Martial Arts for Kids – Bodies, Minds and Spirits

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 9:08 pm

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Kids Bodies, Minds and Spirits

The Body is the Easiest and hence the First thing to Improve.

We have all heard the Body, Mind and Spirit talks from both Real Martial Artists and the various actors in nearly every martial art movie ever made. The reason it is always mentioned is because it is a Fundamental Truth in what we do, no matter what style you learn or teach.

My opinion is that while all three areas have equal importance, I feel the body is the first place to start.

Look at it this way… A smart kid with a strong spirit but a weak body is unlikely to beat a bully in a pushing match.But a strong kid with no focus or spirit when put in the same position may still land that lucky punch and save his bacon.

Of course the other two areas are important but for this article I want to focus on strengthening the body.

I have included Strength Games for your Kids in the “Martial Games for Kids” Newsletters [note: Subscribers Newsletters] to help you get your kids physically prepared for their Martial Art training.I want to help you get your kids stronger, it’s up to you to teach them how and when to use all that strength.

A long, long time ago in a school far, far away I was once a little kid. My school was about 50% Maori, Tongan and Polynesian kids. As a small white kid that can be intimidating. I’m 6’2″ and 200lbs (188cm and 95kg) now, but back then I was one of the smallest in my class, a real late bloomer.

The kids in my school liked to fight as a hobby.These guys didn’t just thump the kids they hated, they’d also fight with their best friends just to prove who was better.

I guess I was lucky back then because I didn’t look like a challenge and the few times I did have to fight I’d out wrestle and choke them to submit. (thanks to both of my Grandfathers for teaching me those skills.)

But there was another white guy in my class that Never Ever got picked on. He was short, not overly popular, and didn’t try to make friends with any of the tough guys. He never tried to start anything but he also never took any shit from the bigger guys.

The reason no-one ever took him on was because he used to have fun impressing us with simple demos of strength. At lunch he would grab his giant granny smith apple in both hands and simply tear it in half. We all thought that was nothing until we realized none of us could do it, not even king of school tough guys.

When we would play on the jungle gym, swinging around on the bars, doing chin-up comps with our friends he would be doing single arm chin-ups.Again, not one of my friends could do a single arm chin-up without cheating.

Another time we were all sitting around on the grass in a circle cross legged and all of a sudden he decides to show off by putting his hands on the ground, raising his legs off the ground and moved into a full hand stand and then walks off on his hands. We all tried that too of course and never got past half way without falling backwards or face planting the ground.

The funny thing is, no one ever saw him fight.We had no idea if he could throwdown or not. He may have been crap, he may have been lethal, but we never found out. No one even asked him, let alone tried taking him on.

The toughest kids never ever hassled him because they weren’t sure what would happen.Everybody knew that they didn’t want him to get hold of you with that vice grip.

None of us knew if he could fight but we all imagined the damage he would do to someone once he got hold of them.His strength was undeniable and it kept him safe from being bullied all the way through his school years.

His Dad had taught him how to get strong by simple body weight exercises and isometric resistance. His Dad didn’t let him start lifting weights till he was 15yo. The stories I mentioned above were things he did as a 10-11 year old.

I wish I had taken more notice of the things he had shown me back then, but he was the only person who did them. All the adults in the mags and on TV talked about lifting heavy weights. It seems obvious now that he was all the proof I should have needed to convince me that what his dad taught him was simply awesome.

So, back to teaching kids martial arts… Strength is only 1 of the 4 pillars that create a great Martial Artist. Body, Mind, Spirit and Consistent Practice will set them apart from the many who start this journey.

Try out the games in the free sample “Martial Games for Kids” Newsletter available at www.martialgames4kids.com and let me know what you think.

- Aaron Perry

Teaching Kids Martial Arts