The Application Of Traditional Martial Arts Practice And Theory To The Treatment Of Violent Adolescents

Adolescence, Fall, 1998 by Stuart W. Twemlow, Frank C. Sacco

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF A CLINICAL MARTIAL ARTS PROGRAM

If martial arts alone were the answer, there would have already been a great reduction in the amount of violence because of the proliferation of martial arts schools in the United States since the 1960s. Other treatment components are therefore necessary. The following is a broad overview of the elements of a successful martial arts treatment program.

1. For a martial arts intervention to be maximally effective, there needs to be a leader who is clinically trained in mental health to provide psychological oversight. Although the bulk of the "treatment" (i.e., daily instruction, follow-up, outreach) is accomplished by individuals who are highly trained in martial arts (black belts), clinical oversight is essential. This entails ongoing involvement with the instructors (i.e., consultation, supervision) and intervention with the adolescents (i.e., evaluation, counseling, medication). The involvement of the clinician may be as little as one or two hours per month, in contrast to the much greater clinical oversight required in more traditional interventions. Nevertheless, the clinician's role is crucial for keeping treatment on track.

2. The martial arts school or intervention site needs to be accessible, so adolescents can participate on a daily basis. The location needs to offer complementary training opportunities, running the gamut from martial arts and self-defense training to meditation techniques, painting, yoga, dance, and music.

3. The curriculum must address nonviolence. Participants need to be constantly motivated to broaden their participation in healthy activities as alternatives to the self-destructive use of drugs and alcohol, exploitative sexual activity, and gang involvement. Leadership training, with the goal of becoming a peaceful role model, is stressed.

4. The program should have strong links to the adolescent's family, school, and court or social work agency, where applicable. The martial arts instructors need to become intimately involved in the adolescent's life; they cannot simply teach technique. Students need to be comfortable with their instructors, and be willing to confide in them. In short, instructors are not just gym teachers, but outreach workers as well.

5. Martial arts instructors need to be specially trained to fulfill their role as therapist/instructor/probation officer. They must be firm with their students, yet accepting of periodic lapses and failures. Instructors also need to be sensitive to transference/countertransference issues that arise with students. There is a strong tendency for students initially to idealize their instructors, and then just as quickly to devalue them; the challenge is not to react negatively to these fluctuations. In addition, instructors must model behavior that serves to reduce violent adolescents' mistrust and help them overcome aggressive tendencies (Twemlow, 1996).

Adolescents in such programs often have a variety of learning deficiencies. Psychotherapy, which requires verbal skills, may cause frustration and eventually rage. Martial arts, on the other hand, involve kinesthetic skills, which enable adolescents to express themselves through body motion. Instructors can then foster students' verbal skills by making them assistant instructors, which compels them to translate physical skills into words. This, in turn, stimulates concentration and reflection rather than impulsive, violent behavior.