Decades after it happened, Calgarian Peter Pace still has vivid memories of the bullying he faced growing up in England.
“I was being bullied at school,” Pace said. “It was quite bad.”
He ended up getting involved in martial arts to help build confidence, and now that his son’s a teenager, Pace has encouraged him to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“To give him confidence and make sure he didn’t get bullied,” Pace said.
It’s paying off in a big way for 13-year-old Ryan Pace — his hard training has earned him a spot competing in kickboxing and Muay Thai at a world championship event in late October in Athens, Greece.
“He’s going to the world championships for a reason,” Ryan’s coach Jason Bryant said. “He deserves to be there.”
“I’m a very proud dad,” Peter Pace said. He’s also glad the sport has given his son skills to help fend off any potential physical confrontations with bullies.
“He’s got the confidence to look them straight in the eye before it even gets to that stage,” Pace said.
“Makes it so you can step up,” Ryan said. “Instead of getting all scared.”
“This is the house of confidence!” Bryant said of his martial arts studio, Arashi Do. “Come here to learn how to deal with bullies, not by beating them up, but understand that you can walk away. We don’t have to be scared.”
Peter Pace is optimistic about Ryan’s chances as father and son head off together to the world championships.
“He’s going for gold and he’s really putting the effort in,” Pace said. “So I think he stands a good chance in Athens.”
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