Helping Your Child Succeed!

“My child is bored and fights me when it is time to go to class. We want to quit.”

This is the excuse I hear most often from parents. This puzzles me the most. If your child was “bored” with school, would you allow them to stay home? Most likely, your answer to this would be “absolutely not!” It is not a choice. Since any form of Martial Arts is education, why wouldn't you make your child go to Karate class? They have no choice. It is not an option. While it is required by law to send your kids to school, you don't need a law requiring you to send your child to a Martial Arts studio to achieve the rank of Black Belt. Having the education that comes with earning a Black Belt will always give your child a competitive edge in life. So, why wouldn’t you want to provide this life long advantage to your child?

I know the easy way out is to have your child get their way, which instantly gratifies the child and yourself. Kids will always choose fun over discipline. To some kids, physical activity is hard work. Children do not know what is best for them and are shortsighted. But a parent who gives in now, will have to deal with more difficult challenges later. If you allow them to quit, you are teaching them that if they do not like something, just cry and complain to get what they want. So the parent is easily swayed to give in for the short-term instant gratification rather than the long-term benefit of delayed gratification.

If you want them to receive the benefits Martial Arts offer, encourage them to stick with it to Black Belt. Earning the Black Belt will help them to advance in life and achieve greater success in the process.

-Excerpt from his book,”The Winning Edge! How Martial Arts Can Help You Achieve Greater Success in Life” by Sah Bum Nim Convento (2014)