When I was 10 there was a boy in our neighborhood who was 13 and constantly bullied everyone.  Taunting, pushing, punching, knocking books out of your hand, it was a daily fear you would run into him.

One day, after getting dropped off by the bus after school, I couldn't take the taunting any more and dropped my books and challenged to fight him.  My father had showed me a couple of judo moves and despite the difference in size, he was several inches taller and weighed much more than me, I was able to take him to the ground immediately.  We kind of just ended up rolling on the ground and it was finally broken up by the women who lived in the house in whose yard we had the scuffle.

While there was no apparent winner, he never bothered me much after that. The fact that I stood up for myself and showed him I would not be bullied anymore changed his behavior towards me.  

To this day, I always wonder what happened to this boy.  Someone told me he ended up in reform school, but I was never able to learn if that was the truth or just a rumor.

I put up with bullying far too long and in the end, did the only thing I was familiar with.  Today, I would handle it differently.

During the last 6 years, I have helped hundreds of students learn how to deal with bullies in a non-violent way.  Sharing my own personal experience helps others understand that bullying is all around and happens to many of us.  Help is available but you have to have the courage to ask for it.

This movie and program has done wonders to bring awareness about bullying and the need to stop it now!