Martial Arts: Helping Children Protect Themselves By Robert L. Jones (http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Robert_L._Jones)




Did you know that a child is reported abducted or missing every 40 seconds in the United States and that most potential abductors make their first contact with the children they abduct within one quarter of a mile from their homes? With the new school year approaching and children having more time to play with friends, it is now more important than ever to start (or continue) giving your children the tools they need to protect themselves.


Focus on safety: Never leave young children unattended anywhere and have older children practice a buddy system with their peers. Teach your children their full name, your name, your address and telephone number. Teach them how to dial and use 911 or your equivalent emergency number. Teach your children about strangers, to never talk to strangers and to never go near strangers.


Give your children the confidence, strength, skills and mental awareness they need to defend themselves if they ever find that they are in a shady situation with either a stranger or someone they know – enroll them in a martial arts class. It can make all the difference. Training martial arts can give your children four important safety skills that will not only help them defend themselves against a possible abduction, but will also help them in other areas of their lives. Read on to find out more:


Martial Arts Improve Mental Awareness. Training martial arts is not a mindless activity. It requires complete concentration and focus at all time during training. It’s what keeps the participants safe from injuries. This concentration will also carry over to all parts of your children’s lives to help them be more aware of themselves and their surroundings. They will be less likely to just “zone out” and be caught off guard in a potentially harmful situation. Training martial arts will help your children become more acutely aware of their abilities so they will know when they need help a situation and when the can handle it themselves. Children who are more aware of their surroundings are also less likely to fall prey to danger because they are able to detect hazardous situations before it’s too late.


Martial Arts Increase Confidence. Martial arts can help your children increase their confidence by giving them the skills and practice needed to get in tune with their minds and bodies They will begin to not only understand their actions and options, but themselves as a whole. Martial arts training also gives children the skills and abilities they need to know that they can defend themselves if the need arises and this confidence in their abilities carries over into all aspects of their lives. Confidence in themselves and their lives help them become less likely to fall prey to the convincing persuasions of potential abductors. Confident children appear to be (and are) strong individuals and are less likely to become victims of all forms of violent acts.


Martial Arts Increase Strength. Martial arts training use the entire body during each and every session. This means that when practicing martial arts, your children will be conditioning their entire bodies to become stronger and more physically fit. If they are physically fit, they increase their chances of fighting off or getting away from a potential abductor. Furthermore, regular physical exercise can help decrease the chances of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in your children.


Martial Arts Teach Self-Defense Skills. Rest assured, martial arts training doesn’t focus on combat and fighting. It does, however, teach skills that your children can use for self-defense should the need arise. The various skills taught in martial arts can give your children the knowledge they need to handle many situations and the peace of mind you need to know that your children are trained to protect themselves.


For more information on this article or others go to Articles on Martial Arts (http://www.articlesonmartialarts.com/)Robert Jones runs three successful martial arts schools located in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and Kent Washington. He has been helping families make positive changes in their lives through martial arts for over 20 years. He has also written A Guide on How to Pick a Martial Arts School (http://www.martialarts-instruction.com/consumer.html)

(http://www.martialarts-instruction.com/consumer.html)
He can be reached at the Academy of Kempo Martial Arts. 800-508-6141. His schools can be found on the web at Bellevue Martial Arts and Kung Fu (http://www.kungfutemple.com/)
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Robert_L._Jones

Im not so comfortable with scaring parents into thinking there is a person hiding around every corner waiting to take and kill their child. In my opinion the media enjoys those jucy stories and turn a rare occurrence into a pervasive fear.

Heres an interesting paper on the issue of "missing and abducted children".

http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/vol8no2ART10.pdf

Nonfamily Abductions
Nonfamily or stranger abductions are the
most feared type of missing child occurrence.
In 1990, a nationwide poll found
that 32% of parents of children under age
10 reported worrying “a lot” and 47%
reported worrying “a little” that their children
would be kidnapped.12 This fear is
echoed by police concern. In all jurisdictions
in NSLEPP, police assigned a high priority
to stranger abductions and reports of
very young missing children.13 However, as
shown in Figure 1, NISMART estimated
that only a very small number (3,200 to
4,600) of nonfamily abductions occur
annually.14 These cases include children
abducted for crimes other than kidnapping,
and an even smaller number (200 to
300) of stereotypical kidnappings, in which
the child is gone overnight, killed, transported
a distance of 50 miles or more, or
ransomed, or in which the perpetrator evidences
an intent to keep the child permanently.
Specific definitions for each of the
categories are shown in Figure 1. Broadly
defined nonfamily abductions made up
fewer than 1% of the total number of missing
persons (adults as well as children)
reported to the police in 1988.15

Family Abductions
NISMART found the number of broad-scope
family abductions to be approximately 90 times
larger than the number of nonfamily abductions
(354,100 broad-scope family abductions
as compared to 3,200 to 4,600 legal-definition
Broadly defined nonfamily abductions made
up fewer than 1% of the total number of
missing persons (adults as well as children)
reported to the police in 1988.
nonfamily abductions each year). The large
number of family abductions primarily
reflects the number of divorces involving children
and state custody laws. Some state laws
define this type of abduction as an abduction
by a parent to take or keep a child for any
length of time in violation of a custody
decree.22 In 1990, more than one million
children were involved in divorces.23 More
than 95% of family abductions in NISMART
occurred in families in which the child did
not live with both parents.24 Changing social
attitudes about who should have custody of
children and growth in geographic mobility,
which results in separated parents living a distance
apart, may also affect the rate of family
abduction, but the effects of these changes
have not been studied.

Not that training our children for an "in the event of", is a bad thing. No not at all. I would just be careful about projecting our fears and paranoia on our children. Teach them to be safe, not to live a life of fear.

The author makes some valid points; so, however, does Blotan Hunka. Awareness of one's surroundings, or the surroundings of one's child, is a good thing; paranoia, however, can have negative effects. I do also recognize that Mr. Jones, the author, is trying to sell his services - which means he needs to make people aware that his services are needed.

And that segment I excerpted doesnt even include runaways and "throwaway" (get out of my house and dont come back!!) children. Apparently there is a wide array of circumstances under the umbrella of "missing children".