Bullying In Martial Arts

Columbine, Sandy Hook, Phoebe Prince are names that embody modern-day issues school administrators face and are trying to address. Because of the public outcry and publicity surrounding these events, educators are scrambling for and implementing programs that moderate mental health issues, reduce bullying, and improve academic outcomes. However, these programs are prone to failure because they do not take a holistic approach to the cause of these difficulties. As an alternative, traditional martial arts training can be an efficient and proactive tool to address the origin of these problems. Contrary to movie portrayals in which martial artists are sometimes depicted as violent, aggressive criminals; traditional martial artists base their training
When looking at ways to address the problem of bullying, one must start with a definition of the problem and prevention techniques. Bullying is either physical or social, and prevention occurs from early intervention involving meditation, conflict resolution, assertiveness training, and frequent and repetitive instruction (Levine & Tamburrino, 2014, p. 276). Training in martial arts encourages students in all of these critical areas. Specifically, a typical class will begin and end with meditation, followed by rote calisthenics, and repetition of basic blocking and punching techniques. The daily reiteration of these elementary points provides a foundation for the prevention of bullying. By receiving repetitive instruction, the student’s mind is trained to behave in a way that is not reactive, yet assertive. Therefore, the bully’s victim becomes more confident in preventing the bullying, yet remains in a present state of mind enough to resolve the conflict peacefully. On the other hand, because students are placed together and working towards a common goal, differences are minimized, which would naturally remove the origin of bullying, further preventing the
While the overall statistic of violence on the school grounds has decreased in the last decade, Robers et al. found, “Seventy-four percent of schools have recorded one or more violent incidents of crime (a rate of 25 crimes per 1,000 students enrolled)” (2015, p. 28). Indicating the issue is more widespread and affecting more communities than in the past. One only needs to remember the events of Columbine High School and the quiet community of Littleton, Colorado to recognize the necessity of early preventative measures. According to Ziaee, Lotfian, Amini, Mansournia, Mohammad-Ali, and Memari (2012, p.12), adolescent karateka showed lower levels of anger and greater anger control when compared to persons who do not participate in athletics. This anger regulation comes from learning a series of movements against an imaginary opponent, called kata. These kata are repeatedly practiced until the student has demonstrated proper regulation and mastery of the movements; only then is the student allowed to learn the next kata. Additionally, students receive constant reminders that they must avoid conflict, and utilize aggressive actions only when someone’s life is in grave danger. By providing martial arts training, students gain valuable skills in meditation, conflict resolution, and