Bully Proofing

Most kids give up on reporting acts of bullying. Repeatedly being ignored by teachers or staff, seeing the lack of consequences for bullies who are reported, feeling helpless and hopeless to do anything about it, or possible retaliation for telling can all create profound fear for their own personal safety. Ironically, victims know that they must confront their bully and would like nothing more than to confidently stand up to them. So therein lies the challenge, how do you instill in a victim of bullying the confidence needed to face their tormentor, to look them in the eye and back them down? You teach the victims to defend themselves against physical attacks, and the rest will follow. Teaching a child self defense includes teaching them when to use it. 

Our program gives children the tools to know when they can, and cannot use the techniques they are learning. The "Levels of discretion” are regularly addressed in class so that children do not abuse their power and, yet equally, they will not hesitate to take a stand when needed

• Awareness/ Levels of discretion: Harassment can take many different forms. Sometimes, the person being provoked doesn’t take a stand because they don’t know the difference between being “bullied” and “joking around”. We teach children to understand the difference between harmless play and harmful harassment. This gives them tools to know when and how to respond in each circumstance.
  
• Genuine Confidence: Genuine confidence is like Bully proofing your child. Bullies look for “easy targets” –ones who tolerate their abuse. We provide your child with the tools they need to set boundaries and enforce boundaries that overcome verbal, psychological and physical harassment. Teaching them to become confident in themselves so that no bully will try to harass them.
  
• Responsibility: We teach your child to deal with bullies without turning them into one. We emphasize levels of discretion, discipline, responsibility, and respect.
  

Getting into fights unfortunately is a normal part of schoolyard life. It would be great if everyone simply learned to talk out their differences, but that’s not always possible. The reality is that life is harsh, and everyone at some time faces violence. If you want your child to walk with confidence, teach them how to defend themselves in the event that bullies get physical.

Parents want their children to feel confident within themselves so that even if they experience bullying, they will be able to effectively cope, adjust, or recover from stress or adversity. "Resilience reflects one's ability to 'bounce back'... and move away from being a victim. Martial arts training helps provide the tools children need to have the ability to adapt to, handle, and overcome the tough situations they will encounter in life,

Researchers found that the martial arts can have a significant effect on a child’s overall resilience and on their academic, social and emotional, success, not to mention improving their ability to cope with the effects of bullying. Although the goal is to avoid situations where a child needs to use self-defense, learning martial arts gives your children the tools to defend themselves, or even others, if necessary. We will teach your child to use verbal assertiveness to deter bullies and several non-violent self-defense techniques to stay safe if physically attacked.