GWINN — Enough is enough. That was the anti-bullying message students from Gwinn heard during a recent assembly.
Nineteen-year-old Mariah Moore is a 14 world title and nine national title champion in martial arts and she was also a victim of bullying.
“I came back from the world championships in 2006 with two world titles at 12 years old. My peers hated it. It’s like they hated me for my success. I went through a lot of terrible times and a lot of bad things,” said Moore.
Moore said learning self-defense was a way for her to escape from the constant ridicule. But she said, the martial arts are not about fighting.
“I have been in this for 12 years and I’ve never gotten in a fight outside the ring. I can’t tell you how many times people have tried but I really have the self-confidence and the self-esteem to say no I need to just walk away,” Moore said.
Students were listening and said there were plenty of lessons to be learned from Moore’s presentation.
“I liked that she talked about bullying and how important it is to stop. Now everybody that’s being bullied knows that they’re not alone,” said Malorie Couillard, sixth grader.
“A lot of people think martial arts is just about fighting. It’s more about discipline and it’s never made for fighting; it’s made for self-defense,” said Seth Quayle, sixth grader.
Moore will continue her “Enough is Enough” tour, visiting nine more U.P. schools.