Family Issues / Bullying

 It would be our privilege to share with you (and your website viewers) one of the best gifts one child could offer another… the gift of knowledge with the confidence to keep themselves safe.

Our eleven-year-old son, Patrick McKay, recently completed a year’s worth of work on a video that he created to help keep other children safe from physical bullying. This idea was sparked largely by stories in the news about the growing number and seriousness of young children being bullied.

After becoming more aware of the bullying situations that arise in the lives of most children and even witnessing it first-hand in school--- Patrick decided to do something to help. Having dedicated more than ½ of his life to studying martial arts, he coupled his expertise and enthusiasm to create a video, which he has entitled “The Bully Factor”. It is the first video in what is to be his “Best Defense” video series, created FOR kids-BY kids.

Patrick felt that he could communicate and maintain the attention of children throughout the lessons revealed in this video, better than an adult. Patrick’s credibility for this project comes from his vast experience and impressive accomplishments in Martial Arts; Patrick is among the youngest in the country to have earned the rank of 2nd Degree Black Belt (as recognized by the World Tae Kwon Do Federation) at the young age of 11. Patrick has been an Assistant Instructor for several years at Martial Arts Schools and has also studied Northern Chinese style Kung Fu. Patrick also enjoys competing in tournaments and has many trophies and medals to show for his extraordinary talents.

Patrick adapted variations of the different styles he has learned to give other kids basic, easy to learn techniques to defend themselves without harming an aggressor. Being small for his age has an advantage for him in teaching other kids because they realize if Patrick can defend himself from large aggressors…SO CAN THEY!

His work on this project has received several accolades from such prominent people as:
President and Mrs. George W. Bush
Former President Bush
Maryland State Governor Robert Ehrlich
Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley
The United States Congress
The Senate
The House of Representatives
The Points Of Light Foundation

His efforts have even earned him the honor of being recognized as Baltimore’s first child recipient of the “HomeTown Hero” award!

The Production Company that worked on this project also just informed us that the video has just been awarded the prestigious “Communicator Award.” The award was earned for “Distinction” among Instructional Video entries. There were over 2,800 entries received from 48 states and 11 other countries in this competition.

Patrick’s hope is to have this video made available in local libraries and schools across the country to serve as a tool for children to educate themselves and not become an easy target for a bullying. The greatest feature of this video presentation is it’s NON-Aggressive format. It does not endorse fighting violence with violence, but rather deflecting the advances of a bully and getting to safety. It truly is a gift from the heart. For someone so young to take the initiative to not only recognize a problem in our society, but also actively do something about it is what makes Patrick so special. This is just another item on a long-standing list of community services in which Patrick and his younger brother Collin are actively involved.

Even at such a young age Patrick has high aspirations, already making plans to one day own an elite martial arts school together with his younger brother, who studies Kung Fu.

Information or an article on your site discussing the importance of giving children the information they need to handle these situations when they arise would be a dream come true for Patrick. This truly is a "gift from the heart".

We hope this may be of interest to you,
Sincerely,


Mr. & Mrs. James J. McKay
410-437-1065 THE BULLY FACTOR



Contact Info:

Danielle J. McKay
PO Box 1626
Pasadena, MD 21123-1626
410-437-1065phone/fax
1-888-BULLY95

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