The martial arts journey is a secret dream of a surprising number of teens and preteens.
So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for a hard-to-please teen or ‘tween’; if you want something they’ll like which will also help them through a tough stage of their life, give them a martial arts membership! It doesn’t need to be extravagant, such as paying a whole year’s dues.
Why? How? Here are seven can’t-miss benefits of the martial arts.
Can’t-Miss Benefit #1: A healthy alternative to electronics Martial arts practice is a fun, healthy, natural hobby.
The martial arts get kids up, moving, and noticing the world around them.
Whatever concerns you may have for a teen’s health-or their future health given present habits-practicing the martial arts is a good antidote.
Martial arts practice: helps to even out moods, especially important for teens who feel emotional highs and lows so passionately, and whose hormones are often raging; speeds up metabolism, which burns excess calories; acts as a natural anti-drug/alcohol agent; builds flexibility, endurance, and strength; increases red blood cell production; and lowers blood pressure.
Almost all kids have been teased by peers at some point about a ‘flaw’, which turns into self-consciousness and can grow out of all proportion in the kid’s own mind.
Through good martial arts instruction in a positive atmosphere, teens learn that they are neither more nor less ‘flawed’ than anyone else.
Our ‘advanced’ society has a gap here, especially for those teens extremely at risk of not transitioning into mainstream society.
Earning their way up the belt ranking system-ideally all the way to black belt-offers a powerful rite-of-passage alternative for our teens and tweens.
Martial arts instruction and practice generally requires either a whole-class or two-person team format.
Wholesome martial arts instruction naturally counteracts any me-first attitude.
Can’t-Miss Benefit #7: Personal empowerment The martial arts paradox is that those who know how to fight rarely need to do so.
Learning martial arts is a counterweight to violence.
We can promote the health of the kid who becomes a martial artist, as well as making them a beacon of anti-violence for their peers.
A personal note from my wife: How to find the right school/instructor This topic really deserves a separate article, but my wife, an early-childhood specialist concerned for all children and parents, gently hinted that it would be less than helpful to leave you without some guidelines on how to choose a martial arts program.
I have studied four Asian arts seriously over a dozen years in probably 8-10 settings, and have seen the best and the worst of schools and instructors.
O How do you feel when you walk out the door of the studio for the first time-not what do you think, but how do you feel? Is it the right one or not? o Is the would-be instructor for your teen a good fit? Or is he/she too demanding? Too sloppy? Too macho? Too competitive? Too young/old? o Are the promises they make realistic, or are they trying too hard to sell you? And how long have they been there? You don’t want a place that closes its doors as your teen is halfway to black belt.
O Is there a good balance between teaching self-defense and having fun? o Will it promote health if your teen continues for years, even decades, or will it wear down joints-is it too youth-oriented, too dependent on external strength/size, or is it an art that can be practiced by anyone for a lifetime? A kid’s thrill at having a chance at a life-long dream-earning a black belt-may be the solution to your gift-giving dilemma, and your gift may have far-reaching benefits for someone you care about.
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