1. Stress Less
From juggling unprecedented issues like cyberbullying and social media pressures to making friends in a socially distanced world, kids nowadays are really struggling to manage their stress. Stress is a part of life, 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 positive way. And that’s where martial arts can help! One of the benefits of martial arts for kids is that they can exert their physical AND mental energy in a safe environment.
Our instructors are quite sneaky (like a ninja! ;)) in how they teach important life skills that help your little one succeed outside of the dojo, including stress management. Teaching martial arts to kids is their life passion, 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
Just like stress is a part of life – so are 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, 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 is definitely challenging sometimes- 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 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 finally 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 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 self-discipline, 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 carry over to the classroom.
Instead of wiggling in their seats and dividing their attention between 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. We see these improvements time and time again, year after year, and it always makes us proud. And that body coordination 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 learn how to stand up to bullies and defend themselves in a non-violent way. First, we help them grow their confidence. As our young martial arts students see themselves improve week after week – 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 speak confidently and with eye contact to our instructors, their peers, and the classroom bully, to stand up for themselves AND others. It’s a really amazing 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 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 mat! Check out our life-changing, transformative Kids Martial Arts classes right here at our school!
