Hong Kong kids take self-defence classes to fight off school bullies
With Hong Kong children as young as seven seeking psychological help to deal with bullying, it’s no wonder some learn the physical skills and confidence to deter the bullies – who these days are as likely to use social media as their fists
Alex Corner, 13, is tall for his age. But his height didn’t protect him against bullies at boarding school in South Africa when the verbal abuse he received turned physical. As he slipped through the cracks in the school’s support system, he became reclusive and his grades suffered. And while the bruises faded, the mental scars remained. He now takes medication for depression.
“Once I was rugby tackled into a wall and had to go to the sanatorium. It was pretty bad ... I wish I had the skills I know now when I was being bullied,” says Corner, referring to the techniques he’s picked up at anti-bullying classes organised by Hong Kong Self Defence & Krav Maga club.
It’s a cold Saturday morning in February and the fourth-floor drama room at West Island School in the middle-class district of Pok Fu Lam on Hong Kong Island is filling up. Among the parents sitting at the back of the room is Susan Corner, who says her son has made huge strides since he started lessons with Donovan.
That is South African-born Donovan Ryan. He has a strapping build, biceps popping out from a T-shirt that reads “Never A Victim Always A Fighter”. And he’s got 25 years of martial arts practice under his belt (make that belts: he has two black belts – in tae kwon do and karate – and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu).
He is also the city’s most qualified instructor in krav maga, which is not classified as a martial art but is a combat system developed for the Israeli military, which he incorporates into his classes.
“Bullying knocks kids’ confidence, it prohibits them from enjoying their childhood. It can ruin their life,” says Ryan. Surprised to learn that there were few self-defence classes in Hong Kong when he moved to the Chinese special administrative region in 2015, he set up Hong Kong Self Defence & Krav Maga.