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Momma Bear, Poppa Bear, Baby Bear & The Big Bad Wolf!
You don't want to put so much fear into your children that they live life in fear like they have already been traumatized by the exact same thing you were attempting to protect them from. Some instructors who teach self defense for kids will thump their chest and claim that their proprietary acronym is the best program available for kids, blah, blah blah! At the end of the day if you have a younger child there is absolutely no substitute for having a "Momma or Poppa Bear" standing guard looking over their child and making their presence known. There does come a time when your child will venture out on their own and will need to know what to do when confronted by a bully or child predator. Self defense for kids starts at home. Ideally it starts before they begin to venture out on their own to walk to the corner store, etc. The foundation of all self defense is confidence and awareness. It starts with recognizing unfavourable situations and by not being an easy or an attractive target. I'm not suggesting that the kids wear studded collars and growl at anyone who walks by them on the bicycle path! Although I'm sure that would probably work pretty well! Developing your child's awareness of their surroundings can be done just about anywhere if you turn it into a game. In much the same way that fire safety education works through role play self defense for kids can be taught in the same manner. Teach your child that there is safety in walking with other kids.  I will be discussing some of the fun and creative games that I have seen or come up with to teach my little ones on some future pages. (The link will be at the bottom of this page soon) For building confidence I would highly recommend a martial art . Pick one, any one is better than none. Now what do you do if there are no martial arts schools near you or if their costs or time table do not fit your situation? I would look at any physical activity or sport. Or set aside time to create a basement dojo, where you can be their instructor or coach. Go through a different Krav Maga technique every week from www.kravmagabootcamp.com. Or follow the Jiu Jitsu lessons from the Gracie Combatives DVD's or the online training at Gracie University and you will have plenty of lessons to work with! Re-brand your basement dojo as "Super Hero School" and any youngster will be thrilled to participate. Heck you could get a whole troop of kids to follow you down to the park to practice and learn some self defense moves. Not only does your child get some one on one time with you, they get some physical activity and learn some basic self defense. Unfortunately a lot of self defense for kids focus mainly on the awareness side of things and if something ever does happen the kids freeze and don't know what to do. This is why I think that role playing and acting out different "bad guy" scenarios is priceless for encoding in their memories how to handle "stranger danger" situations. When it comes to self defense for kids I unearthed enough great material that I can see myself adding a new link or discussion piece to this page every day for the next ten years. So check back frequently and visit the links below as I will keep adding more information as time permits. I did discover a fantastic book chock full of advice for parents about general self defense awareness for parents.  Click here for my review of my favourite self defense book for parents. A note on my choice of using Krav Maga Bootcamp or Gracie Combatives as my choices for the basement dojo example...... I have picked them due to the quality and clarity of instruction available online. You will have to use your good, mature decision making skills as to what techniques you will use or show your child because not all of them will be suitable for a child. For this reason I have chosen not to recommend my favourite and highly recommended Target Focus Training. I have left it completely off the table when it comes to self defense for kids. The lethal and effective techniques in Target Focus Training have absolutely no place in the hands of a child or even a teenager. Go Back To The Home Page From Self Defense For Kids Go To My Review Of Gracie Combatives Go To My Online Krav Maga Training Reviews Go To My Top Pick For Online Training - Target Focus Training Review |
