I'm not a juvenile delinquent
Tuesday 05 July 2022
Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers.
This is the title of a pop song going back to 1956, but the term 'juvenile delinquent' is much older, originating in the USA courts in the late 1800s. Sometimes it's justified, of course, and most readers probably have personal examples of bad behaviour from 'yoof'. So, it's not something to be excused, but can help to examine and explain it.
We've all been teenagers, and it's a fair bet we all went through a 'rebellious' period. The typical American juvenile delinquent was epitomised by the likes of James Dean and Marlon Brando (long before he became The Godfather!) in the mid-twentieth century. Sullen. Argumentative. Aimless. Hatred of authority. Sometimes violent. One word explains it. Hormones. They're out of control and in danger of breaking out at any time, sometimes as energy, other times as acne.
Well, we ask a simple question. How do you cope with uncontrollable electricity, how to you make it safe? You earth it. You give it somewhere to go. You provide a channel and a direction of travel. We have lots of teenagers in our classes. They challenge us. But we challenge them. The result is mutual understanding and transformation. So, let's address each of our descriptive words in some detail.
SULLEN. They're unsure and searching for identity. Until they develop one, their level of self-esteem is low. But why should they admit that? Stay sullen. It's safer. It hides it. That's fine with us. It'll go in its own time. We have at least one form of identity that works its magic. The belt grading system. Visible achievement. Nothing like it for self-esteem.
ARGUMENTATIVE. Of course. They're flexing their muscles, mentally as well as physically. They can see a lot wrong with the world, and they're correct, there is. But at Meiji Martial Arts, they quickly see that we're all on the same side (even when we're sparring!). Working out, developing fitness, acquiring new and practical skills, provides a wonderful outlet for frustration, among kindred spirits.
AIMLESS. OK, so who's showing them the way? Where are the role models? Why would we think someone automatically knows how to identify the ladder and then climb it? At Meiji Martial Arts, we provide focus, direction and reward.
HATRED OF AUTHORITY. This is really a misnomer. They don't hate authority. They deeply mistrust it. Which means they have no respect for it. Children, let alone teenagers, spot disingenuousness a mile off. Well, at Meiji Martial Arts, there's a hundred times more discipline than they'll be used to anywhere else. You have to learn discipline to be a martial artist. But where's the authority? In the champion fighters who are their instructors. And based on a relationship of mutual respect. We bow to each other. We don't dictate, we share knowledge and skills. It's the wish of every instructor that every student will surpass them. And we provide the pathway for this to occur. It simply requires commitment from the student, which is where a sense of responsibility comes into play.
SOMETIMES VIOLENT. Violence is just uncontrolled energy. We provide the conduit for that. Sparring sorts it out. That turns it into sport, achievement and comradeship. What's more, violence is relegated to the outside world, and better understood and coped with when students learn self-defence in the Dojo (including knife attacks if they subscribe to Krav Maga ).
Teenagers are welcome at Meiji Martial Arts. They will be the creators of tomorrow's world. We'll do our best to make that a worthwhile enterprise.