Beneficial Mental & Physical Practice for Children: Martial Arts
What sport is equally as beneficial to children’s physical well-being as social-emotional skills? Martial Arts!
Martial arts are beneficial to children in a variety ways, with children as young as 6 years old able to engage. Whether if it is karate, taekwondo, judo or jiu jitsu, there is a martial art for each child. Within a few months of practice youth can achieve greatly improved self-esteem and personal development. Here are 5 salutary outcomes for children skillfully trained in martial arts.
Gained self-control
Quintessential for a young person’s well-being is acquiring and maintaining self-control. Martial arts, such as judo, demands restraint and emotional control to execute each move with precision. Completing the Japanese discipline of Judo properly and faithfully contributes to the skills needed for success in academics, and in life.
Improved self-regulation
A popular discipline for martial arts beginners is taekwondo. A study of 7-11 year olds has shown that an eleven-week taekwondo program increased student’s self-regulation, the management of and ability to change one’s emotions. Increased self-regulation leads to positive mental health traits of self-worth and self-confidence.
Display of positive psychology and respect for others
An integral part at each martial arts school, from karate to aikido, is respect. Respect for self and others is physically displayed each time a martial arts student bows. Bowing is a way for martial arts students to show respectful recognition toward teammates, teachers, and parents. The positive psychology take-away for the young martial arts student is with each bend there is a display of courtesy, honor, and respect for themselves and others.
Improvement of fitness and weight loss
As demonstrated in karate with frequent kicks and punches, a child's fitness can be boosted tremendously (which leads to feelings of increased self esteem and self-efficacy). The system of karate is quite aerobic. Quick, sharp actions warm up the body quickly and burns calories- up to 600 for a typical one-hour session for pre-teens and teenagers with a weight of around 100- 120 lbs.
Decreased bullying and increased feelings of personal safety
Many kids have faced the brunt of teasing from peers, particularly in school situations. Students who engage in martial arts have been found to experience a decreased level of bullying and an increase in feelings of personal safety. According to an article in Livestrong.com, researchers found that self-defense courses via martial arts significantly impacted an individual’s feelings of resilience, emotional self-efficacy, and the ability to cope. Martial arts has a positve effect on emotional bullying as well! Martial arts students have been found to have gained confidence merely by keeping proper posture and practicing extreme focus.
To develop, refine, or improve children’s social-emotional skills such as increased confidence, focus, resilience, and feelings of self efficacy, try martial arts. If you need additional support or have further questions don’t please hesitate to reach out I’m at marinabarbosapsychology@gmail.com.
Take care & Be Well,
Marina