You don’t need a weapon when you are one. This statement in itself sums up a lot about the benefits of martial arts training. Unless your kid is naturally inclined towards art, it’s ten times better to enroll him for martial arts training as opposed to forcing his steps to the art class.
From conflict resolution to self-improvement, martial art has been credited with a lot of benefits. They say that martial art training does not get easier, it only gets better. Your kid could be sore today, but he will surely be strong tomorrow. Let’s get to the benefits of martial arts for your zestful kids.
1. Fewer Ruckuses in the House
In many ways, martial art is a brand ambassador of self-discipline. As you may already know, most of the accomplished faces in the martial art industry excel in this department. The aim of martial arts is not to kick some ass, but to learn the art of defense. For the same, one would require a great deal of control over oneself, which can be attained only through self-discipline.
As such, negative or reckless behavior is not tolerated in the classroom environment. So, your once-reckless kids will not act like mindless zombies once they become a student of martial art because martial art training will inevitably teach them the art of self-discipline. So, there will be fewer riots in the house. (source)
2. Builds Self Confidence
Self-confidence is a great weapon that can help a person in all walks of life. To a great extent, our confidence level is based on the activities we do. Martial arts can do a world of good to a kid’s confidence level. Believe it or not, the improvement in confidence would be like night and day. Martial arts have been long credited for making students strong, both mentally as well as physically.
Having attained both mental and physical toughness, there will be no room for lack of confidence in one’s body. You can actually visualize ten nails going in the coffins of shyness, skepticism, and lack of self-belief that once existed in your kid’s life. (source)
3. Better Athletic Performance
Let’s face it; martial art is not for the faint of hearts. Being a demanding sport, it requires both mental and physical toughness. Your kid may not be up to the mark yet, which is perfectly fine because every black belt holder out there was once a white belt holder. As the belts change color, a person progresses as well.
Martial art practice not only improves one’s general physical health, but it also improves one’s emotional health. In short, martial art provides a healthy dose of mental and physical toughness that is required to excel in other athletic areas as well. (source)
4. Builds a Respectful Kid
Contrary to popular belief, martial art preaches peace and respect and not violence. As a matter of fact, there is hardly any other physical sport out there that emphasise so much on paying respect as much as martial art does. Students are taught how to respect their instructors, co-students, and everybody else in general.
A part of the instructor’s job involves coaching students on good manners and following reasonable rules. So, don’t let the judo moves fool you. The kick-butt stuff comes into play only in dire situations, when there is no other alternative left. For the most part, the sport is about self-discipline, respect, and self-defense. (source)
5. Complete Body Workout
From head to toe, martial art training will use every muscle in our body. The training will not only build muscle and strength, but it will provide a great boost to one’s stamina and endurance level. The sheer amount of activities done in the class can also shape an overweight kid within months. Hundreds of calories can be burnt in a single training session.
It has been witnessed that kids involved in physical activities are generally more active and productive in life. The physical activities keep the endorphin going. As a result, the brain functions at its optimum level. The combination of physical and mental benefits offers a thorough body workout with some extra dose of energy thrown in. (source)
6. Goal Achievement
It’s a high-five moment for the kids when they progress in the field. The transition from the white belt to other colors boosts their morale and self-confidence like nothing else. It’s natural for them to feel on top of the world when they gradually gravitate to the next level. In many ways, it gives them the first taste of success, which involved setting goals and achieving them like a man.
Since it’s an individual sport, a person gets all the liberty in the world to credit oneself for the victories down the road. The sense of victory and personal struggles offers clear directions on how to accomplish goals in life, irrespective of the odds. It’s almost like a comprehensive training program on goal achievement. (source)
7. Limits Screen Time
Let’s admit it; our kids have become technology slaves. They are either hooked to their phone or television screen. No amount of shouting has been of any help for the majority of the parents out there. Truth be told, getting them off these devices seems like a task from hell for most parents. Martial art training can come to the rescue over here.
By enrolling your kids in a martial arts class, you will automatically limit their screen time. Kids will be forced to get their bums off the couch and get indulged in a physical activity. An inactive kid, in particular, can benefit a great deal over here by saying goodbye to his sedentary lifestyle. Technology will no longer be the final terminal station for them. Martial art training will replace their free time in a far more effective manner. (source)
8. Self Defense
Self-defense is a wonderful skill that can prevent bullying, attacks, and other forms of physical or mental violence. Remember, kids are not coached to start a full-blown war against offenders, but to protect themselves or their friends through gentle solutions. Basically, kids will learn the art of non-violent conflict resolution. So, there will be no blood bath when kids end up in a conflict situation.
Moreover, a good self-defense program also teaches kids to be aware of their surroundings. By doing so, one can stay immune to a host of danger situations. During training, kids learn how to use their senses to be aware of the surroundings. Basically, they have the best chance to protect themselves and to be safe by embracing martial arts. (source)
9. Good Balance and Body Posture
Countless hours in front of the computer screen ruins our posture. This applies to everyone, whether you are working in front of the computer screen or playing video games. Since kids these days spend endless hours on the screen, their posture can take a hit as well. It’s not uncommon for us to witness kids with slouched posture at a very young age.
Martial arts training constantly works on one’s body posture. Moreover, the training moves help one maintain a strong balance. By improving one’s balance and body posture, martial arts can helps kids in all walks of life. After all, good posture is a necessary evil for a host of activities in our routine life.
10. Promotes Social Interaction
The quality of social life can also elevate with martial arts training. Martial art training is hardly done in isolation. It’s mostly performed in groups. So, martial arts classes require a fair amount of social interaction with instructors, co-students, and outside coaches.
Some of the on-going tasks involve drills and other activities that require support and cooperation from other students. So, kids share friendly glances and interact with each other. Some of them also become lifelong friends. (source)
11. Travel Opportunities
One of the perks of martial arts is travel opportunities. Coaches often travel to different places with their students to compete in tournaments. Zestful kids are bound to love this opportunity. It gives them a chance to showcase their skills to people outside their neighborhood. It also presents an opportunity to accomplish more milestones in life.
When travel plans unite with award winning trophies on the way home, the sense of pride and self-accomplishment is simply matchless. It gives them instant bragging rights. After all, it was not a coin-flip victory. It takes lots of heart to win trophies in a physically demanding sport when the opponent is not your average guy from the neighborhood. He is another competition ready athlete who knows how to kick someone’s ass like a pro.
12. Improves Focus and Concentration
From Facebook to WhatsApp, there are endless distractions in our kid’s lives today. So, one of the everyday challenges in a parent’s life is to keep their kids focused. Even their best effort gets flushed down the toilet. Experts in the field suggest that martial arts can improve both focus and concentration by increasing the kid’s attention span.
The sport by itself demands a lot of focus and attention. Therefore, a kid focused during a martial art class is bound to carry his laser focus in school and other areas of life as well. So, don’t be surprised to see your kids spend more time with their books as a side effect of training martial arts. (source)
13. Improves Hand-Eye Coordination
Martial art training has an incredible ability to improve hand-eye coordination. Perhaps, the entire martial art community will vouch for this. It’s an impossible-to-avoid benefit of martial art training. As a matter of fact, martial art relies heavily on hand-eye coordination. At all times, students are aware of how their body is positioned.
As such, everyone has basic hand-eye coordination, but one can develop it to a great extent by indulging in martial art training. With exciting drills and training techniques, instructors take the basic coordination skills to the next level, while building strength and balance at the same time. (source)
14. Stress Buster
Lots of parents out there do not realize that their kids have to deal with a lot of stress too in their day to day lives. Research has shown that indulging in physical activities can kill both boredom and stress. Certain forms of martial arts involve specific exercises that help one control breathing to relieve stress from one’s life.
Moreover, it will also help kids control their aggression and emotions better. Since martial art training works out both the mind and body, kids are bound to respond positively to the training. A stress relieved child will surely be more happy and productive in all areas of life. (source)
15. A Recipe for Success
Martial art practice goes beyond some formal training of self-defense. A martial art expert is always brimming with self-confidence. His self-belief and sense of pride is always on the roof top. Who wouldn’t love to see their kids growing up with a great deal of confidence and self-belief?
There is no doubt that martial art practice will help a kid in all walks of life. Kids increase their chances of success in whatever occupation they choose in their respective lives because martial art training installs the right qualities in them from a very early age.
Conclusion
The chances are that you could be reluctant to enroll your kids in a martial art training class. It’s second nature for parents to think that their kids might injure themselves. Agreed, no one is immune from one-off injuries. Even riding a bike or a new-age ride-on toy like a hoverboard has a slight chance of injury. But, that should not stop one from taking the essential giant leap that can completely transform their kid’s life.
Once you focus on all the benefits of martial arts, the resistance will melt away. Remember, enrollment for a martial arts class is only half the job done. The abandonment rate is quite high in this field. People quit too early. So, make sure that you don’t let this happen to your kid. Let your little Bruce Lee be the last man standing!
From our friends at: https://bestforthekids.com/benefits-of-martial-arts-for-kids/