Why Your Recreation Center Should Offer Martial Arts for Kids

Martial arts classes have been popular for many years now, ever since experiencing a boom of popularity in the 1980s. While the martial arts media craze may have died down as the 1990s wore on, classes in various forms of martial arts for kids remain popular in countless recreation centers. If your recreation center does not currently offer children’s martial arts classes, Sports Facilities Management has a few reasons why it is something to consider.

Getting Fit

The most obvious benefits of offering a martial arts program for children and young people is also one of the best – that it offers a way to get active. Childhood obesity is at record numbers, and those numbers continue to rise as people lead increasingly sedentary lives. This has an even bigger impact on our children, who are more likely to develop unhealthy habits that they retain as they grow.
Offering martial arts classes is a way to get them moving again. Even in basic beginner classes, children and youth students are given a cardio workout, as well as later focusing on bodyweight exercises that build muscle tone and physical endurance. The younger children are when they begin this kind of physical activity, the better it will serve them as they grow.

Confidence and Self-Respect

While some people find their confidence naturally, others have a harder time believing in and having respect for their own potential. This is especially true for children and younger teenagers, who are struggling to find their own identity. Martial arts is an ideal opportunity for them to learn what they capable of, and to achieve clear, identifiable goals in their own development.
You can make your recreation center the source of their self-confidence by offering a martial arts program. The confidence learned through martial arts not only teaches self-respect, but balances it with learning humility, allowing children to find their own balance between self-belief and recognizing others as equals.

Focus and Concentration

Whether more children suffer from focus and attention issues now, or we have simply become more adept at diagnosis of problems is a debate all its own. It is hard to deny, however, that a large number of children now seem to struggle to concentrate. This is compounded by a world of electronics that vie for our attention in short bursts at all times.
Martial arts, whether karate, kung fu, taekwondo, or any other kinds, place a great deal of emphasis on focus. Through breathing, movement, meditation, and learning the right stances and patterns, martial arts push students to pinpoint their attention for long periods. Teaching children to focus in an increasingly unfocused culture will have long-lasting benefits as they get older.

Conflict Resolution

An often neglected benefit of all martial arts is their emphasis on non-confrontation. Many people, even now, tend to associate martial arts with violent movies, but the focus is typically on conflict resolution without physical action. A good martial arts instructor will teach their craft as a last resort, only ever to be used in self-defense, or the defense of others.
Teaching this mentality to young children allows them to grow into the idea that violence never solves problems, and that learning self-defense has benefits far beyond being a skilled fighter. Your recreation center can be the source for this healthy mindset for countless children and young people.

Constructive Recreation Center Activities for Kids

These are just a few reasons you should consider starting a martial arts program for children and youths at your recreation center. If you are looking for advice and guidance on adding new facilities to your existing locations, contact our facility management experts today.