It’s pretty hard to pick just 4 benefits of martial arts for kids- it’s been practiced for thousands of years. But off the top of our head, the best 4 benefits are- healthy stress management, discipline and perseverance, better grades, and bullyproof-ness. Not too shabby, right? Check them out below…
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 happens to everyone, so it’s important early on to teach your child about how to cope with and manage the stresses of day to day life- in a healthy 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 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. They have a real passion for teaching martial arts to kids, 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. 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, your little one will be tested in many ways over the course of their childhood that they’ll need discipline and perseverance to complete.
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 swim class – they’ll say they just don’t “feel like” doing either of them. But our world-class instructors teach them how to cultivate the discipline they need to keep on keepin’ on.
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 finally do, they’ll have a gigantic smile on their face – trust us!
3. Improved Grades
This one always sounds good to parents! One of the GREATEST 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 how to control their bodies and listen to their instructors, we see those skills apply to the classroom. Instead of losing their attention to the pencil sharpener, the teacher’s instructions, and whatever their deskmate is doing… They can focus intently on their teacher and the instructions, 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 focus and self-discipline are key components of kids martial arts that they’ll carry with them FOR LIFE.
4. Bullyproof
Of all the benefits of martial arts for kids, this one might be the most unexpected. 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 confident in their ability to “do hard things.” 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 a really amazing process, and we’re very proud of our Bullyproof kids.
Conclusion
So- did these benefits surprise you? We’re not surprised at all! We see it time and time again- 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. The best part of the job! Hopefully, now you see that the benefits of martial arts for kids go far beyond just self-defense- martial arts is more of a mindset, or 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!
