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 or lose, but it's how you play the game". For me, my clients and staff members, "It is important that you win or lose, but it is more important to know how to dominate the inner game".
3.) Goal setting
Studies have shown that children who develop the habits necessary for setting and achieving goals grow up to be more successful and influential adults who contribute to solving more of the world's problems. The right martial arts program will teach the proper steps for achievement and take an individual through the right processes necessary for life success. The students learn that goal oriented individuals tend to be more successful individuals.
4.) Self Respect
What better way to teach children how to respect others than to begin understanding how to love and respect yourself? In a professional training center, students, keep themselves, their uniforms, nails and hair looking clean and neat. They take pride in the fact that they seriously prepare for the opportunities to be leaders in class and this leads to children open doors for adults, making big improvements in school academics as well as attitude toward others, they will often be seen cleaning, showing pride and appreciation for their instructor, the training center and their martial arts family. Ultimately, the "attitude of gratitude" will be understood through observing respectful gestures and conversations with their parents.
5.) Mom and Dad Can Spy
In 95% of the professionally run training centers across this great nation, parents can get a chance to observe their children in action, training, learning, interacting, playing and getting disciplined, which is fantastic. This is great because the right instructor and training center can make a child forget that their family members are there watching and observing everything that goes on. While little Johnny is distracted, his parents can get game plans together to either reinforce what is taught in the classes, or create unique lessons to teach during family times. Yes, it is sneaky, but it can prove to be very useful in solving many difficult challenges and shedding light on areas you probably were oblivious to in the past.
6.) Service
The warriors, monks and common folks of yesterday who created and developed the martial arts, maintained a specific lifestyle of moral integrity. Today's responsible instructors take on the challenges associated with teaching and maintaining these ways of living. While searching for a training center, it is very important to look for the place where you witness children respecting each other when they're not being watched.
7.) Conflict Avoidance and Self Defense
A common request for parents is for their children to learn how to defend themselves from bullies and kidnappers. What about conflict avoidance? Conflict avoidance is your first line of defense. Your ideal training center will not only teach the most effective techniques and strategies for getting out of tight situations. A better one will train you and your family unique and effective techniques and strategies for avoiding dangerous situations before they happen. In the streets (especially where I live, in Los Angeles), an ounce of avoidance is worth a pound of defense.
8.) Fitness
A martial arts athlete should be more flexible, stronger, faster, have twice the reflexes and agility of the top athletes in any sport. The title, martial artist, should be synonymous with pro athlete MVP or superhero. At least in your immediate community, if your child is a black belt, he should be a local celebrity. I am not just saying this because of the athletic accomplishments one can acquire as a martial arts athlete, but more because of the example they set before their peers and the parents of their peers. As a martial arts professional, my children will not participate in city sports leagues, but will remain in martial arts competitions until they enter into high school. At which time, they can participate in whatever sports they wish. By that time, their skills and character will be so sharp that they will shine more than any athlete while avoiding the negatives that come along with community league sports programs.
9.) Leadership
There's definitely something very different about children who are martial arts students. If children can learn to lead before they get to high school, who knows what kind of community leaders they'll become as adults? High ranking martial arts youth can teach classes, assist with other kids getting ready for class, answer parent's questions, and lead competition training sessions. What a boost to the confidence this could be. It is very common to see the most introverted little eight or nine year old kitten register for classes and in just a few years, transform into the most confident, powerful, dynamic teenaged tigers who are more capable and motivating than most adults.
In time, parents who decide to enroll their children in martial arts will begin to see the magical transformations in their children. Those who get involved 100%, start training along with their children (either in family classes or separately in adult classes), bring the lessons home and reinforce what they learn in the studio see dramatically, more benefits at a much faster rate than those who drop their children off and occasionally visit classes. That's a fun option to think about; especially when you consider the fact that the martial arts industry had evolved since you were a child. Take a minute to visit a martial arts training center and meet the instructors. Take everything in: what it looks like, what the energy feels like, the sounds, (the smell), everything. Make it a fun family adventure. You'll be glad you did it this way because what's interesting is that your children will lead you to the most fun and exciting training center that you think will benefit them the most. Think about that one.
I hope this has shed some light on some questions you might have had. It is also my hope that this article has sparked up some important questions you might want to ask when shopping around for a family martial arts training center.