In this blog today I'm going to breakdown some of the reasons why you should consider martial arts training during your other sports off season as a supplement to your sports practice.

Footy season is over and kids can get bored and restless. Martial Arts training will keep then fit and flexible and of course stronger.

Why?

Because most of the time, parent's decide to take their kids out of martial arts to pursue sports like footy, soccer, netball etc..

Many people don’t know, that martial arts ENHANCES sports performance during the off season of any sport!

Martial arts training can usually improve your sport performance.

And that is for the following reasons.

Flexibility & Coordination

Since the nature of martial arts relies on usually utilizing all parts of your body, flexibility and coordination is a given which means that the risk for injury playing sports is significantly lower. You wouldn't want your child's season to end early because of an injury right? Martial arts training helps prevent that.

Conditioning

This really depends on what kind of martial arts school you go to but most of the workouts in a martial arts program greatly exceed the intensity of sports conditioning training.

Before and after martial arts practice, classes will typically warm up and stretch for around 10-15 minutes to increase heart rate and warm up the muscles.

Endurance is also improved through technique drills. Hitting pads and shadow sparring (Kata practise) for prolonged periods increases heart rate and over time, improves overall endurance. This endurance translates well to sports with lots of running and prolonged periods of play such as all footy, netball, and tennis.

Karate trains the body to move in a stable functional manner while strengthening the core and lower extremity muscles. Through karate, balance and flexibility are improved, confidence boosted and life enhanced and you can also count on increased core strength. And what is bigger than core training? Nothing. The pelvic and core musculature are essential to all karate movement and forms. Every stance, block and punch is first initiated through the core. Therefore, each movement works the core.

Discipline

Having discipline is very beneficial to sports. In fact, it is the most disciplined athletes that succeed in sports because they find time to train outside of practice.

Martial arts teaches mental discipline. In most schools, students are discouraged from picking fights, abusing drugs, and bullying others. Students are rather taught to be humble, to live a healthy lifestyle, and to work hard. The values and discipline learned through martial arts will follow students to school, work, and other sports.

Martial arts training requires focus inside and outside of the dojo. Being attentive and obeying instructors is crucial to martial arts learning. Success only follows consistent hard work and focus towards one’s craft.

The discipline gained from martial arts makes an athlete more coachable and disciplined in other sports. Athletes will be able to pick up techniques more quickly and have greater focus on the court or field.

The discipline of martial arts often translates into other areas of life that promote the child to inevitably perform better in sports.

Better Grades

Sometimes it’s easy for grades to get neglected when training in sports. However, there is a high correlation between martial artists and good grades! So if you're wanting your child to succeed in BOTH sports and academics, martial arts training is the activity for you!

Confidence Boosters

One of the most unfortunate things about sports is that it can sometimes lower self-esteem for kids. This is because, unless your child is the star athlete, the bench is a very real possibility. However, in martial arts training, there is no bench and everyone gets to participate! That being said, if you're in a good school that focuses on the child's personal development, your child's confidence will be boosted to a point where they understand that the bench doesn't mean that they aren't good enough it just means they need to work on things.

Skills Translate

Lastly, there are many skills other than kicking or punching that translate well into sports. The quick footwork, the takedowns and quick hand/foot skills help a kid dominate in sports.

If you're looking for a martial arts school that doesn't break your wallet and allows your child to compete in the sports he loves while learning the discipline of martial arts, contact us.