Bullies

Bully! was a term Theodore Roosevelt frequently used as an exclamation of something he thought was superb, referring to his US presidency as the "bully pulpit". Roosevelt was plagued by bullies as a youth. He wore glasses, and was weak and sickly growing up. As a teenager he took up weightlifting and boxed in college. He became a war hero. Seldom written about, but true, was that Theodore Roosevelt studied judo, eventually earning a brown belt, and even built a small dojo in the White House.

Underneath the veneer of bravado and arrogance that the bully exhibits lies fear. Fear of being stood-up to. Fear of being found out that (s)he is actually a coward. Bullies typically were themselves the victims of abuse and/or unrequited love as children. Bullies hate themselves unconsciously, and project their rage/fear onto others. When a bully is effectively confronted, they will usually back down, and attempt to seek out a new victim. Many people that take up the martial arts were/are victims of bullying. Okinawa, as a culture, was "bullied" by the Chinese, the Japanese, and later, European expeditions. The Okinawans, understandably, had little use for the concept of martial philosophy. Karate-jutsu, reality combat, became the only practical course of study. Unfortunately, sometimes bullies only understand one thing.