Part of our Advanced Self Defense Training for kids is learning to defend against Bullies. Most schools have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying, but the fact of the matter is that bullying is alive and well and we need to protect our kids.
Believe it or not, my experience now is that bullying is not the big problem. The bigger problem for our kids is distinguishing what a friend IS and is NOT!
Over the years, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a kid come into my office after getting “smacked” in school. Now these were not regular kids mind you.
These boys and girls were good fighters…even champions. And yet they didn’t protect themselves!
Upon questioning, I would ask, “You know how to protect yourself—what happened?
You’re not going to believe the answer…time-after-time kids would respond…
“He’s my friend and I didn’t want to hurt him!”
So today, we educate kids that…
- Friends DON’T hit each other.
- Once you see hands/fists-he’s NOT your friend.
- Protect yourself if attacked and let Mom & Dad handle the rest.
Kids DON’T want to get in trouble with you or their School Teacher, so they need to know that you have their back.
Now by no means am I advocating fighting, but our kids are NOT to be anyone’s “patsy” and most parents that I speak with; find this strategy to be a reasonable response to a tough situation.
So arm your child with these anti-bullying steps and I’ll see them at the top!