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?

Think about what you are interested in having your child learn in his or her martial art.  Are you more interested in self defense, or encouraging healthy habits?  You may want your child to be in a martial art to teach him discipline and self-control.  With the right martial art, you can make sure that your child learns all of these things.  Becoming a bully is not something your child will pick up in a martial arts class.  Make sure that you speak with your child about the class before enrolling him.  Tell him that he is not learning to beat up other people, he's learning to take care of himself.

One of the most important things that martial arts can teach a child is self-control.  One typical training exercise used in several martial arts is to do everything at  half-speed, whether they are kicks or punches.  Through this conscious slowing of their movements, the students learn to think about their attacks and how much effort they put into their strikes.

Martial arts classes are wonderful tool to help your child develop a calm center and to encourage him to lead a healthy life.  They do not foster aggression, nor do they promote aggressive behavior towards others.  Go to a martial arts class to observe, and you will see that while respect and self-control are encouraged, bullying is most definitely not!

If you are interested in having your child try a marital arts class out, then I invite you to try our great kids program for free.  I am sure you will be amazed at the results you will see when your child does his first class.  If you want some more information give us a call at 800-508-6141 and ask about our free 2 week Internet special. 

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