by Robbie Alexander

Created on: April 15, 2009   Last Updated: June 04, 2009

How often do you hear your children say, "Yes mom" or "Yes dad" and run over to you as soon as they are called? How often do they open doors for people or pick up trash without being asked?

In Proverbs 22:6, the Bible describes the approach parents, caregivers and teachers should take when raising and/or training children. To paraphrase, it states that if you train a child to behave and to live a healthy lifestyle, the resulting character traits will be carried on into adulthood.

Martial arts can be a powerful alternative method for parents who desire to follow this important verse and to apply it to their family life. For centuries, martial arts have been used as tools for positive change. Let us look at the children's benefits of training which prove this to be true.

1.) Staying busy

Being involved in any activity to redirect your focus from negative influences to more positive and constructive ones is a great way to avoid a negative lifestyle later on in the teen and young adult years. An indication that it is time to get searching for an activity is when your child complains about how "bored" he or she is. This is usually when they will take it upon themselves to get out and get into something to eliminate the boredom. You don't want it to get to that point. When you take the initiative, chances are it will have more of a balance of fun, education and life expansion all at the same time. You can get online and find hundreds of martial arts training centers which offer these benefits. So get online and get on it!

2.) Being in it to win

As a national champion, the creator and CEO of several martial arts and fitness training programs, when I train instructors, they learn that the right martial arts instructor teaches children not only how to prepare to compete to win, but also, the importance in discovering personal weaknesses and how to build upon them until they become strengths. When a martial arts student goes to a competition, he or she is scared to death. It doesn't matter if it is her first experience or if she is a seasoned champion. When the competition is over, she better have a list of things to bring back home to the training center to work on, or her time, attention and money spent competing was a big waste. This is the real purpose of tournament competition. Not to see who can collect the most trophies, but to see who can have the most fun learning about what needs improvement. An old saying states that "It's not important that you win

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