Daily blog #23

For the 23rd blog post I felt inspired to talk about the greatest athlete of all time, number 23, Michael Jordan but with all that’s going on and the amount of interest our Jiu Jitsu academy is receiving, I refocused my sights. In an earlier post I talked about how Cyber Bullying is not a thing, a belief I still hold, rather it is only made a thing by people who are usually not the ones being bullied themselves. Today I want to talk about real bullying, like when that beefy kid in the movies you see lurking around the playground, punches someone in the nose and takes their lunch money with his goofy ass cronies standing around. Also like the hoe bags in the movie Mean Girls, who dismantle everyone around them without throwing a single punch. This is a significant contrast to note as women are much less prone to expressing themselves physically, whereas men typically do, resulting in emotional abuse which can be just as devastating if not more. Fortunately I find the same solution works for both types of bullying.

What I have seen is that the solution starts with the parents or guardians and the environment. Studies show that kids with confidence are significantly less likely to be picked on and are more likely to have friends who are confident. Kids with confidence are more likely to excel in sports which means they will receive praise from other coaches and parents catapulting their confidence further. Basically their confidence puts them in a very supportive environment from the start. So the question is, how do you develop confidence in your child? Easy (not to execute, at least for many). You must help them become successful. This comes from a number of skills that give children a reason to be happy and healthy. This can also mean the difference between a kid that is shy and afraid to try things and an outgoing kid who is used to getting positive attention from trying new things. Many parents who are doing a phenomenal job raising their children build their confidence by:

• Teaching the importance of eating healthy
• Developing healthy association with exercise
• Finding good friends for their kids who demonstrate the values they seek
• Learning self defense (Jiu Jitsu.. not BS martial arts aka dancing)
• Limiting electronic use unless constructively; encouraging social skills and activities
• Teaching them how to be teased and made fun of by peers

These are some basic areas I see young kids thriving in which gives me a lot of motivation for what I do and what the school does. It also gives me hope for the kids who are the victims of bullies. If they can be exposed to the right environment by way of Martial Arts and maybe even one day a competition (to know that they can overcome their fears and doubts) they can become a confident, strong, disciplined young men or women who will go on to achieve great things. In a coming post I will talk about how to select your academy because enrolling your kid in Martial Arts will be one of the best investments you’ve ever made if you select the right school. Instead of dealing with the bad attitudes that you will meet in organized sports, you will find a physical activity that will develop your child mentally and emotionally while teaching them how to defend themselves. Our values are the 6 blades (family, respect, discipline, honor, loyalty and attitude) students learn them on their first lesson and and the end of every class they practice the Children’s Oath which is a pledge based on the 6 blades. If you start the journey you will agree, the world needs more Martial Artists!