Moroccan youths who terrorised a neighbourhood in the town of Gouda have been offered karate lessons - a report which provoked heated discussion last week. The combination of martial arts and problem youth has met with incomprehension before now. Is it right to be concerned?

We spoke to Jurgen Huizinga one of the directors of the Netherland Institute for Martial Arts and Society (NIVM), which promotes martial arts as an educational tool. He says the angry reactions are premature - it's not clear yet that the karate lessons will go ahead - as well as unjustified. But he understands people's concerns. For the umpteenth time he explains that things are not as straightforward as they might seem.

Resilience
He cites the example of the collaboration in Rotterdam between Melanchton College and the Van 't Hof boxing school. The college, located in the city centre, was suffering from aggressive youths and a high dropout rate. The boxing school successfully provided a safety net:

"We started the Mattie project [ed. - Dutch street term for buddy) to work with these youngsters since they were in danger of dropping out not just because of their aggressive behaviour but also because of their lack of resilience. In this context that means they don't know how to stand up for themselves in a responsible fashion."

"It's young people who lack this ability who tend to resort to violence. The Mattie project has been so successful that students from the college have been taking boxing lessons instead of gym for more than ten years - with the accompanying mental training."

Respect
David Roovers of the Karate-do Association thinks martial arts like boxing, kickboxing and karate are highly attractive not only because of the sporting aspect. Many young people are attracted to the Asian culture associated with martial arts and a good karate teacher will also focus on behaviour:

"First of all, it's not that often that young people take karate lessons to learn how to fight. If someone like that does come along, though, it's quite simple. You begin by learning basic techniques. At a certain point you begin sparring, which means you have to be safe with each other."

"Respect for another person's safety is an automatic part of the lessons. In competition situations if you injure someone, you don't win the match, you lose. You're disqualified. Karate is imbued with respect for each other's safety from the first lesson up to competition level."

Aggression
Experts are, however, divided about the issue of whether martial arts actually help to regulate aggressive behaviour. Projects in the Netherlands have been successful so far, as noted by researcher Marc Theeboom from the Free University of Brussels.

In a study commissioned by the Dutch Olympic Committee & Sports Federation (NOC*NSF) he concluded that the resilience of problem youths is indeed improved, something he deals with in greater depth in his book Vechtsporten met een + (Martial Arts with a +). The Muller Institute, which researches the social aspects of sport, came to a similar conclusion in 2010.

Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway, on the other hand, are of a different opinion. They carried out a two-year study following 500 boys between the ages of 11 and 16 at 37 schools in Bergen. The boys took part in weightlifting, wrestling and martial arts. The researchers found they were more aggressive than their peers, involved in more fights, used weapons more frequently and played truant more often.

Fight Right
The Norwegian study does not address the quality of the sport schools. And, says Jurgen Huizinga, a well-trained teacher can make all the difference:

"We believe - and we promote this when we work with local partners - that martial arts clubs are doing a good job in this respect, that they create a socially secure learning environment."

The NIVM therefore works exclusively with the Fight Right seal of approval which guarantees that a trainer has the right qualities to ensure just such a safe environment. No karate chopping old ladies, just learning respect and responsibility.

(imm)