Helping Children Combat Bullying With Martial Arts
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- Bullying
Bullying is one of the main concerns most parents have when they send their kids off to school. Facing adversity in such an important phase in their life can bring about serious consequences; as the kids may experience physical, psychological or emotional trauma. Some may have a hard time coping. Some may carry with them the burden of being bullied the rest of their lives. What you do as a parent early on can determine their overall social growth as they become adults.
Martial arts training is one of the best choices for countering bullying. It could give your child the skills to overcome adversity while retaining invaluable life skills they can use later.
My Child Is Being Bullied
It’s understandable for your child to not tell you about what’s happening in school. Kids tend to keep to themselves, especially if they’re experiencing difficulties studying, socializing or if they’re being bullied. But as parents it’s your responsibility to detect the signs of bullying. The most obvious ones are when your child cries each day at the thought of going to school, when he or she refuses to budge when the school bus comes around or when their friends have suddenly left them all alone.
Parents should have an understanding of what’s going on inside the four walls of the classroom. They should also be communicating with school teachers and the principal regurly. These school officials can tell you what’s happening and formulate a plan of action, i.e., what triggers the bullish behavior. You can then determine your child’s strength and weaknesses and play up to the strength of your child to ward off the bully and have an increased self-esteem, which acts as a natural deterrent to bullying.
A child that has healthy self-confidence won’t allow bullying to happen to them. That confidence is marked with having a self-assured aura and trust with oneself. But this trait doesn’t happen overnight- children must be exposed to it in order to acquire it. Role models such as martial arts masters can empower your child by teaching various martial arts movements, stances and poses during martial arts training. The effects of these teachings are positive and they bring a lot to the table. Your child will have more confidence in what they can do. What’s best is that martial arts classes will also teach your child about proper behavior and techniques they can focus on to better themselves.
Standing Up Against The Bully
Children who are self-assured naturally open up their bodies and stretch out, while those who are afraid naturally try to make themselves as small as possible. With martial arts training, your child will learn how to be confident. That confidence helps them develop a sense of worth. These two things are the key ingredients in overcoming bullying.
Bullying can come in many forms- destroying a personal property, hurling verbal attacks, starting false rumors, name calling, cyberbullying and others. Martial arts doesn’t teach your child to attack on his or her own or encourage physical violence to fight bullying. These techniques are only used as a last resort or as an act of self-defense. A strong and present mind should be enough to deter future bullying attacks against your child as any act will not diminish their self-worth or self-esteem.
Parents take play an active role in their children’s fight against bullying in school, in the neighborhood or the community by enrolling them in the right martial arts discipline. Young students learn from martial arts teachers and masters about the value of self-confidence. Martial arts is a wonderful discipline where your child can learn many things that aren’t taught in school.
In a martial arts class, your child will learn how to discipline themselves. They will develop lifelong skills that will be useful as they grow up to become adults. They will learn the value of respect and being polite to their elders. What’s more, they will learn to be resilient and take on the hardships of life as a challenge and not something they should run away from. Your child can potentially influence others in a good way and become a leader or a positive example by using nonviolent ways to resolve conflict.
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