More and more, parents are hearing about the grave news of bullying in schools. For children who are victims of it, the experience can stick with them for the rest of their life. They may become depressed, anxious, and they may develop confidence issues that follow them into adulthood. Understandably, parents are concerned that their children may be bullied. After all, not every child is comfortable admitting that they are being harassed. Some parents may not even be aware that their child is a bully. One method that can help prevent your child from being bullied–and becoming a bully–is learning combat arts. This article will discuss how martial arts can impact bullying.
Learning Defensive Techniques
While bullies aren’t always physical, in many cases, it will eventually escalate to a form of physical violence. As a parent, you want to ensure that your child is equipped with all of the resources possible to defend themselves. That knowledge can begin with learning a fighting art. There are many different fields of combat arts and each differs from each other in terms of their physical techniques and their philosophies. You may find that you need to try out a few different arts programs until your child finds the one that best suits them.
Once you’ve found that school, your child will be taught defensive techniques. They’ll be able to defend themselves in a fight with any bullies that decide to pick on them. No longer will your child be helpless in keeping themselves safe. They may even be able to utilize these techniques in the protection of others who fall under the attention of a bully.
Emotional Control
Combat arts teaches more than just physical techniques, however. They place a great emphasis on emotional control. After all, you cannot expect to fight well if you are not able to master your emotions. Otherwise, your anger will overtake your reason and any fighting techniques you’ve learned will simply be forgotten. Emotional control is at the very heart of every combat arts school. It benefits children in two ways.
For those who are bullied, it helps strengthen their sense of calm and emotional durability. It will take considerable more effort on behalf of the bully to affect them emotionally. Because of this, the bully might give up and decide to terrorize someone else. It also means that your child is honing their development of emotional maturity. They may be able to interact and process other matters in school and life with a maturity beyond their years. This only further enhances them as a person and will benefit them later in life.
For those who are bullies, emotional control can help keep them from harming others. Children are typically bullies because they’re in pain. They may not receive enough attention or affection at home. In order to receive that attention–even negative attention–they act out by hurting others. Causing pain to others might also make them feel better about themselves because, even if for that small moment, someone else’s pain is greater than their own. There may be other reasons that bullies hurt other children, of course, but the most common reason is because of their own emotional turmoil.
If you suspect or know that your child is a bully, then they can benefit from the emotional control that combat arts offer, too. They can find peace within themselves. They may also find friends who are similar to them and no longer feel quite as alone. For bullies who are just extremely active, the physical exercise and emotional outlet provided through martial arts may be all the outlet they need for their own control.
Self-Discipline
Students of fighting arts are also taught self-discipline. It’s a part of emotional control. They need to know when to fight and when to walk away. These are key lessons that a fighting arts school will teach them. Their bodies could be made into weapons but the school is strict in their teaching. Self-discipline can help your child stay focused in school as well. They’ll understand their priorities in life easier. You may even find that they’re performing better in school.
Respect
Perhaps most importantly, fighting arts schools teach their students respect. They learn to respect their teachers or mentors, their fellow students, and themselves. This learning of respect isn’t something that is taught in a traditional school or even in life. It’s typically just a skill that you either have or that you learn how to mimic. Fighting arts schools ensure that their students respect each other and figures of authority.
This can be a great lesson for bullies. They typically don’t have a lot of respect for their fellow classmates or figures of authority. By learning it through fighting arts school, they can find the structure that they need to learn respect. In so doing, their perspectives of their classmates may change as well.
In Conclusion
Martial arts schools can offer a child many great lessons in life. All of these lessons can be utilized to prevent bullying. They can teach a child how to defend themselves from physical violence. It teaches bullies, as well, about respect and self-discipline. With security in their physical prowess, your child’s confidence will also increase.
