One of our Enter Shaolin family member’s emailed us about a situation that happened to her daughter’s friend right outside of their school. It was the end of the day and the girl was leaving to walk home.
She was approached by a stranger in a car who was waving a gun and trying to convince her to get in. The girl ran inside the school and notified the authorities. I am grateful to say nothing happened to this girl. She knew what to do and did not panic.
Melani asked if there were any tips we could give the kids on basic self defense… Which led to us creating a video for their school and others who are concerned about their child’s safety. In this video Sifu Phu Ngo covers several simple self-defense techniques that children and adults can both benefit from.
Check out these basic self defense techniques you need to know:
We hope to cover more tips for school age kids in the future. Bullies and predators are going to keep doing what they do, it’s up to us all to educate and teach our kids to be able to be aware of their surroundings, know how to protect themselves and what to do in various scenarios.
Writing this made me think about the biggest school abduction I have personally heard of and maybe you know about too, the Chibok schoolgirls in Nigeria. Over 200 girls were kidnapped from their school. And I can give countless examples of school violence that has taken place as well. These girls are still missing, I can only pray they are still alive and being treated well. As a parent who has lost one child, I have no intention of losing another if I can do anything about it.
I can only imagine what these families are going through with no real answers to whether their children are alive or not. No parent should have to feel like this. I pray these parents find solace and answers.
Here are some of the girls mothers. When I look at this, I feel their pain and my tears well up with them.
CREDIT PHOTOGRAPH BY ADAM NOSSITER / THE NEW YORK TIMES / REDUX
I cannot help but think, what if those girls knew how to defend themselves? What if their teachers and those running the school knew how to defend themselves? Would the kidnapping have been successful?
Maybe, then again maybe not. The fact is they would have had a much better chance of not being kidnapped if they all knew self-defense. At a bare minimum less would have been captured.
My daughter Jaya is 8 years old. I have already started working on her basic self-defense skills. Some of this is to help protect her when she is in the world. Then again, some of it is to protect her from her mentally unstable and unpredictable father. The talks I have had to have with my child for her protection, quite frankly suck. However, it would be worse to not prepare her and then something that could have been prevented wasn’t.
I know it is hard to think about someone wanting to harm a child regardless of age, but the reality is their are people that do. If you have children in your family or work with them, what have you done to help prepare them for such things?
Better yet, are you prepared for such things? Because, in this day and age there is no discrimination on age for being kidnapped or attacked.
The point is, you are never too young or too old to know how to defend yourself properly. It is just as important to take care of your temple (body) through healthy eating, spiritual practices and exercise as it is to know how to physically defend your temple.
I know for some it is hard to think about someone wanting to harm a child or anyone for that matter, however the reality is their are people that do. If you have children in your family or work with them, what have you done to help prepare them for such things? What have you done for your own self-defense? Comment below and let us know!
Also, if you have a scenario you would like us to cover for kids of any age, please let us know that too. It’s our duty and honor to help others help themselves.
Blessings,
Jamie Pelaez
& The Enter Shaolin Family
P.S. While we have a lot of free lessons that can help you, we also have a whole membership site dedicated to helping people defend themselves. If you like our free lessons, check out what we have for you as an Enter Shaolin family member by clicking here.
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