Bullying has reached epidemic proportions in this country, sometimes ending in tragic results.
Kelly Fiori, owner of East West Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Mesa, was no stranger to being bullied as a child. “I wanted to learn how to fight like the guys I watched on TV and in the movies,” he admitted.
Kelly went to a martial arts instructor, who wisely taught him, “We don’t learn how to fight to fight. We learn how to fight to not fight.” Kelly took this advice to heart, and, despite the fact he has earned a sixth degree black belt, a third degree in HanMuDo/Hapkido, is a Krav Maga certified instructor and a Brazilian Jui-Jujitsu trainer, and he also holds the rank of black belt in Premier Martial Arts, he teaches kids to fight back without getting physical.
He believes learning martial arts is about building character, confidence and self-esteem. “You cannot fight cruelty with more cruelty,” Kelly stated. “You have to take the higher road. It’s more about the need to deal with the child being bullied, not the bully. Stopping the bully doesn’t necessarily fix the bullied child. Building inner strength, through life skills, control and courtesy, does.”
MMA conducts Bully Proof workshops. These workshops train kids how to react to the four different types of bullying. Kelly defines them as:
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Vocal bullying—name-calling and teasing, etc. “Think of it as a game,” he suggests. “If you get upset, the bully wins. If he can’t make you mad, you win.”
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Physical—bumping and shoving.
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Group bullying—several people gang up on one person.
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Cyber bullying—parents need to be constantly monitoring kids’ online activities to discover if their own child is a victim of bullies or even bullying someone else.
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Kelly offers four steps to stopping a bully. If one step fails, continue to the next:
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Confront the bully verbally. Firmly tell them to stop right now.
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Go to a teacher. Tell the teacher this is interfering with your desire to learn.
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Talk to your parents. Tell them you have already talked to the bully and your teacher.
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Parents now must contact the school, and tell them to resolve the issue. The school now is obligated to respond.
MMA also offers age-appropriate training on Stranger-Danger, teaching who and what a stranger really is. It is better to build the confidence of children, and teach them how to respond in a dangerous situation rather than warning them just to avoid strangers. “Every child should memorize his parents’ names, address and phone numbers,” Kelly stated. MMA conducts Kid Safe workshops, as well as Karate for Concentration.
“MMA offers classes for children and adults of all ages for self-defense, exercise and just fun,” said Kelly. “We have free introductory courses if you want to find out if it’s for you.
East West MMA Mesa is located at 2910 N. Power Road, on the northwest corner of McDowell Road, next to Bashas’. For more information, call (480) 218-7777, or visit www.eastwestmma.com.