Last Updated on October 9, 2014.
Have you ever heard the expression “sticks and stones may break my bones BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME“. That is the biggest lie, because if you watched this sad video then you will see that Kayla wasn’t physically bullied, but tormented by words. I love it how parents don’t want their children to fight the bullies in school because their kids would get “in trouble”. I bet Kayla’s parents would love to have to deal with their daughter getting suspended for one week rather than having to deal with funeral arrangements.
What people don’t realize is that you cannot reason with aggression. If someone verbally attacks you then you must come back with the same aggression. Bullies pick on those that only seem weak, so if your child stands up for themselves with conviction then the bullying stops. When a person ignores or walks away as most parents tell their kids then the bullying only escalates. The bullies start to become more aggressive and might impolitely calling you over, making fun of you in class for giving a wrong answer or impolitely asking you to give them something of yours.
If the same weak reaction occurs then the bullies know they can do what ever they like to you and bring this bullying to a physical level like smacks your child in the head, takes their papers from them, steals their lunch, twangs their ear on the bus, blocks their path when walking, knocks their books out of their hands or just attack them either kicking, punching, tackling to the ground where they can cause serious harm.
I am a father of a 4 year old boy, and I taught my son Lucas how to defend himself. He is currently training at one of the Tiger Schulmann’s locations and I will back him up one million percent if he had to fight again. Do I want him to fight and get hurt? No, but I’d rather go to the principals office to pick him up rather then pick him up at the hospital or even worse. If you’re thinking about downplaying bullying DON’T. This is very serious, kids take their own or other’s lives due to bullying. A perfect example is of I can remember my bullied experiences from 30 years ago. I can remember all the times I was bullied, but a bump, bruise, black eye, scratch or cut goes away in a week. Once that wound heals after that week the satisfaction of standing up stays with that child forever and confidence takes the place of the depression they would have had if they never stood up for themselves fro their bullies.
Well, how then can we build this confidence to protect us from bullies? Train in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The program of Tiger Schulmann’s has been a proven method for bully prevention. The program is the most realistic street wise self defense. All of the students become empowered by learning how to defend themselves with our kickboxing program and our close range self defense program. With this self defense your son or daughter will have the confidence to stand up to any bully.