When it comes to school sports, most parents likely think of things like basketball, baseball, and football first. While those are the most common sports found in schools, they aren’t the only ones available to kids. While those sports all do the same things in a child’s life, like teaching discipline, there are also other options out there for sports minded activities.
One of those options is martial arts. Martial arts gives kids something a little different to do than just the normal school sports thing, and it has a ton of other great benefits as well.
Great Form Of Exercise
Like any sport, martial arts is a great form of exercise. By joining a martial arts group or class your child will begin to learn more about physical fitness, find out the health benefits, and it could lead them to a longer and healthier life.
Martial arts offers a full body workout, so it is good for strength, balance, and even cardio. While it is a workout, kids will find it more fun than doing calisthenics, and they will learn a lot more from it as well.
Teaches Discipline
One of the many things that they will learn from doing martial arts is discipline. They will learn to listen and to follow directions. The structure that goes into martial arts training is what works to discipline the student, ground them, and help them be more focused.
That focus and discipline will come home with them, and you just might see a different child in front of you. Learning martial arts can be especially welcoming for children with attention issues, who have been getting into trouble, or who are being bullied and just need to learn a little confidence.
Learn Self Defense
While you don’t want to teach your children how to be bullies, allowing them to learn some self defense moves of Taekwondo, Karate or Jiu Jitsu (or any other form of their interest) can help them when they are dealing with bullies. They will not just know how to defend themselves in case of a violent attack, but they will also feel more confident in general and may be less likely to be the type of kid bullies zero in on.
So, if you want your kids to learn this essential life skill, all you might need to do is source some Taekwondo, Karate, or Jiu Jitsu clothing (depending on which form they want to learn) and get them enrolled in a martial arts class.
Gain More Confidence
By learning to be more focused, and simply learning a skill like martial arts, you child will become more confident and even more outgoing. It’s also pretty likely that they will make some lifelong friends in their classes, which can also help with confidence building, if your child normally doesn’t make friends easily, or doesn’t have a lot of friends.