subject: Wappingers Falls Karate - Just For Kicks Martial Arts School Owner Discusses - Becoming A Bully Buster [print this page] One of the other goals of a martial arts program is to try and teach the kids how not to be bully magnets. Over the years I've done a lot of homework and a lot of research on why kids are bullied, and what makes them targets.
What I've found is that 9 times out of 10 the kids that are being bullied are the kids with a lack of self confidence. It's the child that walks down the hall with his head down and his hands in his pockets and doesn't want to talk to anybody; they immediately become singled out and become a target.
One of the things that we teach the children right off the bat, is if you can show a sense of confidence, if you can walk with your head held high, shoulders up, back straight and you look like you're king of the world, it puts an air about you where you don't look like an easy target. Let's face it, if you were a bully and you were going to pick on a kid, would you pick on the kid who looks confident, looks like he might be able to defend himself, looks like he might go running and yelling and carrying on and doing something that would draw attention to you? Or, are you going to pick on the little kid hiding in the corner that's probably not going to say boo and is going to let you take his lunch money every day?
It's one of the things that we really do stress in our program; you have to look the part. If you look like a target you're going to be a target. What we are really talking about is how to influence the people around you without ever saying a word. Have you ever known someone who when they walk in the room the whole room lights up, they haven't said a word, they haven't done anything yet, they just have this air about them - it's not arrogance, it's just a sense of self confidence.
So I think that this is a huge lesson to be learned, and it's something that's extremely important for parents to realize that this is a huge benefit of participating in a martial arts program.
Wappingers Falls Karate - Just For Kicks Martial Arts School Owner Discusses - Becoming A Bully Buster
