Dr. Webster-Doyle's Martial Arts Guide For Parents: Helping Your Children Resolve Conflict Peacefully
Terrence Webster-Doyle
Paperback
(Weatherhill, Nov. 1, 1999)
As a response to young people being victimized by bullies, more and more parents are choosing to enroll their children in martial arts schools. But are these schools teaching what their students really need? Dr. Terrence Webster-Doyle demonstrates convincingly how conventional instruction in martial arts—focused on physical skills only—is not enough to help young people understand and resolve conflict. However, if they are introduced to a whole martial art, one that teaches how to avoid and therefore prevent conflict, young people can learn to deal with threatening situations powerfully and effectively, without resorting to physical violence. Included in the text are mental martial arts skills, a chart of nonviolent alternatives, active family role-plays, and other creative activities that parents and children can work through together. Both parents and their children will discover ways to deal peacefully with violence that are surprisingly simple, satisfying to practice, and immediately useful.