It’s pretty hard to pick just 4 benefits of a kids karate class, since it’s been practiced for thousands of years. In our eyes, the best 4 benefits are; healthy stress management, discipline and perseverance, better grades, and bullyproof-ness. Find out more about each benefit below!
1. Stress Less
From juggling unprecedented issues like cyberbullying and social media pressures to making friends in a socially distanced world, kids nowadays are struggling to manage their stress. Stress happens to everyone, 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.
That’s where a kids karate class would come in! One of the benefits of karate is that they become a mental and physical outlet for their energy. Our instructors are ninja-like and 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
Every child has their own challenges. All humans, including your child, are 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 little one will be tested in many ways throughout their childhood. They’ll need discipline and perseverance to complete these trials.
A kids karate class is so fun – trust us! But it’s not always easy 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 practice their instrument – they’ll say they just don’t “feel like” doing either of them. But our world-class instructors teach them how to stay strong and do the right thing 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 finally do, they’ll have a gigantic smile on their face – trust us!
3. Improved Grades
This one always puts a smile on parent’s faces! One of the best 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 get through doing their homework or 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 control their bodies and listen to their instructors, we see those skills apply to the classroom.
Instead of getting distracted by the pencil sharpener, the teacher’s instructions, and whatever their tablemate is doing – they keep their attention on their teacher and learn better than their peers. The results we see are amazing. Self-control and focus are key components of kids martial arts that they’ll carry with them for life.
4. Bullyproof
Of all the benefits of a kids karate programme, this one might be the most surprising. We’re keen on building our students up to be bully-proof, meaning they gain the confidence they need 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 confident in their ability to “do hard things.”
We also teach our students not to use their martial arts outside of the dojo. 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 incredible, and we’re very proud of our bully-proof kids!
Conclusion
So, did these benefits surprise you? They’re no surprise to us. We see it time and time again: a child walks in our kids karate school with behavioral issues, low self-esteem, or difficulty focusing; and then they walk out the door, with improvement in all these areas and a huge smile on their faces.
These transformations are what we really love about our jobs. Hopefully, now you see that the benefits of karate for kids go far beyond just self-defence. Martial arts is a life-changing tool that promotes success far beyond the mat! Check out our life-changing, transformative preschool martial arts classes right here at our school!