They Will Get More Active
This is the obvious reason kids should do martial arts in this day and age – to get active and moving. In case you haven’t noticed, we have an epidemic when it comes to our nation’s obesity problem. We’re also increasingly unfit in addition to being overweight. The problem is particularly alarming as it relates to our kids. Youth sports and physical education programs are great, but not every kid is an athlete and many schools no longer offer PE. The martial arts offer many benefits, but when it comes to fitness, becoming a true martial artist means becoming a supremely fit person. When I was practicing boxing and kickboxing on a daily basis, I was in the best shape of my life by a long shot. Martial arts along with boxing training can help your child get fit and healthy.
They’ll Learn to Take (Encouraging) Hits
In boxing and martial arts, your child will learn what it is to take a hit, whether that hit is a literal blow or a disappointment like failing a test.
Part of life is learning that we all take hits. The key is in learning how best to take that hit and get back up. Unfortunately, this lesson seems to be lost on many in our every-kid-gets-a-trophy culture. In the martial arts, your kid will learn to fail – in a positive way. Half of martial arts is hitting, but half is also getting hit.
While I didn’t find getting hit was a fun experience at the same time, I came to learn that accepting I would get hit enabled me to relax and better protect myself. That acceptance led me to be able to better respond, maneuver, and anticipate. Ironically, learning how to take a hit is perhaps the best way for your kid to learn how to avoid it.
They’ll Gain Self Confidence and Self Respect
I’ve been able to witness over the last 20 years firsthand at Competitive Edge Karate the confidence gained by students participating in the martial arts. By being able to advance in belt levels and using boxing techniques while sparring with the bigger kids is a tremendous amount of confidence. Of course, sparring with the bigger kids also gives all of us a little reminder of humility but someone is always going to be bigger and stronger.
Every martial artist ultimately learns this sense of respect and true confidence. Your child will learn that confidence and respect for others comes from a deep sense of self-knowledge.
Reason: They’ll Connect Their Mind and Body
What they don’t teach you at your local health club is how to really listen to your body. To listen to your body is to also see your thoughts and have heightened awareness of your emotional construct.
A martial artist is taught to see, feel, and listen – both internally and externally. Tapping into intuition, fear, and courage are examples of being able to put the physical together with the mental. How often have we heard the phrase “being paralyzed with fear”? Being able to combat such a thing is what you learn in the martial arts.