As our lives grow increasingly busy and distracted, it’s more important than ever to protect and foster the relationships within our families. Entertainment, work, and technology all work in tandem to cut into the precious family time that has historically been the integral method through which parents can impart their wisdom and help foster their children’s healthy development. It can be hard to compete with your child’s social media usage and friends for their time but by choosing a family activity where each family member can enjoy themselves you’ll find you won’t have to struggle to carve out family time just as much.
Here at Premier Martial Arts, we know that the importance of finding a family activity by which each family member can enjoy themselves while still spending quality time with each other cannot be overstated. It’s simply not enough to spend time with our children — the best way to connect with your kids and get opportunities to guide and teach them is through engaging with them during a shared activity. Just like the quintessential father and son fishing trip, shared family activities have always been a vital part of helping children develop into healthy and happy adults. By finding a shared activity you and your children can bond over, you’ll be able to catch them in a more relaxed state of being, ultimately creating a better situation to connect with them in — not to mention you’ll be creating wonderful memories for years to come.
In deciding to choose a family activity to help strengthen the family connection, it’s important to find something that will be possible in the longterm, offer productive benefits, and of course, be lots of fun. If you’re searching for just the right family activity that satisfies all the aspects, martial arts is the perfect solution for you.
Practicing martial arts as a family is one of the most powerful family building activities available today. Martial arts can be practiced as a family for years and years. With a discipline like the martial arts, there’s no need to worry about the activity ending and the need to replace it — martial arts are a lifelong sport. The longterm nature of practicing martial arts makes it a great choice for a family activity, not only because it doesn’t require switching activities every few years but because it provides your children with an opportunity to practice the sport for the rest of their lives. Unlike other activities meant solely for enjoyment, the martial arts are designed to be practiced for a lifetime, not just for an occasional weekend. There is simply no end to perfecting one’s skills in the martial arts, making it the perfect longterm-minded family activity.
A unique aspect of what makes practicing martial arts as a family so powerful is the well-rounded benefits it offers. The martial arts aren’t simply a fun diversion but they also aren’t a one-off project with a clear ending date. Our Kids Karate Program is a great option for families searching for activities that are both enjoyable and enriching because of the physical health, emotional health, and the fun they offer. A family that practices martial arts together is engaging in a valuable journey towards constant improvement while still having lots of fun. What parents love about practicing martial arts as a family is knowing that the time spent practicing with their children is both enjoyable in the present but also provides their children with rich benefits far into the future.
Some of the benefits that children, as well as adults, can reap from a regular martial arts practice are physical health and emotional health as well as increased focus and discipline. It’s crucial to our health as well as that of our children that regular exercise is observed. The martial arts is a perfect method for making sure the whole family gets regular exercise while still enjoying themselves.
In addition to physical health, practicing martial arts is an effective way to increase emotional health, as practitioners learn to push themselves even after failures and learn to build up their discipline through regular practice. Another valuable aspect of practicing martial arts is the increased focus that practitioners gain. The martial arts require the application of focus when training a new skill. This practice of applying focus has incredible benefits, especially in our modern lives that are so often replete with constant distraction and multitasking. By practicing martial arts as a family, parents are able to spend more quality time with their children while also providing their children with the wonderful benefits a regular martial arts practice offers.
When searching for any new family activity to take on, one quality that cannot be ignored is the most obvious — fun! As parents, attempting to spend more time with your children means competing with a world designed to entice them with fun, be it friends, television, video games, or simply using their phones. No family activity can be successful in the long run without offering what matters to kids and that’s a healthy dose of fun.
While the martial arts may have a reputation for being serious and traditional, any practitioner will tell you one of the main reasons they continue practicing is simply the sheer fun of it. Learning new moves, working on techniques, and seeing those efforts come to fruition in sparring matches or practice sessions is an exhilarating feeling. Not only is practicing martial arts plenty of fun, the type of fun that the martial arts offer is much longer-lasting than games designed solely for entertainment are. The effort that goes into practicing the martial arts and challenging oneself to perform at their best creating a satisfying conclusion when victory is finally achieved that builds self-esteem and boosts moods.
The martial arts have a long history of providing incredible physical and mental benefits to its practitioners, making it a great choice for parents searching for a new family activity that will offer their kids lifelong benefits. Yet, practicing a sport and gradually improving through competition is a challenge that kids love and thrive with. Ultimately, martial arts provide the perfect blend of productive benefits and great fun to create an environment where parents can connect with their children and create lifelong memories. At Premier Martial Arts, we believe the family that kicks together, sticks together.
