As a parent we worry about our children’s safety. We listen to the news and hear about kids who are being bullied in school. We jump on Facebook and see another school shooting. There seems to be no end to the constant fighting among people online and out in everyday life. So how can you help your kids stay safe even when you aren’t there to protect them?
As a kid we all deal with some sort of bully. Even the kids who are the bullies often have troubled home lives. The answer to bullying can be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Now I can hear you think yeah but I don’t want my kid to get in a fight! Well neither do we! In fact kids who study Brazilian Jiu Jitsu get in less fights that kids who are not taking martial arts.
Kids Who Take Jiu Jitsu Become Confident, Leaders
Bullies tend to pick on people they perceive as smaller and weaker than they are. They seek out other kids that they think will be easy prey. Kids who take Jiu Jitsu have goals. They learn to interact with other children in a competitive environment that is nurturing and supportive to their growth. They start to teach each other the skills required to succeed in the Jiu JItsu environment. But why is that important? One word, confidence.
When children take on leadership roles in the jiu jitsu classroom they become more confident in other areas of their life too. They lead wherever they go including school. They are the leader. Bullies do not mess with confident children who are leaders. Bullies mess with kids when they feel there is no risk.
Kids Become More Disciplined
Kids who take jiu jitsu are put in an environment where respect and discipline are required to participate. Kids love jiu jitsu classes because they are a lot of fun so when their coaches ask them to do something they simply do it. This instills a sense of respect for authority in the children and that passes along to their home and school life.
Kids who practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu pass the respect on to parents and teachers and have fewer troubles in school. They learn that respecting authority can be beneficial to their advancement in life and in school. Good, respectful relationships with teachers keeps them safe from bullies too because teachers will stop bullying if they see it, especially when a child they know is respectful and disciplined has a complaint about it.
Jiu Jitsu Teaches Communication Skills
Bullies, don’t care about talking typically. They care about the feeling of dominance and importance they get from making someone else feel weak. That said, powerful communication can stop a bully in his or her tracks. Jiu Jitsu kids are leaders in their schools. They direct the actions. When a bully comes they are not going to be a victim, they are going to tell the bully to stop but in a confident way. They won’t be the whining crying kid begging a bully not to hurt them. They will be confident that if the bully decides to take things to a physical confrontation they will win and most bullies would rather stop and back down with a kid their not confident that they can beat up.
Many teachers tell kids who are bullied to try to talk it out with them. The problem is when a bully is confronted by a child that they know can’t hurt them the child is ridiculed for trying to talk it out. Telling teachers can get them in even more confrontation and condemned by the playground community. Bullying isn’t usually a single person either. It is one bully who is dominating another person but there are a whole host of other people who stand by watching and encouraging the bullying in an attempt to watch someone else get hurt.
The only reason telling a bully to stop rarely works for most children is because the bully is the dominant figure in the interaction so he or she doesn’t care what the bullied kid thinks or says and the bully will happily hurt the other child if they stand up for themselves. With the Jiu Jitsu student they tell the bully to stop and if the bully gets physical they can defend themselves! Bullying may stop before a physical confrontation but it may not. If it must come to a defense situation your child needs to be able to defend themselves
Professor Mikal Abdullah is a 2nd Degree BJJ Black Belt, veteran, father, philanthropist, and founder of Aces Jiu Jitsu Club. You can find her personal Instagram account with the handle @cerebralbjj or just stop by one of our locations and get a session in!