Last Updated on April 23, 2014.
A short story about a boy named Joey. Joey was a five year old boy not unlike every other five year old. Toys and cartoons were his life. He found himself in kindergarten surrounded by a lot of different personalities. It’s a new and exciting experience, right? Mostly. See… Joey isn’t a big kid. He’s rather small in stature. He found he was having trouble with some of the larger students. It started out innocent enough but soon it started to escalate. The laughing soon turned into making fun and the teasing turned into tripping. You can see where this is going.
After many attempts to fit in, it was obvious that his confidence was in a downward spiral.
He was a strong willed child and it didn’t seem to affect him much. He would get a little upset every now and then but nothing extreme.
Then the day came… his books were knocked out of his hands and he was tripped in the hallway… in kindergarten. Tempers flared and something needed to be done. The schools zero tolerance policy was a joke. It only lead to more abuse because now he was a tattle tale.
Enter Tiger Schulmann’s Mixed Martial Arts in hopes we can help him gain his confidence back. He walked through the door hiding and a bit scared. The first person he encountered was Joshu. Back into the office for a quick conversation. Learn how to stand. Learn how to greet. Guidance from the very beginning. He felt like one of the Power Rangers he liked so much on television. Next up was meeting Sensei. Being a small five year old it was like looking up at a tower for him. Sensei kneeled down to his level and asked Joey if he was ready to have some fun. He was hesitant but he said yes.
Joey is about to turn eight. He barely remembers the trouble he had in kindergarten. He is a yellow belt (with four stripes). He competes in tournaments in both kickboxing and grappling. He has gained confidence. He has focus. He has drive. He is in great shape. Although he has grown a lot in the past three years he is not huge in stature. He definitely does not get bullied. He is a leader and he even helps protect some of the shyer kids at school.
That’s all great news! Even better… with all of his focus and confidence he is a great student. He consistently gets good grades in school and he recently scored in the 99 percentile on his state tests. Without having distractions, being able to stop bullying and having gained the confidence to know he will never have to worry about it, he is able to focus on what is more important. School work.
“Kids with Confidence Can Focus on the Important Things In Life, A Great Kids Martial Arts Program Will Help With That”
It’s possible that he would have outgrown the bully. It’s possible that he would have gained confidence and focus through all the distraction. Why leave it to chance. It’s also possible that he could have gotten bullied to the point where he has no confidence and loses his zest for life. We have all seen the reports on the news. We all think about how sad that is. It happens every day.
I am Joey’s father. I have witnessed firsthand the life changing events in not only Joey but also in the other students at Tiger Schulmann’s in the Kids Martial Arts Program. There tends to be a “family” atmosphere. Never any bullying but plenty of fighting. At any given class he has a dozen of more older and younger brothers and sisters.
The reason he started was to be able to stand up for himself and stop bullying. He does. The bonus is that it has grown throughout the rest of his life. The way he carries himself. The way he focuses to get the job done. The confidence he’s gained. Easily the best decision I ever made. Thank you to the entire Tiger Schulmann’s family. You’ve made a huge difference in my son’s life.
Chuck – TSMMA Wayne
Follow the link to learn how Tiger Schulmann’s Kids Martial Arts Program can help your child regain confidence and stop bullying.
