Recently, I was invited to the launch of the book “Not A Victim” by Sebastian Bates at Warrior Academy. I didn’t know at the time of invitation that Sebastian is the founder of the Warrior Academy, a program that aims to build the confidence of bullying victims and/or, at the same time, to prevent kids from becoming ones through martial arts.

Bullying or anti-bullying awareness is becoming more and more present in our lives, especially in school. The most exposed ones are the kids and actually, in childhood, everything starts. I was not familiar with this term until some 15 years ago and during my school years, it was not even a term. Unfortunately, I have to say that bullying was totally acceptable in school, practiced even by the teachers. But, thankfully, my kids live in another time when such traumas can be avoided.

Not A Victim

Sebastian Bates was bullied in school and his parents signed him for martial arts to build his confidence. This is a turning point for him as he embraced martial arts and broke through, getting a “black belt character”. As he says “Bullying can make or break a child” therefore awareness and assistance are of the essence.
Bullying cannot be eradicated, it’s part of human life. Therefore, the martial arts program at the Warrior Academy is mainly about facing bullying with courage and focusing on the “empowerment” of the kids – get them to deal with it without permanent support from someone else, eg. parents, teachers etc. Of course, everyone should be involved but others cannot be present all the time around the kids.

“We believe that bullying is inevitable, that our children will likely go through bullying and we mentor parents to prepare their children to transition through bullying quickly. Many big anti-bullying organisations focus on ‘preventing bullying’ and many schools say they are ‘bully-free’. However, bullying is an ugly part of the human condition as we navigate complex social situations. We have developed a practical 6 step system that has been proven to get children through this transition and stop the cycle of bullying from repeating into adulthood.” says Sebastian Bates, Founder of Warrior Academy.

Who should read it

Looking forward to reading the book and I’ll post here more about bullying. If you can, get the kids to Warrior Academy they are located in Al Qouz.

The book is mainly for the parents: for those who are dealing with their kids being bullying right now but also for those who are pro-active and try to teach kids about the signs of bullying to be able to stand up for themselves when needed.
Do you think there is enough information regarding bullying nowadays and it’s spoken more often about it?

Check also our post about “How can we differentiate between punishing and disciplining our children?” by Irini Girgis, the founder of Kids Summit.