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 sutdents 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 phsyical violence. Incuded in the text are mental martial arts skills, a chart of nonviolent alternatives, active familly roleplays,and other creative activities that parents and their children will discover ways to deal peacefully with violence that are surprisingly simple, satisfying to practice, and immediateliy useful.

Dr. Terrence Webster-Doyle has drawn upon his diverse, 40-year career in education and the martial arts to develop a pioneering program on peaceful conflict resolution that has been endorsed by the National PTA, Scouting Magazine, the National Education Association, Educators for Social responsibility, and the International Association of Educators for World Peace, Dr. Webster-Doyle's books have earned the Benjamin Franklin Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing and the Robert Burns Medal in literature from Austria's Albert Schweitzer Society for 'outstanding merit in the field of peace promotion.'

Contents

Introduction:We want our children to be safe
1 The seriousness of bullying
2 Why conventional martial arts programs don't work
3 What 'martial arts for peace' can teach your child
4 How to alter conditioning that causes conflict
5 The art of mental self-defense
6 Teaching the act that conquers fear
7 Looking toward the 21st century
8 What parents can do at home
Appendix: Questions & answers