How to Help Your Child Succeed in Martial Arts
Parents get their children involved in martial arts for many reasons, here are some of the common reasons why parents get their children involved :
- Teaching them to concentrate more effectively so that they can become better learners.
- Enhancing their coordination so they can become better athletes.
- Improving their social skills by teaching them how to be more respectful and courteous.
- Reinforcing the foundational qualities of cooperation and trust.
- Teaching them basic martial arts and self defense skills.
- Teaching them strategic self defense (bully proofing and stranger alert skills)
There are several strategies that every parent can utilize to help their child experience success with his/her martial arts training.
- Think long term. Help them set the goal of black belt.
- Give them ample warning before it is time to leave for class
- Never ask your child if they want to go to class. Just like school, even when they don’t feel like going, they go anyway.
- After class, anchor in your child’s enthusiasm by asking questions and reminding them of how much fun they had.
- Do your best to keep your child consistent, but if they miss some classes…don’t worry, everyone does upon occasion.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you feel your child needs it.
During the first year of training, structured home practice is not required. Remember, initially the most important thing for your child’s success in Martial Arts is for them to develop a habit of coming to class and to enjoy Martial Arts in general. Pushing home practice too soon can sometimes be counter productive because it might lead to boredom and burn out. With that said, if you want to encourage your child to practice at home then here are five points that are important to keep in mind.
Be consistent
It is best if you can designate specific practice times and stick to them.
Keep practices short
10–15 minutes is plenty of time; even less is acceptable for beginning students.
Reward effort
Be as encouraging as possible so that students will enjoy practice sessions.
Don’t be too picky
Slowly but surely form will improve, so don’t expect too much too soon. Try to find two good things for any correction you make.
Make it fun
This is the single most important factor in long term success for students. You can keep practices fun by having your child teach you what they learned in class that day, or by using various training aids, such as curriculum videos and pads, that offer more diversity for practice sessions.