I was never one for physical education back when I was in school. The jock culture that underscored it I found to be a total turn-off. Martial arts for kids didn’t exist so unless you played football or were part of the track team you didn’t really fit into this clique. Because I had no interest in either of these pursuits I was often made to feel like a second class citizen, both by my class mates and by my teachers. I had nothing to offer these people in terms of sporting prowess so consequently I was usually last in the line-up to be picked for teams. In the end I just stopped going to these classes. I didn’t see the point and felt them to be a waste of my time and the teacher’s time who would never convert me to their way of thinking or behaving. I usually sat in the library instead, time better spent as I saw it.
I started martial arts when I was seven years old so I was getting my own form of exercise. As a teenager when I would attend PE classes (before I jacked them in altogether) I would walk in and the teacher would order the class to do ten press ups or ten sit ups and I would just smile to myself and shake my head because I had done two hundred of each and a whole lot more the night before in martial arts practice. PE had nothing to offer me in terms of fitness or sporting interest.
If my school had offered something more than the usual jock pursuits then perhaps I would have continued to attend the classes. In Japan, almost every school offers classes in Kendo and Judo. These I would have gladly stayed for.
Why is it, in western schools, that martial arts are so overlooked when it comes to giving kids something worthwhile to pursue? Surely there is a lot more to be gained from teaching kids martial arts than teaching them just how to play football or run round a track in a certain time?
Here are five reasons to teach kids martial arts in schools:
1. Values. Traditional martial arts are based upon a value system that would be very beneficial to today’s kids. I’m sure I’m not the only one that has seen a decline in traditional values in today’s increasingly shallow me-me-me society. Getting kids involved in something like martial arts, were discipline, respect and humility are the norm would surely improve the way they relate to the rest of society. The jock culture that has always dominated PE in school brings out the worst in kids, I feel. Yes, playing team sports encourages interaction with others, but it also, in my view, encourages kids to be over competitive, arrogant, conceited, and disrespectful (especially to those who don’t do well in or are not suited to such sports) and to have the attitude that winning is all. Neither do team sports really foster an understanding of ourselves or society at large; it doesn’t encourage, and indeed shuns, introspection. None of this can have a very positive effect on kids in the short or long term.
2. Mental Discipline. It’s a fact that physical exercise and activity has a positive and direct effect on our mental acuity. Studies have shown that martial arts kids are more capable of mental clarity than non-martial arts kids. Their attention span lengthens (which can only be a good thing as the attention span of today’s kids will soon be non-existent) and they develop emotional maturity more quickly than their peers. They also learn to approach situations thoughtfully rather than emotionally. On top of this, they also develop greater confidence, self control and a higher level of patience than most other kids, all of which can go far in helping kids with behavioural problems. As someone who started martial arts as a child, I can testify to all this. Martial arts has greatly increased my mental faculties, to the point were when I was in school, I felt I had a level of maturity and understanding of the world that most other kids didn’t have. Training in martial arts taught me to think deeper about things. It also gave me an inner strength that I’m certain would not have developed as greatly had I not been training. Other sports may offer some of these benefits to kids but only the martial arts offers them all and in such abundance.
3. Physical Conditioning. Yes other sports offer a degree of physical fitness but only the martial arts offer such a well rounded system of exercise and physical conditioning. Most other athletes have to supplement their training with hours spent in the gym. With martial arts, there is no need to do anything else. The training gives a person strength, endurance and agility in equal measure, without the need for doing anything else. Now in my thirties, I can put my fitness levels and physical appearance down to the fact that I have been training since I was a child. I believe starting martial arts so young has far reaching benefits that extend into later life. Many of my peers who have never trained in martial arts are suffering from the usual health problems like being over weight and having no muscle tone to speak of; a life time of inactivity is catching up with them. Starting kids at an early age, hooking them on martial arts training will set them up for life.
4. Balance and Control. When kids are quite young their weight is distributed poorly throughout their bodies and it takes many years for them to adapt to this. Training in a martial art forces kids to quickly develop balance and control because they have to use their entire body either in sparring or in the repetition of moves and as a consequence they learn co-ordination and control. This allows them to use their bodies to maximum effect. Speaking for myself, when I first started, the martial arts helped me immeasurably in this regard.
5. Self Defence. When I was in school I never got into a fight. You know why? Because all of my peers knew I trained in martial arts and for that reason they were too wary to even attempt a confrontation with me. Fair enough, some of them would have kicked my ass probably but the fact is they never tried because they thought I would destroy them with my martial arts moves. That’s real self defence in action. If every kid in school was a martial arts kid, imagine how much less violence there would be, firstly because everyone would be respectful of each other and secondly no one would have anything to prove because they had gotten it all out there system on the mats. On top of that, kids would have a skill set that would allow them to have a better chance at defending themselves outside of school.
Involving kids in martial arts from a young age will allow them to have a significant advantage in life that will be of great benefit to them in their later personal and professional lives. I see no reason why martial arts can’t be made a part of the school curriculum along with football and other sports given the significant benefits martial arts can provide. Indeed, if you’re a parent, I encourage you to start your kids in martial arts as soon as possible. Neither you nor them will live to regret it.
