Why is the ability to self-defend so crucial?

Bullying in schools is on the rise.

Would it be incorrect to call it an epidemic?

Most certainly not.

• Bullying is the factor behind 16,000 plus pupils being absent from school in the UK.
• In a survey conducted of 34 countries, the bullying stats in the UK made the UK the fourth worst affected country.
• ‘bullied at school’ is searched an average of 2,300 times per month.

Need we even ask why self-defence classes are so important?

Self-defence isn’t taught to encourage hostility, aggression and violence. Rather, it is taught to combat all of those things through a value system that is more than just physical strength.

Being able to protect oneself is not a privilege.

It is a basic survival right.  

In the face of bullying epidemics and an increasingly hostile world, here are five reasons children should be taught self-defence.

1. Setting goals: nothing in life is achieved all at once. This is why social media can be so dangerous; it normalises instant self-gratification. When it doesn’t come, we are sent spiralling in to a rabbit hole of unworthiness and failure. Training during self-defence teaches children how to set small and actionable goals with a bigger picture in mind. It empowers them to make decisions that impact their steps to success.

• Physical health: keeping active is a skill for life. Self-defence affords children the scope and space for engaging their physical selves in essential movement. This in turn promotes cardiovascular fitness, bone health, decreased risk of obesity, improved sleep, and better coordination and balance.

• Discipline: this is about teaching children a system of values that they can use to manage their behaviours and exercise self-control. Self-defence classes are centred around discipline as they require adherence and commitment to the rules set by the art of whatever defence your child is learning. Actions have consequences and by teaching this implicitly, children learn to regulate their emotions and react in purposeful ways.

• Camaraderie: the art of self-defence is oxymoronic. It is individualistic in its purpose of self-development, personal strength and individual goal setting. At the same time though, it fosters team work and this fierce sense of looking after one another. Self-development is only achieved by helping others develop. Goals cannot be accomplished without the help of others. Being strong isn’t just about looking after yourself, it’s about putting yourself on the line of others.

• Self-esteem: knowing that you can do something is the greatest fire. A person doesn’t have to be bullied to learn self-defence. Just knowing that one can protect themselves in the face of danger helps builds a child’s confidence and self-worth without all the trimmings of arrogance and the need to show it off.

• Confidence
• Mental fortitude
• Strength
• Physical wellbeing
• Discipline
• Goal setting
• Collaborative skills

If these are things you would love for your child to develop, please contact us to register for the self-defence classes we offer.

~Confidence ~Mentalfortitude ~Strength ~Physicalwellbeing #Discipline #Goalsetting #Collaborativeskills