Why Every Parent Should Enroll Their Child in Jiu-Jitsu

Just this week a video surfaced on Facebook that every parent should see (unfortunately it has since been removed). It was about a female student who was bullied/sexually harassed by another student at school who kept snapping the back of her bra. After repeatedly asking the boy to stop and informing the teacher what was happening, the girl eventually punched the boy in the face after he undid her bra. Both she and the boy were brought to the principal’s office with their parents, and it appeared that the school was angrier with the girl for punching the boy. (You can read the full story here: https://stuffhappens.us/a-boy-at-school-snapped-her-15430/)

Unfortunately, this kind of scenario is quite real amongst middle and high school students. Recently, a parent shared with me a situation that her 6th grade daughter went through and how the school told her that she shouldn’t use her jiu-jitsu unless there are multiple people attacking her. In this incident, her daughter had been bullied and physically attacked by a male student after she refused to give up the basketball and the girls’ rights to use the court.

When her daughter, E*, refused to give up the basketball and turned her back to the boy, he scratched her face, leaving 3 gashes with lines across her cheek. She was not happy about this, so she took him down to the ground. She then tried to tell the boy to stay down, which of course he refused, so when she tried to get up, he yanked on her hair. She then went for the arm bar but did not fully extend the arm because she didn’t want to hurt him.

This is what E* had to say about why she did what she did and how jiu-jitsu has prepared her to face situations like this:

“I did it for my protection. Jiu-Jitsu has helped me become more and more ready for defending myself outside of the jiu-jitsu academy. It helped me react to defend myself and not freeze up or let myself be a victim of bullying. Most people would probably react the way I did if they did jiu-jitsu!”

No parent ever wants to hear their child is the victim of bullying. A lot of children often hide the fact that they are being bullied in school, which in turn, creates negative physical, school, and mental health issues. Children who are bullied are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, health issues, and decreased academic achievement. The unfortunate negative outcomes of these issues can lead to retaliation, substance use or even suicide.

So rather than sit on the sidelines and hope that this never happens to your child, be proactive and enroll them in jiu-jitsu. It will give them the confidence and self-defense skills to face these challenges in a positive way, which will pay for itself tenfold in the long run.

For more information about bullying, please visit: www.stopbullying.gov