Bullies? That's what kung fu is for!



Today in my English class I had to listen to debates about the bullying problem around the world. After listening for a of couple hours I came to realize that the ignorance about martial arts is evident in our social problems. My issues dealing with violent racism as a youth required me to confront bullies on a daily basis. All bullies used to be bullied themselves.  Their insecurities become targets they seek in other weaker individuals.

Martial arts being the practice of daily refinement is the most obvious answer to the problem. Yes the teacher has a responsibility to the children to look after their safety. The reality is that no one can be around your kid 24 hours a day or be involved on their social networks. Parents have an obligation to teach their children about bullying, but they can not live their child's life for them. The child needs to understand that life is filled with dangerous situations and sometimes you got to dig yourself out on your own. It just so happens the universe has provided us the perfect tool for bullies, kung fu.

I say kung fu meaning all martial arts but you have to be careful using the word martial arts these days. Some people would tell you that martial arts is two guys in a cage beating each others faces in over money. No disrespect to gladiators, we all have to find a way to make money. Fighters use a lot of martial arts, but most fighters are not martial artist.

True kung fu first attacks the weakness within one's own character: laziness, fear, low self-steem and lack of strength. These flaws mold into traits that eventually act as a magnet to bullies. It is the essence of which the bully must feed on.

In China many families would take the weakest child to the temple to train for fear of his life. Maybe he was always sick as a baby or even picked on. They took him and left him on the temple stairs to be adopted by the monks so that they would train the weakness out of him. These sick babies usually turned out to be the most powerful masters. The advantage of being weak is that you understand the power of strength.

If you have always been strong then when training a technique you do not need to follow every detail to generate power. You use talent and muscle to make up for what you don't understand. Yet only starting as a weakling will you truly need every move to be perfect before you can generate power. The weakest will always become the strongest. Martial arts is a gift for the meek.

In a martial arts class the first thing that they will introduce to you is pain. Every stance, step, stretch and sparring session is going to be painful, but also it will be positive. Any child quickly gets used to the idea that getting hit is not so scary anymore. He will feel a confidence in his achievements and accomplishments. Martial arts will give him the ability to deal with his problems in many ways. The fact that a child would not admit to his parents that he was being bullied is an indication that he doesn't even have the confidence to speak up in his defense. And if push real comes to shove on the playground, bullies only want prey. They don't want a really fight.

On the flip side martial arts is also the solution for the bully himself. If he is in a style that utilizes his potential and worth while at the same time showing him the error of arrogance and pride. An art that gives him a true confidence along with peace of mind. So that when he wakes up in the morning he will feel to good about himself and his place in the world.

Bottom line is everyone needs to know kung fu. Plain and simple.


Comments

Jason said…
"The weakest become the strongest." Very well said. Never thought of it that way before.
October 12, 2011 at 6:51 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take the day with you

Image
My father used to tell me stories about his masters and his master's masters. I remember one about his master Choi, who used to go into the mountains in Korea to train. Inside of a cave he would do a ridiculous work out, thousands of punches and kicks. He mentioned to my dad that he used to punch the wall hundreds of times a day for several years. After years had passed he said that the wall had not changed much aside from the small, smooth groove. But now every time that he hit someone with that punch, they would also feel the wall of the the cave. I don't recommend punching walls for training these days but there is more to the story than that. Every day that you are able to get up and train, you take a part of the day into your technique. The days I train and it's freezing cold I add the frost to my footwork. The days I train in the intense heat I add intensity to my lungs. The days I train in the blinding rain I add clarity to my attack. The days I train when I have no
Read more

Warfox Training Rooms and Missions

Image
In order to meet with the needs of students that are all over the world, I've decided to open the Warfox Training Rooms for FREE  online tutorials.  Check out online tutorials for Soft Body Flowing Baguazhang on my facebook page, "The Warfox Training Room." (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Warfox-Training-Room-RJA-%E5%AD%94%E6%9C%89%E6%9C%89/925078367526760) The Warfox Training Room is a free visual training blog with  tips to help people have a better understanding of the physics of this system of combat.  There will be videos on an almost weekly basis to help my online students with their practice from the comfort of their home. The first room is focused on the Heaven Section of training, meaning it is the simple truth of how techniques are used and applied. After students have gained enough Warfox Experience points they will be able to advance to the  Warfox Water Section, which goes deeper into the mechanics, offering even more thorough explanations
Read more

The One Thing

Image
Two years ago I finished learning the movements in the system of Gao Bagua and was very excited to begin my journey of developing. Learning all of the movements is only the beginning of our quest. I have spent all of my recent time refining and perfecting all of the techniques. The sword, spear, footwork, combat, conditioning have all been a daily routine for me in finding my understanding of the art fully. I have mapped out new training techniques and ideas that will revolutionize the way people train or perceive the martial arts. My training has been going very well but progress as always has been slow and steady. I have trained everything that my master showed me. Well, almost everything. There is this one exercise that I just hated practicing. It made every part of me ache so much that I didn't have energy to do the rest of my workout. I have never been a lazy person, but this one exercise just took everything out of me. So every time I have set up my workout schedule for the
Read more