Discipline and Martial Arts
Bullying is a nationwide epidemic occurring throughout all grade levels in schools across the entire United States. The effects on children can negatively impact their wellbeing. Not only can these effects be emotionally damaging to a child but also long-lasting. As parents of school-aged children, you can help disrupt the course of torment and intimidation tactics bullies use on their victims.
One way you can help is by involving your child in activities that nurture a positive outlook on life and good-natured lifestyle. Having your child participate in martial arts teaches invaluable character traits and skills to help build resilience to the potential effects associated with bullying. Furthermore, engaging your child in the arts can benefit aspects of your child’s learning at school. We encourage you to keep reading for further insights into the benefits this activity can provide for your child.
For those unfamiliar, they type of training that occurs in class is more than just learning the physical techniques associated, such as proper stances, kicks, and punches. Many of the lessons taught in class have a deeper meaning behind them about life that stretches beyond that of the physical techniques learned in class. The core values and upstanding character traits ingrained and taught in each class can help children to strengthen their mind, body, and spirit. The lessons learned in combination with the inner strength and discipline developed in class can positively influence and carry over in their everyday life.
Children typically find the moves learned in class challenging yet also very exciting. The combination of physical and mental strength that children develop to move past particular challenges in class helps to promote their intrinsic motivation. At school, the more children are intrinsically motivated to perform specific learning tasks, the better they tend to perform overall. Intrinsic motivation also helps children to learn about the true essence of their determination, and then how to continually tap into this essence to achieve the goals they set forth. It takes a special kind of will power to master some of the techniques taught in martial arts classes. Some techniques take years for students to master. Students learn their true essence of determination also takes effect as life unfolds with trials and tribulations, yet through commitment and perseverance, lends to continuous self-improvement.
The internal strength and motivation children learn to nurture in class fosters resilience to any potential effects of being the victim or initiator of bullying. Children learn skills on how to take control as to how they choose to respond to certain situations they encounter. In other words, children learn to build an inherent strength from within that changes the way they might react to negative behaviors of children at school. Furthermore, also swaying their decision to participate in any negative behaviors themselves. The goal behind this way of teaching is for children to learn to focus on action, rather than reaction. This type of self-discipline can benefit throughout all meanders of life as children grow older.
The positive phycology behind martial arts teaches students to persevere through the challenges of life and school to reach a level of self-accomplishment. This type of self-accomplishment is what creates the self-confidence adolescents need to thrive in all kinds of settings. Some learning goals require the cultivation of strict discipline, consistent hard work, and a never give up attitude to attain. When students learn to cultivate their goals in this way, they begin to witness positive changes to the ways they approach personal struggles with learning. They begin to see the self-accomplishment in all the breakthroughs or milestones made along the way. Students realize these lessons in education are more like a journey of discovery with many pathways to their learning, rather than only a destination point.
As children grow into adulthood, nurturing this way of thinking trains the brain to see challenges more as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle. When faced with adversity, this is the training that proves to preserve through and through in obtaining long term goals. The positive attitude associated with this way of thinking nurtures a thriving spirit to preserve no matter how hard something may seem at the time.
Whether learning at school or in life, it is essential that we are honest with our strengths in a humbling way that we also recognize our limitations. Learning to be humble allows for an objective viewpoint when it comes to building upon our strengths and weaknesses, particularly as a means to improve every day. By showing others the way to be humble leads by example and sets a precedent to effective leadership that can go miles in a school setting.
There are many more health and wellness benefits of involving your child with this practice. We encourage you to research this for yourself as well as many of the positive societal role models who have found this practice beneficial to achieving their life goals.
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