Martial arts

A sports section for a child is an important element in the development of physical skills. One of the popular trends among parents of preschoolers and school children is martial arts. But how to choose from the whole variety of species? 

Let’s look at the main areas of martial arts, find out how they differ from each other, what each of them has pros and cons, contraindications, and features. To calculate the age of a person, use an online age calculator.

Why should a child be engaged in a combat sport?

Of course, the first and main question to be answered is why teach a child to martial arts? Each of us understands that teaching a child to fight is not correct and a child should be able to resolve any conflict with a word but is visiting a martial arts sports section related to teaching a fight? Of course not. First of all, we are talking about the ability to control your body, the awareness of your strength, and the perception of your own self. 

Constant training allows children to learn to set clear goals and achieve them with hard work. Kids attending martial arts classes acquire endurance and composure, concentration, and will to win much faster than their peers who do not attend sports clubs. 

The ability to defend oneself is worth mentioning separately. Girls and boys may find themselves in a situation in which they may need to resist, and the ability to avoid a blow or use a defensive technique will help to feel more confident and protected. 

In each section of martial arts, the trainer, “teacher” or “sensei” first of all teaches children how to restrain themselves from rage, control their emotions, and master the skill of controlling their actions. From this side, martial arts are not so much about sports as about philosophy, which will be useful in life for every boy and girl. 

On the other hand, by attending a martial arts class, your child acquires a number of useful skills:

• endurance; 
• power; 
• flexibility; 
• agility; 
• good coordination of movements; 
• stretching; 
• self-defense; 
• purposefulness; 
• intuition; 
• self-confidence, etc.

When sending a child to the martial arts section, parents should remember a few rules: 

• the child must want to attend the selected section; 
• the son or daughter should not have medical contraindications for visiting the chosen sport; 
• The section should have a group for your child’s age. It is not recommended to attend classes for children of different ages, especially in the early stages of education. 
• When deciding to attend a martial arts section, you need to understand that the result will be only with constant training.

What are the types of martial arts? 

All types of martial arts can be conditionally divided into 3 types: 

• throwing; 
• drums; 
• oriental types of martial arts.

Throwing sports – classical Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling – involve the use of various techniques to defeat an opponent. Opponents do not strike each other in these types but strive to put the opponent on his shoulder blades, throwing him over his shoulder, leg, forcing him to surrender. 

Shock sports – boxing, Russian hand-to-hand combat, kickboxing – involve striking an opponent according to certain rules. 

Eastern martial arts – wushu, karate, judo, taekwondo, aikido, sambo, jiu-jitsu – these types of martial arts stand out in a separate group since they are not only sports sections, but primary schools of thought. Mentors in these sections devote a lot of time not only to the physical development of children. But also to their upbringing, instilling the correct attitude towards themselves, their strength. Most of these martial arts schools teach how to avoid violence. To better understand which section of martial arts to offer your child, you need to decide how they differ from each other and what they teach. Let’s look at the most popular types of martial arts among children.