6 Ways Martial Arts Can Build Confidence, Self-Esteem, and Discipline in Your Child

Are you looking for an activity for your child that will help build their confidence, improve discipline, and keep them working hard to accomplish their goals? Martial arts could be just an activity for your child. While there are many different elements to consider depending on the style you choose, you’ll find that enrolling your child in one of these exciting classes can help create a variety of changes within them.

Give Your Child the Power to Stop Bullies

There’s nothing like ongoing bullying to sap a child’s self-esteem and leave him feeling out of sorts. By learning karate, however, your child can develop the skills needed to stop bullies in their tracks. Most traditional classes don’t just teach punching, kicking, and fighting techniques. They’ll also teach your child to:

• Get out of a bad situation without resorting to violence, including a number of basic conflict resolution skills.
• Redirect their opponent’s energy, stopping them from causing damage without actually hurting them.
• Avoid bad situations, to begin with.
• Develop the inner strength to stand up for themselves, which often stops bullies in their tracks.

Watch Your Child Do Things They Didn’t Believe They Could Do

In a traditional martial arts class, it doesn’t take many classes before your child will see older students doing things they firmly believe they could never accomplish, from breaking boards or performing a complicated kata to performing techniques that they’re sure they could never do.

Then they start to learn to do them.

As your child stays in the class, they will have the opportunity to work through many different techniques, building skills and confidence at the same time.

Develop Discipline in All Areas of Life

In order to become a successful martial artist, your child must develop discipline. It’s not just a matter of showing up when they feel like it. They must also:

• Make a commitment to showing up to class regularly so that they miss out on neither instruction nor training time.
• Practice outside of the dojo to build their skills and increase their abilities.
• Maintain healthier eating and exercise habits to help build strength and develop a body that is able to handle whatever they ask of it on the mat or in the ring.

In addition, many schools provide an incentive for students to show their commitment and capability in other areas of their lives, too. For example, if your student’s grades start to fall or you notice your child displaying inappropriate behavior with his siblings, you have the right to withhold a belt promotion or to hold them out of class until those grades come up. Many parents discover that this method creates higher levels of performance in their child regardless of what other goals they need to focus on.

Work in an Environment that Encourages Kindness and Teamwork

Many children turn to karate classes to escape bullies. They may have few friends at school, or they may struggle to form relationships. In these classes, however, children are encouraged to develop friendships and show kindness to one another. Higher-ranking students often work with lower-ranking students to encourage them, show them new techniques, and provide them with support. Over time, relationships often develop. As a result, your child may start to develop better self-esteem and more internal strength–and they just might take that ability to build friendships out of the dojo and into their everyday lives.

Watch the Progression of Skills Over Time

Many children struggle to get past the difficulty of learning or accomplishing new skills. They want to be able to do these incredible things that they see others doing, but when they start, they discover that it’s much more difficult than it first appears–and often, they give up without ever giving it a real chance.

Martial arts classes are expressly designed to help overcome those difficulties.

When your child enters class, they’ll begin by learning basic techniques that can be performed at a relatively low level of skill. These techniques help increase confidence, encouraging your child to branch out and try new things. Over time, their punching strength will increase, their accuracy will increase, and they’ll get to try new, more difficult techniques. Over time, your child will develop increased strength and capability that will have them doing more than they ever dreamed possible–but they’ll build those skills in a way that is designed to support their self-esteem and personal view of their capability, rather than tearing it down.

Students Compete Against Themselves

One of the first things many martial artists learn is that there’s always someone better at something. One student may be a fantastic ground fighter, while another excels at stand-up fighting. A technique that is fantastically easy for one student may be incredibly difficult for another–but that same student who struggled with one technique may find that another one comes naturally.

In the dojo, students have many opportunities to compete with one another. More importantly, however, they have the opportunity to compete with themselves. They’re constantly learning, growing, and developing new skills while assimilating new techniques–a strategy that often allows students to see how they have been able to learn and grow over time.

If you’re looking for a sport that will build life skills in your child, consider enrolling your child today. This incredible sport will support your child in more ways than you have ever imagined.