When Bullying Leads to Suicide

Those of you who know me probably know that I take the issue of bullying very seriously.  Repeated bullying whether verbal or physical can just erode a child’s fragile self-esteem.  Bullying has been linked to isolation, drug use, violence, and suicide!  I have posted about it in the past and I recently offered a “Bully-Proof Your Child” course at North Shore Martial Arts Center at no charge to participants.  My good friend Tom Curcio assisted me in running the seminar, which I’m sure is what prompted him to bring a recent article on bullying to my attention – Thanks Tom.  This article, as sad as it is,  really illustrates the very serious and powerful effects that bullying can have on a person. 

You can click here to read the article.

If someone you care about is a victim of bullying, please feel free to email me at bill@northshoremartialarts.com  and I will be happy to help in any way I can.

Until next time, keep up the good fight!

The Martial Artist

I would like to apologize for kind of slacking  in my posts.  As many of you know, my family has been blessed with a new child and she has been taking up a lot of my posting time.  This will likely be  the case for the next few months, but I will do my best to post on a regular basis. 

Anyhow, I was surfing through some martial arts articles and I found one that I feel is worth posting (and believe me, there are not many that carry this status).  This article, though short,  illustrates the true essence of a martial artist.

Click here to read.  Enjoy!

Until next time, Keep up the good fight!

A Lesson in Moral Conduct

Please forgive me for this rant, as it really does not have much to do with Martial Arts.  Although, in a way, it does and I will explain how once I get this off my chest.  I am talking about the disgrace that has become of this AIG executive bonus issue.  And it is not the AIG executives who are the disgraceful ones that I speak of my friends.  The real disgrace lies in our elected representatives.  It is absolutely insulting to listen to Chris Dodd, the banking queen Barney Frank, the tax cheating Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner and even the Messiah Barak Obama express outrage that AIG paid $165 million in  retention bonuses to certain employees.  Each of them knew of these bonuses well in advance of their distribution.  Chris Dodd actually wrote the language in the pork-ulus bill that  allowed AIG to pay these bonuses.  Dodd tried to deny it when first called upon, but them came clean the following  day with his back against the wall, saying that he was pressured by  the  Obama Administration, in an attempt to absolve himself of responsibility.  Check this out:

Geithner is on record responding to questions about these very bonuses on 3/3/09, well before the distribution of the $165 million:

Can you believe this?  This video of him defending the bonuses is out there  and he expresses his outrage as if he knew nothing of them.  Is he an idiot in addition to a tax cheat?

Obama jammed the pork-ulous bill down all of our throats, with Frank and Dodd two of its biggest proponents.  In that 1,100 page bill that nobody read prior to its passing, was language that allowed AIG to pay these bonuses to its employees.  After getting the green light, AIG goes and pays the bonuses according to the legal retention agreements that it had with its employees.  How is AIG the bad guy in this scenario? Yet these hacks are all pointing the finger at AIG as being the big bad corporation who took the taxpayer dollars and rewarded their employees for failure.  Talk about throwing someone under the bus!  But that was not enough… the hacks then convened and came up with a new  tax on bonuses paid out from bailout money at a rate of 91%.  Does this sound like a democracy to you???

Another point… I find it interesting that Chris Dodd and Barak Obama are the top two recipients of AIG campaign contributions… is this why that language got in there???

OK, so what does this have to do with Martial Arts?  Well, on the surface, nothing at all.  However, remember that martial arts is all about building strong moral character and conducting one’s self with good moral behaviour in all aspects of life.  The way these hacks conduct themselves, they offer martial arts instructors a great opportunity to give their students perfect examples of the opposite of how they should be.  I think that I just might take this approach in class.

Again, I apologize for the rant.  This is not a political blog, but I saw an obvious moral issue in this matter and like I stated above, lessons in moral conduct are a very big part of Martial Arts.

Until next time, keep up the good fight!

Rules for the Non-Military

The other day, I received an email from one of the adult students at NSMAC.  We have all received these kinds of emails from friends, who forward them through cyberspace – you know, the jokes, the humorous occurences described in print or presented in video, etc.  We usually just get a laugh out of them and then forward them on and delete them.  However, I think that I am going to save this one.  This one is very funny, but at the same time, it portrays a message that coincides with my own beliefs regarding honor,  respect and patriotism.

Tom C., thanks for sharing this one with me (I had to omit #13 for obvious reasons): 

                                         Rules for the Non-Military

*Dear Civilians, ‘We know that the current state of affairs in our great nation has many civilians up in arms and excited to join the military.

For those of you who can’t join, you can still lend a hand. Here are a few of the areas where we would like your assistance:*

1. The next time you see any adults talking (or wearing a hat) during the playing of the National Anthem – kick their ass.

2. When you witness, firsthand, someone burning the American Flag in protest – kick their ass.

3. Regardless of the rank they held while they served, pay the highest amount of respect to all veterans. If you see anyone doing otherwise, quietly pull them aside and explain how these veterans fought for the very freedom they bask in every second. Enlighten them on the many sacrifices these veterans made to make this Nation great. Then hold them down while a disabled veteran kicks their ass.

4. (GUYS) If you were never in the military, DO NOT pretend that you were. Wearing battle dress uniforms (BDUs) or Jungle Fatigues, telling others that you used to be ‘Special Forces’. Collecting GI Joe memorabilia, might have been okay when you were seven years old, now, it will only make you look stupid and get your ass kicked.

5. Next time you come across an *Air Force* member, do not ask them, ‘Do you fly a jet? ‘Not everyone in the Air Force is a pilot.
Such ignorance deserves an ass-kicking (children are exempt).

6. If you witness someone calling the *US Coast Guard* ‘non-military’ , inform them of their mistake – and kick their ass.

7. Next time Old Glory (the US flag) passes by during a parade, get on your damn feet and pay homage to her by placing your hand over your heart. Quietly thank the military member or veteran lucky enough to be carrying her – of course, failure to do either of those could earn you a severe ass-kicking.

8. Don’t try to discuss politics with a military member or veteran. We are Americans, and we all bleed the same, regardless of our party affiliation. Our Chain of Command is to include our Commander-In-Chief (CinC). The President (for those who didn’t know) is our CinC Regardless of political party. We have no inside track on what happens inside those big important buildings where all those representatives meet. All we know is that when those civilian representatives screw up the situation, they call upon the military to go straighten it out. If you keep asking us the same stupid questions repeatedly, you will get your ass kicked.

9. ‘Your mama wears combat boots’ never made sense to me – stop saying it! If she did, she would most likely be a vet and therefore would kick your ass!

10. Bin Laden and the Taliban are not Communists, so stop saying ‘Let’s go kill those Commies!’ And stop asking us where he is! Crystal balls are not standard issue in the military. That reminds me – if you see anyone calling those damn psychic phone numbers, let me know, so I can go kick their ass!

11. ‘Flyboy’ (*Air Force*), ‘Jarhead’ (*Marines),* ‘Grunt’ (*Army*), ‘Squid’ (*Navy*), ‘Puddle Jumpers’ (*Coast Guard*), etc., are terms of endearment we use describing each other. Unless you are a service member or vet, you have not earned the right to use them. Using them could get your ass kicked.

12. Last, but not least, whether or not you become a member of the military, support our troops and their families. Every Thanksgiving and religious holiday that you enjoy with family and friends, please remember that there are literally thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen far from home wishing; they could be with their families.. Thank God for our military and the sacrifices they make every day. Without them, our Country would get it’s ass kicked.. ‘

It’s the Veteran, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. ‘

It’s the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. ‘

It’s the Veteran, not the community organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. ‘

It’s the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag. ‘

WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!

IN GOD WE TRUST!

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  Keep up the good fight!

What Goes Around Comes Around

I’m sure that you’ve all heard of the old saying, “what goes around comes around”.  Another name for this phrase is Karma.  I’ve always believed in Karma because I have seen it materialize on so many occasions.  While surfing the net, I came across an interesting article on this subject that I would like to share with all of you.

Click here to read it. 

Enjoy!

As always, Keep up the good fight!

Helio Gracie Dies At 95

I am very saddened to learn of the death of Helio Gracie on 1/29/09.  Helio Gracie was the founder of the Martial Arts style of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Gracie took the techniques of traditional Japanese Jiu Jitsu and modified them to emphasize position and leverage to give smaller opponents a way to compete against their larger competitors.  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s increase in popularity over the past 15 or so years has pretty much single-handedly modernized the look and practice of Martial Arts all over the world.

Helio Gracie definitely left his mark on this earth with his great contributions to Martial Arts.  Helio’s legacy will live on with the millions of martial artists who have incorporated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu into their training regimen.  My heart goes out to the Gracie family.

You may click here to read Helio’s obituary.

Until next time, keep up the good fight!

What Do You Do If Your Child Is Being Bullied?

It happens every so often… I am approached by one or both parents of a young student, usually with the student, requesting that they speak with me in private.  We enter my office and close the door, and the parents proceed to inform me that their child is having a problem with another child at school.  In most cases, there have been several incidents in which their child has been bullied by the other child and they are calling me aside to  request my advice.  The parents usually do not need my advice regarding what their child should do.  They have already given their child the advice that any normal parent would give his or her child.  They just need me to reinforce it to their child.  They know what I am going to say, because it is based on common sense, which is what they used to reach the same conclusion.

Prior to their having to deal with this situation, many parents would have advised that their child ignore or just walk a way from the bully.  Others may have advised their child to tell his or her teacher of the problem and it would be taken care of.  They may even give this advice to their child at the outset and will quickly learn that the bully will not allow their child to just ignore or walk away from him.  Even if the child can avoid the bully, there is no way that he or she can live without fear of confronting the bully, which will completely dismantle his or her self-esteem.  Parents will also learn that if their child “tells the teacher”, the child pays for this with even more bullying.  Many of the parents have already gotten involved in the situation by speaking with the child’s teacher and school administrators, but this has the same effect as the prior scenario.  You see, there is only one sensible answer to a bullying situation and all parents, no matter what they had always professed before they ever had to face this issue, come to this common sense conclusion.

You really can not blame the parents for giving their children this initial bogus advice or getting themselves involved when you consider the culture of political correctness that has evolved in society.  According to this culture, any form of physical confrontation is considered violence, and violence must be avoided at all costs.  However, when everything else has failed, parents always seem to finally reach the realization that this is the child’s problem and the child must stand up to the bully and deal with any physical altercation that may arise.  If the child does not stand up to the bully, he or she is doomed to live each day in fear of the bully and the child’s self-esteem will be greatly affected in a negative way.  Of course the bullying will not last forever, but if the child does not face the bully, the psychological damage that is caused will.  A good friend of mine stated it best: an injury to your body will heal and go away, but an injury to your pride will remain with you for the rest of your life.

Having said that, is it really worth conforming to political correctness and advise your child to avoid “violence” at all costs?  Are you really doing right by your child?  In my opinion, you will be doing your child a disservice if you take this position.  Don’t get me wrong… I agree that violence is not good for anybody.  However, sometimes it is necessary to make things right.  In mostly all situations when a victim stands up to a bully, one of two things happen; 1) the bully backs down and no physical confrontation results, or 2) a confrontation ensues and the vicitim walks away with some bruises, but gains the bully’s respect.  In either situation, the result is that the bullying stops and the child walks away with his pride and a positive self-esteem.  In addition to this, the bully just may receive a lesson in humility.

It is my belief that all parents know this from the beginning, because as I said above, it is all based on common sense.  It is a shame that society has made it so difficult to do the right thing by polluting our minds with all this politically correct BS.  When I was a child, standing up to a bully was the only solution to the problem and parents, including my own, never had any hesitation to say, “if he hits you, you hit him right back!”  Life was so much simpler back then and people were so much more normal and well adjusted.  Again, this is because they handled these types of problems with common sense.  As I stated above, I believe that all parents today eventually come to the sensible conclusion.  It is just too bad that they have to spend so much time and effort to come to it, and need so much reinforcement once they reach it.

I welcome your comments.

As always, keep up the good fight!

Karate Instructor vs. Pimp

I was flipping through channels the other night and came upon a show called “Smoking Gun/America’s Dumbest Criminals” (I think I got that right) and I decided to watch, as this was right up my alley for entertainment.  Anyhow, it just so happened that they showed an incident in which a Karate instructor had a run-in with a pimp.  You gotta see this – it is hilarious!  Enjoy.

As always, keep up the good fight!

Bruce Lee’s Home to Become a Museum

Bruce Lee's Former Home in Hong Kong

A friend of mine sent me an email earlier today directing me to an article about how Bruce Lee’s former home in Hong Kong was recently purchased by a Hong Kong tycoon who plans to turn it into a museum honoring the Martial Arts legend.  It’s great to see somebody just doing the right thing when it comes to something, or in this case someone, who holds a special place in one’s being.

Click here to read the article.

Enjoy!

Instant Gratification

I hope that everyone had a very happy Holiday Season.  I realize that I have not posted in quite some time and I apologize.  I have been on vacation and I guess that I got kind of lazy.  Anyhow, I recently read a very interesting article on the subject of instant gratification, which has become so prevalent a concept among people today that it can almost be called a lifestyle.  I found this article interesting because it was written by a Martial Arts instructor by the name of Wayne Belonoha who teaches at a Kung Fu school in Canada, and his thoughts and philosophy on instant gratification mirror my own.  However, Mr. Belonoha puts these thoughts into words much better than I can even dream of.  You can read his article by clicking here.  Enjoy!

Until next time, keep up the good fight!