Preventing Bullying: Self-Defense and Martial Arts

Bullying Prevention Month: Prevent Bullying through Martial Arts
Written by: Master McCorry


October is the month dedicated by our nation to prevent bullying. With new and more dangerous concerns like cyber bullying around the corner, it is more necessary for children, parents and teachers to actively try to prevent bullying.

What are the dangers involved in bullying and what can we do to prevent it?

Why Should We Stop Bullying?
Putting an end to bullying is necessary because it does damage to anyone who is concerned with it. Bullying can lead a victim to depression or self-destructive behavior. Even on a witness, bullying can often have a damaging impact.

We usually try to help the victim and denounce the bully. However, bullies too are children who deserve help. For one thing, they usually end up bullying others because of problems like a dysfunctional family, abusive adults or dominant siblings. Secondly, though they do not realize it, being a bully will do harm to them as well in the long run. A meta-analysis by Cambridge Institute of Criminology shows that being a bully increases the chances of later criminal behavior by two-thirds. Childhood bullies not only engage in sociopathic behavior in later life, but also often fail at relationships because of abusive and dominant nature. All this shows the necessity to prevent bullying.

How to Spot a Bully?
The first step is to spot the bullies. Often, kids do not reveal the names because of fear or shame. Adult intervention usually helps to prevent bullying – so it is important for both teachers and parents to look out for bullies. One way to spot a bully is to observe how kids behave in the company of other children. If they tend to be uncomfortable or afraid with a particular child, it is a good clue to spot a bully. Parents too can help in spotting a bully. If your child shows hesitation to go to school, or speak of other kids with fear or hatred, classroom bullying might be the reason. If kids behave in an uncontrollable and enraged manner, this too might be a sign - Psychologists point out that kids who are bullies in classroom might behave violently in other situations as well. Bullying happens not only in classroom but also in other public places and even internet. So it is important for adults to remain alert in places such as afterschool hangouts and school buses.

Preventing Bullying: Self-Defense and Martial Arts
Immediate intervention can only stop one instance of bullying. To make a difference, it is important for adults to identify bullies and victims and seek professional help. However, most psychological intervention puts focus upon giving counseling after the instances of bullying comes to light. It would be better if we could teach our children to avoid bullying beforehand. For instance, teaching them self-defense would help them to avoid being victims in future. Martial arts is a good self-defense possibility for children. It can give them the confidence, courage and strength to combat bullying. It is also beneficial for children with a bullying nature because martial arts will temper their tendency to dominate. Through martial arts, they can divert their excess energy to positive means and learn to behave sympathetically towards others.

There are many institutions that offer self-defense lessons in martial arts. Bruce McCorry’s Martial Arts Academy (Peabody, Massachusetts) is one such center that stand above the rest. It's a place where your child can learn useful tips of self-defense and self-control through martial arts. Enroll today and make a difference in this Bullying Prevention Month! Bruce McCorry's Martial Arts is your Anti-Bullying Advocates.