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| Parents send their kids to judo for many reasons and judo is good for all of them. |
Parents love to send their children for judo lessons. There are many reasons for this and usually it's a combination of the following:
a) Parents want their child's excess energy to be expended on positive things like excercise
b) Parents like a sport or activity that instills discipline and respect
c) Some parents want to give their child an early head start in competitive sports
d) Parents want their child to be equipped to handle bullies
The first three: (a), (b) and (c) are pretty straightforward and self-explanatory. There isn't a need to expand further as it's pretty clear judo is good for all these things. The last item (d) is however something that does need to be explored. Bullying is a very challenging issue to deal with. When a parent says they don't want their child to be bullied anymore what exactly do they mean?
It could be they feel the child is physically weak and they want the child to be able to physically defend himself or herself. Or it could mean the child is meek and not willing to stand up for himself/herself. Bullies can smell that and will prey upon those who are lacking in self confidence. Quite possibly it's a combination of those two things.
The good news is that judo will help with both points. To deal with bullies, you need to be physically capable of literally pushing back if things get physical.
This clip shows the value of confidence
But beyond the physical aspect of self-defense is the psychological component which is just as important. If a child is confident, it shows. And bullies will generally think twice before harassing someone who projects a strong sense of self-belief regardless of that person's physical size.
Of course self-confidence offers no immunity against bullies. Bullies will be bullies and sometimes they will go after someone just because they can. We never advocate violence as a solution to any dispute but if you are being physically assaulted you have to know how to defend yourself. Judo's full-contact, grappling nature is good for that.
When I was a young man training in competitive judo in Los Angeles, I overheard a conversation between a parent and the head coach at the judo centre where I was based. The father said his son was getting beaten up at school and he wanted him to learn judo so that he could defend himself.
The head coach said something which I found to be profound then, and it still resonates with me today. It's something I would gladly repeat to any parent who wants their child to learn judo to deal with bullies.
"If your son learns judo, I can't guarantee that he will never get beaten up," the head coach said. "The other person might be that much bigger or stronger. But what I can guarantee you is that your son will never take crap from any bully ever again."
The father said that's good enough for him because he knows the greatest value that judo can give to his son is the fighting spirit to stand up for himself.
There's no question size does matter. That's why judo contests are run according to weight classes. But during practice, you train with everyone including those who are bigger than you. This is common. It happens in every practice. Judo practitioners are thus acclimatized to fighting bigger opponents. And that will come in handy when dealing with bullies who might happen to be bigger.
As the head coach rightly pointed out, knowing judo does not necessarily mean you won't get beaten up but believe me, that big bully will have the shock of his life when the person he is picking on fights back and gives as good as he's got.
This ethos of standing up for yourself will be useful for the child as they grow up because in life there will be many instances of unfairness. They will need to be able to stand up for themselves and push back, sometimes against much stronger forces. A strong fighting spirit is the greatest value that judo can give to a young child.
KL Judo Centre in collaboration with Activ Studio plans to offer children's classes in the near future. If you have a child below 12 whom you would like to sign up for judo lesson, please contact us to so we can notify you once our classes begin.
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