When is the right time for your child to begin martial arts???
What age is the best for starting a child in a martial arts class is a question many parents have thought about. Although there is probably no one right answer for every parent -- martial arts has so many wonderful life skills to offer kids of all ages that the earlier the better is probably the best answer. Respect, discipline, focus, confidence...children in martial arts gain on all these important areas and more. Martial arts has been around for thousands of years for all the right reasons. Parents have been having their children train in martial arts since martial arts was first created. Martial arts and children go hand in hand.
At the Seung-ni Martial Arts Studio in Traverse City, Michigan parents are experiencing first hand all the wonderful benefits that martial arts can offer kids. At the Seung-ni Studio three and four year old's in the Little Ninja class punch balloons, work on their balance on agility courses and have a blast with ninja sword relays. But, these young martial artists are also learning that whining gets you nothing and that a parent should only have to ask them once to do something. In the Seung-ni Little Dragons class, five and six year old's are breaking boards and practicing their kicks on bags. And, at the same time these martial artists are being taught that the only way to get better at something is hard practice and never giving up. In the Child Taekwondo Class, seven to twelve year old's are practicing bully defense skills and punching on soft hand pads. These young Taekwondo students are also being instilled with respect for parents, themselves and teachers.
Master Kyle Scott, a 4th Degree Black instructor in Traverse City has been teaching children martial arts for years. He takes great pride in building not only strong bodies but also strong minds in his young students. Taekwondo is a Korean black belt martial art and is the most popular martial art in the world. Taekwondo is in the Olympics. Master Scott believes that Taekwondo teaches is so important for children to study because of its focus on character development and building tremendous self esteem. Master Scott will often note that you cannot give a child confidence the best you can do is put them in a positive learning environment where they have the opportunity to earn -- the old fashion way with hard work and grit.
The Traverse City Martial Arts Studio begins many martial artists on their journey at the age of three. This is a perfect age, Master Scott believes because it is when kids bodies are growing and when they are first starting to experience issues of respect, focus and discipline. Having a third party respect figure (a.k.a. a martial arts instructor) reinforce the same life skills that parents are working on in the home is vital, Master Scott believes. Although three years old maybe a great age to start your son or daughter in martial arts -- there is really no bad age.
If you would like to have your child try martial arts and see for yourself all that it has to offer, check out the Seung-ni Taekwondo Academy in Traverse City. You can call Master Scott at (231) 932-4300 or look them up on the web at seungnitc.com.
