Martial arts trainers believe that kids enhance self-discipline and responsibility by training martial arts. This kind of sport influences the child’s development and social skills, improves concentration, develops respect and self-esteem, and helps them learn to fight for their own goals. It will influence the learning of healthy habits, reduces stress and nervousness, develops tolerance, and are a good basis for other sports.
In addition to being a form of good physical exercise, martial arts have been proven to improve the mental and psychological state of the individual. Just learning and perfecting a new skill has beneficial effects on raising self-esteem and self-efficacy. Here are 10 reasons why you might want to get your kids interested in martial arts.
Strengthening socialization
Think about what you can learn while practicing martial arts: obeying the rules, self-control, socializing with your club mates, respecting your opponents, etc. Through such training, children learn to better relax and make friends and lasting friendships. So it is not surprising that children who are active in martial arts grow up to be true leaders and strong personalities.
Encouraging Physical Activity
A child who begins with physically demanding martial arts training will feel the positive energy of the movement and will thus be motivated to move as much as possible. The more they progress in the physical and technical aspects of martial arts, the more your child will appreciate his or her own body and health. Martial arts offer a way to live a healthy and meaningful life to future adults.
A sense of respect for others
Learning martial arts will develop a sense of respect for instructors and more advanced practitioners in your child. In training, this sense of respect will be very pronounced in the child and as such will be transmitted to his or her daily routine.
Through sports, children learn to obey the rules and to bear the consequences of not following them. It will help them to enhance their sports experiences, but also to learn about honesty, truthfulness and what is right and what is not. They will also feel that they are always committed to justice and fairness.
Developing a sense of teamwork
Martial arts encourage learning techniques, practicing, sparring with friends, progressing and participating in competitions and encouraging your team. Learning and actively participating in sports is a good way for children to learn to control their emotions. There will always be winners and losers, and children should be ready for both. By training, children will learn to solve problems, which is a significant factor in emotional control.
Learning about Non-Violent Conflict Resolution
A mistaken view of martial arts as something that promotes violence comes from movies, television shows and marketing efforts of some professional martial arts promoters. All true martial arts and sports teach children how to peacefully resolve their conflicts and how important it is to avoid physical violence. A man who is confident in himself is never aggressive. Aggression is caused by vanity and a sense of insecurity, and all of this gradually eliminates the love for sports in children. A child practicing martial arts will not be violent but will be able to easily defend himself against those who endanger his safety.
Perception improvement
For children to progress in the sport and be adequately rewarded, they will need to master listening and observation skills with constant concentration during the training process. In everyday life, this process can be very monotonous and uninteresting, but in training, it will be very realistic when working with a partner who will “punish” or “reward” a child’s commitment to improving its perception. It is this dynamic that the childish nature seeks. Besides, martial arts inspire creativity in children, because this sport is the “art of movement” and it requires one to think on his feet.
Hard work gives results
The earlier you can communicate with your child that a good result is a product of hard work, the better for him or her. There is no substitute for hard work. The principles that children learn through sports will remain in them throughout their lives – both at school and throughout their working lives. Research has found a link between demanding physical activity and school success because releasing excess negative energy through intense exercise can improve concentration and improve school performance.
Increasing Self-esteem
Martial arts are often associated with improvement in the self-esteem domain. Through mastering martial arts and its extensive philosophy, children will be able to learn the techniques of relaxation, concentration and assertiveness (confident communication) in dealing with others. Because of these aspects, martial arts are seen as a form of “alternative psychotherapy”, because they represent constructive ways of dealing with individual problems and establishing control over them.
Better time management
Children learn to combine their sports and extracurricular activities with regular tasks such as homework and housework. Time management skills will lead them to good results in school and later in their business careers. During training, children are given plans and schedules for training hours and regular homework.
About the author: Nemanja is editor-in-chief @ BornCute and WalkJogRun. You can find him on Twitter.
