Overcoming Bullying Through Martial Arts
by Black Belt Training Group- Tags:
- Bullying
Bullying is a serious offense. People get hurt and traumatized through the experience. Some people grow up and never recover from childhood bullying. They continue to experience the same circumstances in the real world, and the cost to the world is their stress leaves and illnesses.
In martial arts, when children come to the program with issues, most instructors are happy to teach them. They understand as most of us adults do that bullying is born out of insecurity. It is this insecurity and sense of inferiority that drives a bully to assert power over victims in any way possible. This temporarily makes the bully feel elevated as aggression is being inflicted on the “weaker” party.
However, these tactics are not conducive to real world success. Even bullies can grow up to be miserable, lonely people who only relate to people in terms of the dynamic of fear and intimidation. These people might succeed in certain careers, but they certainly are not liked by their peers.
Martial arts instructors understand that aggression and fighting against the world is also a fight against oneself. The child feels powerless in a large world, and yet the child is not. The techniques taught in martial arts can teach self defense instead of simple acts of aggression. The child will be schooled that diplomacy is better than physical force, and that the techniques are merely to prevent harm to oneself and others. Martial arts essentially aims to stop the cycle of violence by encouraging oneness with the environment.
This can be accomplished through respect. If a person respects the life force of another, then they will learn not to disrupt that. They learn that there is better harmony if each person is allowed to go about their day contributing their part to the world. If the bully is threatened, then this child can learn to talk things out with the appropriate parties, especially approaching adults first.
In any situation later in life, arbitration will be an excellent skill to have. If the child finds oneself later in a high stress marriage, then the person will learn to talk rather than demand one’s way. They will relate better to their peers at work having learned that having no people skills can actually ostracize people and make them less likely to speak well of that co-worker.
With the lessons come micro lessons that the child can use to help to deal with the inner conflict that the child has. They can identify their inner problems more easily and learn why they used force in the past as a means of deriving self esteem. The child will also build new friendships in the class through learning how to fight with another child who is considered an equal opponent, not a lesser person.
While respect is a life long process, a child who is a bully will need to take baby steps towards gaining complete respect for oneself. They are walking away from a path of aggression into one of healing, and with the right martial arts training, they will gain a whole new appreciation for others and themselves.
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