Joel Levy Bullying Expert

"The sign in Joel Levy's martial arts school window reads: "Our mission: To leave the world a little bit better than the way we found it, through martial arts." Levy believes that he is on this earth for a definite purpose, and has unique natural abilities that serve to help carry out that purpose. "A big part of our job in life is to discover what our purpose is, and develop our natural abilities to use them to fulfill our purpose in the form of service to others," he says. The person who discovers his/her life's mission is lucky indeed because he/she is driven by passion to continuously develop themselves, and their abilities in order to serve and heal the world. Levy combines a lifetime of training in the martial arts with his flair for speaking and natural teaching ability. He teaches personal safety to children, teens and adults, as well as how to end bullying situations peacefully and confidently."

Photo: Joel Levy running an anti-bullying seminar

Joel Levy is the co-founder of Bully Education Theater, which gives people the skills to end conflict peacefully. He and his team offer workshops throughout the United States as well as abroad on bully prevention and personal safety for both children and adults. Levy, a fifth degree black belt, has been training in the martial arts since he was 4 years old. Most recently he was named Grandmaster of the Year by the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame for 2004. In addition to his achievements in the martial arts, Levy is a New Jersey state-certified public school teacher and taught in the New Jersey public school systems from 1990 to 2003. He earned his Master's Degree in Education from Rutgers University in 1994 and his Bachelor's Degree in English from SUNY-Binghamton in 1989. As a schoolteacher, he noticed that conflict resolution programs dealt with bullying situations after they happened, but no programs were giving students real tools to use while the situation was going on. As a martial arts instructor, he teaches his students that their physical skills are to be used only as a last resort. He also realizes that most of them were never formally taught how to de-escalate a bullying situation. Recognizing the need for children and adults to be empowered with "mental self-defense," he formed Bully Education Theater. Through it, Levy teaches why people bully, the many different types of bullies and proven strategies for dealing with them confidently. Levy owns and operates his own martial arts school, Family Martial Arts Academy, in Highland Park, N.J., with his wife and co-owner, Yvonne. The couple has known each other since kindergarten, and together are raising their three children.

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