Martial Arts is great for your child to learn valuable skills like concentration, respect, kindness, honesty, and self-discipline. Even without all of these positive traits that they pick up, martial arts is a great exercise for kids who just aren’t into ball sports.
It’s for these reasons that if you’ve chosen to put your child in a martial arts program, you’ve made the right choice. The tricky question now is, how to find the right martial arts school. Keep reading to find out what you should be looking for.
1. Safety
The first and most important thing that should be stressed in any martial arts school is safety.
Injuries can happen in any sport its the nature of the beast, but if your child is coming home with an excessive amount, you have a problem. Safety should be stressed in every aspect of the class from standard drills, to warm-ups.
In any facility that is worth its salt, injuries should be a rare occurrence. Just because it’s Martial Arts, some parents think it’s inevitably dangerous, this can’t be further from the truth.
2. Introductory Process
You don’t want your child to just be thrown to the wolves day one. Every child who is just starting out needs one on one time with the instructor.
The reason for this is every student should have the time to tell their instructor their goals for the class. If the student doesn’t have any goals laid out yet, then the instructor can most certainly help them figure it out.
This introductory process is also a great way for the instructor to give the child a taste of what they will be expecting in the class. There is also the fact that every child is different and learns differently. One on one time gives the instructor a basic idea of what approach to use on your child.
3. Structure
Like a normal school needs a syllabus, and curriculum, a martial arts school needs a structured program. The teacher shouldn’t just pop in and teach whatever they want freely.
The teacher has to understand that what is fun for them and an experienced student isn’t necessarily fun for a beginner.
The class needs to be organized, there needs to be some sort of plan to go on. This is especially true if the student is being taught a special skill or technique.
4. The Teacher’s Demeanor
The teacher is not meant to be a drill instructor. Their instructions should be fun, not brutal. Essentially, the instructor has to remember that they are working with children.
A teacher should be ready to raise their voice as needed, but being overly harsh won’t get them anywhere. There needs to be a nice balance between the two. A teacher who is passive constantly will lose control over their class fairly quickly.
A child needs solid and experienced leadership. They are learning, they aren’t lessers or things to be bossed around. They are children, doing this activity to better themselves. You don’t want their instructors to discourage or belittle them.
You’re also paying for a professional to teach your children. The instructor should at least look like they know what they are doing.
5. Atmosphere
The martial arts classroom should be like a second home for your child. The atmosphere is what keeps the child wanting to come back and keep chasing their goals.
The staff should be friendly and invested in your child’s success, the students should be equally as friendly. When you walk into the classroom you should be able to tell that everyone is having a great time.
Your child and every child around them should look like they’re happy. Like, they wouldn’t want to be at any other place in the world.
6. Is It Fun
Fun is one of the most important aspects of martial arts. A child will never reach their goals if they are never in class. This is what you run into if the class can’t hold the attention of the child.
Your child will never want to go back if the class is boring, and just a pain to participate in. Focus should be a factor but it should never be so much of a factor that the child stops having fun. There needs to be a nice balance.
7. Effectiveness
You have to find a school that takes your family’s goals into consideration and effectively takes action to make it happen.
If you’re looking to raise a child’s confidence level, a curriculum filled with going to tournaments probably won’t help with that. If your child needs more focus, make sure that the school you’re looking at teaches it.
8. Observe One Of The Classes
The best way to see if the school is working for your child is to observe one of the classes. This means actually watching your child, not scrolling through your phone.
If your child does something amazing in class, and you miss it, that can be devastating. Remember, you’re there to observe the child, and see if what the teacher is doing is working for them.
If it’s not working for your child, no harm done. Pull them out and start the process right over again.
9. What To Look For In A Martial Arts School
Enrolling your child in a martial arts school is a great way to teach the child discipline and focus while also allowing for them to have fun. Every child learns differently so it might take a bit to find a curriculum that’s right for them. Regardless, the teacher should be willing to work with them.
At Carrollwood Black Belt Academy we pride ourselves on safety, expert training, and fun. To see if our facility is right for you, visit our site to schedule a tour and free class.
