Monday, September 11, 2006

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

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