At an early age of 7 years old, my little man is into martial arts, particularly the Shotokan Karate-do. It all started when I enrolled him in a free Karate-do Summer Clinic 2016 sponsored by the City of Tacloban Philippines. After that summer clinic, he is now a regular student of Shotokan Karate-do in Leyte.
Some parents may think that letting kids get martial arts training is not a good idea because it promotes violence as what is seen in many movies and video games. However, as what I have observed in the 4 hours weekend Karate-do class of my little man, I don’t agree with that opinion of some parents. Actually, martial arts help kids to achieve fitness, develops self-discipline and socialization skills. Aside from the mentioned benefits of martial arts, below are additional punch of healthy dose kids can acquire in martial arts training:
Fit and Healthy – this is the main reason why I enrolled my little man into martial arts, to get active and moving. The warm-ups activities, punching and kicking in the martial arts class helps strengthen his muscles.
Respect – as notice in my son’s martial arts class, the activity starts and ends with a bow and standing straight to the sensei or teacher and following the command. Aside from the punching and kicking, they are thought to be polite and respect to teachers, parents and peers. These learnings mostly carries over into outside the martial arts class, helping students improve behavior and even academic grades.
Develop Teamwork – together with the sensei and other kids in class, they learn to master new techniques and achieve goals of championship. This is an advantage as well for my little man to mingle with other kids than just playing alone at home.
Self Defense – its undeniable fact that bad things may happen in anytime. The skills gained in the martial arts training is truly of help to defend themselves against possible bad things.
Do you agree with the mentioned healthy doses of martial arts training to kids? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box.
Have a healthy life!
I also believe that involvement in this kind of arts/sports promote discipline especially when well controlled and supervised by parents. =)
Good job, little man! My second son used to be part of his school’s taekwondo class. i must say that because of Taekwondo, my son not only learned of kicks and bends but of discipline. surely, enroling your boy to that kind of sports is worth all the effort, time and money.
I was planning to enroll my son into karate before but he likes basketball more than that. Still i wanted him to learn the sport for self defense. Great job for the little man!
I agree with everything you said. But as a worrier mom, I wouldn’t let my child compete. hehehe…. takot ako masaktan kids 🙂
i would love to enroll my son in martial arts classes but he’s just not interested. Hopefully he’ll change his mind when he gets a little older.
This is what my husband and I want for our little girl. But I also want her to learn ballet and such, but more of this, really. I personally think na okay siya for kids, for self defense na rin 😉
Thank you so much for this! I’m considering enrolling my son in martial arts next year and this has been really helpful.
I think any kind of sports will be beneficial to kids . Its good if they start at the age of 7 because their body is still very flexiblle.
I also like Chelsea to learn Martial Arts but she’s only 4 yrs.old ,so will just go for voice lesson for now.
Love this post.
I did aikido in highschool and I agree, martial arts do teach discipline. The training does not only make one strong physically, but also mentally.
We planned on enrolling my 9 year old last summer but unfortunately, the classes were fully booked in a snap. Guess a lot of parents want their kids to learn too.
I want my little boy to learn discipline and to defend himself when the need arises.
Awww..it’s in Tacloban. I was going to ask where, kala ko sa Manila hihi. I want my kids to learn martial arts too.
This is a great activity for kids. It will help their muscles to be strong and learn how to protect themselves.
My daughter recently showed interest in karate, I just might enroll her in a class this summer. It’s a great activity for the kids.:)
Kids nowadays are exposed to limitless risks and we can’t always be there as parents so I think it’s also a good idea to have them taught with self-defense. I also believe it promotes self-discipline more than violence. Good job to your little warrior! 🙂
I think most of us are afraid to enroll our kids in this kind of sports because it promotes violence. This is the common misconception of every parent. Martial arts will help them learn self-discipline and respect. They will also improve their socialization skills which I think is very important to develop at a young age. Thanks for this! It’s very informative.
I’m happy that still now may ganito pa ding training. It’s very important to our kids to involve like this activity for their self defense. Lalo na ang paligid natin ngayon hindi safe.
I think it has always been a misconception to equate martial arts to violence. My family has been more inclined with the fact that martial arts promotes self discipline. My cousins has been enrolling their kids in different kinds of martial arts over the years as an avenue to expend excess energies. 🙂 I
Good Job for being into sports! I think Karate provides discipline and hand – feet coordination.
I agree that learning martial arts also comes with discipline and respect. Will surely send my little man in martial arts when he reached the right age. Thanks for sharing!
I certainly encourage moms to allow their kids to try sports, taekwondo included. My then grade two boy loved taekwondo that.much that he showed enthusiasm in every fight. He also easily earned his belt because of his dedication. I have noticed, too, that among our boys, he is the most disciplined. Perhaps his coach really instilled in him such good discipline.
When I was young, I asked my father if I could enroll in a free karate class. He said I couldn’t and I was a bit sad. At that time, though, I was so thin, and that was the reason why he wouldn’t let me join.