Great Sage
02-20-2003, 08:26 AM
I really enjoyed Waterdragon’s thread on bullies and I would like to elaborate on teaching kids self-defense.
As an assistant instructor, one of my great joys is teaching young people self-defense. While I don’t condone fighting, every child has the right to defend himself/herself. Unfortunately, teaching techniques is not nearly enough. The psychology of children is that bigger people are going to win in confrontations.
During training sessions, children know that no real harm wil come to them. But in the real world, there’s pain — a fear factor. A child’s mind can be very fragile in a confrontation. In a real fight, a child cannot always stay focused on techniques. The reality of pain combined with fear often overtakes the child’s emotions.
Hence, I feel it’s important to instill a sense of confidence, yet inform children of the harsh realities of fighting. There’s pain, fear and sometimes blood. But the one thing I stress most often is to walk away if possible. There’s no such thing as a coward... only a person who wants to do things another way.
We don’t teach our kids that they can beat up adults, teenagers or even much bigger kids. Our kids our taught to escape, run and get help. The best you can hope for any child in a confrontation is that they come out “safe.”
As an assistant instructor, one of my great joys is teaching young people self-defense. While I don’t condone fighting, every child has the right to defend himself/herself. Unfortunately, teaching techniques is not nearly enough. The psychology of children is that bigger people are going to win in confrontations.
During training sessions, children know that no real harm wil come to them. But in the real world, there’s pain — a fear factor. A child’s mind can be very fragile in a confrontation. In a real fight, a child cannot always stay focused on techniques. The reality of pain combined with fear often overtakes the child’s emotions.
Hence, I feel it’s important to instill a sense of confidence, yet inform children of the harsh realities of fighting. There’s pain, fear and sometimes blood. But the one thing I stress most often is to walk away if possible. There’s no such thing as a coward... only a person who wants to do things another way.
We don’t teach our kids that they can beat up adults, teenagers or even much bigger kids. Our kids our taught to escape, run and get help. The best you can hope for any child in a confrontation is that they come out “safe.”