Anorexia - How Can MA Instructors Help?

[Jonathan Randall]

Given the popularity of martial arts with young people, what can instructors do to help combat the "Barbie doll" type expectations of the popular culture? Thoughts?

Brazilian model dies from complications due to anorexia:

http://today.reuters.com/news/artic..._RTRUKOC_0_US-BRAZIL-MODEL.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

 

[Hand Sword]

Keep reenforcing each one's qualities during their time in the dojo. Instill leadership mentality in the students, and be their friend. Also, always be honest with them, they will see through it if you're not. That is important, most of their lives are full of unreality, you might be their only link, lessons and all, that they think of in those moments, that could see them through. Also, be vigilant, any signs of trouble, get involoved. All we can do is talk to them, like they're parents, hopefully, it gets through.

Aside from that....Have pizza parties, loaded with soda, candy rewards for class achievements?

 

[searcher]

As a fitness instructor and MA instructor I use the legelly correct means of dealing with it. I train to recognize the signs and if the are spotted, I refer them to an eating disorder specialist. Unless you specialize in treating anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating, you have no legal right to "help" other than to refer them. I know it sucks, but that is what you have to do.

 

[The Kidd]

I would agree with searcher to a degree, you need to recognize the signs and the only way they are going to overcome it is get professional help since it stems from many deep seeded issues, but as a Therapist myself as well as a MA instructor we can do alot. Most of the time what these people feel they do not have (whether it is real or not) is a support system, someone they can talk to, that will be there for them and not judge them. That is as important as therapy sometimes.

 

[matt.m]

From my point of view the MA's are unique in the aspect that you belong to an organization. All competition is individual. There are no dual meets like wrestling, football or baseball. Team vs. team kind of stuff gets thrown out the door.

The MA's promote self worth and personal ability. I have taught youth judo beginner courses, weight lifting and that sort of thing to grammer school and teenage people.

The one thing I always stressed is, "It is all about you and how you can improve yourself. Don't worry about what your pal is doing, try and gradually get better for themselves.

 

[CoryKS]

Has anybody known or heard of a case where a practicing MAist was anorexic? I wonder if the mindset of a person who is susceptible to anorexia is compatible with that of someone who decides to study MA. If not, there is very little an instructor could do. On the other hand if an instructor knew somebody who they suspected of being anorexic, inviting them to study might be beneficial.

 

[Arizona Angel]

I can't imagine that some one with anerixia can have enough energy to actually practice martial arts.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

i agree with searcher from the treatment standpoint. if it's to the point where it's diagnosable, people should pursue professional help.

that doesn't mean we can't do our best to treat the roots of what causes anorexia: encourage healthy lifestyle choices, build self-esteem, demonstrate how much we respect the student....you know, what a sensei does all the time. only more.

 

[Carol]

In most fatal cases of anorexia, the person doesn't die of starvation, they die because they have committed suicide.

IMO the best a MA instructor can do is understand that behavioural disoders - anorexia being one of several - are real problems, and have some contacts at the ready where a student can get some qualified help.

 

[ArmorOfGod]

Unless you specialize in treating anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating, you have no legal right to "help" other than to refer them. I know it sucks, but that is what you have to do.

Thank you, Seeker. I competely agree.
As martial arts instructors, we teach martial arts. We do not raise children. We do not help fight anorexia. We do not teach children manners. We do not do things that parents should be doing. We only reinforce what is being taught at home.
Now, with that said, it is our job to report signs of abuse and to guide students to the right people to help them.

AoG

 

[bushidomartialarts]

We do not raise children. We do not help fight anorexia. We do not teach children manners. We do not do things that parents should be doing. AoG

we do so.

i'd love it that were true, but for a lot of my students our studio is where they get their fetch up. at best we're part of a team including teachers, parents and assorted other caring grownups. sometimes one of my instructors is the only positive male in the child's life. at worst, my staff are the only grownups in the child's life aside from their school teacher.

so yeah. we really do raise children, fight anorexia, teach children manners and pick up the slack when parents aren't doing their job. and while we're at it, i'd like to see a little more leaping of tall buildings in a single bound.

 

[ArmorOfGod]

we do so.

i'd love it that were true, but for a lot of my students our studio is where they get their fetch up. at best we're part of a team including teachers, parents and assorted other caring grownups. sometimes one of my instructors is the only positive male in the child's life. at worst, my staff are the only grownups in the child's life aside from their school teacher.

so yeah. we really do raise children, fight anorexia, teach children manners and pick up the slack when parents aren't doing their job. and while we're at it, i'd like to see a little more leaping of tall buildings in a single bound.

You know, I should rephrase what I said:
We shouldn't be raising kids. We shouldn't be fighting eating disorders. We should only be reinforcing what is taught at home.
Unfortunately, many parents aren't doing any of that. My pastor made a comment that stuck with me. He said that religion shouldn't be taught at school--it should be taught at home, but it isn't. Parents want religion at school so they can pass the buck on yet another thing and not teach it as well.
I have worked in a manufactoring setting for about ten years now and every man I know over the age of about fifty is raising his grandkids. The parents of those kids are all living in another state, strung out on drugs, or just can't be found.
The divorce rate is a little over fifty percent now and the majority of those kids don't have a father figure or a good father figure present, so as you stated, the karate teachers become the father figures.
Sadly, I agree with bushidomartial arts.

AoG

 

[searcher]

If you check your local and state laws you will find that if you are not a liscenced therapist you cannot legally "help" a student with these issues. I have struggled with this, as I really want to help my students/clients in any way I can, but I would rather refer them and save their life.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Original Question:
Given the popularity of martial arts with young people, what can instructors do to help combat the "Barbie doll" type expectations of the popular culture? Thoughts?

The original question that started this thread was how can instructors, who, like it or not, ARE role models to to their young students help combat some of the unrealistic expectations regarding body size and appearance that is one of the causes of anorexia and other eating disorders?

 

[ArmorOfGod]

Aside from that....Have pizza parties, loaded with soda, candy rewards for class achievements?

I think the pizza party is a good idea. If someone with eating issues sees an instructor exercise and then eat a few slices of pizza, that is setting an example of a normal lifestyle.

AoG

 

[exile]

Jonathan, I honestly don't know how much influence an MA instructor can have over someone with the deep, deep problems that anorexia is a symptom of. But here's a thought (based on the rule of thumb that if nothing else, try to address the symptoms---after all, they may be the life-threatening aspect of things; anorexia is a good example of that):

I've known a couple of people who were anorexic, and have read about obsessive-compulsive disorders in general, and I have the impression that with anorexia, people have a terrible preoccupation with appearance---which is particularly bad because their perceptions are distorted so that, looking at their skeletal selves in the mirror, they just see fat. MA, however---real MA, anyway---is concerned with function; form follows function, and what's important is what works, what's effective, not how pretty it is. MA instructors with possible anorexic cases in their classes might do well to emphasize to such people that in the MAs, as in life in general, functionality is the crucial thing, not arbitrary dictates of style, or fashion, or someone else's artificial standards. Form follows function, it doesn't lead it. An MA instructor who keeps hitting that theme---that reality trumps appearance---might be able to communicate to someone who might be anorexic that it's a serious mistake to pay excessive attention to what we look like, as vs. how effectively we operate.

It's a small step---clearly, serious therapy is by far the most important thing for someone with an O/C disorder---but one thing seems clear: anorexics have internalized a social message, one being pumped out at top volume by the morally empty media serving the fashion marketplace and female-insecurity industry which strives to create anxiety amongst women that it can then sell zillions of $$$'s worth of product to in order to correct the nonexistent problems it itself has helped create in their minds. In other words, external information plays a major role in feeding anorexia/bulimia and related O/C disorders, as a spinoff effect of presenting ludicrous images to women of what they need to look like in order to be `perfect'. MA instructors can help, in a small way, to counter that, by reinforcing their students' awareness of their own powers---especially their female students---and by emphasizing that function, function, function trumps arbitrary form every time.

This is, btw, a therapeutic angle on the wisdom of teaching effective bunkai for kata/hyungs---if students understand that there's a range of effective self-defense apps for a given move, that forms are functionally central to the fighting system that the art embodies, they'll see these patterns as a lot more than artificial choreography...

Just a thought...

 

[MALibrarian]

I'm a recovered bulimic, a martial arts instructor and an occasional Eating Disorder educator (I speak through a group that does awareness raising, educating speaking engagements for clubs, schools, colleges, universities etc.), so this is an issue near and dear to my heart.

There are a few basic things we, as martial arts instructors, can do to combat the underlying things that can lead to eating disorders (ED's)

1) Don't use food as a reward. Overall this tends to lead to "medicating" with food and assciating it with achievement, rather than nutrition.

2) Don't tolerate size-ism. Don't let people make fun of the shape or size of other students.

3) Emphasize fitness rather than body size. If you get people to worry more about how they train and what they can do rather than what their bodies look like, it can have a positive effect. The thing to watch out for is when people start associating body size/shape with performance. While the two CAN be related, they aren't always.

4) Emphasize nutrition and caring for ones body in a compassionate way. There are a number of people who don't always make the connection that martial artist == athlete and we do need to treat ourselves accordingly (resisting overtraining, balanced food intake, getting proper rest) and as instructors/coaches we have a certain responsibility to impart these ideas on our students. If you don't have the expertise yourselves, see if you can bring in someone to talk about it as part of a class.

5) Remember ED's aren't just a female thing anymore, they're a human being thing (unfortunately) so don't just target one sex for positive body image reinforcement.

6) If it's something you worry about, educate yourself. As was stated earlier, there isn't a lot you can do, but there are a number of things that be helpful by not doing. My favorite resource is http://www.somethingfishy.org/

If I can be of any help, please feel free to poke me, I'm always happy to assist.

 

[The Kidd]

If you check your local and state laws you will find that if you are not a liscenced therapist you cannot legally "help" a student with these issues. I have struggled with this, as I really want to help my students/clients in any way I can, but I would rather refer them and save their life.

There is a big difference from "helping" someone and doing "therapy". Help can be as simple as being supportive, accepting someone for who they are, listening, encouraging, and providing referrals, none of those are against the law and is what anyone having problems with just about anything needs.

Someone also brought up how can someone with Anorexia function in the martial arts, easily, not everyone is the Karen Carpenter (sorry if I am dating myself here) type. I have known several females and males who have not starved themselves or became bulemic but worked out so hard with very little caloric intake that it was the same way. Realize that the person with a eating disorder has a control issue, they feel out of control in their life and the only way they can get control is thru their body. That can be due to emotional, physical, or sexual trauma or due to imbalances in body chemistry that creates undue anxiety. Remember food is just a means to an end it is not the root issue.

 

[Drusilla]

I can't imagine that some one with anerixia can have enough energy to actually practice martial arts.

You're probably right there, if they're starving themselves at that time. However, there are people (such as myself) who go through periods of it in times of particular stress or depression.
I myself, suffer from bulimia, and although it's not right in my face at the moment, I fear it will always be with me.
However, practicing MA's is a fantastic way to get fit, make yourself want to eat more healthily and to take your mind off it. I'm totally hooked on my Tae Kwon-Do, and it's really done me the power of good.
Sorry, perhaps I went into a little too much detail there, but the subject of eating disorders really hits home with me.
::hugs::

 

[The Kidd]

Drucilla,

Thanks for sharing and giving your perspective it needed to be said, good luck with your daily struggle and may you replace those harmful ways to cope with the good ones.