Gracie Barra Anti-Bullying Techniques for Kids
It’s inevitable that our kids will experience bullying during their childhoods. We may not be able to control the bullies, but we can empower our children to take control during these situations.
Last Sunday, Vida from the parenting blog mommylok and I hosted the Gracie Barra #NoRoomForBullying event on Long Island for social media influencers. Bloggers and influencers brought their children so they could learn what to do when bullying arises.
Sponsors who donated products for the event included Honest Tea, Little Bird Chocolates, Funny Face Dried Cranberries and The Gourmet Bake Shop.
The Gracie Barra instructors, which included Joe Scarola, Carlos Rosado, Stephen O’Sullivan, Jonathan Solis and Dave Lipman, demonstrated both verbal and physical techniques for kids to protect themselves.
The instructors did a great job of keeping everyone’s attention, and they spoke at a level that kids could understand.
The Gracie Barra team has put together an anti-bullying system that includes three levels of reaction.
1) Step One: Walk Away and IgnoreThe instructors advised that when a bully calls your child a name, teach your child to “catch the comment” and then “throw it away.” After that, you child finishes by saying something nice about herself. For example, if someone calls your child ugly, you child should mimic catching the comment with her hand and throwing the comment in the trash with her imagination. She should then say something positive about herself like, “I am beautiful.” Your child should also tell everyone – teachers, parents, friends – about the bullying.
2) Step Two: Stand Up for Yourself
If the verbal bullying doesn’t stop, your child must now stand up for herself to show she is strong. Bullies tend to target others they perceive as weak. Your child needs to use a strong voice and body language. Stand up straight, shoulders high, chest forward and head up. Look the bully in the eyes, and using a firm voice say, “Stop this now!” or some variation of this. It’s not what your child says, but how she says it that will portray her as strong.
3) Step Three: Self Defense
When the bully become physically aggressive like pushing, kicking or punching, it’s time for your child to use Jiu Jitsu for self defense. The purpose of Jiu Jitsu is not to encourage fighting or to hurt the bully, but rather to get free and escape to safety. Often when a bully sees a child knows how to physically defend herself, the bully will see her as a strong person and leave her alone. If the bully continues to physically assault your child, the Jiu Jitsu skills will come in handy for taking down the bully.
Self-defense is not something that can be learned in a day, so to have your child’s defense mode become second nature, you should consider enrolling them into Jiu Jitsu classes for kids.
Self-defense is not something that can be learned in a day, so to have your child’s defense mode become second nature, you should consider enrolling them into Jiu Jitsu classes for kids.
To find out more about anti-bullying programs and classes at Gracie Barra Long Island, please visit
gblongisland.com. Gracie Barra offers locations throughout the U.S. and the world – find locations HERE.
Check out mommylok’s post: #NoRoomForBullying – Transforming Bullying Into a Positive Experience.
Photo Credits: Maria Adcock
