Why martial arts classes?

There has been a post that has gone through Facebook a bunch of times about the what parents are really paying for when putting their children in martial arts classes. If you haven’t seen it or don’t remember all that was written in it, you can follow this link to review it – From A Parent

Well, this post isn’t really about what the benefits are. It is a rant about how those benefits are actually gained. One key factor here is that these benefits need to be practiced outside of class as well.

The development of working well with others and be part of a team is enhanced further through training at seminars and participating in organization level events such as testing. Students get the opportunity to support rank peers and those their age while learning more about themselves and future challenges. If your class is exciting and fun,
then joining with students from sister schools will make it even more exciting.

An example of this can be found in the sparring that we do. When you spar with the same classmates over and over, you begin to learn their tricks. This is valuable but it also slows the learning curve. When you already know how someone will fight you, then you’re already prepared. This is where attending workshops and seminars will help.

When you attend a sparring workshop, you get to spar with a good number of students that you have seen very little of or not seen before at all. Their tricks and strategies will differ from those you spar with regularly. That means you will have to learn quickly to be successful.

Another example is testing outside of your school. Promotion tests are challenges and chances to support fellow students. Participating in bigger tests provides a bigger challenge and a bigger chance to support fellow students. With larger groups testing, the amount of support and energy also increases to encourage everyone.

This extra participation introduces you to other students, both peers and seniors, and other teachers. It shows respect for those who helped to build the class that you are in and those who built other classes. It helps to acknowledge those seniors who started everything. This is important as those who have come before are martial arts family! You honor your blood family by spending time with them, so do the same with your martial arts family.