Facts about Martial Arts for Kids – Part 5

by E-NewsCast Team
March 15th, 2010

“Will my child become more violent from learning karate,jujitsu, or another martial art?”In a word, “No.” Children learn self-control by practicingmartial arts; and the code of conduct that is enforced, withinthe studio, is carried outside into every day life. The averagemartial arts school works with parents, and academic teachers,toward the goal of optimum student success.When you see a Karate demonstration team perform, that is not anindicator of the life skills taught within the Karate class. Itis the “flashiest” component of Karate training, presented tocapture the public attention. Ten minutes of kids using ancientweapons, breaking, and working in synchronized choreography, ismore interesting to the public, than a lecture, by me, aboutdealing with bullies without violence.However, let’s take a closer look at the ten minutes of flash.The next time you see a martial arts demonstration team,remember those children have to practice those techniques overand over again. This requires self-discipline, goal setting,perseverance, and each child being a team player.There is no room for a “one way” personality on any martial artsdemonstration team. Such a personality would work against a goodpublic performance. In a typical Karate class, all of theabove-mentioned life skills are learned and much more.Children learn much more about violence on the television,playing with video games, and dealing with daily life, than theywill ever learn in a karate class. Even if a Karate teacher wasthe classic “evil sensei,” that you may have seen in the KarateKid movie or on Kung Fu Theatre, most children can think of farworse violence.All you have to do is watch the news, cartoons, listen to theradio, or read a newspaper, to see things worse thanunsupervised hand-to-hand combat. So, the self-defense methodstaught to children actually pale in comparison to schoolshootings, bombings, wars, and drive-by shootings.Karate was created by unarmed civilians on the island of Okinawaand was taught in secret among family members for their personalprotection. The philosophy, within a martial arts school, willnot always be the same, but the seeds of violence are not sownwithin a martial arts setting.All you have to do is look around you to see more, and farworse, violence than learning self-defense – integrated withconstructive life skills. The fact is a martial artist is not a”street fighter.” If that were a requirement, we would recruitthe toughest kids in North Providence.As I explain to the children in my Karate and Jujitsu classes,”Never forget the word, “artist,” means to be creative, to be aninnovator, and to think for yourself.” Children who learnmartial arts are more apt to be well adjusted and defuse apotentially violent situation.On top of that, most children who study Karate, or any othermartial art, will not be “trouble makers.” The children we teachfrom the Greater Providence, Rhode Island area have learnedenough about leadership, in our Karate and Jujitsu classes, tothink for themselves. For parents, the gift of martial artstraining to their children has many rewards, right now, and intotheir future.© Copyright 2005 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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