For those who love football, Gilbert Brown is a familiar name and face. He was a former nose tackle for the Green Bay Packers and retired in 2003. Winning a Super Bowl ring in 1996 didn’t go to Brown’s head; it grounded him even more deeply in his roots and connected him to the community of children who looked up to him.
But Brown heard about children dying and killing themselves because of bullies, it bothered him deeply.
“How can you sleep knowing there’s a child afraid to go to school?” he asks. “Nowadays, bullying doesn’t stop after you go home. It continues on social media; something we didn’t have to worry about when we were kids.”
Brown was so impacted by stories of kids committing suicide because of bullying that he started the Gilbert Brown Foundation, speaks at schools across the country, and created the comic book, The Adventures of Lil’ Gil.
The former NFL player uses a number of methods to tackle bullying and martial arts is one of them.
It’s no secret that martial arts is effective in developing self-control, increasin self-confidence, and warding off confrontations. According to Brown, martial arts “teaches discipline, not violence. It teaches people how to think so they can get out of provocative situations.”
Because martial arts teaches people how to find power inside of themselves and use it to help better their circumstances across cultures and gender, Brown partnered with a noted anti-bullying program that has been successfully replicated throughout the United States.
With all of the violence and bullies our children and we are bombarded with in the media, at school, and the workplace, learning how to stand up for ourselves in non-violent ways is crucial.
And I’m not just a fan of Brown’s platform, I’m a practitioner. I practice meditation daily and enjoy sparring in Taekwondo, which is a great way to release stress, learn self-control, and clear your head so you can make good decisions … every day.
TIPS TO PREVENT BULLYING:
1) Know how to protect yourself. Learn how to keep bullies at bay using your words and body language.
2) Break the bullying cycle. Identify HOW to effectively implement what you know should be done so bullying stops once and for all.
3) Focus on the facts and get a grip. Learn how to talk with your children so you can stay abreast of any bullying that may be occurring. As soon as your child has told you that they are being bullied, get the facts before you act.
4) Learn how to stay in control of things that can anger you.
5) Learn to become assertiveness and confidence. These traits can be learned and it is strongly recommended that you do so!
6) Discover effective ways to deflect bullies so you don’t become the target.
ANTI-BULLY RESOURCES:
1) One program in Milwaukee gives away a FREE Anti-Bullying toolkit here!
2) If you are a parent and would like to learn how to teach your child how to defend themselves without getting
physical, there is a great FREE book called, Verbal Defense for Kids that takes you through the process. Download
3) You can also check out Confidence in Conflict for Everyday Life: Proven Strategies for Conflict Resolution and Communicating Under Pressure by Kathy Mangold
I hope you found this helpful; and as always, please share with others. You never know who could benefit from reading the information!
With love and light …
Dr. Jinnie Cristerna is a psychotherapist, RoHun Doctor,
author, and national mental health expert located in Chicago, IL. Dr. Cristerna
works with talented and ambitious individuals, families, and corporations to
help them break through and heal psychological roadblocks limiting their
success. To learn more about Dr. Cristerna, go to www.HighAchiever.net
Read more on JetMag.com: http://www.jetmag.com/life/moment-of-clarity-life/gilbert-brown-tackles-bullying-using-martial-arts/#ixzz4UN7LV4w6
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