How Martial Arts Training Can Get Your Child Off The Screens

Entertainment has never been so all consuming. 

While previous generations may have been content to amuse themselves for endless hours with little more than a stick and a piece of string, today’s young ones are unlikely to be impressed with such innocent pleasures.

The truth is that computers, mobile phones, and tablets represent an astonishing leap forward in human development. These tools free us from immeasurable labour, as well as keep us greatly amused in our downtime.

They are a feast for the senses. 

So much so, that they can become addictive to the extent that at times it may seem easier to solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded than to pry a child away from an iPad.

Fortunately, the Martial Arts can provide leverage powerful enough to achieve this Herculean task. 

In this article we’ll take a look at some of the ways the Martial Arts can entice your kid away from that tight grip of technology.

Become the Hero of Their Own Story

Kids love to escape into the virtual world because it offers them a chance to live out their fantasies. 

Breaking free of the humdrum world of household chores and homework, video games offer children the chance to play superheroes in another person’s story.

That undoubtedly has its attractions.

The Martial Arts, on the other hand, offer your child the opportunity to become the hero in a story they can script for themselves.

So, the next time you are trying to peel your child from the screen of the latest Beat ‘em Up video game, tell them you are taking them to a place where they will learn to become a real hero in a story of their own making and head for your nearest Martial Arts academy.

Positive Reinforcement

As any school teacher will tell you, rewarding positive behaviour with praise and encouragement is a mighty attractive carrot for encouraging our kids and the Martial Arts come with positive reinforcement built-in!

Learning a complex new set of skills, such as those found in Muay Thai or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, can be very challenging for a newcomer. But, it is this exactly this difficulty that results in a huge positive sense of achievement when progress is made.

While developing greater thumb dexterity through texting may be its own reward for hours spent on phones, the sense of real accomplishment your child will feel from learning new techniques in their chosen art is immeasurable and addictive too!

The Friend Zone

While most video games offer a 1 player mode, it is impossible to get good at the Martial Arts without training with others.

The intensity of Martial Arts training encourages great trust in one’s training partners and this helps develop firm friendships fast. 

Once your child gets a taste of the strong bonds that emerge on the mats or in the ring, it’ll be easy to use this to leverage them from the overwhelming sights and sounds of the virtual world.

And, if you are struggling to get them to take that difficult initial step, why not offer to go with them to their first class, or better yet, lead by example and enrol in some classes yourself!

The Martial Arts: An Easy Sell

In this age of virtual reality, the Martial Arts offer a rare opportunity for your child to engage in a very physical reality. 

Here, they’ll get to feel at home in their own bodies while also developing a sense of confidence in their own abilities. 

They’ll forge lifelong friendships and grow in a strongly positive environment that rewards their efforts to improve themselves.

All this makes the Martial Arts an easy sell to even the most technology-absorbed of children.