4 Reasons Why Learning Self-Defense Is Important For Children

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated BJJ gym in Singapore.

The ability to protect oneself physically from harm is a basic human right that should be accessible to everyone, including children. Teaching children self-defense is something we often overlook in today’s society, but it is of utmost importance. In an age when the bullying epidemic in school is a huge problem, it is important to ensure that our children can defend themselves if the need arises.

Self-defense not only allows children to tangibly defend themselves against physical attacks, it also sparks various benefits to them in everyday life. Important values and principles can be learned, such as hard work, dedication, and perseverance, as well as the importance of maintaining personal relationships.

Martial arts teaches self-defense and much more. There are so many benefits that children can pick up from martial arts, that it definitely becomes something you should consider for your child. Children go through many stages of development, so it is best that you make sure your child is exposed to the correct principles of self-defense.

If you’re looking to get your children into sports, provide them with a safe and fun after-school activity, or simply to have them learn proper self-defense, we have come up with a few reasons why you should get them into martial arts training.

Today, Evolve Daily shares four reasons why self-defense is an important skill to learn for children.

1) It Empowers Children With The Knowledge Of Self-Defense

As has been stated before, self-defense is a basic right for any human being — children included. The knowledge and importance of self-defense in a child’s development cannot be overstated. Martial arts can empower children with this knowledge, and of course, the responsibility that comes with it.

Whether you enroll your children in the ancient Thai discipline of Muay Thai, or the gentle art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, martial arts will teach your children many intricate techniques and how to properly execute them.

Don’t think of it as fighting. Martial arts will teach children when and where to apply their knowledge and skills. Martial arts teaches children that their own physicality isn’t a tool used to inflict harm on others, but rather, to merely defend themselves against any and all attacks.

By practicing martial arts, children will quickly understand the roles and responsibility that they as martial artists play in today’s society.

2) It Helps Deal With The Bullying Epidemic In School

Bullying is every parent’s nightmare. We hear so much about it happening in schools, on the playgrounds, and even in our own child’s social circles. We dread the day we find out that our child is either a bully or being bullied.

School bullying has been a problem for years. While we as a society have really made the effort to stop bullying in our educational systems, the truth of the matter is that bullying still exists today. It’s somehow as big of a problem as it has ever been.

We have the power to end bullying by developing our children’s social skills. Any given child can be a bully or a bully target. One way to develop our children’s social skills is through the practice of martial arts.

Martial arts enables children to develop self-confidence, self-discipline, and self-respect, as well as respect for others. Because the change has to come from within ourselves, acquiring these essential personality traits can help stop bullying once and for all. Empower your children with martial arts and witness the immediate positive effect it has on their lives.

3) Martial Arts Teaches A Lot Of Important Values And Principles

You have probably heard this by now, but martial arts instills in practitioners a lot of important values and principles. Through overcoming obstacles and allowing us a deep look inside our own capabilities, martial arts makes sure we learn many of life’s most important lessons right inside the gym.

Some of the values that martial arts teaches include integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, and discipline.

Another important principle is the significance of failure. Throughout life, people are bound to fail, but martial arts teaches us to embrace failure and to see it as an opportunity to improve ourselves.

These teachings and principles are not learned from textbooks inside a classroom but are equally as important in our lives as academics.

Martial arts then becomes an amazing opportunity for children to learn these values by training in the gym. Equip your child with the proper values they need to become good standing members of society.

4) It Teaches Children Discipline And Responsibility

Lastly, one of the most important lessons martial arts imparts on our children is discipline and responsibility. We as individuals must be self-disciplined and responsible for our own actions. The earlier we learn this, the better. Give your children a sense of accountability by enrolling them in martial arts.

In real life, not everything goes our way. We are often met with challenges and obstacles, daunting roadblocks that impede us from getting across one side to another. It is how we choose to deal with these issues that determines if we succeed or we fail.

Martial arts teaches our children to roll with the punches — that it doesn’t matter how hard you fall to the ground. What matters is that you can get back up and keep pushing forward.

So what are you waiting for? Sign your child up for martial arts classes and see the results for yourself.