Video: Teacher says

New Jersey -- Here's a great video about the values of karate/martial arts to school kids:

Drunken Karate Bully

UK -- A 41-year-old karate black belt who was called a drunk bully by a British court judge, has been sentenced to jail, according to thisiswiltshire.co.uk.

The powerful man - weighing more than twice as much as his partner - was found guilty of assaulting his wife and breaking her arm following a row.

The judge said: "(...) for many years your family have been in fear of your violence and intimidation (...)."

Pride of Britain

UK -- Eight-year-old Levana Hanson lost both legs to meningitis and endured 40 operations before having prosthetic legs fitted, according to mirror.co.uk .

Recently, the young karate student proudly walked onto the stage to collect her Child of Courage award from three (British pop group) Girls Aloud stars.

After recovering, the young girl bravely beat bullies near her home in Tewkesbury, by taking up karate.

Sexual Exploitation Charge

Canada -- A 35-year-old Grimsby martial arts teacher who reportedly speaks in the public school system about bullying, has been arrested by police.

The man is facing a sexual exploitation charge involving a girl, 17 years old at the time.

Police said the alleged incident occurred between December 2005 and March 2006, according to stcatharinesstandard.ca.

Mother Killed by Son

Canada -- A 20-year-old Edmonton man has been charged with stabbing his 60-year-old mother to death with a samurai sword, according to canada.com.

A neighbor called the son "really weird," saying he was constantly arguing with his mother. On one occasion, the son allegedly took a piece of lumber outside and smashed it with his hands.

A friend said the young man took up martial arts in high school to "help him beef up". The friend said he was being bullied a lot. "He always talked about martial arts and kung fu."

A Karate Boost in Confidence

UK -- Here's a nice little article from eastkilbridenews.co.uk. It's about 10-year-old Alana from Calderwood who has had a boost in confidence through her karate practise and competition victories.

According to the article, she took up the martial art when she had a rough time at primary school. It was hard to settle in, and she was being bullied.

"I don't get bullied anymore," she says. She goes on to say how karate gives her a lot more confidence and that it helps to know how to stick up for yourself. "It's been great fun and it's made me enjoy my life more and enjoy school more, too," the young girl says.

In our experience, many children and parents experience something similar to young Alana here: Martial arts training can indeed be valuable tool to "fight off" (as in: stand up to) bullies ... if the parents allow the child to spend ample time with the given art. Some times the child wants the easy way out ("this is boring", "I don't like it", "I'm not good at this", "I want ..."), and the parents give in.

What is ample time? Well, let me put it this way, how can you really become good at anything in less than a few years?

Cruelty and Bravery

Oh man, I'm really at loss for words. What a brave, little girl - going through all the physical and mental pain.

You need to read the article from term-time.com about 7-year-old Levana Hanson from Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire, UK) who has been bullied and tormented, but fights back learning karate.

The young girl had both legs amputated below the knee after being struck by one of the most aggressive forms of the meningitis bug when she was only 11 months old.

This brave girl has fought a daily battle to walk and she admits every karate lesson causes her pain.

Levana, you're a true hero in my book. Keep fighting, and never give up! Note to the rest of us - stop complaining about petty things, please...

Q Train Hero

New York -- Q train peacemaker Hassan Askari has a brown belt in karate and probably could have taken out a couple of the thugs harassing Chanukah revelers if he struck the first blow.

But that isn't his style.

"I didn't fight them because you're not supposed to unless it's self-defense," the slightly built college student and waiter said, according to nydailynews.com.

Instead, the 20-year-old man tried to push the admitted hate criminal and his band of bullies away from the two couples being menaced by the group.

Martial-Arts-Obsessed

UK -- A 29-year-old English and media teacher has sparked fury among parents after a chilling picture showing him holding a pair of fake handguns appeared on a popular social networking website, dailymail.co.uk reports.

The site shows him adopting what is referred to as "a sinister pose" dressed in black, with arms crossed, each hand grasping a handgun.

As well as the picture where he's glaring menacingly into the camera, the teacher went on to list his interests on the page, which included horror movies, martial arts and role playing games. Using strong language, he also spoke of how he made classroom bullies feel "insignificant".

Drunken Batman

Canada -- Some Saskatoon residents took matters into their own hands, taking down a 35-year-old bat-wielding man who sped through their neighbourhood before smashing his car.

"These guys need to get the message that people aren't going to put up with this garbage," said Ryan Deback, who wrestled the attacker to the ground. "There was no way I was going to let this guy bully the neighbourhood."

Deback was in his home when he heard a revving engine then the sound of a collision. He went outside and saw the car, front end crumpled and front tire bent under, sitting at a T-intersection.

Other neighbours filtered out of their homes as Deback went to the car and "gave him a piece of my mind," he said. "I was upset, real upset. There are kids that play around here and someone could have been killed. We don't need this."

That's when the came out, Deback said, and confronted him. "He was six feet from me and I could smell the booze. He bumped into me and I pushed back," said Deback, a correctional officer at the Regional Psychiatric Centre.

The two men exchanged shoves again and Deback pulled out a cellphone and dialled the police service general number. It was busy, so he decided to wait and try again. Meanwhile, the driver got back into his car and tried to leave but the crippled car wouldn't co-operate.

"He came back out again and popped his trunk. He took out an aluminum bat and made a clear distinction that I was going to have to deal with him," said Deback, who also happens to be trained in karate.

While the drunk driver took his backswing, Deback stepped in and grabbed the bat, knocked the man down and got on top. He tried to hold the man's arms as they scuffled then Deback called for help from the crowd that had assembled.

Source

More Mess

A karate instructor, who is "a fourth dan in Tae Kwon-Do, kick boxing and Chung Kwon Do". Boy what a mess - and that is even before this alleged crime!

Story:
UK -- A karate instructor and former bouncer has been arrested on suspicion of raping one of his students.

In 2005 the 36-year-old man, a fourth dan in Tae Kwon-Do, kick boxing and Chung Kwon Do, gave lessons in Malmesbury Primary School to help teach youngsters how to fend off bullies.

The incident is alleged to have taken place between September 1 and November 11 2006.

Source

Bulllies beware

School children in Dubai could soon be taking self-defense lessons in their lunch hour, in a bid to stamp out bullying.

Motivational instructor and martial arts expert Steve Drake, originally from Nottingham, England, has approached GEMS schools with the idea of teaching streetwise classes for the emirate’s 13-19 year olds.

Around 35 per cent of school children in the UAE are reported to suffer from bullying, a global problem, but qualified instructor Steve, who was so badly bullied that by the age of 12 he no longer wanted to go to school, believes learning simple self defense techniques will instill young people with a sense of confidence that will stop them becoming victims.

Source

Karate spice

(Former Spice Girl) Emma Bunton learnt karate as a child to protect herself from bullies.

The former Spice Girl says her mother - a martial arts teacher - thought it was important she learnt how to defend herself because she was so small.

Source

Gamers ...

An avid Dungeons & Dragons player "became his fantasy" when he slashed his co-worker to death with a homemade sword in October 2004, his attorney said Wednesday.

The defense attorney said his client was in the throes of a schizophrenic episode on Oct. 27, 2004, and believed he was a ninja killing a foe when he attacked and killed his 43-year-old co-worker.

The prosecutor said she believes the accused actions were not based on fantasy. She said his was instead acting out his "own grudge and own anger" against the victim and his other co-workers who he thought were bullying him over his obsession with fantasy-based games, his black nail polish and other eccentricities.

Source

Confuse-Us speaks #7

I'm at loss for words, I truly am. Maybe someone should begin to tell these people that there is a "slight" difference between tae kwon do and karate? And a 12-year-old second-degree black belt? Good for her! Personally, I think I have to lie down and rest ...

Story:
Note to school bullies: Don't pick a fight with Sarah Keeney.

The 12-year old's small stature belies a talent that she has been developing for most of her life. Since Keeney turned 4 years old and was allowed to register for a class, she has been learning tae kwon do.

Now a second-degree black belt, Keeney said her classmates are careful. "They don't mess with me," Keeney said. "They know I'm a black belt, so they don't ever mess with me."

(This is) a path that Keeney, though still young, has her heart set on. "I'm going to be doing karate until the day I die," she said. "I love karate."

Source

Once-quiet, reserved

Terre Haute — Jimmy Hudson was a quiet, reserved boy who spent the past two years being bullied and picked on by classmates.

Now, the confident 9-year-old stands up for himself and looks forward to going to school every day.

Hudson began to change while taking summer classes in tae kwon do, a self-defense system similar to karate.

“He’s more likable, he speaks up, he expresses himself,” Cheryl Hudson said about her son.

Source

Expert advice

This guy, Jim Bisenius - a national (US) expert on bully prevention, has a lot of great practical advice about the topic, and the article here is a good read. But he is clearly not too knowledgeable about martial arts as a whole.

Yes, some arts will take time to present the kind of things he sees as effective means. Other arts will, however introduce these methods from day one: blocking, deflecting, evading, sidestepping, moving, dodging, freeing, locking etc.

And to all "experts" out there: Get more than surface information before you present something as a fact, please!

Story:
When bullying turns physical many parents waste time and money by placing their children in martial arts classes.

"It will be two years before they learn anything useful," Bisenius said. "Just have the instructor teach five favorite blocking techniques to repel a bully's attack."

Bullies, he said, will likely avoid the child who successfully demonstrates they are adept at blocking a blow for fear that they'll look foolish.

Source

Bullied no more

Ever since he started school, Mark Hunt pretty much knew what he could expect each day. There was the routine of class work, lunch and recess. But Mark, now an eighth-grader, knew most days also would include something much more sinister: relentless bullying at the hands of his classmates.

To help him learn how to defend himself, his parents enrolled him in group tae kwon do classes in Weston. Mark immediately took to the program's discipline and camaraderie.

While the initial goal was to teach him how to hit back, Mark and his family soon discovered that martial arts training espouses the opposite approach.

''Tae kwon do taught me not to act on my first impulse, which is to fight back, but instead to think things through and do what's right,'' he said.

Last year, after seven years of hard work, Mark was awarded the coveted black belt, the 10th-highest level of skill.

His new self-confidence and refusal to react to confrontations wore his tormentors down. Finally, he could enjoy going to school.

Source

Just kinda clicked

It's a sad truth about our society -- young people not realizing the effects of their sometimes loathsome behavior toward their peers.

Now, Brenna McPheron stares right back and marches on, secure in her place in what can too often be a cruel world. Brenna's bigger than all that now, drawing strength, confidence and happiness from an unlikely source.

It's been almost two years since Brenna was introduced to the world of martial arts and the soon-to-be senior at Bald Eagle Area High School swears she doesn't know where she'd be today if her piano teacher -- yes, her piano teacher -- hadn't urged her to try it out.

"She told me, 'I think this would be really good for you,'" Brenna said. "I figured I'd give it a try and then I ended up actually being decent at it. It just kinda clicked, I guess."

Source

New and improved

Nothing unusual about this martial arts training, except that Mr. Ritonia is paralyzed on his left side and working out of a wheelchair.

It is hard to reconcile the man in the wheelchair with the person he used to be: sheltered, shy and afraid to venture outdoors for fear of running into a bully.

That was the old Alonzo. Meet the new and improved Alonzo, dressed in the traditional do bok and training in the Monongahela martial arts studio. He was "reborn" when his aunt suggested martial arts lessons.

Source