12-year-old makes students 'bully proof'

When 12-year-old Patrick McKay began noticing on the news the high incidence of bullying at schools, he decided to do something about it.

The second-degree black belt in Taekwondo, with the help of his mom and dad, has sparked the interest of some school officials with an instructional video to help children become "bully proof."

Many studies indicate bullying has reached serious proportions in American schools, with nearly one in six, or 3.2 million, students becoming a victim each year, according to the National Crime Prevention Council.

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The idea to create "The Bully Factor" was born when Patrick came to his mother, Danielle, one evening asking why kids at school aren't doing anything to defend themselves.

Danielle pointed out, "Just because you're in martial arts and know what to do doesn't mean other kids do."

The wheels started to roll in Patrick's mind and he began researching and composing a lesson plan for seminars to present to neighborhood children. A videographer approached him one day and said it's too bad such a good presentation is only local, "Have you considered putting it on a tape that could reach children globally?"

The response is a family company called Revelation Martial Arts, with the goal of providing children with "the knowledge and confidence needed to keep them safe."

A substitute public-school teacher in Pasadena, Md., Danielle says schools seem to be educating children only on what to do when under verbal attack.

"A lot of schools don't want to admit it goes beyond that point, because they don't want to admit they have a problem and the kids don't know what to do," she said.

Patrick's approach emphasizes defensive and deflective moves, rather than "engaging in combat and having it escalate further," Danielle says, noting the techniques comply with the "zero-tolerance" policies many schools employ.

His philosophy is derived from the martial arts and its emphasis on using the skills appropriately and only when necessary.

Patrick McKay

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Patrick concludes his video with the hope his viewers will "use what you have learned wisely."

"Remember physical confrontation is always a last resort," he says.

Patrick, who has been trained in Taekwondo since the age of 5, wants to start his own martial arts school with his 9-year-old brother and dreams of being an instructor or martial-arts movie star when he grows up.

His own instructor is a sixth-degree black belt from Korea who thinks Patrick is good enough to compete in the Olympics some day.

The video, which includes interviews and informational quizzes, presents a number of typical scenarios in which a bully has a victim in his physical grip.

There are no demonstrations of violent retaliation, but rather simple maneuvers to wrest the victim free of the bully and offer a chance to shout "stop" and draw the attention of an adult.

Patrick says his goal is to instill the "confidence of knowing you are not completely helpless in a bullying situation."

Danielle is in the early stages of marketing the video, but says a number of schools already are asking to see it.

Some are embracing it, she said, and some "think it's a little too risky because of a child putting his hands back on another child."

Danielle says they are working on a second video on how children can defend themselves from a would-be abductor.

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