Parent involvement focuses can greatly improve a child’s
self esteem, confidence, and over all ability in martial arts (and any other
sport, for that matter). Since the
beginning of time, children have had parent leaders that have directly shown
them how to hunt, prepare meals, and treat other people. These days, we don’t hunt, mom prepares
meals while little Johnny plays video games, and most social interactions
happen at school with supervisors or in the neighborhood with minimal
supervision (if any). To help your
child build character, try doing some martial arts kicks, strikes, and blocks
with them. Teach them a
self-defense move. Show them how
much you care by telling them not to use these on their friends, family members,
or pets – but to use them to protect themselves and the people they care about.
Coaching your child in a positive way is an excellent way to
boost self-esteem. The definition
of self-esteem is an attitude that describes the way you feel about yourself. When a child works with their parent
and they get better, it creates a bond.
It shows how much the parent cares about them by doing a physical and
primal activity. This will inspire
and motivate your child on a deep genetic level! I will relate this to the ancient Greeks living in
Sparta. From the time they are
born, they learn to fight.
Teachers show them martial arts and their fathers continuously test them
on a daily basis. The Spartans and
Greeks were incredibly disciplined and had a territory that proved it. After working out with your child,
you’ll send them to school and practice with a higher level of self-esteem.
The confidence for a child to stand up for himself, try new
things, truly believe in himself can be improved with parent involvement! When a child is faced with a problem at
school that is really hard, they may feel like they can’t do it. When they come home, they will know
that after a few minutes of working on the problem with mom and dad, it will be
a piece of cake! Or, if mom and
dad don’t understand, you can show your leadership by searching on the internet
to find the answer, calling one of your (smarter) friends, or searching for a
tutoring service. That shows
incredible leadership! Do you
understand that children in the future will never have to search far for ANY
ANSWER they want?? When I am
stumped about anything, I can google-search it on my iphone – anywhere! What an amazing resource! When it comes to martial arts, kids see
things that they WISH they could do but know they can’t. We can easily turn the “Can’t” into
“Can’t yet.” Inspire your children
by training with them a little bit every day and then search on Youtube for
really incredible martial artists doing ridiculous stunts. Then, ask your instructor for tips on
training with your child! You might
want to send your child through some private lessons first to get the basics.
By training with your children at home, you help to boost
their self-esteem and improve their confidence. Their overall ability improves and so does their mood. Strengthen the bond you have with your
child by sharing something that they love with them – as a leader. Here are some resources I think will
inspire you:
A couple youtube videos about the curriculum we’re doing
this cycle:
Here's one step #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0J2mRc2wBg
Here's one step #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlWU_DaKQj0
Here's one step #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlWU_DaKQj0
Check out the HYPER website (HYPER TV). After you’ve seen all the free videos,
purchase some training session DVDs so you can work on new stuff together!
Good training Tools for at-home coaching:
Pork chop pads
Square hand targets
Big pads such as wavemasters XXL, BOB Bags, and shields for
power
Rebreakable boards
Curriculum DVDs
Purchase these items in our ATA Pro Shop (located in the
storage room, soon to be in the lobby at ATA Elkton!)
