Martial Arts and Kids' Mental Discipline Benefits

The benefits of martial arts in developing mental discipline for kids are vast, and are not to be underestimated when compared to other sports. The classic sports our kids know and love - like football, tennis and rugby are all great - but they simply do not lay a finger on martial arts and its effectiveness in building your children's mental fortitude.

Attention Spans

Kids nowadays are suckered into their devices and have very low attention spans as a result. Spending hours on end playing a game that ends in minutes means that their brain gets used to instant rewards, and they find it very difficult to focus on tasks for longer than a few minutes at a time. The slow build up of going for a long-term goal disappears, and they become obsessed with getting the next short-term reward. Martial arts is a great way to solve this problem, and gives kids the slow burn of satisfaction that comes with achieving a long-term reward.

Setting Goals

Martial arts dojos rank children’s proficiency at the sport by giving them a different coloured belt. Belt changes happen every 6 months, or every year depending on your child’s seniority and how fast they can pick up new skills. Giving children a goal to chase and a target to shoot for improves their mental discipline. This long-term goal setting lays the foundation for your kids to pursue targets outside of martial arts, as well as teaching them the value of hard work and dedication.

Repetition

The focus and fortitude required to learn the complicated techniques associated with martial arts also improves your children’s mental discipline. Children have to repeat the same core techniques throughout their martial arts journey - again and again and again. This repetition makes them experts at their chosen martial art, as well as building their mental discipline even further. The practice and hard work they have to put into their training helps them physically as well as mentally. Even though it might be quite repetitive for your kids, with them even finding the same exercises to be boring - it will develop their mental strength and discipline and improve their capacity for hard work. They will understand that to achieve their goals, they will have to put in hours and hours of practice and become masters of their craft.

Peace

Martial arts also encourages mental discipline through its one key mantra: to use your training for good. This is the first thing you learn in a martial arts dojo. Children will build self-control by understanding that their training is not to harm others, but for self-defence and exercise purposes. This builds children’s mental discipline even further and makes sure that they maintain control over their martial arts skills.

If there is one activity that builds children’s mental discipline, it is martial arts. By giving kids long-term targets to shoot for, and making them work hard for their belts - martial arts are a far cry from the typical games most children are glued to. The focus required to master the respective techniques contributes further to building children’s mental discipline. It’s apparent that martial arts benefit kids massively in this area, and should be encouraged by those who want the best for them.

Photo by Chase Clark on Unsplash