How Martial Arts can improve discipline in Children and Adults

Discipline.

This word means many things to different people. Whether it’s procrastinating, cheating on a diet, or just being an unruly kid, lack of discipline can be a detriment on your life.

In this post, we’ll discuss some of the ways that better discipline can be achieved through martial arts training. Keep reading!

My experience with martial arts

I remember starting martial arts classes at the local sports club when I was 10. My parents had enrolled me into weekend and evening Karate classes.

Though I never got beyond the brown belt and later moved on to other martial arts, some things never changed after that. For one, I always remembered the value of time. I still try to wake up as early as possible, even without an alarm (not always possible). Secondly, I always try to structure my day no matter how cluttered it may become. That way, I can always find some order in the chaos.

Martial Arts training, no matter how brief, instills these qualities in a student. This works whether you’re an adult or a child.

Here are just a few ways that children and adults can benefit from martial arts training to be more disciplined.

The virtue of Patience

You could say that, in many ways, patience and discipline mean the same thing.

Discipline involves waiting and working hard to achieve results. That can’t be done without a certain degree of patience. Wanting instant results and hoping to achieve everything instantaneously is the opposite of that.

Martial arts training emphasizes the mastery of one move before moving on to another. It emphasizes perfection and quality instead of quantity. That’s why it takes so many years for black belts to achieve perfection. Even then, there are so many degrees of black belts that people aspire to achieve. Some take decades to achieve this kind of mastery. Isn’t that what discipline is all about?

Following routines may seem counterproductive, but following them after finding out their benefits is the definition of discipline.

Struggling to achieve perfection through single mindedness requires a whole lot of patience. Both children and adults can benefit from this as they need it to accomplish much in life.

For children, learning the value of patience in their early years will prove to be much more foundational. For adults, though, it will help them to improve their existing habits and routines.

Self-Esteem and Confidence – How you feel about yourself

You don’t need to have seen Cobra Kai or the Karate Kid to know that Martial arts training improves confidence.

Whenever you work out or do anything athletic, it improves your confidence. Of course ,this affects your life differently, depending on whether you’re a child or an adult. Children get more bragging rights with their friends and adults feel more confident about their work and personal lives.

Let’s consider the lives of children.

They’re used to playing with their friends and participating in sports. However, being professionally trained in a sport like martial arts helps them gain confidence.

For one, they have more control of their body and better reflexes. This helps them gain the confidence to approach bigger challenges. Shy kids that are hesitant when it comes to participating in sports usually find their confidence bolstered with martial arts. I know I did – I was terrible at sports, but excelled at martial arts.

How about the lives of adults?

They’re usually bogged down with their personal lives and are seeking the confidence to move on to something bigger and better. Martial arts training naturally imparts that confidence to them. Whether they want to stand up to their bosses or ask a girl out, confidence helps with that.

Of course, taking martial arts as a kid is more advantageous. It imbues you with the kind of confidence you need to take the world head on – right from the start! That kind of initial development is more effective.

Learning that as an adult is obviously less formational, but still extremely beneficial.

Learning about Teamwork

When you join a dojo or other type of school, you’re naturally supposed to work as part of a team.

In competitions and in one to one fights, you’re supposed to represent your team and dojo. This teaches the members of the school the value of teamwork and family.

Even one of the more popular martial arts that has recently blown up, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, was a family sport. It was developed by a single family that passed it on to generations. Today, it’s considered the most revered martial art by some fighters.

Not to say that the emphasis on family is what made it great. However, there is no denying that sharing and practicing with others is what makes martial arts training more effective. Sparring with a dummy and just experimenting on one’s own is never enough.

That’s why children and adults can learn so much from martial arts training. They can learn that teamwork is the key to success in some endeavors in life. This can help them become better leaders in life and in their profession.

Children can learn the value of teamwork and better treat their colleagues and friends. The same can be said of adults.

That’s something the world sorely needs today as well. When the individual has been placed as the be all and end all of civilization, teamwork needs to make a comeback.

The Health Benefits are hard to ignore

Of course, martial arts training also has health benefits.

These come naturally when you take advantage of the discipline that comes along with the training. That in turn helps you become more regimented in your daily life. Children can learn the value of eating right and taking care of their bodies with this training. Adults can do the same – believe me, we all need it.

However, the effects, much like all the other benefits, are different.

If children opt for martial arts training, they can improve their overall physique. They will get much greater health benefits from it because it will be fundamental to their development, physical and mental.

With the rise in childhood obesity, having this background in martial arts and they physical activity that comes from it is extremely important.

For adults, though, the advantages aren’t as great. They will still be able to get health benefits and dietary benefits. However, since their body has already fully developed, their benefits will be more transitory and less foundational. That still doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t go for it.

There are countless benefits of martial arts training for children and adults. If you want to live a more confident and disciplined life, then sign up for martial arts today!

Not sure what to study? You can take my easy martial arts quiz right here to find out!