Should I Sign Up My Child For A Martial Arts Class?

By Eric James


With the release of the brand new Karate Kid film last week, many people are curious whether they should sign up their kid in a martial arts school. If you or your child has never attended a martial arts school in the past, it could be a daunting decision that comes with a lot of questions.

The main concern amongst the majority of parents is if their child is going to be safe when practicing with other students. That is certainly a very real concern, because many of the martial arts involve some contact with other students when practicing self-defense techniques, throws, or sparring. However, most instructors ask for assistance from assistant instructors during kids lessons to try to prevent accidents from taking place. In addition, most schools impose a minimum age requirement for sparring and other techniques that entail contact amongst students. The best suggestion I can give you would be to watch your kid take an introductory class before joining any martial arts class. It will be easy to see right away whether or not your kid is comfortable in the class by his or her body language when interacting with other children and the teachers.

In many areas, you'll find many martial art schools to choose from, so you will probably wish to check out a few prior to signing up for any school.

The second largest concern amongst nearly all parents is how much dedication to training martial arts lessons will require of their child. Much like any sport or pursuit, your kid has a greater rate of success when they go to every lesson and spend time training outside of class. Depending on your kid's athletic abilities, she or he may be able to be successful without training at your home, but the typical martial artist spends a lot of time daily sharpening their skills.

That said, a lot of parents worry their child's education will come second to the martial art, and their son's or daughter's grades will start to fall. But, a great number of martial art schools now have a contract in place enforcing that children uphold a specified grade point average if they would like to partake in instructional classes.

For a large number of parents, price is the most important worry of signing up their youngsters in a martial arts class. This is an enormously sensible concern, because lessons are usually fairly pricey. On average, a martial art school will cost you between $40 and $100 per month. Besides the price of classes, you might also need to look into the cost of the martial art equipment you will need to get for the class. Most senseis even request a fee when a pupil tests for a new martial art belt.

In general, the bonuses to enrolling your kid in a martial arts school outweigh the cons. Just about all instructors place a big emphasis on discipline and respect for authority, which can be enormously important attributes for your boy or girl to acquire during their impressionable childhood. In most dojos, kids are taught that negative actions like bad language, fighting, drug use, and vandalism are intolerable and will ultimately result in an expulsion from upcoming classes.

With nearly 64% of Americans overweight, boys and girls can considerably benefit from keeping active in a healthy athletic activity such as Karate or Kung Fu. Most martial arts offer a high amount of physical exercise for their participants, and by teaching your kids the joy of physical activity at a youthful age, they have a much better probability of growing into healthy grown ups. As they progress and get in healthier shape, kids tend to see a spike in self-esteem, which can make a tremendous difference in other aspects of his or her life.

Conceivably the biggest benefit of enlisting your boy or girl in karate is that he or she will discover a new set of skills that were designed to help them protect themselves if assaulted. Despite the fact that fighting is frowned upon in most karate schools, self-defense techniques are a standard aspect of the program. Senseis make an effort to prepare students to protect themselves in instances where they are bullied or in physical danger. As a parent, you could sleep much better at night knowing that your child is not defenseless in the case of a kidnapping attempt.

After reading this, if you are still hesitant to register your kid in a dojo, you may possibly want to give some thought to taking a class with your kid to lessen any anxieties you may have. I do believe you will quickly see that there is almost nothing to stress about.




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