The idea is not a complicated one. Your child is much more likely to stay fit and healthy into later life if they have a head start in childhood. The values you introduce as your kid grows up will be a significant factor in their attitudes to fitness as adults, however many genetic and societal factors try to interfere with that.
In our increasingly technology-driven culture, we all know how tricky it can be to tear our kids away from their screens. Going outside to play tag, practice their Pil Sung Do or catch a ball isn’t always that tempting, especially in certain areas where the weather seems to always be working against us. Going outside to run around is often the last thing your kids will feel like doing if they’ve been at school all day. Our mission is to try and work through that. So, what can we do to keep our kids fit?
Start Practising Martial Arts
To get moving and healthy is one of the most obvious reasons a child should take up martial arts classes today. Our nation’s obesity problem is quickly becoming an epidemic, and we all want to make sure our kids aren’t going to be the next to suffer. Many schools no longer offer PE, and not every kid is a natural athlete or a fan of team sports. Some children don’t enjoy the rowdiness and competition that comes with a game of football, while others are interested in playing but don’t get picked for the team. Martial arts are a great way around this and allow your kid to stay fit and healthy, to use up some of their natural energy, make friends and gain confidence.
School-yard Fitness
In exercise and everything else, children need to find things enjoyable and exciting before they’ll get interested in it. Many of the exercises that make up martial arts training can be incorporated into the school day safely and effectively. They can be involved as an important part of the school curriculum through any range of different subjects or can even be used to get children energised in the middle of a particularly slow class. They work and they’re exciting, which is the most important thing.
Try talking to your school’s teacher or headmaster about getting a martial arts instructor in for a quick lesson with the students. It’s a low-pressure activity, and could easily be integrated…
❖ At the start of the school day (e.g. in morning assembly);
❖ In class (e.g. geography or PE);
❖ In a talk about discipline;
❖ As a lunchtime club;
❖ As a community project;
❖ As a charity fundraiser, or
❖ As a mid-morning energiser.
