Martial Arts have many, MANY benefits but here are some that are often overlooked or not promoted well:
They suffer less stress
When I think back to my childhood through my rose-tinted glasses, I realise that issues such as cyberbullying, social media pressures and making friends in a socially distanced world didn’t feature too large for me - as a result, children today can really struggle to manage their stress. Stress affects everyone, so it’s important to teach children how to cope with and manage the stresses of day to day life in a healthy way.
One of the benefits of Martial Arts is that students can exert their physical AND mental energy in a safe environment. Our Leadership Handbooks, which sit alongside the physical skills programme, teach important life skills that help children succeed outside of the Do Jang. The programme covers the following areas:
Courtesy
Honesty
Perseverance
Self-Control
Discipline
Respect
Courage
Gratitude
Commitment
Action
Charisma
Communication
Confidence
Creativity
Motivation
Passion
Strategy
Trust
Vision
The have great discipline and learn the value of perseverance
Our Instructors have a passion for teaching Martial Arts to kids and they pass along their own sense of discipline and perseverance to children with every class they attend!
Just as stress is a part of everyday life, so are challenges. Everyone will be faced with tough decisions and mountains they need strength to overcome from time to time. Children are no exception and they will be tested in many ways over the course of their childhood that they’ll need discipline and perseverance to complete.
Whilst our Martial Arts are fun, they are also designed to be intentionally challenging. There will be days when your child doesn’t want to come to class (we have a blog for that!). Our Instructors will teach them how to cultivate the discipline they need to keep on going - with the support of parents that is! If a student is struggling in class, we won’t give up on them. We reset & rethink. We approach the problem from another way. We provide additional support & mentoring from fellow students. When they finally overcome their issue, they’ll have a smile on their face and an enormous sense of achievement – trust us!
Their grades will often improve
One of the greatest benefits of Martial Arts for children is that it helps improve their grades. It doesn’t inherently make any child smarter - how cool would that be though!!! - but what the do develop is greater self-discipline, which in turn helps them stick to their tasks when doing their homework or during a school day.
However, perhaps one of the best benefits of Martial Arts for children is that it helps them improve their behaviour. Our students learn how to control their bodies and listen to their Instructors, and we see these skills also applying to the classroom. Instead of losing attention in class, they can focus intently on their teacher and instructions. As a result, they can learn better than their peers.
This focus and self-discipline are key components of Martial Arts and are skills that that they will carry with them for life.
It helps make them bully-proof
Often seen as an unexpected benefit, children gain the confidence they need to stand up for themselves and others in a non-violent way.
Firstly, we help them grow their confidence. As our young Martial Arts students see themselves improving on the mats, they become more confident in their ability to ‘do difficult things’. We also teach our students not to use their Martial Arts outside of the Do Jang unless absolutely essential. They learn how to articulate themselves and assert themselves to the instructors and their peers. This helps them to stand up for themselves and others.
We’re not surprised at all by these benefits, but you might be as they’re not the ones that usually spring to mind! We see it over & over - children walking in the door with behavioural issues, low self-esteem or difficulty focusing. We see an improvement in all these areas, together with a huge smile on their face. This is why we, as Instructors, get up in the morning!
Hopefully, now you see that the benefits of Martial Arts for children go far beyond just the physical - Martial Arts is more of a mindset, a way of life, that promotes success far beyond the Do Jang! So if your child isn’t gaining all these great benefits, sign them up here NOW!
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