Healthy Competition :) Part 1

Competition either gives us a stronger drive or stops us in our tracks.  Truthfully, you decide how you handle yourself after a devastating defeat or an overwhelming victory.  At ATA Elkton, we call this "Being a good winner and being a good loser."  You can check out that full blog post by visiting The Personal Achievement Academy Blog.  From every win and lose with every age group, there is a lesson to learn.  Martial Arts Tournaments are a small investment in time and money that will give children and adults the skills they need for life.  At different age groups, people have various ideas of what a tournament is all about.  Here are some tips on how to teach a kid after a tournament:

Let's begin with Tiny Tigers.  These kids are aged between 3 and 7 years old.  While all kids are different, this age group is very egocentric.  They really care about themselves and what's going on with them.  On a global level, the ATA organization's motto is that "every kid is special and every kid is a winner."  With that, every kid gets a trophy/ medal when they compete - no matter how good or bad they performed.  While they will get a small boost from one trophy, we have to make sure they are driving to get better each time they compete, not just participating for the "competitor award."  Tiny Tigers all get the same exact trophy so it's always good to "debrief" them after their ring is over.  Gretchen Zahn, mother of two tiny tigers and counselor at a local Elementary school offers some advice, "When a child finishes their tournament, you have to talk about why they got their trophy.  They only care about getting a trophy so you have to talk about what it was for.  After that, talk about another way they can get a trophy like, 'wouldn't you like to get one for the highest kicks next time?  Let's work on having higher kicks and try to get that trophy next time!'  This is ensure that they are constantly improving and inspired to compete next time."  It's important to address their instinctual desires while also focusing on the future with kids that age.  Show your leadership with children - take that as advice for your Tiny Tiger and help them become a stronger person!

My passion for the character development in children inspires me to give you this call to action:  Take a stand for the important people in your life that train in martial arts - get them to commit to competing in a tournament to make them better martial artists and stronger people.