Imagine your child is being bullied at school. And as a parent, you are sick of it! The school isn't helping. Frustrated and not knowing who else to turn to, you innocently decide to sign your child up for kung fu, or tae kwon do lessons.

Now suppose your child trains at the local traditional martial arts school for the next 3-4 years. They earn a black belt.

They feel great, can kick over their head, even break a defenceless wooden board!

You believe your child is now equipped with the tools to defend themselves successfully.

Correct?

"WRONG!"

The fact is that not all martial arts are effective.

One primary reason is, many martial arts like kung fu or tae kwon do focus only on striking.

Being striking based martial arts, are kung fu or tae kwon do the best option for real-life self-defence from bullies or attackers?

Definitely not.

Punching and kicking in self-defence are not nearly as effective as many think. It is a lousy strategy, and there are several reasons why.

Most people, even black belts, are not able to generate sufficient power in their strikes. Apart from a very few exceptions (if you happen to be a highly trained heavyweight boxer or Muay Thai fighter), most people are not able to throw effective strikes in real-life encounters.

That is even more true of a person who is a black belt in kung fu, or tae kwon do. Learning a pattern or kata is not an effective way to pressure test techniques.

But even then, problems with striking arts remain,

-Breaking your hand on a hard human head.

-Striking is a poor strategy choice against larger attackers.

-Knocking out an opponent can lead to serious legal issues.

Most fights will end up on the ground!

The pattern in real-life confrontations is this: yelling, chest bumping, a push or two, then some very weak and ineffective strikes are exchanged, the opponents lock up and land on the ground.

THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED IS THIS: IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE ABLE TO SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY DEAL WITH ATTACKERS WHO ARE BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN THEY ARE, THEY MUST LEARN JIU-JITSU.

Your child won't break their hands!

Your child won't come home with a concussion!

Your child will come home with an ability to control a larger opponent!

Your child will come home with self-belief!