7 Ways Martial Arts Training Breaks the Cycle of Bullying

With the new school year, in addition to meeting new teachers, spending a bunch of money on school supplies, new clothes, new shoes and handling with the occasional “I don’t want to go to school”,  you probably have to deal with a fresh new batch of bullies.

 Bullying is all too real. Did you know that 28% of U.S. students in grades 6–12 experienced bullying? And that 1 in 3 U.S. students say they have been bullied at school? (Source: www.stopbullying.gov)

Although it may be easier for parents to tell their kids to ignore the bully, walk away or tell a teacher, that is not always the safest, easiest thing for a child to do. Kids don't want to be in fear of school or other kids. Parents want to make sure their kids are safe. For real confidence and safety, an ongoing self-defense program may be the best way to prevent bullying. Kids and parents would rather have their kids know self-defense skills and not need to use, than to not have the skills and someday need them. But learning self-defense techniques is only one of the benefits of martial arts. 

Enrolling a child in a martial arts program is often one of the best actions a parent can take to prevent bullying. Why? Because martial arts can help children on both sides of the bullying equation. Martial arts can help both the children who are being bullied, and the children who are bullying others. Here’s how:

Building Up Confidence

Bullies pick victims that they think will be easy targets. What makes an easy target? A child who seems weak, unsure of themselves, or easily scared. Martial arts build up children’s confidence so that they are able to project an aura of strength and ensure that they are not perceived as easy targets.

Reinforcing Discipline

One of the factors that contributes to bullying behavior is an inconsistent approach to discipline at home. Martial arts provide children with a clear-cut and consistent structure of discipline that helps them learn which types of behavior are acceptable and which are not.

Victims of bullying can sometimes make things worse for themselves by acting in ways that make it easy for others to taunt or threaten them. Martial arts teaches these children the discipline to manage their own behavior in such a way that it does not provoke or trigger a bully.

Increasing Respect

Bullies have a strong need to be in control and exert their dominance over others. That’s one of the reasons why they bully others. Martial arts shows these children that everyone deserves respect, and that no one deserves to be mistreated.

Being bullied can often shatter a child’s self-esteem and lead to a low self-image and loss of self-worth. In fact, that’s one of the warning signs of bullying. Martial arts show these children that if they want others to respect them, they first must learn to respect themselves.

Mastering Self-Control

Children who bully others can be impulsive, hot-headed, and dominant. Martial arts help these kids become more aware of their own thoughts and emotions, and training them to control negative impulses that could lead to bullying behaviors.

Victims of bullying often are not adept at recognizing what kind of behavior triggers a bully to lash out. Martial arts empower these children to control their own behaviors in such a way that will stop a negative situation from spiraling into conflict or violence.

Developing Leadership Skills

Studies have shown that bullies lack empathy, and have also found that bullies can be more likely to develop anti-social personality disorder. This is a condition that causes people to ignore the rights and feelings of those around them. Martial arts helps these kids develop the capacity for empathy in these children.

Bullies often target kids who are less popular. So if your child has few friends, this social isolation could put him at higher risk of being bullied. Martial arts train these children to be more sociable and help them make friends more easily. 

Relieving Stress

Bullies lack the ability to self-regulate emotions  Often, they simply don’t have a way to control their anger and frustration, which may result in severe overreactions to small provocations. Martial arts give them an outlet to blow off some steam. This makes it much less likely for them to take their frustration out on other kids.

One of the effects of bullying is that bullied kids often report symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, stuffy nose, headaches, and stomachaches. These kids are far more likely than others to report feeling physically sick because they deal with such high levels of stress that it wears down their immune system. Martial arts provide a way for these children to relieve stress through vigorous physical exercise.

Learning Self Defense

Children who bully others are often driven by the desire for power. They discover how effective it can be to use their power in an aggressive way to control and subdue others. Martial arts classes constantly emphasize the importance of using martial arts for self-defense only, never for offense.

As we mentioned above, bullies pick victims that they think will be easy targets. Martial arts classes teach children how to defend themselves. Once they are armed with this knowledge, they will naturally project a much more confident image and thus, not come across as an easy target for bullies.

So whether you believe your child is either bullying or being bullied, martial arts can help. 

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