The list of benefits of a kids karate class could seriously go on forever- that’s why it’s been practiced for thousands of years. But in our eyes, the best 4 benefits are: Healthy stress management, discipline and perseverance, better grades, and bullyproof-ness. We know, those are some awesome results! 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 more stressed out than ever. Stress is a part of life, so it’s important early on to teach your child about how to cope with and manage the stresses of day to day life, in a constructive way. There’s no doubt that preschool martial arts classes are major stress relievers for your little one!
One of the benefits of a kids karate class is that they can exert their physical and mental energy in a safe environment. Our instructors are super sneaky in how they teach important life skills that help your little one succeed outside of the dojo, including stress management. Their life passion is teaching martial arts to your little one, and they pass along their own sense of discipline and perseverance to your little one with every class they attend! Which leads us to…
2. Discipline and Perseverance
Stress and challenges are just a part of life, so kids need to be equipped with how to handle them!. Every person, including your little one, is faced with tough decisions and mountains they need strength to overcome. 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, your little one will be tested in many ways over the course of their childhood that they’ll need discipline and perseverance to complete. Kids karate class is so fun- trust us! It’s not a walk in the park, but 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 do their chores. They’ll say they just don’t “feel like” doing either of them, but our world-class instructors teach them how to cultivate the discipline they need in order 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 do, they’ll have a gigantic smile on their face. Believe us!
3. Improved Grades
This one always puts a smile on parent’s faces! One of the greatest benefits of a kids karate class is that it helps improve your child’s grades. How? Well, as we mentioned, they learn how to stick with their goals, 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 in their mind, we see those skills carry over to the classroom. Instead of losing their attention to the pencil sharpener, the teacher’s instructions, and whatever their classmate is doing… They give their full attention to their teacher, and actually learn better than their peers. Parents really love to hear that. And that focus and self-discipline are key components of a kids karate program that they’ll carry with them forever.
4. Bullyproof
Of all the benefits of a kids karate school, this one might be the most helpful. We’re really keen on building our students up to be bullyproof, meaning they learn how to stand up for themselves and others, in a non-violent way. First, we focus on their confidence. As our young martial arts students see themselves improve week after week–perfecting their punches and kicks, gaining better coordination, and learning new moves after lots of practice–they gain confidence they’ve never had before in being able to accomplish so much!
We also have our students promise to never misuse what they learn outside of class; instead of their fists, they learn that their voice is their weapon. We teach them how to speak confidently and assert themselves to our instructors, their peers, and the classroom bully, and to stand up for themselves and others. It’s a really amazing process, 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 time and time again: 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.
These transformations are what we really love about our jobs. Hopefully now you can understand that the benefits of martial arts for kids go far beyond just self defense; martial arts is a way of life that promotes success far beyond the dojo! Check out our life-changing, transformative kids martial arts classes right here at our school!