One of the biggest goals we have at Miller’s Kenpo Karate is to improve our community. The community we live in is important – it’s where we grew up, and where our children are growing up. The better we can make it, the easier everybody’s lives will be. Servicing the community is a valuable thing and two Guardian Angels, Sean P. Kelley and our own Michael Miller, came up with a voluntary three month program called “Stomp the Bullying” to do just that.
The Guardian Angels have been around since 1979 when founder Curtis Sliwa, living in the Bronx, decided it was time to clean up his city. The Guardian Angels began with thirteen people and they have grown immensely over the past thirty years now with over 125 chapters throughout the world. Aside from constantly patrolling the streets, the Guardian Angels provide education for everyday citizens to take responsibility for their environment. The Guardian Angels have been educating schools and social groups about safety, bullying, and more, and have been patrolling the streets making citizens arrests to decrease crime and get gangs and drugs off the streets.
Bullying is a major epidemic in our society and although many people want it stopped, a lot of them are not taking an active approach to do so. Most anti-bullying advocates tell you what to do, and often times it is good advice, but they don’t teach you how to do it and they don’t empower you by instilling the confidence and the self-esteem needed to be able to do what they are telling you to do. If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem. “Stomp the Bullying” is a concept Sean Kelley came up with and he presented it to Michael Miller. Miller created a manual and was the first to run the program, which graduated 12 students ages 7 and up. Miller’s Kenpo Karate Dojo is the East Coast Headquarters for the program and Miller is in charge of teaching other Guardian Angels how to implement the program through their martial arts schools.
The program is free to any child ages 7 and up. When a child completes the program he/she will become a Junior Angel and will be involved in community service projects under the direction of Miller. The program teaches the value of community service, how to be a good citizen, leadership training, self-defense, and bully education as well as bully prevention and how to deal with bullying behavior. It includes an in-depth manual that covers everything taught in the program including: how not to be a bully, what bullying really entails, the warning signs of both a bully and someone being bullied, the risk factors, how not to be a target of a bully, common myths about bullying, statistics, the three T-Steps to verbal harassment, the rules of engagement in dealing with bullies and what you can do as citizens to “Stomp the Bullying.” Aside from that, self-defense movements, strategies and tactics are also taught in the program, as well as awareness skills, verbal Judo, and physical restraint moves to control and negotiate. Students in this program will learn to have a logical and practical mindset. The movements taught in the program at Miller’s Kenpo Karate come from American Kenpo (a modern practical system of self-defense – one of the most comprehensive systems of today) and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (a world known art that teaches submissions and control movements).
If you or someone you know has been or is currently being bullied, contact Michael Miller. Miller’s Kenpo Karate Dojo is known as a Guardian Angels “Martial Arts Safe Place” and Mr. Miller will help any person who is being bullied as a service to his community. If you know anyone who could benefit from this refer him/her to us.
This program created by Kelley and Miller has become such a driving force that actor Martin Kove called Miller at his school to talk with him about the program. Kove played the role of Sensei John Kreese in the Karate Kid series. He and Miller spoke for 30 minutes and Kove has jumped on board to support the program. He has been doing lectures on anti-bullying for years. Aside from Kove, actor Sean Kanan has given us his support as well. Kanan played the role of Karate’s Bad Boy Mike Barnes in Karate Kid III and is a soap opera star. He has also been an anti-bullying advocate for years. Miller is working on a book Stomp the Bullying and with celebrity support from Kove and Kanan it will be a success for us to take a stand to “Stomp the Bullying.”
Here is what Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa had to say about the “Stomp the Bullying” program:
“This is cutting edge. It is a desperately needed program dealing with an issue that adults and children are wrestling with. Guardian Angels through Sean and his colleagues once again come up with down to earth answers.”
Here is an endorsement from martial arts legend and actor Don “The Dragon” Wilson
“Hi Michael, I would be honored to be a part of this worthy program. There has been far too much recent ‘glorifying’ of the fighting skills of the MMA crop of young competitors and not enough emphasis on the traditional values of respect and honor associated with the fighting arts. If we only teach someone how to fight, without the proper philosophy that includes ‘when’ to fight, we are creating potential ‘bullies’. By incorporating the values inherent in the Traditional Arts, we can teach self-defense along with the idea of ‘Might for Right’. Let me know how you want me to ‘Stomp’ the bullies. Your friend, Don.”
The First “Stomp the Bullying” Graduates
Our Mission Statement:
The Reality
Bullying is a major epidemic in our society. All forms of bullying, such as verbal, non verbal or emotional, physical, and cyber-bullying happen every day in the United States and it causes serious lasting harm to victims leading to severe depression, violence and/or suicide. According to statistics, 19,000 bullied children attempt to commit suicide over the course of one year; on a monthly average 282,000 students are physically attacked by a bully each month; and on a daily average 160,000 children miss school because they fear being bullied. In a recent survey it showed that over 100,000 children carried guns to school as a result of being bullied.
The Dream
That all children will learn the appropriate lessons in life and will have healthy self-confidence and self-esteem, proper values, and a driven purpose motivated by a passion to become all they are capable of becoming. If this dream becomes a reality there would be no need for a child to bully another child.
The Objective
To bring a realistic and active approach to dealing with bullying behavior appropriately by educating about all aspects of bullying through a martial arts standpoint, and to get celebrities, martial arts instructors, teachers, parents, and anybody else willing to join our team and take a stand by becoming active to stomp the bullying.
The Purpose
To get children and adults to understand the full effects of bullying and why “bully’s” bully; to teach children how to come together and stand up against bullies – strength in numbers; to instill confidence and emotional defenses to protect victims against verbal bullying; and to empower victims with self-defense techniques and principles to protect against physical bullying.
The Plan
To conduct lectures, workshops, and seminars about bullying at schools, martial arts studios, or for any social groups such as girl scouts, boy scouts, youth groups, etc.; to get martial arts schools involved and adopt the Guardian Angels concept of “Stomp the Bullying” within their studios and to ultimately come together as a united group with one voice strong enough and big enough to make change happen at a local, county, state and national level.
A Letter Miller recieved from the House of Representatives
Below is the testimonial from actor Martin Kove
Michael Miller is available for lectures and/or seminars for local schools, or community groups.
Contact him at 814-368-3725 or by E-mail at michael.miller@millersdojo.com
Become a protector, instead of a predator!
It’s time to step up and “Stomp the Bullying.”
http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/Guardian-Angels-host-conference-in-Lehigh-Valley/-/132502/13495952/-/s8ij2ez/-/index.html
Click the link above to see the Guardian Angels East Coast Conference on Channel 69 news. The stomp the bullying program is mentioned and Mr. Miller is seen teaching a self-defense seminar.
Michael Miller conducting a two hour power point presentation about “Stomp the Bullying” at East Coast Guardian Angels conference in Easton, Pa.