Bullying

After recently writing some earlier posts about some of my own experiences concerning the hostility that I faced during my teenage years. I’m pleased to say that I’ve had several people contact me, informing me about their own episodes of aggression.

I firmly believe that bullying is still very much an ongoing concern. (Even more so with cyber-bullying now to contend with.) How do I know that bullying is still a big issue? In my role as a Martial Art Instructor I’m able to speak with the many children and parents that I teach. Lots of them constantly tell me about their own personal predicaments that they regularly face.

There are now many Schools and Institutes that do now have specific anti-bullying guidelines firmly in place, which is great. Unfortunately for me when I was at school there were no such procedures to turn too. I basically learnt how to cope with my problems head-on, through one challenging experience after another.

This reason why I’m so highly-sensitive about this particular subject either when talking or writing about it, is that it instantly takes me back to the emotional state that I often found myself in. I can easily relive those painful moments and I never forget what it felt like to be on the receiving end of the punishment that was directed toward me.

It’s often been said 'your schooldays are the best days of your life.' For me personally my school years were a living nightmare, mainly because right from an early age I was constantly harassed.

I’m still not sure why the older boy’s always seemed to pick on me. It might have had something to do with my size, being slightly overweight and taller than the average kid of my age. I also lacked self-confidence and I’m sure this was a major contributing factor, whatever the reasons, I certainly absorbed my fare share of punishment.

The bullying occurred quite regularly from a variety of different sources and often came in various waves of cruelty. Complaining about the circumstance to my teachers was an utter waste of time - no one particularly worried or cared. 

A lot of the bullying that actually happened usually started off in the school-playground, away from the general view of the teachers. It was a typical set of circumstances that you often see portrayed in such films like the ‘Karate Kid’ movies.  The situation might have played-out something similar to the scenario, which I’m about to explain. 

The young boy stood motionless in the playground, singled-out by the three boys that surrounded him. The older lads pushed and shoved him, at the same time calling out hurtful names. As the pestering progressed the situation become more and more intense. The bullies tormented and started to become more physical, trying to steal the boy’s lunch. The young lad offered little in the way of resistance. He realised that any chance of fighting back would be futile against the larger youths. One of the older boys grabbed the youngster’s jacket and there was a slight scuffle. Without warning the lout lashed out with a punch and hit the youngster hard on the side of the head, forcing him to fall to the ground. After applying a few kicks just for good measures, the ruffians quickly departed, leaving the young boy lying on the ground in distress.

The reason why I can describe this scene so well – this event actually happened to me - I was that young boy.

I’ve now mentioned in my blog, on three separate occasions, events that I firmly believe were  considerable acts of injustice toward me. As you’ve probably gathered "bullying" is a subject close to my heart and one that I’ve thought about, many, many times over for the last forty-years. 

In my next post I would like to offer a few suggestions toward the age-old-problem of bullying.