Forget football, basketball, and soccer – among youth, mixed martial arts (MMA) is one of the fastest growing sports in North America. Yet, despite its recent surge in popularity, mixed martial arts are based on ancient methods of training the body, mind, and spirit while developing self-defense techniques. Many parents may see examples of mixed martial arts such as the Ultimate Fighting Competition (UFC) and simply consider the sport to be violent and dangerous. In fact, children who are involved in the martial arts experience many benefits from improved fitness, self defense, and discipline to values of respect and self-confidence.
Fitness
Regular physical activity is a critical component of your child’s health. Most doctors and child care professionals recommend that children get at least 1 hour of physical activity daily to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Fortunately, fitness is a central value of MMA. Warm ups in MMA may include jumping jacks, push ups, and stretching exercises, and even the basic MMA movements provide a physical challenge. During MMA classes, children work their muscles and cardiovascular system; and experienced martial artists are toned and flexible while also demonstrating excellent cardiovascular fitness.
Self Defense
Self defense is important for boys and girls to learn, and the ability to defend oneself also leads to feelings of empowerment and confidence. The focus of MMA is not to attack, but to defend. Indeed, self-defense is one of the cornerstones of good MMA programs. Through MMA, children learn a variety of techniques and skills that can be used for defense in a wide range of situations. More importantly, the best MMA programs teach kids how to prevent and avoid conflict so they may never need to use their martial arts skills.
Discipline
Another cornerstone of MMA programs is discipline. Martial arts instructors try to instill a sense of focus and concentration so that children learn to follow through with a task until completion. The customs and techniques taught during MMA programs also help children to learn discipline at school, at home, and in all areas of life.
Respect
Though you may have the misguided opinion that martial arts is only about punching, kicking, and submitting an opponent, respect is one of the most important values of MMA.
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