Karate School Teaches Bully Prevention

Two mistakes kids make while getting bullied? They don’t confidently speak up for themselves to the bully, and they don’t tell anyone what’s going on.

To teach kids how to better deal with bullies, Shihan Scott O’Keefe, of 5150 Martial Arts in Nyack, held a bully proof workshop Wednesday night. The roughly 10-minute program came during a class made up of kids ages 6-10, but it was also open to the public, free of charge. It was the first in a series of workshops O’Keefe plans on holding at 5150.

“We’re trying to reach out to the community that we don’t see every day,” he said. “We want to show people what we do here, but they don’t have to join the classes. If they want to just come for the free workshops, that’s fine.”

O’Keefe said the next workshop, which will be in a few weeks, will deal with street smarts and things like not getting into cars with strangers. He said in the past they’ve had pictures of everyday people they’ve held up in class, like brides in wedding gowns, and asked the kids if they’re strangers. He said most kids don’t think they’re strangers because they’ve seen brides before, but since they don’t know that bride she is a stranger and someone to avoid. He said they’ll also go over not getting in a stranger’s car no matter what they offer.

“It’s just about doing our best to teach kids how to be safe,” O’Keefe said.

On Wednesday, about 20 kids were at the class, only one who came specifically for the workshop. After they warmed up with Sensei Peter Alvarez, O’Keefe came in to lead the workshop and talked to the kids about bullying. He told them when he was 8, his older cousin bullied him so much his parents decided to put him in karate. Then he went over different ways to deal with a bully.

“You have to be confident,” said Nicholas Locurto, 6, who was class Wednesday.

Romy Lifrier, 7, said to handle bullies that get in your face, you have to push them away and yell, “knock it off!” O’Keefe told the students that fighting isn’t the way to deal with bullies, but instead to be stern with them and tell a parent or teacher.

He practiced with the students, insulting things like their hair or eyes so then they would yell back, “knock it off!” O’Keefe then had a few kids stand up and push him away and yell the same thing.

O’Keefe said the benefits of karate extend beyond the physical ones, as it can give you “a healthy body, but also a healthy mind.” He also said he gets younger students who have Attention Deficit Disorder.

“People use martial arts for concentration,” he said. “It can be a way to channel energy into a positive direction.”

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