A lot of people think that Karate training only helps kids improve their physical fitness and learn self defense, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Karate classes also help kids overcome many obstacles that could be holding them back from being the best "them" they can be, such as poor listening skills, a lack of self discipline, low self esteem, bullying problems. One major way that karate can help children is through teaching them the skills they need to perform well in school. How? Karate teaches kids focus and concentration, listening skills, responsibility and self discipline, and personal pride.
Focus and Concentration
Being able to concentrate on the task at hand is a huge benefit when it comes to school. It is almost impossible to learn something new and retain it if you are not able to focus on the material. In karate classes, kids learn to focus on what they are doing and why it is important. Their instructors make learning easy and fun by giving them drills that are exciting and new, so that kids want to pay attention and they want to learn. It is exciting for them to learn new techniques because they know that they are working towards a new belt or some other visual goal. The interactive nature of karate classes also makes it much easier for kids to focus because they are physically and mentally engaged throughout the whole process of learning. These skills in focus and concentration will transfer over to their school work as well.
Listening Skills
Another important thing that martial arts lessons teach children is how to listen. Good listening skills include making eye contact with the person you are talking to, thinking about what they are saying, and repeating back or clarifying to make sure that the message was understood correctly. Karate is a great setting to learn each of these skills. In karate classes, if a child is not watching the instructor or looking them in the eyes when they are speaking to them they will be reminded to look. In addition, if they do not think about what their instructor is saying, then they will not be able to do the techniques correctly and they quickly realize that in order to learn new techniques they have to focus not just on what the instructor is doing but also on what they are saying. Finally, good martial arts instructors will often ask their students to repeat back important parts of information. For example, the instructor might tell their students that they should be hitting with the palm of their hand when they are working on a palm strike, then ask the students, "What part of the hand do you hit with?" to which they will reply "The palm, sir!" This teaches students to key-in on important pieces of information and also teaches them the good habit of repeating back information for clarification.
Responsibility and Self Discipline
Karate lessons also teach children to be responsible for themselves and have self discipline. In many karate schools, when kids come to class they are expected to be able to check themselves in, take care of their own equipment, and in some cases even turn in homework assignments. They are also taught to be responsible for their own actions; blaming others for mistakes is not tolerated at all in karate classes.
The physical nature of the classes also teaches children to be self disciplined. They have to learn how to control their body. This means that they have to focus on how they are standing and how they move when they perform a technique. Horse-play is not tolerated when the instructor is giving instructions, so they also learn how to stand or sit still and listen. These skills help them in school because they begin to understand that they are responsible to complete their school assignments and they have more self discipline to not fidget or play around when their teacher at school is talking to them individually or to their whole class.
Personal Pride
Finally, karate helps teach children to take pride in themselves. They are taught how to properly care for their karate uniforms and belts so that they begin to take pride in their appearance, but even beyond that they learn to take pride in themselves for the things they accomplish through hard work. Every time they learn and pass off a new technique or earn a new karate belt, their personal pride will grow. Everyone likes to feel good about themselves, and when they do they tend to work harder. As they begin to feel more pride and a sense of accomplishment in martial arts classes they will want to feel that way about other parts of their lives too, including school. They will begin to work harder when they are at school and take their assignments more seriously. They will want to perform well because it feels good and they know that it feels good.
Sensei Ehis Noah
Chief Instructor
Rein Karate Academy
Benin City
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