Be 'sportive' to fIght bullies, say experts

Bullying is a phenomenon that continues to impact societies worldwide, but with the rise of technology, an even greater enemy rises: online harassment.
Be it online or offline, children have to be equipped to face harassment in real life situations.
Wael Al Sayegh, an Emirati professional martial arts instructor and owner of Family Martial Arts (FMA) Leadership Academy, said: "People need to understand the nature of the problem to solve it."
The FMA, a UK franchise founded in Dubai in 2012, offers a Bully Buster programme among a wide range of martial arts, fitness and self-defence programmes.
The awareness programme, directed at children and families alike, works to answer the fundamental questions on bullying.
"We invite people to answer questions like who the bullies are and the reasons why they bully, how to stop it and what happens if it continues," said Al Sayegh.
"Bullying can cause serious damage to an individual's life if the problem is left unsolved. There are solutions, but we first have to recognise that there is a problem."
Al Sayegh defined the word bullying as "anything that genuinely hurts someone's feelings."
He stressed that bullying is an unnatural behaviour.
"Strong people help the weak, they do not bully the weak. When someone picks on other people, it means there's something wrong with the perpetrators themselves and not the victim."
The academy, located at Gold and Diamond Park, offers programmes that suit many needs for anyone above 3 years of age. It works on increasing members' confidence.
"Confidence is like a muscle that you have to exercise, and martial arts is a brilliant method to develop confidence, leadership, discipline and honesty."
Sports gives confidence
A Dubai-based group organised "Camp Play" to promote fitness and sports to combat bullying, in Dubai Sports World, which will conclude today. "We have not gone through bullying, but we have witnessed it. Bullying happens everywhere but it is more subtle in the UAE," said 20-year-old Aaron Ferns, who founded the initiative with a group of friends.
Camp Play emphasised on human foosball, quidditich (the sport from Harry Potter), football, basketball among other activities. Ferns said the aim was to promote team building and self-confidence to stand up together against bullying. "We don't want children to just stand by during the act of bullying, but to 'stand up, stand strong and stand together' against it. Playing sport gives you an opportunity to be part of a team.
"We want kids to start the new school year on the right foot. Going back to school is something they should look forward to," ?explained Ferns. The initiative gathered 23 children aged from five to 15 years old.
1 in 3 teens have been bullied
A 2015 study by the International Computer Driving Licence GCC conducted on 883 respondents aged 14-18 showed that one in three teenagers in UAE have been subject to online bullying.
Around 20 per cent said that they had suffered cyber bullying while 13 per cent said they had been harassed online.
In 2014, the Abu Dhabi Education Council revealed that 60 per cent of teenage boys had been victims of bullying in schools.
The percentage is higher than the United States (50 per cent) and China (21 per cent).
The numbers are staggering, but according to experts, the key is being aware of the problem in the first place.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Dubai