I just found the following super article at one of my favorite martial arts forum, BullShido.net. It begins:
…WATERVILLE — Fifth degree black belt Julienne LeBrun Begin asked a group of young students Saturday morning to describe a bully.
“Someone who makes you feel small and helpless,” said one girl. “Someone who is mean and bossy,” offered another.
Begin provided her own definition: “A bully is anyone who pushes you, mentally or physically, to do something you don’t want to do.”
Slim and slightly over 5-feet tall, Begin carries herself with the confidence of someone who is a gold medalist and former national champion in her sport. She is not easily imagined as the victim of a bully.
But growing up in a family that moved often, Begin, small and often the new girl, learned how to deal with bullies the hard way, one school after another.
She learned not all bullies are alike, and that not all strategies work for every bully. Then, one day, when she was 12, a stranger attempted to rape her…..MORE….
Definitely a super article, well-worth reading!
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – here are some excellent books on bullying as well.