It’s pretty hard to pick just 4 benefits of martial arts for kids- it’s been practiced for thousands of years. But in our eyes, the best 4 benefits are- healthy stress management, discipline and perseverance, better grades, and bullyproof-ness. Pretty amazing right? 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 happens to everyone, so it’s really best to teach your child early on about how to cope with and manage the stresses of day to day life- in a constructive way. There’s no doubt that kids martial arts is a major stress reliever for your little one! 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. They’ve dedicated their careers to teaching kids martial arts because they’re SO passionate about it, 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
Stress and challenges are just a part of life- and kids need to be equipped with how to handle them!. All humans, including your child, are 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, over the course of their childhood, your little one will need discipline and perseverance to see it through!.
Martial arts for kids is so fun- trust us!- but it’s not always easy- 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 swim class – they’ll say they just don’t “feel like” doing either of them. But our world-class instructors teach them how to dig deep and find self-discipline 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 up on 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’ll have a gigantic smile on their face – trust us!
3. Improved Grades
This one is music to parent’s ears! One of the BEST benefits of martial arts for kids is that it helps improve your child’s grades. How? Well, as we mentioned, they learn how to persevere, 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 self-control in their bodies and in their mind, we see those skills translate to the classroom. Instead of losing their attention to the pencil sharpener, the teacher’s instructions, and whatever their deskmate is doing… They keep their attention on their teacher, and actually learn better than their peers. Parents really love to hear that 🙂 And that self-control and focus are key components of kids martial arts that they’ll carry with them well into adulthood.
4. Bullyproof
Of all the benefits of martial arts for kids, this one might be the most surprising. We’re really keen on building our students up to be BULLYPROOF, meaning they gain the confidence they need to stand up for themselves AND others in a non-violent way. First, we help them grow their confidence. As our young martial arts students see themselves improving on the mat – 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 teach our students not to use their martial arts outside of the dojo – instead of their fists, they learn that their VOICE is their weapon. We teach them how to articulate themselves and assert themselves to our instructors, their peers, and the classroom bully, to stand up for themselves AND others. It’s incredible, and we’re very proud of our Bullyproof kids!
Conclusion
So- did these benefits surprise you? They’re no surprise to us. We’ve seen it year after year- 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. It’s the greatest part of our job! Hopefully now you see that the benefits of martial arts for kids go far beyond just self defense- martial arts is a way of life that promotes success far beyond the dojo! Check out our life-changing, transformative Kids Martial Arts classes right here at our school!
