The benefits of martial arts for kids are countless- that’s why it’s been practiced for thousands of years. But for the purposes of this blog, the best 4 benefits are- healthy stress management, discipline and perseverance, better grades, and bullyproof-ness. We know, those are some awesome results! Read on to find out more
1. Stress Less
From juggling unprecedented issues like cyberbullying and social media pressures to making friends in a socially distanced world, kids nowadays are stressed way earlier than any kid should be. Stress is a part of life, so it’s worth teaching your child early on about how to cope with and manage the stresses of day to day life- in a positive way.
And that’s where martial arts can help! One of the benefits of martial arts for kids is that the mental and physical outlet for their energy. Our instructors are ninja-like sneaky in how they teach important life skills that help your little one succeed outside of the dojo, including stress management.
Their life passion is teaching martial arts to your little one, and they pass along their own sense of discipline and perseverance to your little one with every class they attend! Which leads us to…
2. Discipline and Perseverance
Every child has their challenges. Every person, including your little one, is faced with tough decisions and mountains they need strength to overcome, and kids are no exception!
Whether it’s a math test they’re studying for or an audition for a lead role they want to knock out of the park, your child will need discipline and perseverance to see it through.
Martial arts for kids is so fun- trust us!- but it’s NOT a walk in the park- and that’s intentional. There will be days when your child doesn’t want to come to class, just like there will be days when they won’t want to go to school – they’ll say they just don’t “feel like” doing either of them.
But our world-class instructors teach them how to stay strong and do the right thing in order to keep up their healthy habits.
If a student is struggling to break a board, maybe they’re crying or feel like they can’t do it- we’re not giving upon them.
All of us, instructors and classmates included, are going to rally around that student and cheer them on. Because they CAN do it, and when they do, they feel absolutely amazing – trust us!s scared) in public places.
3. Improved Grades
This one always puts a smile on parent’s faces! One of the BIGGEST benefits of martial arts for kids is that it helps improve your child’s grades. How? Well, as we mentioned, they learn how to stick with their goals, which helps them stick it out when doing their homework or during a long school day. But perhaps one of the best benefits of martial arts for kids is that it helps them improve their BEHAVIOR.
When our students learn how to be still and listen intently to the authority figure in front of them, we see those skills transfer to the classroom. Instead of getting distracted by the pencil sharpener, the teacher’s instructions, and whatever their deskmate is doing…
They give their full attention to their teacher, and actually learn better than their peers. The results we see are AMAZING. And that self-control and focus are key components of kids martial arts that they’ll carry with them FOREVER.
4. Bullyproof
Of all the benefits of martial arts for kids, this one might be the most helpful. We’re really keen on building our students up to be BULLYPROOF, meaning they learn how to stand up to bullies and defend themselves in a non-violent way. First, we focus on their confidence.
As our young martial arts students notice themselves improving in the dojo – perfecting their punches and kicks, gaining better coordination, and learning new moves after lots of practice- they become more and more confident in their abilities and themselves.
We also have our students promise to never misuse what they learn outside of class – instead of their fists, they learn that their VOICE is their weapon.
We teach them how to speak confidently and assert themselves to our instructors, their peers, and the classroom bully, to stand up for themselves AND others. It’s an awesome process, and we’re very proud of our Bullyproof kids!
Conclusion
So- did these benefits surprise you? They’re no surprise to us. We see it all the time kids walk in the door with behavioral issues, low self-esteem, or difficulty focusing, and they walk out the door with improvement in all these areas and a HUGE smile on their face. Hands down, it’s our favorite part of our jobs! Hopefully now you know that the benefits of martial arts for kids go far beyond just self defense – martial arts is a life-changing tool that promotes success far beyond the mat! Check out our life-changing, transformative Kids Martial Arts classes in Greendale right here at our school!