This is an expression that is used often throughout the different stages of growth in children. Most parents teach to be careful, to watch out for the suspicious figure in a white van offering candy. While that does and has happened, sometimes its not the easiest thing to spot a dangerous situation. It won’t always be a white van, with candy or puppies. It won’t always be the stranger that looks suspicious sometimes its people in authority, the family members of their friends or even sometimes their own family. We teach our students to look out for anything that makes them feel uncomfortable and to listen to their gut. Even the people with the happiest looking smiles and funniest jokes can hold bad intentions. Another thing we elaborate on is to be mindful of the situations they enter. To try their best not to put themselves in a situation that if anything were to happen their is little they could do. Don’t go walking alone at night, don’t enter anyone’s house you don’t know, and most importantly to inform their parents where they are and where they may be going before they head out. While we teach self defense here at our martial arts academy, we hope they are never put in a situation where they would have to use it. We break this down the best we can, for all our students regardless of age. While the situation may be different when comparing a five year old to a fourteen year old, the danger is still there. Although for our older students its not just prominent in person but the danger is there online as well. We try to inform them the most we can so they can learn to keep up that mental block and know how to handle the situation if it ever happens.
