Karate expert Stephen Wallace - who runs Frankton's Incorporated Martial Arts - says about 15 per cent of the children and teenagers who come to his gym are bullies who have harassed or meted out beatings to other children.
Children who bully others usually need boundaries, discipline and to learn respect for others - all of which are offered by sports such as kickboxing, judo, karate and mixed martial arts, he said.
Mr Wallace said teaching bullies martial arts didn't make them better at dishing out beatings claiming a 100 per cent success rate with reforming bullies.
But other Hamilton martial art instructors had reservations about letting bullies into their classes.
Metro Judo Club secretary Dianne Steenson said it would be unlikely to accept bullies into its classes.
If she and husband Terry, the club instructor, did accept a bully, they would put in place strict rules and expect the parents to be present at all times.
However, she understood how martial arts could benefit bullies and straighten them out - although she had reservations.
Unlike Mr Wallace, her club had experienced an influx of students as young as five and six who had been bullied, and wanted to know how to defend themselves.
However, the club stressed "fighting back" was the last possible option when resolving a bullying or violent situation.
Darren Fergus, a Wushu Kung Fu instructor, also wouldn't allow bullies into his school.
But he agreed martial arts could assist "because it changes their mind set" and allow them to channel and harness aggression.
Mr Wallace said while bullies may not be aware of it themselves, the martial arts environment offered them the structure and boundaries they needed, he said.
In many cases, the children "had incredibly brilliant parents" who had been searching for a solution to curb their children's violent behaviour and aggressive attitude.
He believed martial arts, which requires intense training, mental discipline and respect for one's self and others, offered that solution - what he termed "old-school values".
Bullies would be immersed "in the values we have at the school - wanting to achieve, wanting to be recognised".
Mr Wallace said just this week a violent 13-year-old, on the verge of being removed from his school, had been brought to Incorporated Martial Arts to try to modify the boy's behaviour.
"His temper had got out-of-control," he said.
Mr Wallace said stroppy or aggressive children quickly learned to respect him and other instructors, and that filtered back to parents: "I get parent's ringing me saying 'hey, can you just get Jimmy to do his homework?'. They have a respect here."
Many parents of bullies passed on the benefits of martial arts to others who found themselves in the same situation with violent children - and in some cases, those benefits included improved grades in classes.
"It's perfect for them, no mucking around," he says. "It's about building character."
He also urged an immediate intervention with children who displayed violent tendencies to avoid further problems.
Waikato Times
Taken from www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/4835675/Bullies-turn-to-martial-arts
Hear below an Abraham-Hicks audio on bullying and the bully.
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