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Wrestling for children’s self-protection and self-confidence

Often, parents look for training for their young, primary school age children to make them safer or grow in confidence as a result of being bullied.

While the physical threats may not be life-threatening to children of primary school age from other primary school children, the effects of being bullied can cause distress, anxiety, and make them not want to go to school.

Often factors like the children subject to being bullied being small, overweight, or unconfident compounds the bullying issue.

Then there is the consideration that if they retaliate and injure the bully they may well end up in trouble with the school.

So, training young children to punch kick and fight with school yard bullies is not deemed acceptable may end in disciplinary action injuries or even police involvement.

There is no easy answer to stopping bullies and clearly using physical skills must be a last resort option for self-protective personal safety, but to develop confidence and enhance mental toughness as well as develop increased strength physical fitness by simple wrestling self-protection capability is a good option.

The sport of Olympic wrestling develops stability enhances expedient movement and the ability to clinch and tie up an opponent. It also develops wide ranging physicality enhancement and fast footing recovery.

Training with other children develops confidence and combine this with new skills competency and a lot of children that have been bullied start to feel better about themselves and gain in self-confidence.

The mere fact that they may well be less likely to conduct themselves submissively and will learn how to stand ready and confident may prevent being bullied.

If targeted by bullies not showing fear or weaknesses such as turning their back on a bully or by submissive verbiage can prevent physical bullying.

No longer being a soft easy looking target for bullies can put an end to such unwanted attention.

Being able to stay on their feet prevent a bully seizing them or tie a bully up in the clinch introducing them to the strengths of wrestling is a means of dealing with bullying without running the risk of the consequences of striking or kicking the bully at school.

Wrestling is the oldest combat sport and is the base code of many of the UFC mixed martial arts champions of today.

There are no strangles, chokes or arm bars in Olympic wrestling that can only make the consequences of using such techniques at school problematic with disciplinary action.

Unfortunately, often it is the victor that pays the price and this is unfortunate for a victim of bullying that retaliates effectively.

Wrestling being a competitive combat sport derived from ancient European close combat possesses some excellent basic principles and fundamentals.

The basic skills for children are simple skills easy to learn and they can quickly become proficient at them and increase in physical capability and self-confidence.

They also develop the capability to be more situationally aware and think faster on their feet, which can enhance their capability to outsmart out move and overpower schoolyard bullies.

Securing a bully to stop the assault introducing them to wrestling skills and wrestling training developed physicality is a better way to take care of schoolyard bullies than punching and kicking them in regards to injuries and disciplinary action.

Children are taught wrestling skills for competition that are safe in relation to their age and are not allowed to practice or use in competition the more dynamic techniques of older wrestlers.

Children could be shown some simple self-defence cover guarding and deflection against strikes that come from military self-defence and have commonality with wrestling.

Article written by Tank Todd

Special Operations CQB Master Chief Instructor. Over 30 years experience. The only instructor qualified descendent of Baldock, Nelson, and Applegate. Former instructors include Harry Baldock (unarmed combat instructor NZ Army WWII), Colonel Rex Applegate OSS WWII and Charles Nelson, US Marine Corps. Tank has passed his Special Forces combative instructor qualification course in Southeast Asia and is certified to instruct the Applegate, Baldock and Nelson systems. His school has been operating for over eighty years and he is currently an Army Special Operations Group CQB Master Chief Instructor. His lineage and qualifications from the evolutionary pioneers are equalled by no other military close combat instructor. His operation includes his New Zealand headquarters, and 30 depots worldwide as well as contracts to train the military elite, security forces, and close protection specialists. Annually he trains thousands of exponents and serious operators that travel down-under to learn from the direct descendant of the experts and pioneers of military close combat. Following in the footsteps of his former seniors, he has developed weapons, and training equipment exclusive to close combat and tactical applications. He has published military manuals and several civilian manuals and produced DVDs on urban self protection, tactical control and restraint, and close combat. He has racked up an impressive 100,000+ hours in close combat.