Ninety-seven percent of all kids will be bullied at some point. It’s not really a question of if, but when. While there may be little you can personally do about another child bullying your child, there are things you can do to help your child better prepare for and deal with bullying. Here are four reasons martial arts classes can help your child deal with bullying and may even help stop it.
- Helps them know how to respond
One of the many reasons that childhood bullying tends to be effective is that children are often not taught how to respond to bullies. Martial arts training gives children the opportunity to determine in advance how to deal with a bully and even to practice doing so. There are many martial arts maneuvers that can help neutralize a bully rather than escalating the situation. Just like everyone else, children who are prepared for tense situations tend to do better when they arise.
- Helps children relax more when faced with aggression
The point of bullying is generally to instill fear in their victim. Fear brings up the flee, fight or freeze instinct and one of those reactions is generally the outcome. Martial arts training, however, helps build confidence in kids, which can help them relax more when confronted. This can help them make better, calmer, more rational choices rather than responding out of instinct.
- Teaches self-defense
Most bullies will try and intimidate their victims verbally first, but if that doesn’t work, many can become physically aggressive. When and if that happens, you want to be sure that your child at least knows how to defend themselves. Martial arts training can do that.
- Can keep kids from being bullies
More often than not, bullies are actually weak and insecure. Bullying is often the way they attempt to cover up this fact. Martial arts training can help instill confidence in kids that can help keep them from being bullies.