Even though he won seven national championship titles in martial arts as a child, Jude Grayson was the victim of bullying.
Beginning his martial arts training at the age of 4, he won his first championship at age 9, he told a group of students from West Side Elementary, Nicholson Elementary and Picayune Junior High at the Picayune Auditorium Friday morning. The presentation was part of district’s new The Voice program, which aims to help children deal with bullying by standing up for themselves and others.
Grayson owns three martial arts studios where he teaches his students not to deal with bullying with their hands and feet, but with their minds.
Grayson said he didn’t fight his bullies because he knew he could de-escalate the situation by talking it down.
But not all kids know how to do that. He said each year, 160,000 students skip school because they are scared of being bullied.
As he continued his presentation, which began with black belts in his class performing a demonstration of their skills, his message was not that learning martial arts would stop the bullies. It was that learning to respect themselves and each other will help the children gain self-esteem and stand up against bullying. He used the example of a bully wanting to take their lunch. Instead of punching the bully and getting into trouble, he told the kids to relinquish the lunch and inform a teacher.
“Material possessions are not worth your self-esteem,” Grayson said.
Grayson also taught the children a defensive maneuver. After selecting a panel of volunteers from the crowd, he lined them up on the stage of the Picayune Auditorium and said, “now, back up!” Instinctively each kid took a step back and put their fists up in a fighting stance.
But that was the wrong move. Grayson said that stance would only escalate the situation, causing the bully to want to fight. Instead, he suggested they back up, and put their arms out straight with both hands in the universal “stop” sign. That stance would not only put them in a defensive position, but also show that they don’t want to fight.
As they practiced that move, he told the children to repeat the words, “Stop, don’t touch me, leave me alone!” and look the bully in the eyes while doing so.
Grayson said that action would not only de-escalate the situation, but also alert a teacher.
“No one has the right to put their hands on you,” Grayson said.