FAQ Kick-Start Your Training Why Hapkido is great for kids
| Why Hapkido is great for kids |
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| Written by Ma'am Tina | ||
| Sunday, 11 January 2009 21:09 | ||
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As a practical martial art predominantly designed for self-defence, Hapkido is the perfect martial art for kids.
Hapkido can also help your kids with their school studies. Believe it or not, many students who do poorly in school demonstrate a significant improvement in their grades and studies after just a few months of martial arts. And as for hyperactive kids or kids who do not listen, a few months of Hapkido will teach your kids discipline and will improve your child's concentration both on the mats and at school. Our kids program starts from the age of 4 . Generally we will not take a kid younger than 4 because most motor skills necessary for martial arts are usually not developed until about that age. However, there have been some exceptions to this rule, and because not all kids develop at the same rate, if you have a child under 4 and want to get him or her into Hapkido, we usually recommend you bring your child in for a free class so we can determine whether we think they are ready to begin their training. Sometimes waiting just 6 months can make a massive difference. As an instructor, some of the questions I frequently get asked by parents are: 1. Will my child learn enough to protect themselves from bullies at school? 2. Will my child get hurt? 3. Will Hapkido make my already hyperactive child more aggressive? I'll answer these questions in the same order. 1. Hapkido is an art predominantly aimed at self-defence for students regardless of age, gender, size. Whilst your child will not become a fighting warrior overnight, the lessons learnt in class will give your child the weapons they need to protect themselves at school ie: confidence, communication skills, self-respect and the ability to apply self-defence techniques should it get to that point. Children are taught from day one that their Hapkido skills do work and that they should not be afraid to use them if they have to in a fighting situation. You will find that as your child learns Hapkido they will get picked on less and there will be little opportunity (if any at all) for them to ever have to use what they have learnt in class. 2. As far as injury rates go, most other sports are a lot more dangerous than Hapkido. Although your kids are learning fighting and self-defence, they are also learning self-control and proper distancing. If you have any doubts, I always suggest for parents to take a seat and watch their kids do class so they can walk away with a good feeling about what their kids are learning and with the knowledge that their kids are learning techniques that can protect them. 3. Children are taught from their first day that their Hapkido skills really do work but that their skills are to be used only if they feel threatened. This means that your child will learn how to deal with name-calling and even walking away from a potential fight. When someone grabs your child or attempts to hit them, then and only then are the kids taught that they are allowed to defend themselves using their Hapkido skills. Whilst your kids are learning self-defence skills they are also learning discipline and self-control and when to use and when not to use what they learn in class. We teach that mucking around or showing off with Hapkido skills is not acceptable behaviour and we instill this in your child from their very first class. |
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 13:29 |
