Texoma gym teaching kids to take a stand against bullying - KTEN.com - No One Gets You Closer

Texoma gym teaching kids to take a stand against bullying

Posted:
By Jalah Gray - bio | email

  • Texoma Headlines

  • ARDMORE, OK-- With summer quickly approaching, Texoma pools will be opening their doors soon, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission has a warning for parents. Jenny Kassheimer is a mother of 4-year-old
    ARDMORE, OK-- With summer quickly approaching, Texoma pools will be opening their doors soon, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission has a warning for parents. Jenny Kassheimer is a mother of 4-year-old

  • DURANT -- Other than a recent visit, Amber Hart has no ties to Moore, Oklahoma. Still, she says watching the destruction from this week's tornados on television compelled her to help. "I woke up and
    DURANT -- Other than a recent visit, Amber Hart has no ties to Moore, Oklahoma. Still, she says watching the destruction from this week's tornados on television compelled her to help. "I woke up and

  • DENISON, TX -- Since 1990 there has been two Boys and Girls Clubs in Denison with similar goals.Graham Skipsey, the Divisional Director of Boys and Girls Clubs from Dallas, TX says, "Boys and girls club
    DENISON, TX -- Since 1990 there has been two Boys and Girls Clubs in Denison with similar goals. Thursday they became one group.
    •   

GRAYSON COUNTY, TX - Research shows that 1 out of 5 kids admits to being a bully and as many as 160,000 students a day stay home because they're afraid of being bullied.

For some parents, when it comes to keeping their kids from being bullied, taking a proactive approach is the only way.

"Just knowing that my child knows how to defend himself, just..Gives you peace of mind?.. Yes it does!" said Marissa Impok.

"He's a sensitive kid and you know other kids see that and they tend to focus on him and try to pick on him."

"Somebody came into the bathroom and kicked me in the legs and so I told the teacher but that didn't really help much." said Impok's son, Jullian.

This local fifth grader says he's dealt with his fair share of bullys,, but all that changed once he started learning how stand up to them.

"Have you learned to defend yourself?.. Yeah, and we can use that against bullies if adults don't help." Jullian said.

Research shows that in about 85% of bullying cases no intervention efforts are made by teachers or administration.

That's why Mike West decided about a year ago, to start classes at his gym, to empower kids with a functional approach to real life situations.

"As opposed to preset scenarios. So you know how to have movement, how to block and cover your face, how to properly kick or punch, or even if you go to ground how do you contain the person and control the situation." West said.

By giving kids the skills to defend themselves, West says that confidence alone can cut down on the cases of bullying.

And even teachers agree, a little confidence and know how can go a long way to stop bullying in it's tracks.

"What is good here is that he teaches multiple holds, and submission holds which are not the kids actually taking some type of violent action against another student, but often times holding someone in a position until there can be help." said teacher and parent, Sarah Taylor.

For more information on these classes log on to http://www.fighttimefitness.com/