Team Bullying: Traverse City Karate Kids Don’t Bully Each Other At Martial Art Class

NFL locker rooms, middle school gym classes, girls high school soccer teams – bullying is everywhere. Children as well as teens and adults are under the constant threat of being picked on verbally and physically not only at school but now even on their sports teams. Kids in Traverse City do sports to help build their confidence. But, this latest trend is having just the opposite effect. Not every child is a great athlete and thus those that are not the stars of the team or the most popular run the risk of being a target of bullying. Children studying Korean Karate at the Seung-ni Academy in Traverse City, however, don’t get bullied.

It seems odd that a sport where you learn kicking and punching may be the safest place to send your kid in Traverse City. Children and teens can be very mean. And, practicing and performing at sports opens kids up to even more possible grounds for a bullying attack. At Karate, however, this does not occur for several reasons:

1.Respect for fellow students is taught and enforced from day one in a martial arts studio. Students must bow to each other before and after every training session to show respect.

2.Karate kids have high self-esteem so they do not have to resort to making others feel bad in order to get a short term “false” boost in their confidence.

3.Positive role models from the Korean Karate black belt instructors show the young students how to treat others with kindness and empathy.

4.Bully prevention is such an integral aspect of martial arts training for kids that bullying is cast in the negative light that it deserves (i.e., bullying does not look cool at the dojo).

5.When a new student falls down or makes a very apparent mistake no one laughs, instead the Seung-ni instructors will say “at least that kid is trying his or her best to improve.” This leadership makes effort and the frequent errors along the way not funny but to be admired.

We all want our children to grow up safe and feeling great about themselves. Bullying in Traverse City on sports teams is having just the opposite result. If your child has experienced bullying -- maybe it is time to give Karate a try.