There are so many reasons why training martial arts is a great activity for kids, but I'm just going to tell you about five of them here. The best part about these reasons is that they apply to children and adults and everyone in between.
Self-Defense. Training martial arts is like insurance. You hope you never need it, but you're happy to have it when the need arises.
Contrary to what many people think about training martial arts is that they do not promote violence. In fact, the biggest part of self defense that you get from martial arts is the focus, awareness, concentration and confidence you gain to handle pretty much any situation that comes your way before it gets physically violent. It does, however, also give you the physical skills to defend your self if you need to.
Discipline. We all know what it means and we all need more of it.
Martial arts is known for its ability to create discipline in adults and children. This discipline comes in the form of focus, concentration and respect - all skills taught through training martial arts. Anyone who trains martial arts need to be able to focus and concentrate on what they are doing so that they do not injure themselves or those around them and this concentration and focus carry over to other parts of their lives - work, home and school. Another aspect taught through training martial arts is respect of others. Put these together and you have someone who has the discipline to get done what needs to get done.
Self-Confidence. You probably see it all the time. The self-confident person seems to get all the breaks.
Martial arts can give you or your child the self confidence you need to succeed. Training martial arts has a way of helping you believe in yourself and this will help you to stop standing in your own way of success. Training martial arts also helps you get in tune with your mind and body which gives you the skills you need to control and defend yourself as well as handle whatever situations that come your way.
Fitness AND Fun. Yes, you can use both of those words in the same sentence and they can go hand in hand with martial arts.
One of the reasons why people quit at their fitness programs is that they get bored. That's what happens when the join a gym and plan to do the same thing over and over again. With martial arts, you are learn skills that stay with you even when you're not training and it changes all the time so it stays challenging and you won't get bored like you might doing other exercises.
Focus/ADD. The martial arts aren't about fighting - they are about learning to control the mind and body.
No one can benefit from this more than a child suffering from the symptoms of ADD or ADHD. At the Academy of Kempo Martial Arts we know that martial arts training truly does improve the lives of children and families struggling with ADHD. Many of our young students were brought to us by parents desperate to help their children who suffer from ADD or ADHD. I am proud to say that after training, even for a short period of time, these students experience drastic improvements. Even their school teachers report improved focus, concentration and performance in school.
With all of these great reasons to train martial arts, you owe it to yourself and your child to enroll in classes. It's hard to pass up these benefits and once you start you'll soon notice how these skills can change your life. |