A cathartic theory of aggression: Martial arts as a strategy for preventing school violence

School violence is a topic that has received a great deal of media attention during the last few years due to the increase in aggressive actions among students. In the following study, Bandura's social learning theory and Berkowitz's frustration-aggression hypothesis are applied to incidents of school violence in an attempt to understand its causes. With these principles in mind, martial arts training is seen as a valid preventative strategy against aggression occurring in educational environments. The philosophy underlining traditional martial arts and its empirically supported benefits are discussed. The components of a traditional martial arts program geared specifically towards the adolescent high school population are suggested and evaluation procedures are presented.