There are dozens of benefits of kids karate class – that’s why it’s been practiced for thousands of years. But from our perspective, 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 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. And that’s where martial arts can help! One of the benefits of martial arts for kids 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 super sneaky in how they teach important life skills that help your little one succeed outside of the kids karate school, including stress management. They have a real passion for teaching martial arts to kids, 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 and kids need to be equipped with how to handle them! All humans, including your child, are faced with tough decisions and mountains they need strength to overcome, and 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, over the course of their childhood, your little one will need discipline and perseverance to see it through!
Kids karate program is so fun – trust us! But 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 chores and 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 feel absolutely amazing!
3. Improved Grades
This one is music to parent’s 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 persevere, which helps them stick it out when doing their homework or during a long school day.
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 control their bodies and listen to their instructors, we see those skills carry over to the classroom. Instead of wiggling in their seats and dividing their attention between the pencil sharpener, the teacher’s instructions, and whatever their deskmate is doing.
They can focus intently on their teacher and the instructions, and actually learn better than their peers. Kind of awesome, right? And that body coordination and focus are key components of kids martial arts that they’ll carry with them for life.
4. Bullyproof
Of all the benefits of kids karate class, this one might be the most unexpected. We’re really keen on building our students up to be bullyproof, meaning they learn how to stand up to bullies and defend themselves in a non-violent way. First, we help them grow their confidence.
In our kids karate class students see themselves improve week after week – 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 and 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 bully-proof kids!
Conclusion
So, did these benefits surprise you? We’re not surprised at all! We’ve seen it year after year, 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 faces. The best part of the job!
Hopefully, now you know that the benefits of martial arts for kids go far beyond just self-defense. Kids karate class is a life-changing tool that promotes success far beyond the mat! Check out our life-changing, transformative Kids Martial Arts classes right here at our school!