It is something very real for many parents and children, with victims often suffering in silence. Parents find their child suddenly going from a very happy and bubbly individual to becoming quite withdrawn. Some victims lose weight unexpectedly whilst others in extreme cases resort to self harm or even suicide.
It is a problem incredibly ignored until it is often too late whilst at the same time being so misunderstood by many on how to effectively tackle it.
It is the age old problem of Bullying.
To make matters worse, a recent Panorama program also discovered how some children as young as in Primary School are now even being subjected to sexual assault by other children of the same age! How truly heart-breaking to hear but with great sadness, it is the reality of today that we need to face.
This week is Anti-Bullying Week in the UK and although we address this issue throughout the year, we at Defence Lab Training have made it our main subject for this week for our Kids classes. We discussed the issue at some length with the children, answering their questions and giving them guidance on what to do if they ever encountered bullying. We then went on to teaching them proven and realistic Anti-Bullying techniques which I have to say are unfortunately so very different from what is generally taught in schools today.
Bullying is a serious problem which needs to be handled in the proper manner before too much damage has been done. It is something which has long lasting effects and so in our professional opinion (having to deal with this issue and the behaviour of children on a regular basis), the standard and official advice given by schools and Anti-Bullying agencies are very limited at best. And when it comes to offering real-life solutions in effectively dealing with bullying, they simply do not work BUT in fact often make the matter worse!
This is based on the following reasons (going through the various sections of an Anti-Bullying Guide itself):
- Why do they bully me? – There could be various reasons but the one underlying factor without doubt in all cases is that the victim is simply seen as ‘weak’ and an ‘easy target’. This is a very natural pattern to be found in all predatory like behaviours where the predator will always seek out the weak and the easiest prey. Bullies are no different in this respect and will always target those whom they perceive to be weak and easy to overpower.
- How can I stop them? – To ‘Tell’, as the report suggests, is advisable in order to make a teacher or parent aware of the problem, however, this in most cases is simply not sufficient to stop the bullying. In some cases, the child is even threatened with more violence if they ‘tell’ and is then labelled as a ‘snitch’ or a ‘snake’, and so sadly, the child decides to suffer in silence.
- What should I do? – The report does make a good point for someone who is being bullied to stand up for themselves but it is making one very crucial mistake in assuming that a child will be able to act in such a manner with just a little practice. It is completely unrealistic to expect a child to find the much needed confidence within themselves to make such a bold stand against the bully without having the proper and regular training.
So what is the solution?
Without any doubt or question, our real life experiences have always shown time after time that by training in martial arts and self defence, a child is able to effectively counter bullying.
How is this?
By giving the child the POWER to deal with the problem by themselves!
By enrolling in an effective training system like our ‘DL Kids’ program, which is not only a no-nonsense and realistic martial art and self defence system but is also specifically tailored for children, we continue to see the amazing transformations taking place within all of our students.
Children get to learn great self defence techniques and also begin to see for themselves the progression that they are making. These new found skills give birth to new found confidence which continues to grow with their on-going progression.
It is this new found confidence that is the KEY to stopping bullies in their tracks because the child now begins to carry themselves in a much more confident, bolder and stronger manner. This is the first line of defence for the child as they are now no longer perceived as weak and as an easy target.
But what happens if a bully still tries to bully the child?
Quite simple really, behind the new found confidence are new found skills developed over regular training. The child will not only be able to confidently stand up to the bully, but will also be able to handle the situation if need be, exactly as they have trained to do so in our classes. Through regular and on-going training, the child builds within them effective self defence techniques which become second nature to them. Therefore without thinking or hesitation and by pure instinct, your child will be able to defend themselves in a strong and effective manner.
The result – the bully will naturally not want to experience such an encounter again and so will look for another easier target. In fact, we have even heard on many occasions where in such situations, the bully gets a new found respect for the child and offers to become friends.
We come across many stories of how parents have tried to protect their child against bullying, and although the motives are very noble, yet the methods are wrong. We have even heard of parents changing their child’s school because the school failed to stop the bullying. But this only teaches the child to run away from the problem rather than face up to it. And what if the bullying starts in the new school? Because at the end of the day, nothing has really changed i.e. the child still lacks confidence and bullies are everywhere!
Therefore, if you are concerned about bullying in anyway, then our genuine and honest advice is to give your child the POWER. Give us a call today and give your child the strength and confidence they need which will not only help them today, but will remain with them and help them throughout the rest of their lives.
And let’s also look at another scenario where your child is not being bullied at present and this is an issue which currently does not affect you. Do you wait for it to become a problem before finally preparing your child or do you believe that prevention is always a better option and therefore make your child ‘Bully-Proof’ from day one? As a parent myself, I believe that the second option is certainly the better one but also have a look at what other parents and students are saying about our training on our Reviews page.
Our ‘DL Kids’ program is tailored specifically for children and is obviously taught differently and separately to our adults program. The ‘DL Kids’ program is naturally designed not to be as intense whilst still teaching effective self-defence to the children, as well as preparing them for the adult program when they are older.
To see a quick demonstration of our ‘DL Kids’ program, click here.
We are currently offering Self Defence & Martial Arts training in Worcester Park, Surbiton, Morden and Croydon.
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We look forward to speaking with you soon!
