Discipline and Martial Arts

If you’re on the fence about signing up your child for martial arts, then it might be a good thing to understand how martial arts can benefit your child. Besides just giving them a physical activity to do that they might enjoy, martial arts teaches self-discipline above anything else. Each discipline of fighting varies from the next. Some may focus on certain personal qualities like emotional control over others. It’s important that you sign your child up for the right kind of discipline if you want them to learn something specific from it. Otherwise, here are a few other benefits that your child can experience when they take fighting lessons.

Focus

One of the primary attributes of fighting classes is honing your focus. You can’t be a good fighter or defender if you’re not focused on the movements of your opponent. You also have to be incredibly aware of yourself, your energy levels, your stances, and your power. This self-awareness stems from focus.

All of the many facets of fighting classes work on focus. By honing it, your child will listen better and more closely. That may bleed into their performance at school. They’ll be able to focus on their teacher and studies better. It’s possible that you may see an improvement in their performance at school.

Emotional Control

If your child has problems with their temper or anger, then signing them up for a martial discipline could be a great choice. At the heart of most classes is learning how to control yourself emotionally. This is an important part of martial fighting because it’s as mental as it is physical.

It can be easy to lose a match if someone gets inside of your head. If your emotions are accessed and you become too angry or proud, you could be lured into opening yourself up for attack. That’s why learning to control your emotions is so important. The fighter can remain clear-headed and plan their next move while their opponent futilely attempts to goad them into a trap.

Emotional control can help them in the world outside of the fighting arena, too. They’re able to think critically and rationally rather than with their emotions. This can help them become mature emotionally faster than their peers. They may grow to be leaders because of their ability to think rationally rather than emotionally.

The decisions that they make will likely be considered through rational thinking as well.

Confidence

Another great benefit of learning martial fighting is that it can boost your child’s confidence. A lot of children struggle with self-confidence. They may feel unsure about their gifts or their physical dominance. Fighting and learning the ways of each martial class can help them grow in their self-confidence.

For one, they’re physically able to handle themselves. Many of the arts teach children how to defend themselves from bullies and other people who might want to hurt them. This might give you peace of mind. Knowing that your child can defend themselves in the presence of a bully is comforting.

Since they’re not easy to pick on, bullies will likely pass them by. You can be sure that your child is just that much safer at school.

Your child is also likely going to make friends with those who are also at their school. Even if they struggle to make friends in their educational institutions, they might make lasting friends in their martial school. They’re all learning something new together and discovering parts of themselves together, too.

With this new friend group, they’ll feel more sure about their place in society. That can breed the kind of self-confidence that you want for your child.

Help Establish Clear Goals

With learning about fighting, you also learn how to establish clear goals. For each martial class, you have a belt. In order to achieve the next belt, you have to keep training and perfecting your techniques. Joining a class allows you to start developing clear goals and making progress towards them. It’s rewarding and enriching when you manage to meet those goals.

Outside of the classroom, it can help your child also establish goals for themselves. They’re able to determine what it is that they want, then establish the work ethic that they need to achieve that goal.

With their focused hone and their self-confidence on the rise, they’ll set out to meet those goals. Since classes come with failure as well, your child won’t be deterred by falling short of their goal. If anything, they’ll be all the more determined to reach their personal, scholarly, and eventually their career goals.

Improves Health

Child obesity is something that many children struggle with today. With the rise of kid-friendly tablets and other electronics, they’re sitting on the sofa more than playing outside. That isn’t healthy for them. Signing up your child for a fighting or self-defense class can help improve their health.

It gets them off of the sofa and physically engaged in a practice that they’ll likely find fun. Few children don’t like the idea of being able to fight like their favorite Jedi or superheroes. They’re improving their fitness, learning valuable life lessons, and ensuring their future health all in the same sitting.

Whether you’re concerned about your child’s health or you want to make sure that they remain healthy, including them into a fighting class could be a great idea.

Mental Health Check

As children grow into teenagers, they carry with them a lot of anxiety about themselves and the future. Few parents know how to reach their teenage children. A fighting class might be able to do it for them. Learning how to control and express their emotions, physically and mentally training themselves throughout the week, and having a release for their emotions and anxieties can all be served through fighting classes.

Besides just being physically healthy, martial classes can also be mentally healthy. You may notice that your moody teenager becomes more relaxed and involved.

The post Discipline and Martial Arts appeared first on Better Kids Institute.