Do you want to stop your bully with boxing?
Don’t just run away or go in throwing punches! There are better ways to handle the situation.
Keep reading to learn how to stop your bully with boxing and win respect!
Anatomy of a Bully
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
– Sun Tzu, The Art of War
There’s no one-size-fits-all fix to your problem, as there are many kinds of bullies.
So take the time to understand your bully.
A bully can come in different forms and sizes; he can be a rough guy like Biff from Back To The Future, or she can be a scrawny girl who puts you down verbally.
A bully is someone who doesn’t respect you and uses you as a verbal or physical punching bag.
You shouldn’t get angry or take their attacks personally; bullies feed off of your reactions. If you’re not the target of their unhappiness, someone else will be.
Your goal is to win your bully’s respect without throwing a punch and getting a lawsuit.
How To Stop Your Bully With Boxing
To stop your bully with boxing:
- Win With Your Words
- Ask For Help
- Use Your Footwork And Defense, Not Your Punches
Win With Your Words
First, win against your bully with your words.
You can win the fight against your bully without throwing a punch.
For a verbal bully, don’t take her attacks personally. One way to beat your bully is to show that you’re unfazed and laugh it off.
If she sees she can’t push you around mentally, she’ll find an easier target.
For a bully that wants to use you as an actual punching bag, one way to win this fight is to suggest that you fight at your boxing gym.
When she sees your skills and what it takes to really fight, she’ll have a new respect for you and change her mind. Maybe you can convince her to join the gym.
It’s not the words themselves that will get your bully to back off, but rather the confidence behind them.
Ask For Help
Next, ask for help if you’re struggling against a bully.
Know that you’re not alone. Asking for help is showing strength, not weakness.
Often a bully will only take advantage of you when you’re alone.
Just as a bully uses his henchmen to make him feel secure, show him that you have friends too.
If you’re part of a boxing community, he’ll think twice about putting a hand on you if he knows you have heavyweights on speed dial ready to back you up.
If you’re not part of a boxing gym, at school for example, tell a teacher or coach that you trust.
Better yet, join a boxing gym with your friends at school and support each other. The true definition of “strength in numbers”.
Use Your Footwork, Not Your Punches
Next, use your footwork and defense, not your punches, if you have no choice but to fight.
Physically fighting is a lose-lose situation.
First, there is no guarantee of a fair fight. What if your bully is carrying a weapon? Wrestles you to the ground? Brings his friends and outnumbers you?
Next, let’s assume this is a fair fist fight. If you throw a damaging punch, you’ll win the fight but you’ll lose to the legal consequences.
Even if you plea self-defense, the law may see it as assault.
With this in mind, the only way to win your bully’s respect in a fight without punching is to make him miss all his punches and exhaust him with your footwork, slips, and rolls.
Only use your hands to parry and block punches, and to keep distance.
Think of it as sparring against a beginner.
(On the other hand, if you’re still a beginner and win the fight against your bully with only your footwork and defense, you’re much better than you think you are.)
Conclusion
Many people think that learning how to box will help them beat up their bullies.
After you spend some hard time training, you’ll gain confidence and learn that you don’t have to. Real time sparring is tougher and more rewarding than any fight with a bully.
Often you’ll find that bullies have a lack of confidence and would love to be part of a positive community. They just need to find the right punching bag for their energy.
The win-win action here is to bring your bully to the boxing gym under the pretense of fighting and get him to join the gym.
This way you can change your bully into your friend (and you’ll still get to punch him like you always wanted to!).
If you do choose to fight, remember that you have control over your fists, but no control over the fight or its consequences.
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