Sorry to hear about the bullying. Truth is its a fact of life. Good supervision can minimize it, but elimination is not possible. We had the same problem when my son was young. He was small for his age, skinny, smart, not very athletic and not very aggressive. To forestall bullying, I enrolled him in a serious, traditional Shotukon Karate school. we also gave him the same insructions you have given your boy. After about six months of instruction he had rudimentary self- defense skills. After a year, he could hold his own. One or two incidents of bloody nosing the bullies made the bully crowd move on to easier prey. In the end, Karate became his sport. He studied it for 12 years, competed all the way up through international level tournaments. He never changed his gentle approach to life, even though, on a few occasions, he had to deal with bullies. He will tell you that Karate changed his life for the better, in all aspects. It proved to him that if he applied himself to the task, even if it was not easy for him, he could generally prevail. A great lesson to learn in one's youth.

i love that idea acopolis! our daughter took karate as a kid for the same reason and it had so Many positive benefits that we have enrolled our son into a class starting in the summer. we may move up that start date, dependant on how the school change goes.

Every man, everyone period, should carry a handkerchief. I like the simple cotton bandannas sold at any discount store. I keep mine in my hip pocket. Emergency bandage, tourniquet, snot rag, restraint, sun hat, air/water filter, disguise, loincloth, potholder, etcetera. A 2-pack is less than $2. Online a common deal seems to be 12 for $10.

They get softer and more absorbent with a few washing and last for years.

I scarcely leave the house without a bandanna stuffed in a pocket neatly folded. Most of my commonly used jackets and coats have one in a pocket.

As for the bully situation, a lot depends on local standards. Often offering any resistance, any resistance at all, serves to cut the worse of it. A lot of determining the pecking order has to do with proving your a 'regular guy' and will fight if pushed. Winning is often beside the point.

i agree art. he's always had bandanas in his pack, but as he's gotten older and more independant, we should have added one to his pockets. he's loaded now!

there's definitely school yard pecking orders being defined. when it happens in the same age group it's one thing, but this is older kids on younger, so a whole different ball game in my mind.

I think martial arts is a great way for instill discipline in a child, also to see what hard work really is. It also instills confidence, and as has been seen on other forums when having to stand up to someone, which is very useful in difusing situations.

I took aikido, and the one thing I liked about it was it was a more defensive martial art. I think there was only 1 or 2 "offensive" moves, the rest of the moves required the "cooperation" of your attacker. Soemthing to think about. I have no idea about legal stuff, but I would think physics should stand up in court: "The only way I could have made that move, was for the person to attack me first".