Martial arts instruction has long been recognized for its ability to turn average or sub par academic students into honor students achieving A’s and B’s. Parents know that better grades in school can strongly influence a child’s overall success in life, and feedback from parents across the country indicates that there an extraordinary number of cases where children involved with martial arts training are improving academically, sometimes dramatically.
What causes these martial arts students to have such positive academic transformations? Here are some examples that help explain how martial arts helps students succeed in school.
Breathing & Meditation
Martial art training incorporates various breathing techniques. Some are forms of meditation. As students progress with their training, they learn to master their breathing, which can affect their physical state. These experiences help students deal more effectively with daily stress and pressure associated with exams, quizzes, and deadlines, keeping them relaxed and focused to produce better results.
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is having a positive impression and respect of oneself. Students who have strong self-esteem are more likely to succeed in school, or at any goals they set. Martial arts training teaches students the importance of mental discipline, which develops strong character traits such as self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-respect. Instructors nurture a student’s self-esteem through positive reinforcement of achieved goals.
Respect for Teachers
Respect for teachers, parents, other adults, and fellow students is an important part of martial arts training. Students learn to respect those with higher knowledge, which promotes positive relationships with authority figures outside of our school as well. As student’s martial arts knowledge develops, it is equally important that they learn humility when respect for their knowledge is reciprocated.
Setting Goals
To achieve black belt at our school, each student will be required to successfully complete a series of other rank promotions that lead to black belt. Martial arts training teaches students that you can achieve a long term goal by breaking the goal down into many short term objectives. These objectives represent interim goals that need to be accomplished in order for the long term goal to be realized. Students learn the importance of goal setting strategies which are invaluable scholastically as well as in life.
It doesn’t matter if you are a student in pre-school, grade school, high school, or college; martial arts can impact your scholastic results. Martial arts students learn that success requires commitment, determination, and hard work. Back-to-school season is upon us and many of you will face important scholastic challenges in the year ahead. We have tremendous confidence in our students to meet these challenges and produce excellent results.