What Can Martial Arts Do For Your Child?
Success in life and career. Self-confidence. Good health and happiness.
Every parent wants the best life possible for their kids.
And the best way to set your child on that path to the best life is to help them learn the skills that will take them there.
This is why martial arts classes are such a popular activity for kids. Martial arts excels at teaching children the same skill sets and qualities they will need to succeed as adults– goal-setting and achievement, determination and focus, self-discipline, perseverance, self-control, respect and self-respect, teamwork, fitness and good health, self-confidence.
And the best part? Martial arts makes learning and acquiring these critical life skills FUN!
Here’s how:
Goal-Setting and Achievement
Everybody has something they want in life. But wanting something, and actually achieving it, are two very different things. Martial arts teaches kids how to set a goal– whether learning and perfecting a new skill, or reaching their next belt level– and how to achieve it, through regular, focused and disciplined actions that will take them to their goal.
By learning how to break a large goal, like reaching black belt level, down into smaller, more immediately achievable goals like learning a new kick or passing their next belt test, kids learn an invaluable life skill that will help them set and achieve other goals in life, like graduating from a good university, getting that first good job, buying that first house, or starting their own business.
Determination and Focus
Once a goal has been set, It takes determination and focus to actually achieve that goal. It’s easy to say “I want a good job,” or “I want a nice house,” but it takes hard work and determination to change that from a “want” to a goal, and from there, to an achievement.
In martial arts, it takes determination to work towards a goal, and it takes focus to learn and perfect that new kick, or to prepare for that next belt test. When a child learns to be determined and to focus on achieving a goal in martial arts, that determination and focus on achieving a goal becomes a central characteristic of the child’s approach to all areas of life.
Self-Discipline
If every goal in life was easy to achieve, then everybody would successfully achieve their goals with no effort at all. While everybody has the potential to be successful at achieving their goals, it often takes hard work to get there.
And hard work isn’t always fun. Where hard work is required in life, there may be other things that seem easier or more “fun” at that moment. But martial arts teaches some special life skills to help a child stay focused on achieving the goal.
Parents often say that they want their kids to have more discipline. Martial arts teaches the best kind of discipline there is–self-discipline. This is the best kind of discipline, because instead of discipline being forced on the child, the child learns to develop discipline from within. This self-discipline becomes a good habit that will help the child succeed in every life endeavour.
Perseverance
It takes self-discipline to succeed in martial arts, and in life. But it takes something else, too– it takes perseverance. There’s a saying: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Life isn’t always easy. There will be challenges and difficulties on the road to achieving any goal, and it takes perseverance to continue working towards a goal when it would be easier to quit.
At West Coast World Martial Arts Santa Clara, perseverance is central to what we teach. It’s so important that it’s a core part of our Black Belt Success System– “Create an indomitable spirit to never quit.” And it’s a message our students hear on every step of their martial arts journey to black belt– “A black belt is a white belt who never quit.”
Goals. Determination. Perseverance. Achievement. It’s how a white belt gets to black belt, and it’s how your child will succeed in life, even when it’s not easy.
Self-Control
Each of these qualities– goal-setting and achievement, determination and focus, self-discipline, and perseverance– are enhanced by self-control. Everybody gets frustrated or disappointed at times. Adults experience it, and children experience it too. But with self-control, we are able to regulate and control our response to the problem. Instead of lashing out in anger or frustration, instead of giving in to fear and letting that fear control and limit us, instead of quitting because it’s the easiest thing to do, with self-control we are able to remain calm, see the problem clearly, understand how to resolve the problem, and stay focused on resolving the problem so we can keep making progress toward our goal.
And martial artists have been teaching and practicing self-control for thousands of years. In martial arts, we learn to control our bodies, but we don’t stop there. We also learn to control our minds, our emotions, and our egos. With self-control, and compassion for ourselves and for others, we are able to harness the power of our body, our mind, and our spirit to stay focused on achieving a positive outcome.
Respect and Self-Respect
A child who is polite, courteous, and respectful of others. A child who listens. A child who does what a parent asks without complaint. A child who helps without being asked.
Parents often wonder how they can get their child to listen, to do their homework, to study for their test, to help with their chores. And it’s why parents often ask if martial arts can help their child.
Martial arts do help kids to develop good character, and here’s why: Respect is central to martial arts. From day one, students learn to respect their instructors, and each other. Students learn to say “Yes, Sir” or “Yes, Ma’am” to their instructors. They learn to pay attention to their instructor, and to do as they are asked. They learn to bow to their instructors and to each other. Bowing shows respect to the other person. And in martial arts, both persons bow–they are both showing respect to each other. Even when the student bows to the instructor, the instructor also bows to their student. In this way, students learn to show respect, and to be respected.
This respect for others quickly becomes a good habit, and from this good habit, it becomes a good character trait that other people notice, admire, and appreciate. People respect that good character trait, and the person who has it. In fact, good character is not just something we talk about at West Coast World Martial Arts Santa Clara. Good character is one of the requirements our students must meet to graduate to black belt–and developing that good character begins with their very first class!
Teamwork
Together Everyone Accomplishes More.
At West Coast World Martial Arts, that’s what teamwork means. Teamwork is how our school became the number one martial arts action team in the world. Teamwork is how we developed seven national champions in one year. Teamwork is how we developed the reputation of producing world class black belts. Teamwork is how we overcame the greatest challenge in our school’s history to produce the world’s first-ever virtual Black Belt Mastery Test at the height of the Covid pandemic.
In today’s world, teamwork is a critical skill for success in business. We live and breathe teamwork every day, and teamwork is one of the vital life skills our students learn on the journey to black belt.
Fitness and Good Health
Martial arts isn’t just about developing good character and a strong mind and spirit. Martial arts is also about building strong bodies. Our bodies need exercise to stay healthy. They get stronger when we exercise, and weaker when we don’t exercise. When our bodies are strong and healthy, our mind and spirit are strong too. And because martial arts exercise our bodies as well as our mind and spirit, they make us stronger. Healthier. Happier.
You don’t even have to be strong and fit before you start martial arts, because martial arts will make you strong and fit. When children make martial arts a regular part of their life, they establish a good habit that will help keep them fit and healthy for life.
And the best part?
Martial arts make it all FUN!
Self-Confidence
A healthy body. A strong mind. An indomitable spirit. A good character.
These are the traits necessary to set goals and to work hard and never quit before the goal is reached. These are the traits necessary for a person to be able to stand up for themselves, and protect themselves if they need to. These are the traits of a person who is fit and healthy for life. These are the traits of a person others look up to, and are inspired by.
These are the traits of a West Coast World Martial Arts black belt.
A West Coast World Martial Arts black belt is self-confident, because they’ve been tested at every step of their martial arts journey, and they know what they’re capable of. It shows in the way they conduct themselves, and in the way they inspire others.
And what is a West Coast World Martial Arts black belt?
A West Coast World Martial Arts black belt is a white belt who never quit.
We teach our students to be black belts in martial arts, and in life. If you’d like to set your child on a path to a lifetime of success, happiness, and good health, contact West Coast World Martial Arts Santa Clara today to discuss what we can do for your child.
