It’s pretty hard to pick just 4 benefits of a kids karate class, as it’s been practiced for thousands of years. But off the top of our heads, the best 4 benefits are; healthy stress management, discipline and perseverance, better grades, and bullyproof-ness. Pretty awesome 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 more stressed out than ever. Stress is a part of life, so it’s worth teaching your child early on about how to cope with and manage the stresses of day-to-day life in a healthy way.
There’s no doubt that a kids karate class is a major stress reliever for your little one! One of the benefits of martial arts for kids is that they gain a mental and physical outlet for their energy. 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.
They’ve dedicated their careers to teaching kids martial arts 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!
2. Discipline and Perseverance
Just as stress is a part of life, so are 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, your child will need discipline and perseverance to see it through.
A kids karate class is so fun, believe us! Though it’s not a walk in the park 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 do their homework – they’ll say they just don’t “feel like” doing either of them. But our world-class instructors teach them how to dig deep and find the self-discipline to keep on keepin’ on.
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 – trust us!
3. Improved Grades
This one is music to parents’ ears! One of the best benefits of martial arts for kids is that it helps improve your child’s grades. How? Well, as we mentioned, they learn how to self-discipline, which helps them stick it out when doing their homework or during a long school day. But perhaps one of the best benefits of martial arts for kids is that it helps them improve their behavior.
When our students learn how to be still and listen intently to the authority figure in front of them, we see those skills transfer to the classroom. Instead of wiggling in their seats and dividing their attention between the pencil sharpener, the teacher’s instructions, and whatever their classmate is doing.
They keep their attention on their teacher and learn better than their peers. We see these improvements time and time again, year after year, and it always makes us proud. And that focus and self-discipline are key components of a kids karate class that they’ll carry with them well into adulthood.
4. Bullyproof
Of all the benefits of a kids karate program, this one might be the most unexpected: We’re keen on building our students up to be bully-proof, meaning they learn how to stand up for themselves and others in a non-violent way.
First, we help them grow 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 become more and more confident in their abilities and themselves.
We also instruct our students to never misuse their martial arts 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, to stand up for themselves and others. It’s an awesome process, and we’re very proud of our bull-proof kids!
Conclusion
So, did these benefits surprise you? They’re no surprise to us. We’ve seen it year after year; kids walk in our kids karate school 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 faces. Hands down, it’s our favorite part of our jobs!
Hopefully, now you know that the benefits of martial arts for kids 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 preschool martial arts classes right here at our school!