A lamb cannot be snatched from a tiger protecting it; but even a cub can be snatched easily from a sheep protecting it.  ~ Nischal Yodha

Rithvik* a six-year-old kid, very active and frolicsome, suddenly becomes reticent after joining the new reputed school* in the city. Every weekday he spends long hours in silence after coming back from school. His grandfather is confused on his precipitous change in behavior. As he observes that the kid starts sobbing whenever he sees a school lane, he has approached psychiatrists and counsellors assuming school phobia as the root cause. The kid has undergone treatment and counselling. However, neither the problem solved nor the kid opened his mouth on the real issue. Indeed the kid’s silence intensified as the weeks pass by.

Every crime, including the ones against children, will display a subtle pattern or behavior before they happen. We habitually fail to recognize and realize these red flags before situations reach severity. For example, in the above scenario, the child Rithvik is under abuse. This was not realized until his grandfather approached the self-defense expert Nischal Yodha who has cracked the root cause. Fortunately, these days organizations are recognizing the importance of training children in self-defense to tackle the crimes against them – homicide, assault, abduction, abuse and domestic violence. To a good extent, the children self-defense workshops and seminars are helping them by training their reflexes and making them combat ready. But the important question to ask is – will training children on self-defense suffice to eliminate the crimes against juveniles? As the saying goes: ‘Prevention is always better than cure’. Preventing crime involves finding it in the first place before it happens. But can children do it? Are their maturity levels enough to understand the psychological aspects of a crime that helps to avoid the threat without further ado?

In olden times, Parents used to have leisure time to spend on understanding and nurturing their kids. But, with today’s fast paced world, both mother and father are occupied with their lot many things and have less time. So it is impossible to monitor all the activities of kid. But crimes don’t stop and infact in countries such as India, the crimes on children are compounding at an alarming rate. In the last year So it is essential not just for the kid but also for the parent to learn the self-defense that helps to prevent the threat before it escalates. For example, Rithvik’s grandfather learnt a technique called ‘random visits random times’ from Nischal Yodha, the founder of react combat school and self-defense expert that immediately helped him to find the miscreant and take action. Now the kid has recovered and he is back with his exuberant smiles. A strong parent can not only protect his child but also helps him to become his/her stronger selves.

*To protect the privacy actual names are not revealed.