Sensei’s Weekly Mokuso Oct 25th–Nov 1st
Hello Parents and Students,
As we wrap up our month of bully awareness, and abduction prevention I wanted to continue passing along valuable information to you, our parents, and some tips of what you can do to keep yourself and your child safe. First I must remind you to do your best to remove the word "stranger" from your vocabulary when teaching your child about abduction and safety, as you will see below.
We are teaching you and your child self defense, but as we know the most powerful weapons you have are your voice and your mind.
Parents, we can teach your child the physical techniques to defend themselves, but that in itself will not work or make them any safer unless we also develop in them the ability to use or apply the techniques.
For instance if you are too scared, even the best techniques will fail. As you may have noticed this past week while doing escape and safety drills, if a child is nervous or lack confidence, it will show. On the other hand, if you have basic technique and can bring out a fierce “fighting spirit” you have a far better chance to prevail.
This confidence and courage is much more important to develop. It is that unstoppable FIGHTING SPIRIT! So what does it come down to? COURAGE!
First, we need to help our children develop their “COURAGE MUSCLE”. Stripe testing, graduations, and gradings are one of the safe ways we use here to develop the “courage muscle” in your child. Here’s something to remember…Every time you face your fears you get stronger….Everytime you back down, your fear gets stronger.
The good news is the courage to defend themselves, fend off bullies, and stand up for what they know is right or “just” is the same! So the same mindset and triggers are used and you can repeat them with your child too! Ask them this:"Should you ever let anyone hurt you?" and "Should you every let anyone hurt your feelings?"
Your child may need this courage in more ways than you may think . . . like resisting and standing up to peer pressure by having the strength to make the harder choices! Standing up to peer pressure, and making the appropriate conscientious but unpopular decisions takes REAL COURAGE!! This is one of the most important character traits we can ever develop in our children.
Second: Avoid using the word "stranger" when talking to your child about self defense. I know this is hard to do but the facts are clear. Your child is far more likely to be abducted or hurt by a relative, friend or someone they know and trust than a complete stranger. Besides, we want to teach your child to be strong and vigilant, not scared and paranoid.
Also, what is a stranger? Almost everyone in the world is….The store clerk, other parents, the waitress, the police officer? Should they be scared of everyone? No way.
Here is the trigger you can use "Most people are good people, you just have to be ready to the very few that are not." So if you cannot use the word stranger what do you use without scaring them? Try this….Replace the word stranger with "Someone that might try to take you away from your family or home."
Third: "Never go with any adult without your parent's permission."
Fourth: Open a dialogue with your children about best practices and expectations?
a) Most people are good people, just remember to use your brain and intuition (feeling) to tell you what is right. b) Do not ever let anyone take you away form your family and home, even if they have a weapon and even if they are telling you they will hurt your family (they are lying). c) Never ever go with any adult without your parent's permission."
Arm your child with the courage to take care of themselves even when you can't
Have an amazing week! Sensei
Keiko Karate – “Actually we do make Ninjas and Superheroes here………………we turn kids into Ninjas and we turn their parents into their superheroes!”
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