying in his/her past, martial arts can do much more good to him/her than a counselling session can. Martial arts can help them to deal with their emotions, get over the past, and manage stress.
  4. Channelizing Energy: As psychologists try to point out these days, the bully needs help as much as a victim. Potentially authoritative and narcissistic behavior in bullies often point to crucial issues in early psychological development, dysfunctional parenting or similar factors from the child’s life. Martial art is the only solution that can help the bully. It helps to channelize their energy to positive ends and help them to deal with the emotional confusion that may otherwise surface as a display of power.


Martial Arts for Bullying Prevention at Bruce McCorry’s Academy
If you are up for transforming your child’s school years by introducing him/her to martial arts, Bruce McCorry’s Academy (Peabody, MA) is the place you must check out. Programs at Bruce McCorry’s provide your child with a customized experience of self-defense-oriented martial arts, taught by experienced instructors. You can choose to couple your child’s program with extremely useful consultancy programs like mind healing in order to equip your child to deal with the different concerns in their school life, ranging from bullying and peer pressure to study stress. This October, say yes to martial arts and say no to bullying.


Bruce McCorry's Martial Arts Center
220 Newbury St
Peabody MA 01960

Phone: (978) 535-7878
Email: info@brucemccorrys.com



Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Coping with Anxiety and Violence - Bruce McCorry’s Martial Arts


Coping with Anxiety and Violence - Bruce McCorry’s Martial Arts



Bruce McCorry's Martial Arts Center

220 Newbury St
Peabody MA 01960

Phone: (978) 535-7878
Email: info@brucemccorrys.com



A glance through the newsfeeds in the morning will tell us that we are living in a time marked by violence. If we look at the available statistics, though violent crimes showed a moderate decline from 2016 to 2017, still, US reported roughly 1.25 billion of such crimes in the last year alone - quite an alarming number when we consider that only the most aggravated crimes, such as murder, rape and assault, are counted as violent crimes in state’s parlance.

In spite of the freedoms that we talk about, our everyday lives are definitely marked by the anxiety induced by the culture of violence. To give concrete examples, Teen Vogue reported in 2018 that the recurring instances of gun violence are inducing anxiety and post-traumatic stress among a large number of teens in the US. Self.com noted in the same year how domestic violence is a major cause for anxiety, stress and PTSD among women. Living in the age of violence-caused anxiety calls for coping strategies which will empower and heal us at the same time.

Martial Arts to Cope with Anxiety and Stress
Living in these times means that as individuals, we will have to devise strategies of dealing with our own personal worries, and of fighting back in a moment of emergency. Martial arts is probably a good answer to this dilemma. As most people see it, martial art is not just about self-defense or fitness – it is in fact the only solution that will enable us physically and mentally to deal with the violence around us and the psychological damage it causes.
  •     In terms of physical benefits, martial arts makes us fitter, stronger in body, quick in movements, and alert to our surroundings. It enables us to physically resist a potential assault better. In the instance of an attack, it would be harder to subdue a martial art learner than a usual victim.

  •       Self-defense is also about our mind as it is about our body. Martial arts can teach us to be confident, courageous, alert, and quick in thought and response. The moves in martial arts sharpen sensory perception and make quick reflex actions possible. These come handy when you have to defend yourself.

  •    A lot of martial arts training is about disciplining, soothing and healing your psychological and emotional terrain. If you are constantly bothered by anxiety and stress caused by the violence around you, or if you are dealing with post-traumatic psychological issues linked to instances of violence from your past, martial arts can help you. Martial arts can teach people to manage stress, deal with anxiety, muster courage, and cope with consequences of violence such as PTSD, depression and suicidal tendency.


Self-Defense Martial Arts for Kids and Adults at Bruce McCorry’s
A great benefit of martial arts is that it can be easily mastered by children as well. If you want an easily learnable and effective martial art program open to both children and adults, Bruce McCorry’s Academy (Peabody, MA) is your destination. Bruce McCorry’s Academy offers personalized and brilliantly beneficial programs in martial arts for children and adults. At Bruce McCorry’s, you will learn strategies that fuse the physical benefits of martial arts with its mental benefits, all taught by renowned martial artists. If you have been affected by the violence all around, martial arts is your answer.