Anti-Bullying

Bullying prevention, anti-bullying education, and martial arts

Bullying can happen anywhere – at school, in the neighborhood, or online. While there are certain risk factors associated with those who are most likely to be bullied, it can still happen to anyone, anywhere, at anytime.

For many kids, bullying is a traumatic experience that leads to issues such as anxiety, loss of confidence, and poor self-esteem and self-image. This can lead to concerning behaviors such as withdrawing from family or friends, unruly or destructive behavior, or a desire to self-harm.

At our academy, we take bullying very seriously. Our Junior and Teen Martial Arts Program(s) at Tiger-Rock Martial Arts of Kingwood incorporate anti-bullying education into our curriculum. We will teach your child what they will need to know handle an encounter with a bully.

A key point about martial arts and anti-bullying

Parents, you should rest assured that our martial arts anti-bullying program does not promote violence. There are many effective anti-bullying tactics that we teach in martial arts that are not physical, such as using stances, tone, and diction to convey confidence.

However, your child will learn key self-defense skills and techniques on the mat. So, if the bully tries to escalate the situation, your child will know how to properly respond and defend themselves.

What anti-bullying tactics do we teach at Tiger-Rock Martial Arts?

In martial arts, we teach three key things when it comes to anti-bullying: awareness, communication, and self-defense.

Awareness

Awareness is the best form of bullying prevention. With awareness, we teach the prevalence of bullying as well as what to do when being bullied. Some of the tips we provide include:

• Recommending students walk in groups with their friends and avoid being in areas alone that could leave them vulnerable to bullying.
• When encountering a bully, we emphasize de-escalation: walk away, ignore, and do not try to exact revenge.
• Do not keep the bullying a secret—this is a major issue that makes things worse. Tiger-Rock students are encouraged to tell an adult, friends, or other family members about the bullying.

We also strive to promote good citizenship and leadership. Our instructors teach students what to do when they see others being bullied.

• Don’t be a bystander. Speak up! Bullies will continue to go after others if no one speaks up.
• Don’t become a participant in the bullying.
• Report the bullying to administrators or other adults.

Communication

It is important that bullying victims communicate with family and friends about being bullied. Bullying should not be kept a secret – whether it is a classmate doing it at school, another child in the neighborhood or someone cyberbullying.

Communication can also be an effective anti-bullying tactic. We teach students to use stances, tone, poise, and diction to build self-confidence and communicate that confidence to the bully.

Self-Defense

In the unfortunate event that the bully chooses to escalate the situation, your child needs to know how to react. We teach real-world self-defense on the Tiger-Rock mat. While we do not promote violence, we do believe that your child needs to be able to defend themselves.

By practicing and honing self-defense skills on the mat, your child will be able to apply those skills instinctively in a real-world situation. These skills provide another layer of safety for your child. Learning these skills also helps your child build self-confidence, boost self-esteem, and encourage positive self-assessment.

Is bullying a concern for your child? Martial arts can help

At Tiger-Rock Martial Arts of Kingwood, we believe that martial arts can be a valuable part of a child’s life while growing up. There are many lessons that we teach on the mat that they can apply off of it. A major aspect of martial arts is helping kids develop social skills, communication skills, and leadership skills. Strengthening a child’s abilities in these areas is an effective defense against bullying.

We’re also aware that sometimes, situations may escalate to where a child may have to physically defend themselves against a bully. While the Kingwood team stresses that this should be a last resort, we will still equip your child with the tools necessary to protect themselves against bullies.

Learn more about anti-bullying and bullying prevention methods at StopBullying.gov.