How the Focus Martial Arts Teaches Can Save Your Child's Life
Martial arts practice can have many benefits for our children, including promoting their physical health and mental well-being. It can help them learn discipline, respect for their elders, humility, and control over their emotions. The ability to focus their concentration is an incredible benefit of practicing martial arts that may even save your child’s life someday.
Martial Arts Increases Focus and Mental Discipline
Practicing martial arts, regardless of the style, is a great way to increase mental discipline. Students learn complex procedures from forms— or sequentially memorized maneuvers that help to perfect techniques while learning the mechanics of flowing from one technique to the next— to applied skills that must be staged to achieve superior positioning in a sparring match. Live Strong adds, “Martial arts help instill mental focus in your child, giving [them] the ability to concentrate on a task and see it through to its conclusion.” It takes intense concentration to master and perform these skills in high-pressure scenarios where the student must stay mentally focused despite the significant stress. Increased focus is a natural product of that training.
Being Aware of Our Surroundings Helps Us to Avoid Dangerous Situations
Having a high degree of focus and mental discipline can be the difference between life and death in many scenarios. Martial artists are taught to maintain awareness of their surroundings. While walking down an unfamiliar street, many people might be distracted by looking at their phone to find their location and get to their destination. Martial artists, trained to be aware of people that could mean them harm, might notice a group of suspicious characters at the end of the street, and decide to take another route. And of course, in the event where confrontation cannot be avoided, you’d definitely want your child be know how to defend themselves long enough until they are able to run away and seek help.
Did You Know That Distracted Driving is One of the Leading Causes of Car Accidents?
It’s sobering to think that our children will soon be behind the wheel. According to Emmanuel Sheppard and Condon, “collisions are caused by a number of reasons, but [among] the most common are: Distracted Driving [and] Reckless Driving.” The fact that distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents is enough of a reason for any parent to be concerned. Martial artists have learned to focus their attention in the moment. They are less prone to distraction, and the effect increases with time. When your child is behind the wheel, you want them focused!
Martial arts can be a lot of fun for kids. Increased mental discipline is only one of the many benefits of training it has to offer, and it just might save your child's life. Additionally, the health benefits are hard to ignore when it comes to having your children training their mind and body.
