It’s pretty hard to pick just 4 benefits of a kids karate class, as it’s been practiced for thousands of years. But for brevity’s sake, the best 4 benefits are: healthy stress management, discipline and perseverance, better grades, and bullyproof-ness. Not too shabby, right? Read on to find out more.
1. Stress Less
From juggling unprecedented issues like cyberbullying and social media pressures to making friends in a socially distanced world, kids nowadays are stressed way earlier than any kid should be. Stress happens to everyone, so it’s best to teach your child early on about how to cope with and manage the stresses of day-to-day life, in a constructive way. And that’s where martial arts can help!
One of the benefits of a kids karate class is that it takes place in an environment where kids can not only find a physical outlet for all their energy and worries, but can find a mental one too. 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’ve dedicated their careers to teaching teens martial arts classes because they’re so passionate about it, and they pass along their sense of discipline and perseverance to your little one with every class they attend! Which leads us to…
2. Discipline and Perseverance
Every child has their challenges. Every person, including your little one, is faced with tough decisions and mountains they need strength to overcome. 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; throughout their childhood, your little one will need discipline and perseverance to see it through! Kids karate class is so fun- trust us! But it is 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 school. They’ll say they just don’t “feel like” doing either of them, but our world-class instructors teach them how to stay strong and do the right thing to keep up their healthy habits. 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 up on 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 feel amazing. Believe us!
3. Improved Grades
This one always puts a smile on parent’s faces! One of the best benefits of a kids karate class is that it helps improve your child’s grades. How? Well, as we mentioned, they learn how to persevere, which helps them stick it out when doing their homework or during a long school day. Though perhaps one of the best benefits of martial arts for kids is that it helps them improve their behavior.
When our students learn self-control in their bodies and their minds, we see those skills apply to the classroom. Instead of wiggling in their seats, dividing their attention between the pencil sharpener, the teacher’s instructions, and whatever their classmate is doing; they can focus intently on their teacher and the instructions, and learn better than their peers. The results we see are amazing. And that focus and self-discipline are key components of kids martial arts that they’ll carry with them well into adulthood.
4. Bullyproof
Of all the benefits of a kids karate school, this one might be the most helpful. We’re keen on building our students up to be bullyproof, meaning they learn the skills they need to stand up to bullies and resist being picked on, in a non-violent way. First, we focus on their confidence. As our young martial arts students notice themselves improving in the dojo–perfecting their punches and kicks, gaining better coordination, and learning new moves after lots of practice–they gain the confidence they’ve never had before in being able to accomplish so much!
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 and assert themselves to our instructors, their peers, and the classroom bully. We teach them to stand up for themselves and others. It’s incredible, and we’re very proud of our bullyproof kids!
Conclusion
So – did these benefits surprise you? They’re no surprise to us. We see it all the time: 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.
Hands down, it’s our favorite part of our jobs! Hopefully, now you see that the benefits of a kids karate program go far beyond just self-defense; martial arts is more of a mindset, or a way of life, that promotes success far beyond the mat! Check out our life-changing, transformative adult martial arts classes right here at our school!