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Q & A: St. Michael Taekwondo School Combats Bullying

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Master Patrick Hoth shared with Patch some of his expertise on bullying and bullying prevention.

Master Patrick Hoth is the director of the that opened in Colonial Mall this past September. He sharedsome of his expertise with Patch about bullying and bullying prevention.

Patch: So what is actually considered bullying versus just messing around with your friends?

Master Hoth: Bullying is the intentional act of causing physical or emotional distress, fear, or injury to one or more persons. For example, bullying can take on the form of a "tween" saying to another tween, "You're so stupid!" An isolated incident (meaning a one-time incident) may or may not constitute bullying.  However, repeated instances that either maintain or grown in severity would be considered bullying. Certainly much stronger language is often used (curse words, a pejorative, etc.). Of course, one of the most common types of bullying is through electronic means (texting, posting on social sites, etc.).

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Patch: What are some of the stereotypes of bullies?

Master Hoth: One of the stereotypes of bullies is that they are the large, "playground bully." These were (and are) the kids who would pick fights, push littler kids off swings, etc. Certainly that still exists, but even "good" kids can engage in bullying behavior. This is especially true in early adolescents, whose brains are not fully formed in terms of rational decision making. They can get angry at a friend or classmate, and take that anger out by texting another friend, spreading a rumor, etc. A dangerous consequence is that those texts, rumors, etc. get spread around, and often grow larger and more vicious.

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Patch: What about the bullied?

Master Hoth: A stereotype of the bullied is that they are weak and/or deserve what happens to them.  However, anyone can be bullied.  With the speed of information and how closely connected kids are today in terms of communication, this is especially true.  The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry states that some surveys show that at least half of all children are bullied, and at least 10% are bullied on a regular basis. Having worked in schools as both a teacher and administrator, those numbers seem accurate.  My guess is that bullying is probably under-reported, because victims want to seem strong, and fear retaliation.

Patch: What does World Taekwondo Academy do to help with bullying?

Master Hoth: The WTA schools have been training in anti-bullying. Specifically, we have been trained in Verbal Judo, which was developed by Dr. George Thompson.  Dr. Thompson is a martial artist, former police officer, and a university professor.  Through Verbal Judo, we teach our students how establish "mushin," which is a calm disposition, even during duress.  We also teach the Art of Representation.  Since our students are martial artists, we hold them to high standards.  They need to learn how to represent themselves, their parents, their schools, and their martial art by remaining calm and dignified.  We work with them to recognize the triggers that make them angry, and how to maintain that mushin.  We also teach various word blocks, which are used to deflect verbal harassment, defuse an ugly situation, and allows the participants to "save face" or maintain dignity.  The word blocks are direct, assertive, and quick.  The students have homework that they complete with their parents or guardians, which work through some situations that require these various word blocks.

The World Taekwondo will soon be offering this anti-bullying/verbal judo class and you can contact Master Hoth for more information.

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