Accounting graduate and part-time Muay Thai and kickboxing trainer Ng Ying Jie at the First of Glory event at The Cage BBCC Lalaport, Kuala Lumpur.
Primary school tuition teacher and martial arts exponent Cheong Mei Yee believes that parents and teachers have a role to play when it comes to preventing bullying.
“Curbing bullying starts at home, by parents, and in schools, by teachers. If children are brought up to be kind and respect others, it carries on to their adulthood,” she says.
“Furthermore, if people notice someone being bullied, but they don’t do anything about it, that is wrong. If you see it happening, you have the responsibility to speak up and intervene, or if you can’t because of safety reasons (such as in physical bullying), you need to inform someone in authority,” she adds.
Bullying isn’t just physical but it could be ‘unkind words’. Sometimes, people do and say things that are unkind or even cruel online. They do it without thinking and they don’t realise it’s not right, that they’re cyberbullying, says Cheong.Cheong believes that victims of bullying should “not make a mouse of yourself or the cat will eat you”.
“In other words, stand up for yourself. I’m not saying to get into fights but if you act timid and afraid, bullies might tend to target you,” she says.
If they’re hurting you, you have to speak up. If you’re not in a position to fight back, then talk to a trusted adult, or call a helpline from one of the NGOs, she advises.
Cheong adds that taking up martial arts helps to boost confidence and self-esteem. One can also learn self-defence.
She reveals that when she first took up martial arts, it wasn’t because she had a love for it but because she “was really fat and wanted to slim down”.
But she soon grew to love it. So when her coach asked if she wanted to try fighting, she thought, “Why not, because yolo (you only live once)!”
That was four years ago, when she took part in her first kickboxing match. She has since participated in four to five kickboxing events organised by Any Martial Arts, including the Fist of Glory 2024 at The Cage Lalaport BBCC, in Kuala Lumpur last month.
Besides kickboxing, she also does Muay Thai.
Cheong also trained and fought in the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, in January this year.
According to Cheong, preparing for a competition requires a lot of mental focus and strength, but because she loves Muay Thai, “it’s all worth it”.
Her hope and wish is that more girls and women will learn Muay Thai, and become “Muay Ying”, which means “female fighter”.
Accounting graduate and part-time Muay Thai and kickboxing trainer Ng Ying Jie also believes it’s important to support victims of bullying.
The 24-year-old from Temerloh, Pahang, says she has seen her friends being bullied online and has tried to support them by talking with them and spending time with them to make sure they’re alright.
“I also tried to take their mind off the bullies and whatever hurtful things they said by encouraging them to be involved in other activities such as sports,” she adds.
“I also encouraged my friends who were bullied to take up martial arts to help them build confidence and self-esteem and overcome the trauma of being bullied. There are many other benefits too, as they’ll look and feel better, and be healthier.”
If you're being bullied, you need to stand up for yourself and speak out, because if you keep quiet, the bullies will keep on bullying you, and it could get out of hand or become worse. Also, not just you but others might become victims too, says Ng.
Ng has participated in six amateur fights and won three, including Any Martial Arts’ (Ama) Fist of Glory. She only started taking martial arts classes at the age of 21 with her friends when she went to pre-university.
“At that time, when I saw my friends being bullied, I didn’t speak up (nor confront) the bully or report them to the relevant authorities because I didn’t know any better.
“In retrospect, while supporting the victim is important, I now know that as a bystander, we also have an important role to help stop or prevent the bullying from happening,” she adds.
Ng has this advice for the victims.
“If you’re being bullied, don’t keep it to yourself. You need to speak out and also tell a trusted adult (if you’re a child/teenager),” she says. “If you keep quiet, the bullies will keep on bullying you, and it could get out of hand or become worse. Also, not just you but others might become victims too.”
Standing up for what's right
Accounting graduate and part-time Muay Thai and kickboxing trainer Ng Ying Jie at the First of Glory event at The Cage BBCC Lalaport, Kuala Lumpur.
If you're being bullied, you need to stand up for yourself and speak out, because if you keep quiet, the bullies will keep on bullying you, and it could get out of hand or become worse. Also, not just you but others might become victims too, says Ng.
Cheong says if people notice someone being bullied, but they don’t do anything about it, that is wrong.
As a bystander, we have an important role to help prevent bullying from happening, says Ng.
Bullying isn’t just physical but it could be ‘unkind words’. Sometimes, people do and say things that are unkind or even cruel online. They do it without thinking and they don’t realise it’s not right, that they’re cyberbullying, says Cheong.
