How Can Karate Lessons Help?

We’ve looked together at the 4 recognized forms of bullying: physical, verbal, social and cyber. How will karate lessons help your child face and overcome these?

Part of the answer is clear — physical bullying can and does happen. In karate, your child learns and practices the physical skills to defend themselves at need. This is an essential life skill.

Karate instruction also enhances your child’s psychological strengths to resist the non-physical forms of bullying. These forms are more common — your child is more likely to be dealing with them. Unchecked, they’re capable of doing lifelong harm.

There are 3 ways karate lessons enhance your child’s strengths and capabilities to resist bullying.

1) Working with Others

In karate class, your child interacts socially with others in a carefully controlled setting. They will be included in all that goes on. They’ll work regularly with other students as training partners. They’ll also engage in group games and training exercises.

In karate classes your child makes friends and enhances their social skills. They’re building a strong personal network and gaining vital social competences. The bully is unable to socially isolate them.

2) Respect for Self & Others

Respect and courtesy are values central to our study and practice of karate. Your child learns how to treat others with politeness and consideration — and to insist on the same treatment in return. they learn practical, “hands on” respect for both others and themselves. We treat each other as values members of our school community.

Your child also makes tangible achievements — mastering new skills and earning advancement to a higher belt rank. Our school community publicly recognizes and celebrates their achievements. And just as importantly, your child celebrates the achievements of others.

Your child’s sense of worth and self-respect is rooted deeply in real accomplishments. The bully can’t force them to accept that they somehow deserve to be mistreated or humiliated.

3) Physical Defense Skills

In karate lessons, your child learns and practices applying the physical skills to defend themselves from a broad range of attacks. Grabs, shoves, punches and slaps are just a few of these. Also, your child gets accustomed to the look and feel of potential attacks. They’re no longer a frightening unknown that can’t be resisted.

Your child also learns and practices assertive body language. Head up, shoulders back, and look the other person steadily in the eye. Speak in a clear, level tone of voice. Your child shows by their look and tone of voice that they have the ability and the will to effectively defend themselves.

This assertive body language is often enough on its own to get a potential bully to back off and move on. The bully won’t select as a target someone who demonstrates they can and will resist effectively.

Please follow the link below to begin your martial arts journey with us:

3 Lesson Introductory Course

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