September 25, 2007
- Why Children Should Take Martial Arts
There are plenty of reasons to get your children into martial arts, but there are several reasons why you might be a little concerned. One major worry that parents have about sending their children to a martial arts class is that the materials taught in the class will make their child more aggressive, and worse, give them the ability to act on that aggression. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth!
Sit in on a class that you are considering sending your child to. In many martial arts classes, there will be a hierarchy of older, more practiced students at the top and less experienced students below them. Watch how the older class treats the younger; you will find that in many schools, it is typical that the older students will help tutor the younger ones. There is a sense of responsibility there, and as your own child gains experience, he or she will understand that the role of someone who is stronger is to help someone who is weaker or less experienced.
There are also several martial arts that are completely oriented towards self-defense, rather than attack. For instance, kung fu is used to redirect an attacker's force against him. There are also noncompetitive martial arts that don't feature sparring at all. When you are looking for a martial art school for your child, make sure that you sit on a few sessions. Is the emphasis on defense, and how is the session divided up? Is it a competitive environment or a cooperative one? Read more on Why Children Should Take Martial Arts…
