Compared to soccer, football, or basketball, martial arts is not as common of a sport among children. Most parents are worried that it will promote violence and aren’t sure how children can benefit from martial arts. As you’ll see, martial arts helps make kids less violent and comes with many lifelong skills. The focus and discipline required to advance in martial arts classes can provide your students with many benefits in their everyday life.
Improve their Self Defense
We put this one first because it is probably the most apparent benefit. You may think that once a child learns martial arts, they’ll go around recklessly fighting others. That is not the case; martial arts teaches students how to defend themselves (or others) if ever necessary. It’s not about putting them in danger but about teaching them how to identify and mitigate dangerous situations. Martial arts teaches children peaceful and non-violent conflict resolution skills to avoid physical altercations.
It Keeps Them Active
A sedentary lifestyle can bring health risks not only to adults but to children as well. Martial arts keeps your kids active while promoting their mental and physical health. Our young ones have what seems to be an endless amount of energy, and they need an outlet to expend it. Sports are an excellent way to use up that energy built up from sitting indoors all day during school. The physical training involved in martial arts builds their strength, stamina, speed, and balance. These skills will give them an edge when they play other sports as well.
Nurture Self-Confidence
As kids grow up, they face many challenging situations during school or with their peers. They need to develop their self-confidence to handle these situations adequately. When they follow their training and see the results from their efforts, they will realize they have the perseverance for success. Martial arts isn’t just about kicking or hitting; it’s about courage, problem-solving, self-respect, and self-control. It’s about overcoming difficult obstacles and finding balance in yourself, which is a great lesson for children (and adults too). When children learn a new skill and push themselves outside of their comfort zone, they become better at handling mental and physical challenges.
It Teaches Important Life Lessons
Along with exercise and self-defense, martial arts promotes many life skills that kids carry with them for a lifetime. Progressing in the sport requires goal-setting, challenges, setbacks, and focus. They’ll learn how to face difficult challenges without distractions or self-doubt. The belt ranking system also helps them understand the importance of goal-setting and discipline required for success. Training will teach them to get along with others, as most martial arts classes teach students to respect their peers, opponents, and teachers.
The Key Takeaways
The most important sport to put your child in is one they enjoy! If they take one of our children’s boxing or kickboxing classes and enjoy it, don’t let that worry you! They’re going to grow a lot from our classes, both mentally and physically. As a reminder, we follow every necessary safety precaution, and your children will be wearing protective padding. We hope this article helps answer the question of how children can benefit from martial arts. If you’re interested in putting your child in their first self-defense class, or if you have any questions, feel free to call us at (951) 609-4478 or contact us on our website.
