Waimarama Kaka's behaviour started going downhill after his parents split up.
The 10-year-old was being bullied at school, chewing on his clothes, fighting with his brothers and losing his temper at the drop of a hat - in one tantrum he put his foot through a window.
His mother, Michelle O'Connell, enrolled him in Warrior Kids, a twice-weekly programme that combines Maori culture and Eastern martial arts techniques, to give him direction and burn off his excess energy.
The boys in the programme, aged 5-13, are taught to stand tall, use their voices with confidence and to take control of situations. They also play games, do exercises and sit in a circle to talk about how they feel.
The emphasis is on self-protection rather than on self-defence.
Michelle says the change in her son has been dramatic.
"He's become more helpful, his relationship with me has improved. Now I ask him to help me with the dishes and he says: 'Okay, Mum'."
Warrior Kids is the brainchild of Waitakere author Tim Tipene. The programme has run in schools throughout Auckland since 1994, but for those who can't get to them, the ideas can now be digested in book form. Already a successful author, Tipene has published Warrior Kids: Warrior Training for Children.
The book addresses issues that include bullying and abuse, with the intention of encouraging children to become champions in their own lives.
Tipene, 39, says his own painful background of physical and sexual abuse led him to set up the programme 17 years ago.
"When I was 9 or 10 I started to question everything I'd seen at home," he says. "I thought everyone was being treated the same. I'd look at my friends and wonder what their mum and dad were doing to them. With abuse, your bearings are knocked off and you don't know what real relationships are like."
Not until 1991, when he began training to work with adults with special needs, did Tipene really start to deal with his problems - and underwent intensive counselling and psychotherapy.
"It helped in many ways but, at the end of the day, time has settled things and changed my perspective."
Tipene eventually found himself teaching karate and judo - sports he had been involved with since he was 12. "I ended up looking at angry men. I realised 'I'm at the wrong end'. I need to work on kids to stop them from getting to that point."
He threw himself into writing fiction to give meaning to his experiences and won international recognition for children's books that carried messages, including Kura Toa: Warrior School, Warrior Kids, Haere Jack Haere and Taming the Taniwha.
The author and counsellor explains that the Warrior Kids programme is about de-escalating and containing aggressive behaviour. Evasive techniques are based on martial art forms and are taught without the use of fists, but can be used to restrain.
"You don't need to 'take people out' and, at school, the one who hits back gets into trouble," Tipene says.
The Maori warrior concepts are about whanau and manaakitanga - caring for and nurturing others. The programme's intent is to empower children and "bring out the warrior within".
"It's about what to do when your family members 'go off'. You can't beat up uncle. You have to take care of them, not hurt them, and make sure they don't hurt anyone else."
He is disturbed by the increasingly apparent effects of P on society - noting more and more children are fitting within special needs categories because their parents are P addicts. "They can't sit still, their mental development isn't there and their social conscience is impaired.
"It'll hit our country hard. People are bracing themselves for it."
He says parents who send their children to Warrior Kids are taking the initiative and trying to do their best. The really bad parents wouldn't even consider it.
"There's not enough responsibility on parents. Part of prevention is holding them to account. If a young person commits an offence, their parents should be penalised."
Tipene says schools should teach young people communication skills and emotional awareness, because it isn't always happening at home.
"At the moment, it's top heavy with money going into after-effects, but with very little on prevention."
He says with young people exposed to "gangsta" culture and its denigration of women, it's little wonder bullying is increasing. "In today's world, selfishness is glorified. The quality of generosity is looked down on and even despised."
But it is care and generosity that have changed the behaviour of children like Waimarama. The boy himself has no doubt he's found a peaceful warrior within.
"Tim's a nice man and he's good at teaching us things," Waimarama says. "I've learned to be brave and be safe. Everyone used to bully me and stuff and there was a boy that used to hit me. He was trying to punch me so I stepped out of the way. I could've fallen for it but I didn't. I walked away and told the teacher."
About Warrior Kids
See www.warriorkids.org
See Warrior Kids on Facebook
Buy the book through fishpond.co.nz (RRP $44.99)
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